Provisionally Passed the CISSP-ISSEP - 02Jun2023

[gcchavula]

Yesterday I provisionally passed the CISSP-ISSEP exam after two weeks of intensive study. I initially started preparing on 1 May but got seriously ill for two weeks forcing me to lose two weeks of study time, but thanks to the advise sourced on this forum I was able to focus on the right content and passed the exam.

I used the Following materials to prepare:

1. NIST SP 800-160 V1R1

2. NIST SP 800-161

3. NIST SP 800-39

4. NIST SP 800-37 R2

5. NIST SP 800-53 R5

6. NIST SP 800-88 R1

7. NIST SP 800-40 R4

8. IATF CH 1-4

9. CISSP-ISSEP Official Flash Cards

10. CNSS Instruction No. 4009 (This is very handy)

I did not use any practice questions.

I got some videos that summarized PMBOK 7 as i did not have enough time to read the book cover to cover. 

Something worth mentioning is that I had also Read the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook earlier this year but this was for project related reasons. This helped me understand the SE process better.

[weaverjk]

Wow. Only two weeks of study?
Most people I know studies across six months. Me? I thought I was a wiz completing my studies (read Shon Harris' book and used ccccure.org for 700+ self-test exam questions which were very much in the style of the actual exam without being actual exam questions).

Thanks for listing for others the material you used.



Respectfully,


John K. Weaver

CISSP, CISM, CISA, CCNP, CCNA-Security, F5-CA, MCSE-Security, MCITP-EA/SA/VA (2008), VCP-DCV 2022 (v7.0), VCP6-NV (v6.2), Security+CE (and may other, prior certifications)

[gcchavula]

Thank you @weaverjk 

Your plan of study is interesting. When I prepare for an exam I prefer to apply intensive reading over a short period (often 1 or 2 months depending on the content size), this allows me to fully immerse myself in the content and understand it. by doing this I was fully confident that I could pass based on exam outline provided, I knew I had covered enough to pass - but then again it is provisional so we will see ;).

So maybe as advice to anyone else taking the exam, in the two weeks of study I studied all day (8 to 10 hours - with breaks of course) and was able to tie all the content together from each publication I read. By doing it this way I was also able to skip some of the content in the publications that is duplicated (i.e. description of roles and responsibilities outline in the NIST publication) so I saved time.

[Steve-Wilme]

I adopted a similar approach to the CISSP (7 days study), the ISSMP (5 days) and ISSAP (3 days, as I was taken ill) and passed all three first attempt.  If you can put in long days and manage your attention span there are advantages to compressing the time period.

[gcchavula]

@Steve-Wilme I am actually pursuing the ISSAP this month, any advice on the content source.

[Steve-Wilme]

Follow selected references at the end of each chapter in the CBK if you're unfamiliar with an aspect of a particular CBK.  They're mostly IETF RFCs, NIST SP800/FIPS and IEEE docs, although there are a few that are just online articles from other organisations.  It's not essential you memorise all of these for an exam pass.

[gcchavula]

Thanks

[ChillWill]

Congratulations on your achievement.

Do you happen to have a link to those PMBOK 7 Videos that you could share?

I am studying for the exam. I had taken it last month and did not pass, but I am going back to take it early July 2023.

I was Below proficiency in the System Implementation, Verification and Validation area.

          Near Proficiency in the Security Planning and Design

          Near Proficiency in Secure Operations, Change Management, and Disposal

          Above Proficiency in Risk Management

          Above Proficiency in System Security Engineering Foundations

I thought that I had it, So I am going Back through the material that I have. I did not have the PMBOK 7 this time.

Any other pointer would be great

Jonathan

[tswern]

A good resource would be https://www.youtube.com/@davidmclachlanproject

[gcchavula]

@ChillWill, for PMBOK 7 I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gmCr40uT4U&t=20s

Good like on your next attempt. you will certainly pass this time around.