- Which OCRES This Sheet Covers
- The Logistics Snapshot
- The 10-Domain Weight Map
- Real-time Core: Engineering, Profiles and Scheduling
- The CORBA Family at a Glance
- DDS, Deployment and Transport Frameworks
- What the Questions Look Like
- Scheduling Domains by Weight and Dependency
- Traps to Resolve Before Booking
- Where the Credential Fits in Hiring
- Frequently Asked Questions
- OCRES Advanced is OMG's real-time and embedded exam: 90 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, delivered at Pearson VUE test centers.
- The official minimum passing score is 45 points, which OMG does not publish as 45 percent.
- Four domains carry 13% each: Software Engineering for Real-time Systems, Real-time CORBA/Dynamic Scheduling, and Data Distribution Service, plus the...
- Legacy OMG pages list US$200, but OCRES is missing from OMG's current catalog, so confirm availability and price before committing.
Which OCRES This Sheet Covers
This one-page review covers a single credential: the OMG Certified Real-time and Embedded Specialist: Advanced exam, issued by the Object Management Group (OMG) as a joint original program with the UML Technology Institute. The acronym OCRES is shared by other, unrelated credentials in other fields. Nothing here applies to them, and nothing from them applies here. If you need a definition first, start with What Is OCRES? or What Does OCRES Stand For?.
The Advanced level targets practitioners who already work with UML-based modeling and who design or evaluate distributed real-time and embedded systems. The content is a stack of OMG specifications: modeling profiles, middleware standards, and deployment standards. That makes it unlike most general-purpose certifications. You are memorizing and reasoning about named standards and their roles, not broad management practices.
The Logistics Snapshot
Here are the published exam mechanics in one place. All of them come from OMG's legacy OCRES pages, so treat them as legacy-published rather than verified live offers.
| Item | What OMG's legacy pages state |
|---|---|
| Certifying body | Object Management Group (OMG) |
| Level covered here | Advanced (OMG-OCRES-A300) |
| Delivery | Computer-based, at a Pearson VUE test center |
| Question format | Multiple choice, with text and UML diagrams |
| Number of questions | 90 |
| Time allowed | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | Minimum of 45 (not published as a percentage) |
| Fee | US$200 on the undated Advanced page |
| Book rules | Closed-book, per OMG's OCRES FAQ |
| Validity | Permanent for the attained level and version, per the FAQ |
Ninety questions in ninety minutes works out to an average of one minute per question. Diagram-based items usually take longer than pure recall items, so you will need to bank time on the fast ones. For a deeper look at scoring language, see OCRES Passing Score 2026, and for fee context see OCRES Certification Cost 2026.
The 10-Domain Weight Map
The coverage map lists ten headings. Here they are with their approximate weights.
| # | Domain | Approx. weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineering for Real-time Systems | 13% |
| 2 | OMG MDA Guide | 9% |
| 3 | UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance, and Time | 11% |
| 4 | UML Profile for Quality of Service and Fault Tolerance | 10% |
| 5 | Real-time CORBA, Dynamic Scheduling | 13% |
| 6 | CORBA for Embedded (CORBA/e) | 10% |
| 7 | Data Distribution Service | 13% |
| 8 | Lightweight CORBA Component Model | 8% |
| 9 | Deployment & Configuration | 7% |
| 10 | Extensible Transport Frameworks | 6% |
Three domains share the top allocation at 13% each: Software Engineering for Real-time Systems, Real-time CORBA with Dynamic Scheduling, and Data Distribution Service. Together they account for roughly 39% of the exam. The two UML profile domains add another 21%. That means about 60% of your score rides on five domains. The full domain-by-domain breakdown lives in OCRES Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas.
Real-time Core: Engineering, Profiles and Scheduling
Domain 1: Software Engineering for Real-time Systems (13%)
This is the conceptual foundation for everything else. Expect questions that test whether you can reason about timing, concurrency, and resource constraints before any specific standard enters the picture.
- Hard versus soft real-time behavior and what each implies for design decisions
- Timing constraints, deadlines, and how architecture choices affect predictability
- Concurrency and resource-sharing concerns in embedded contexts
- How modeling supports analysis of real-time behavior
Domain 3: UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance, and Time (11%)
The profile that lets you annotate UML models with timing and resource information so analysis can be performed. Know what the profile is for, how it extends UML, and what kinds of questions it helps answer.
- The purpose of a UML profile and how stereotypes and tagged values extend the base language
- Representing schedulability, performance, and time concerns in a model
- How annotated models feed analysis rather than just documentation
Domain 4: UML Profile for Quality of Service and Fault Tolerance (10%)
A companion profile focused on expressing quality-of-service requirements and fault-tolerance concerns in UML. Pair it mentally with Domain 3, since questions can contrast what each profile addresses.
- Modeling QoS characteristics and the level at which they are specified
- Fault-tolerance concepts and how they are captured in a model
- Distinguishing this profile's scope from the schedulability profile's scope
Domain 2: OMG MDA Guide (9%)
The model-driven architecture guide frames how OMG separates concerns across models. Memorize the vocabulary, because the questions tend to test whether you can place a concept at the right level of abstraction.
- The idea of separating system specification from platform-specific realization
- The roles of different model viewpoints and the relationships between them
- How MDA terminology relates to the other standards in this exam
If the modeling side feels heavy, the OCRES Study Guide 2026 walks through a structured approach to the profile material.
The CORBA Family at a Glance
Four domains deal with CORBA variants. Candidates often blur them together, so the cheat-sheet approach is to anchor each one to its distinguishing purpose.
| Domain | Weight | Anchor idea to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time CORBA, Dynamic Scheduling | 13% | Predictable, priority-aware middleware behavior, including scheduling that adapts at run time |
| CORBA for Embedded (CORBA/e) | 10% | CORBA tailored to resource-constrained embedded targets |
| Lightweight CORBA Component Model | 8% | A reduced component model suited to smaller systems |
| Deployment & Configuration | 7% | How component-based applications are packaged, assigned, and set up on target nodes |
Domain 5: Real-time CORBA, Dynamic Scheduling (13%)
One of the three heaviest domains. Focus on why standard middleware is insufficient for timing-critical work and what Real-time CORBA adds.
- The motivation for real-time extensions to object middleware
- Priority handling and the predictability goals the specification addresses
- Dynamic scheduling concepts versus fixed, static scheduling approaches
Domain 6: CORBA for Embedded (CORBA/e) (10%)
Know what gets trimmed or profiled to fit embedded constraints, and why those constraints matter to the target systems.
- Why full-featured middleware is a poor fit for small, constrained devices
- How the embedded profile narrows the footprint and feature set
- Where CORBA/e sits relative to Real-time CORBA
Domains 8 and 9: Lightweight CCM (8%) and Deployment & Configuration (7%)
These two read well as a pair. One describes the component model; the other describes how components are deployed and configured onto a target environment.
- Component concepts in a deliberately reduced form
- How deployment and configuration separate packaging from placement
- The relationship between the component model and its deployment machinery
DDS, Deployment and Transport Frameworks
Domain 7: Data Distribution Service (13%)
The third top-weighted domain, and the one that differs most in style from the CORBA material. Where CORBA is built around invoking operations on remote objects, DDS is built around data-centric publish-subscribe communication.
- The data-centric publish-subscribe model and how it differs from request-reply invocation
- The role of quality-of-service policies in shaping delivery behavior
- How publishers, subscribers, and topics relate to one another
- Why DDS suits real-time and embedded distribution scenarios
Domain 10: Extensible Transport Frameworks (6%)
The lowest-weighted domain, but still worth securing. The core idea is making the underlying transport pluggable so middleware is not locked to a single network mechanism.
- Why transport extensibility matters for specialized embedded links
- How a framework separates middleware behavior from the transport beneath it
Key Takeaway
Build a contrast table in your own notes: object invocation (CORBA family) versus data-centric publish-subscribe (DDS). Many multiple-choice distractors work by attributing one paradigm's feature to the other, so being able to state the difference in one sentence earns easy points.
What the Questions Look Like
OMG describes the exam as multiple choice with text and UML diagrams. In practice that means you should be ready for three broad item types:
- Specification-recognition items: match a concept or capability to the right OMG standard.
- Diagram-reading items: interpret a UML model, often one carrying profile annotations, and answer a question about what it expresses.
- Contrast items: distinguish between closely related standards, such as the two UML profiles or the several CORBA variants.
Because the exam is closed-book per OMG's FAQ, you cannot look up stereotype names or specification details mid-test. Practice reading UML diagrams quickly without external references. For a realistic sense of difficulty across these item types, see How Hard Is the OCRES Exam?, and for timed drilling use the OCRES practice tests.
Scheduling Domains by Weight and Dependency
Study order matters here because later domains build on earlier ones. This is the only generic-method section in this sheet, and it is tied directly to the domain list.
Foundations
- Software Engineering for Real-time Systems (13%)
- OMG MDA Guide (9%) for shared vocabulary
Modeling profiles
- UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance, and Time (11%)
- UML Profile for Quality of Service and Fault Tolerance (10%), studied side by side with the first
Middleware
- Real-time CORBA, Dynamic Scheduling (13%)
- CORBA for Embedded (CORBA/e) (10%)
- Lightweight CORBA Component Model (8%) and Deployment & Configuration (7%)
Data distribution and consolidation
- Data Distribution Service (13%)
- Extensible Transport Frameworks (6%)
- Timed practice sets and weak-domain review
The reasoning: the engineering and MDA domains supply the vocabulary used everywhere else, the profiles teach you to read annotated diagrams, and the CORBA domains build progressively from real-time behavior down to deployment. DDS is scheduled last so its contrast with CORBA is fresh when you do mixed review.
Traps to Resolve Before Booking
Other pitfalls worth listing:
- Assuming 45 means 45%. OMG states a minimum passing score of 45 and does not publish it as a percentage.
- Studying a newer syllabus. The coverage map's document editions are historical, and no newer syllabus has been substituted here. Study from the editions the map names.
- Merging the CORBA variants. Real-time CORBA, CORBA/e, and Lightweight CCM each have a distinct purpose; keep them separate.
- Skipping the low-weight domains. At 6% and 7%, Extensible Transport Frameworks and Deployment & Configuration are small but are usually the easiest to master quickly.
Where the Credential Fits in Hiring
The skills tested map to organizations that build distributed, timing-critical systems: aerospace and defense contractors, automotive and industrial-control suppliers, telecommunications equipment makers, and embedded-systems consultancies that use OMG standards and UML-based modeling. The exam signals familiarity with the standards stack rather than a general software credential.
We do not publish salary figures here because no verified earnings data exists for this specific credential in the facts we rely on. For a qualitative discussion, see the OCRES Salary Guide 2026, and for role types see OCRES Jobs. Given the availability caveat above, the ROI analysis is worth reading before you invest. A permanent credential for the attained level and version, as OMG's FAQ describes, is a point in its favor, but its market recognition depends on how employers view a program that now sits on legacy pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
OMG's legacy pages list 90 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 90 minutes, delivered by computer at a Pearson VUE test center. Questions can include text and UML diagrams.
The official minimum passing score is 45. OMG does not publish this as 45 percent, so do not treat it as a percentage. Read more on the passing score page.
Software Engineering for Real-time Systems, Real-time CORBA/Dynamic Scheduling, and Data Distribution Service each carry approximately 13%. The coverage map labels all percentages as approximate.
The undated Advanced page on OMG's site lists US$200. Because OCRES is absent from OMG's current general catalog and Pearson VUE's current program page, confirm live pricing and booking availability first. See the cost breakdown.
OMG's OCRES FAQ describes closed-book rules and permanent certification for the attained level and version. Verify the current wording on OMG's FAQ page before test day, and use the practice test site to rehearse closed-book conditions.