Differences between CCIE and CCDE lab exams

The CCDE lab exam might be a good choice if you prefer understanding technology at a high level. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each technology, and choosing the best technology based on technological and business constraints.

The CCIE lab exam focuses on understanding technology, and being able to configure a network to a desired state. The CCIE lab doesn't have anything to do with "best practices" or network design. You'll run into some crazy scenarios that you have to troubleshoot or configure.

Unlike CCIE, the CCDE written and lab exams are much more aligned. The CCDE material you study for the written exam are 99% applicable for the lab exam.