CISM Exam Dec 2015: Need Advice

sbilal

Hi All

I am appearing in Dec 2015 exam and I am studying these days. Need some tips from your side what should I prepare most and how many hours a day. Also do I need to remember the Task and Knowledge statements also.

Please advice

dustervoice

just read the review manual and question db and you will be fine.

sbilal

dustervoice wrote: »

just read the review manual and question db and you will be fine.

Thanks Dustervoice
Do I need to remember the Task and Knowledge statements also?

Please advice

Thanks

dustervoice

no need to memorize anything.. the DB questions are really good. The exam format is very similar in wording. The challenge is not the material itself its the way the questions are worded thats when the DB is very helpful. Good luck

sbilal

Hi Dustervoice

Thanks once again. Does this apply to CISA exam also ?

dustervoice

Yes from what i've read. I will be taking the cisa this december i will confirm this after the test.

NerdJock

I passed the 9/15 CISM. My opinion of the exam was that the DB questions are definitely the best source for preparation. However, I thought the questions on the exam were harder than the DB, only because they were not as straight-forward and a lot of the terminology used in the manual and DB were replaced with convoluted synonyms on the exam. It could also be that I skipped breakfast and was noticeably not thinking clearly during the exam (DON'T DO THAT!).

If I had to do it all over again, I'd only buy the review manual and the DB question software. Use a week to read the manual initially, before focusing on the DB questions. For the DB, I would set the software to "Custom Study" and work through each Domain's set of questions. After each question, the software provides an explanation. Copy/paste the explanations into a Word document and organize them according to Domain and Section. Once done with the 1000+ questions, I'd spend a week highlighting and organizing the notes and study those exclusively to avoid memorizing the DB questions. The last couple of weeks, I would start doing "Adaptive Study" exams on the DB to get a mix of all the Domains and work those until scores are between 85-95%.

I hope that makes sense...

Tip: For the Word document, I used Google Docs, which allows studying on the go and make changes (highlights or extra notes) on the fly.

sbilal

Thanks Nerdjock for your valuable advice. I also had ordered the DB QAE manual but its a hard copy and will reach to me in one week time. Have I made a mistake then to order a hard copy for QA DB? I mean I should have ordered the CD version u mean. The one which I ordered consists of 815 questions and answers with explanation.
Will it help me. By the way its not a CD but a hardcopy like CISM manual.
Please advice.

dustervoice

They are both the same one in electronic format the other printed. They only negative about the book is that the answers are right below the questions and its very difficult not to glance at the it before attempting the question.

sbilal

Thanks duster voice.

Nerdjock
Can u share your notes? I will appreciate.

sbilal

Hi All

I have got the CISM exam database manual and now I am practicing the questions per domain. Amy further advices please.

Tongy

I guess that if you have the database of questions, use it to concentrate on the areas that you are weakest in and review the content in the manual.

I have had difficulty in some areas so I have been concentrating on them, making sure that I have a clear understanding of the core subject matter first then review questions to test that knowledge.

sbilal

Tongy wrote: »

I guess that if you have the database of questions, use it to concentrate on the areas that you are weakest in and review the content in the manual.

I have had difficulty in some areas so I have been concentrating on them, making sure that I have a clear understanding of the core subject matter first then review questions to test that knowledge.

I am first going through the RM and CBT nuggets and then taking the DB questions. I am constantly scoring 70%. Is it ok. Am i going correct?

Tongy

Erm, I don't know if it's ok... I've never taken the exam before but I personally would be happier hitting 85-90% before the exam, because we've never seen the questions before and there will probably be some "left field" questions that might trip is up.

Like I said, identify your weak areas and concentrate on improving them. With the official CISM database questions that will be easy to figure out.

Mike7

Tongy wrote: »

Erm, I don't know if it's ok... I've never taken the exam before but I personally would be happier hitting 85-90% before the exam, because we've never seen the questions before and there will probably be some "left field" questions that might trip is up.

Guess it depends. I took the June CISM exam.

Was hitting like 70-80% with the QAE and CISM was my first ISACA exam. I had not taken a paper-based exams for years and had to buy a box of pencils from the local stationary shop a day before. The actual exam questions were all new to me yet I managed to get top 5% score.

I did read through the CISM Review Manual a couple of times and read the explanations while doing QAE. Most of the questions are of the "best of", "most important" type; sometimes what is most important to us is not what ISACA wants. You really need to understand "the ISACA way", which you do by reading CRM and QAE explanation. In almost all cases, business wins.

Tongy

Like I said, I'd be happier hitting a consistently higher score... Since I've stumped up my own cash to take the test. I'm sure others that took the test were hitting lower scores and just scraped a pass... I'd rather leave as little as I can to chance, though!

i understand about the way Isaca asks questions and that's an important factor - but the higher the score before you go into the exam room should mean that you have a firmer grasp of the concepts upon which the questions you will face are based.

Mike7

Agree. The higher the score the more confident you get. I took CISM exam not long after my CISSP, and was able to draw upon the CISSP domain knowledge and working experience to answer some of the questions.

5 more weeks to 12th Dec. Good luck to all!

Tongy

I'm actually looking forward to the exam but will be nervous come results day!