topic Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019 in Exam Preparation

Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:59:34 GMT

Hey guys I created an account to post my experience to help you all since you guys helped me so much. I’m a long time lurker and thought I should add my experience incase it’ll help anyone as i am seeking help myself. I wrote my experience in my notes on my phone, sitting outside of the testing center after the test center in my truck.

I walked in feeling confident and left feeling a bit confused. I didn’t see anything really regarding crypto or any formula I had memorized. I was above proficiency in 5 of the 8 domains and near in the other two, below in one. I feel like if I had a different version of the test I would likely have passed. A lot of the questions I had never saw before and they didn’t seem real clear on what they were referencing, in my opinion. In opposition there were questions that you knew exactly what they wanted. So I’m left feeling pretty bummed, burnt out and disappointed in myself as I really felt I had the content and understanding down. I studied off and on since about August. Then buckled down the last two weeks before the exam and reviewed the whole book, which was probably my problem. I feel like I focused on the wrong material. Any advice from anyone who has passed or failed the new or old test is very welcomed or any critiquing on how I should study.

Study material: Sybex 8th edition Practice tests from the book and the official isc2 practice test app and flash cards (was scoring 90 and above on all domains) Kelly handerhan videos

Thanks for everyone’s input on this board it does help and motivate.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

Chuxing — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 15:55:19 GMT

@devinashburn

I am very sorry to hear your failed attempt, but I am glad that you are strong enough to share your experiences here.

Take courage, analyze your weakness, and try again !

Each test contains a set to 'trial' questions that are not graded towards your score. Rather, they are there to test the questions themselves, to see if those questions need to be revised. I suspect that you have seen those as what you referred as "never saw before and they didn’t seem real clear".

Since you have 5 domain above proficiency, so you were NOT "focused on the wrong material", rather the opposite - you ARE on the right track.

One word you used caught my attention: "memorized". I felt a cringe when I read it. "Understand" is too critical during your practices, whether you got the answers right or wrong.

Cheers,

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:28:17 GMT

Thank you Chuxing. Any opinions on testing engines?

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

Chuxing — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:55:19 GMT

Not exactly sure what do you mean by test engine, but if you are referring the adaptive test, personally I like it.

The adaptive test lets me know if I know my stuff or not faster. If I do, I can potentially shorten the test time significantly. The grueling part is that if I am not as good as I think I am, the test may take a very long time to decide if I can pass or not.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 17:39:15 GMT

Apologies I should have clarified. I meant practice exams such as Boson, Pocket Prep etc.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

Chuxing — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:21:02 GMT

Sorry don't have must experiences with those, just remember that Boson was quite popular in early days. They could help, but take it with a grain of salt, as many those tests contain mistakes.

Again, the key is always ask why, for the ones that you did wrong, or not sure. Once you know why, it could help you to understand similar questions in the same specific subject matter.

Best of luck,

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

rslade — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:37:04 GMT

> devinashburn (Viewer) posted a new reply in Certifications on 03-29-2019 01:39

> Apologies I should have clarified. I meant practice exams such as Boson, Pocket
> Prep etc.

Not worth your money. Or time.

I strongly suspect that it is these practice exams that confuse so many people and
leave them disappointed at how well they do on the actual exam.

https://community.isc2.org/t5/Certifications/CISSP-questions/m-p/18626

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Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:03:08 GMT

I thats rslade, I was actually just looking at your post. Very informative.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

rslade — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:03:47 GMT

> devinashburn (Viewer) posted a new topic in Certifications on 03-29-2019 10:59

> Any advice from anyone who has passed or failed the new or old test is
> very welcomed or any critiquing on how I should study.

Read "Security Engineering" by Ross Anderson.

Search "Anderson" on this system and read those threads.

Remember the "management answer" algorithm.

https://community.isc2.org/t5/Certifications/CISSP-questions/m-p/18626

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:12:50 GMT

"management answer algorithm"?

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

rslade — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:47:04 GMT

> devinashburn (Viewer) posted a new reply in Certifications on 03-29-2019 03:12

> "management answer algorithm"?

If you are presented with four (seemingly) equally correct answers, and one of
them is the "management" answer, that is the correct answer ...

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Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:50:11 GMT

Ah okay yes I've read that before. I had never heard it called an alogirthm lol, I like the sound of it though.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

kevinkidder — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 14:12:45 GMT

Hi devinashburn,

I know what you mean about feeling disappointed in the results of the exam, and in my experience, the best piece of advice is to "think like a manager", not only during the test, but also when you are studying the material. There is a LOT of material to study from, and a lot of it is pretty good. That being said, the test isn't trying to gauge whether or not you specifically remember the fire extinguisher that will be used in a data center, or if you can distinguish IPSEC ESP versus AH. Instead, the relationship between the study material and the exam is meant to give you the specific knowledge (like IPSEC) to make decisions based on the "think like a manager" perspective.

As an analogy, if you were studying to be an electrician, you would need to understand key concepts like voltage, impedance, capacitance, wire specifications, breaker boxes, fire issues, etc. While this material will help you as an electrician, to manage a company of electricians, you will need to make difference decisions, such as cost, the customer requirements and employee safety. Invariably there will be constraints put on your electricians that will force the company to make job decisions that are less than optimal, but that is the real world. You will have to decide the BEST way to satisfy the needs, while reducing costs, making the job easier, making the customer happy, and not putting your employees or customers at risk.

It is this type of thinking that the CISSP exam focuses on; to look holistically at the problem, while understanding the key concepts well enough that they internally help shape your decision making.

I hope that helps.

Kevin

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

am4zzing — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 11:27:57 GMT

Hi Kevin,

Thank you for this message.

It helps me to figure out why I did fail last Wednesday.

You said that the CISSP exam is based on - make decisions based on the "think like a manager" perspective - but how could I work on this?

The study materials give us 'static' knowledge but not how to practice on it.

How could I improve on this topic especially? Who could help me if the study materials and practice tests do not cover THE MOST important subject of CISSP exam?

Cheers,

Yuri

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

rka61 — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 18:01:41 GMT

Hi There

Thanks for sharing your experience I also have attempted to pass my CISSP and have been unsuccessfully twice so far.

My journey is here. https://community.isc2.org/t5/Certifications/CISSP-exam-failed-2nd-time-Advice-Needed/m-p/20895#M4011

I wanted to reach out to you to see if you wanted to form a study group or have any tips you would like to share?

Regards

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

JeffG2583 — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 02:44:35 GMT

Answer the questions with the mindset of a manager. I found I could eliminate 2 answers on almost all the questions fairly easily. Then I was just left with two to decide on the correct one. But you do have to think and apply your knowledge as if you're the manager making the decisions.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

anshuljain13 — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:11:52 GMT

Hi,

Really Sorry to hear.

I want to share my experience, Passed my CISSP last week.

1) Studied practice questions from shon Harries, there are about 200-250 questions from 8 domains.

2) Practice online questions from https://cccure.education there are about 1800 questions, membership here is paid.

3) Practice online questions from sybex 8edition and practice test (around 1500 questions).

if you score 85% or more, means you are ready. Don't repeat too much, else you will start remembering those questions/answers and will get a false feeling of preparations.

This is what i have done.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 15:38:48 GMT

This helps immensely Kevin, thank you. I'll try to apply that mind set.

Re: Failed CISSP 3.25.2019

devinashburn — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 17:10:08 GMT

thanks for the input jeff