Passing this exam was a relief. It was the most challenging exam thus far! I have eight other certifications but this is the only exam that made me doubt my responses. However, over the last month seeing so many success stories it increased my confidence.
My journey in studying started last year in May and it was off and on. I read portions of the Official CBK, Shon Harris 6th Edition, Eric Conrads 3rd Edition, and the Sybex CISSP 7th Edition. I started to consistently study again in March. Hands down the best book to read is Sybex. It covers most of the material and the practice questions are solid.
I listened to Shon Harris, Kelly Handerhan, Eric Conrad, Simplilearn, Larry Greenblatt, CBT Nuggets, and David Miller videos/mp3's. My favorite was Eric Conrad. I listened to them all the time in my car, at the library while studying, and at work as background noise.
I did practice questions from all those resources and from this group. The feedback from all the users in the group and on Luke Ahmed's website was very effective. I also, did more than 2800 practice questions between CCCure, MHProfessional, SearchSecurity, Eric Conrad, Skillset, ProProfs, Exam Cram, CISSP and ExamPrepFree App.
To assist with memorization of concepts I read Sans Reading Room Papers, NIST 800-12, 800-30, 800-34, 800-37, 800-61, 800-86, 800-100, 800-115, 800-145, 800-61 and FIPS 140-2, some parts of the CSIRT Color Books to assist with understanding what is happening in the Certification and Accreditation stages.
To assist with SDLC phases I used testingexcellence/innovativearchitects websites and ISO IEC 12207 2008. To assist with BCP/DRP I used INFOSEC, ISO 27000 series, and Exam Cram. Lastly, I used Quizlet/StudyBlue to test my knowledge on concepts and definitions.
My apologies for the length of this post...hope it helps others achieve their CISSP goal. Thanks again to everyone in this group and a special thanks Luke for creating this group.