DSST MIS study guide
DSST MIS · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The DSST Management Information Systems exam is a credit-by-examination test in the Business subject category, rated at Level 3 Baccalaureate. Schools that accept DSST scores may award 3 semester hours of college credit to candidates who demonstrate knowledge equivalent to that gained in a college course of the same name. The DSST MIS study guide has 7 sections and about 2,945 words.
01Telecommunications: Media, Multiplexing, Switching and Capacity Math
The Telecommunications domain of the DSST MIS exam tests how data moves between systems: transmission media and their limits, analog versus digital signalling, multiplexing and switching, LAN/WAN technologies, the OSI and TCP/IP models, and basic capacity arithmetic. Expect definitional items plus one small calculation.
431 words, about 2 min02Network Security: CIA, Cryptography and Perimeter Controls
This domain tests the CIA triad, authentication and access control, cryptography, and the defensive architecture items the exam loves: firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs and secure protocols. Questions are often scenario-based - which control best mitigates a given risk - so map every control to the property it protects.
424 words, about 2 min03Systems Analysis and Design: SDLC, Requirements and Models
The exam tests the system development life cycle, requirements elicitation, process and data modelling, feasibility, and the choice between methodologies. Items typically ask you to identify a diagram, classify a requirement, or place an activity in the correct phase.
429 words, about 2 min04Business Decision Making: Process, Groups and Quantitative Tools
This domain covers how organisations frame choices, the decision process itself, group techniques, and the quantitative tools used to compare alternatives: break-even, payback, NPV, expected monetary value and decision trees. Expect short computations and items asking which decision support system fits a situation.
408 words, about 2 min05Knowledge Management: Tacit Knowledge, SECI and Intellectual Capital
Knowledge management items test the distinctions between data, information and knowledge, the tacit/explicit split, the SECI model, and the systems and social structures that capture and share expertise. The exam favours classification questions: given a scenario, name the type of knowledge or the KM mechanism involved.
416 words, about 2 min06Data Warehousing: Dimensional Modelling, Grain and ETL
The exam tests the warehouse's purpose, dimensional modelling, ETL, and the differences between transactional and analytical systems. Expect questions on star schemas, grain, slowly changing dimensions and data quality.
429 words, about 2 min07Data Mining: CRISP-DM, Task Families and Evaluation Metrics
This domain tests the process (CRISP-DM), the task families, and the metrics used to judge models: support, confidence, lift, precision, recall and accuracy. Expect one metric computation and one which-technique-fits question.
408 words, about 2 min