seeking advice regarding CISM QA db study

jaguaar

Looking for some advice regarding CISM study method
I have been attempting questions from the db daily for couple of hours. I have studied a bit of review manual but found it to be too dry and rather a distraction sometimes. However I am not sure if doing questions over and over again, making notes of what they teach is the right strategy.
And if it is the right strategy then when should I book the exam - when i consistently get 70%, 80%, 90%?
Can I get some advise from those who have passed cism recently and used qa database as main source of study? Any other tips?

imfrom51

The manual is a pretty dry read. When you do the db study, don't just learn the answers to the questions. You will not pass the test if you just memorise the answers. The key (from my viewpoint) is 2 things.

1) Understand why an answer is correct or incorrect.
2) Put what you are learning into practice.

There is a reason why you need a number of years in the domains to take this test. When I passed, I was getting around 65-70%. I passed in the top 20%. So don't worry about what your practice test results are. Focus on learning why and understanding the processes etc.

datacomboss

There are enough questions and variations in answers that you can pass the test by going through the entire database.

jaguaar

Thank you for replying. Indeed I am trying to do as many questions as possible for past 1 month and trying to understand why some seemingly right options are wrong. However, i am disappointed that I can hardly go above 70% in adaptive tests. Questions are way too vague and slippery, well thats how it seems. So what I wondering is when did most people book the exam - when the got 70/75/85% marks?

Info_Sec_Wannabe

jaguaar wrote: »

Questions are way too vague and slippery, well thats how it seems. So what I wondering is when did most people book the exam - when the got 70/75/85% marks?

I'm in the same boat as you.. while I sometimes end up getting the right answer, when I go over the explanation, my rationale is way off the mark from what was indicated in the QA DB because I interpreted the question differently. Also, possibly adding to the confusion is the use of some of the terms.

Ivramus

I just took the exam and it says PASSED. I used qae database but none appeared in the exam. However, it helped me in terms of judging the options.

jaguaar

Ivramus wrote: »

I just took the exam and it says PASSED. I used qae database but none appeared in the exam. However, it helped me in terms of judging the options.

How did you like the exam content? were the questions vague or at least better than they are in QAE db? Any suggestions/tips/hints?
I am getting frustrated with with vague and sometimes incomplete sentences and questions.

datacomboss

jaguaar wrote: »

Thank you for replying. Indeed I am trying to do as many questions as possible for past 1 month and trying to understand why some seemingly right options are wrong. However, i am disappointed that I can hardly go above 70% in adaptive tests. Questions are way too vague and slippery, well thats how it seems. So what I wondering is when did most people book the exam - when the got 70/75/85% marks?

I used the option to attempt new questions only until I had seen every question then I did the adaptive tests. Averaged about 80% at the end.

Ivramus

jaguaar wrote: »

How did you like the exam content? were the questions vague or at least better than they are in QAE db? Any suggestions/tips/hints?
I am getting frustrated with with vague and sometimes incomplete sentences and questions.

The presentation of question is very similar to that of the database but you would really need to carefully read the questions and answers. The keywords I used are Primarily, Most, Best. All of the options seems to be correct but the question should say what it is looking for. For example, if the questions is looking for PRIMARILY, then your answer should be something that needs to be done first despite the other options have bigger weights. Goodluck

jaguaar

Thanks Guys for your kind replies. I have found cism content to be very underwhelming, QA database at least saved me from falling asleep.
One question any newcomer would have to tackle is to decide whether to attempt each question on db as in real exam and spend time on it before answering or whether to go through entire database of questions AND answers, reading and understanding each right and wrong option and then hit the db for mock tests.
Those of you who have taken the test recently, which strategy do you think is more sensible.

mattster79

Sorry for hijacking your thread pal, but I’ve got a question I’d like answered too on this topic.

For those that only used the Q&A db, how long did you study before taking the exam, and what was your average score leading up to the exam?

Thanks.

cbdudek

mattster79 wrote: »

Sorry for hijacking your thread pal, but I’ve got a question I’d like answered too on this topic.

For those that only used the Q&A db, how long did you study before taking the exam, and what was your average score leading up to the exam?

Thanks.

I took my CISSP in April, took a two month break, and then started studying for my CISM using the DB. I also watched the Cybrary CISM material, but I digress....

I studied for 2 months and then took the test and passed. My average scores were in the mid 80s, but many of the questions I knew the answers to. The key to passing the CISM isn't getting the questions right on the DB, but understanding the answer. The actual CISM will have no test questions that you will find in the DB, but the concepts you will study will be the same. So if you understand the answers, then you will pass the exam.

mattster79

cbdudek wrote: »

I took my CISSP in April, took a two month break, and then started studying for my CISM using the DB. I also watched the Cybrary CISM material, but I digress....

I studied for 2 months and then took the test and passed. My average scores were in the mid 80s, but many of the questions I knew the answers to. The key to passing the CISM isn't getting the questions right on the DB, but understanding the answer. The actual CISM will have no test questions that you will find in the DB, but the concepts you will study will be the same. So if you understand the answers, then you will pass the exam.

Great, thanks for the info.