Cism

Hi All,

I am currently studying for my CISM exam which is in Sept. I would be so grateful if any of you passed recently can give me some tips on exam please.

I don't have any management experience but I have been going through the QnA from ISACA database. Is that enough for me to pass the exam?

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Comments

scasc

I sat CISM in May and only used the question and answer book. The exam is catered for people with management experience and only if you have the requisite experience will you be able to apply for the certificate. The main point to think about revolves around how you approach the questions. You need to think more in terms of business objectives, risk, business impact etc. How are you finding the questions? What work experience do you have?

Ambreen30

Thanks SCASC for the reply. I have worked within Info security for past 4 years as Analyst. I have tested myself today and was able to achieve 75%. Which Q&A book did you use?

scasc

Hi there - If you go to ISACA's website they have either the database of questions (which seems to be what you have) or the book - same questions just in book format so you dont need to get.

What I did was I went through the book - understood why the answer was the actual answer and took notes on stuff I did not know. Once I went through the whole book I revised my notes and then I went back to the 150 practice specimen they have in the book to see how well I did.

To finish off I went through the whole book again to see if I am on the right track.

It is critical to remember that the exam is a lot more tougher than the database/book - though the concepts are the same. So as long as you understand the concepts you should be fine for the exam. Just take your time, read the question and appreciate what its asking you - not what you want it to be asking if you get what I mean!

I cleared CRISC couple days ago also based on the same strategy. Just remember to think like a manager and not like an engineer - so remember business value/objectives/impact/risks/strategy/contracts etc.

cazza

I sat CISM today and preliminary passed.
For my experiance, i highly recommend you to read a CISM review manual because only qna is not enough to pass CISM. Good luck

scasc

Depends on your level of understanding and experience. For instance if you dont have the background or knowledge def read the book, however if you have then I dont think its necessary - for example quite a few ppl have not touched the text book and passed.

Best of luck either way.

Teddyp15

Ambreen30 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am currently studying for my CISM exam which is in Sept. I would be so grateful if any of you passed recently can give me some tips on exam please.

I don't have any management experience but I have been going through the QnA from ISACA database. Is that enough for me to pass the exam?

Hi Ambreen30,

Passed in June. The QAE Database is all you need to pass the CISM exam. The review manual for me was very dry and boring. I focused primarily on the Database, understanding the questions and answers, and why the other choices were incorrect or not the BEST choice. In my opinion, the book will not allow you to make this comparison.

This is my experience as well as a few others on the forum.

If you manage to get over 80% on a practice test then I say you are good to go.

Good Luck.. You will do fine!

Ambreen30

Thank you so much for the help all. I shall share my results with you all in Sept

kamal2007

is QA database chargeable? will I be able to get QA databse on ISACA website?

datacomboss

Yes. https://www.isaca.org/bookstore/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?Product_code=XMXCM15-12M