Updated: 17 April 2023
Exams: A word that can inspire anxiety for people irrespective of their courses or preparation regimes. ISACA certification exams can be challenging to pass but with good preparation, a better understanding of the key concepts and by avoiding some common mistakes, you can be well-positioned to succeed.
ISACA has certification or certificate exams for CISA, CRISC, CISM, CGEIT, CDPSE, ITCA and CET, and study resources are available for each of them. For every ISACA exam, careful planning is the key to passing.
Below, I will address five common mistakes that can jeopardize a passing exam result and some ways of avoiding those:
Don’t rely upon unofficial exam preparation materials.
The more prepared you are for your exams, the more likely you are to pass them, and no one knows ISACA exam prep more than ISACA. Old materials or materials from unofficial sources may not have the comprehensive coverage required to pass the exams. ISACA publishes the latest, most up-to-date exam preparation materials to set you up for exam success and advance your knowledge, your career and digital trust for all.
Don’t prepare last-minute.
Start preparing at least three months prior to the exam. CISA and CISM have 1,000 review questions in their review manuals – you need to understand why one question answer is right and others are wrong. It would be a great idea if you can review the manual and question bank at least three times before the exam. A word of caution: the exact prep questions are not on the exam.
Don’t spend too much time on one question.
While it can be tempting to spend a lot of time about an especially tricky question, avoid that trap. The exam time is limited to 240 minutes (and 120 for ITCA and CET certificate exams). If you need more time on a question, skip it and come back again when you have answered several of the more straightforward questions.
Don’t work straight through without a break.
I passed the CISA, CISM and CDPSE exams and took breaks during each one. Sitting for four hours without taking any break will not help you; a little bit of movement will energize you. Make sure that you keep the break to just a few minutes, however, because the exam clock will not stop during the break.
Don’t over-rely on personal experience.
Finally, and importantly, do not try to use your own experience to answer all of the questions. Keep in mind, ISACA is a global organization and it creates the exam questions and answers by keeping global scenarios in mind. Understand ISACA’s way of expressing different concepts through your exam preparation.
An ISACA exam is not a piece of cake, so make your preparation rock solid before attempting any of those exams. ISACA chapters sometimes arrange training and those can be quite useful, too.
I wish everyone great success in your upcoming exam and if would like to discuss further, feel free to reach out to me at ahmed.ashief@gmail.com.