# ISACA CISA: study planner

Domain weights come from the CISA Examination Content Outline, effective August 2024, as printed in the ISACA Certification Exam Candidate Guide, version 1.26, read on 2 October 2026. ISACA does not recommend a number of study hours; the budgets and the split are our suggestion, in proportion to the published weights.

## Hours by domain

| Domain | Weight | 50 hours | 100 hours | 150 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Information System Auditing Process | 18% | 9 | 18 | 27 |
| 2. Governance and Management of IT | 18% | 9 | 18 | 27 |
| 3. Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation | 12% | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 4. Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience | 26% | 13 | 26 | 39 |
| 5. Protection of Information Assets | 26% | 13 | 26 | 39 |
| **Total** | **100%** | **50** | **100** | **150** |

No rounding: the weights divide every column exactly.

## What 150 questions look like by domain

ISACA publishes percentages, not question counts, and some questions are unscored pretest items. These are our arithmetic on the percentages, as a guide to practice volume.

| Domain | Weight | Share of 150 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18% | 27 |
| 2 | 18% | 27 |
| 3 | 12% | 18 |
| 4 | 26% | 39 |
| 5 | 26% | 39 |

## Subdomains

| Domain | Subdomain A | Subdomain B | Read | Studied | Practiced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planning | Execution | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| 2 | IT Governance | IT Management | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| 3 | Information Systems Acquisition and Development | Information Systems Implementation | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| 4 | Information Systems Operations | Business Resilience | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| 5 | Information Asset Security and Control | Security Event Management | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |

## Pace for timed practice

| Set | Questions | Time at the exam's average pace |
|---|---|---|
| One question | 1 | 1 minute 36 seconds |
| Short timed set | 25 | 40 minutes |
| Half the paper | 75 | 2 hours |
| Full paper | 150 | 4 hours |

## Before exam day

- [ ] Hours booked in the calendar for your column (our suggestion)
- [ ] One full timed paper, 150 questions in 4 hours (our suggestion)
- [ ] Exam booked inside your six-month eligibility window (ISACA rule)