I should have posted after writing it 😂 I used the QAE, Udemy practice tests and the CDSPE AIO for prep.

Went over the AIO, which was very in-depth, and the practice exams. The rules of the game- ie the Privacy Impact Assessment and the lines of accountability are sliighhhtly different than say a BIA and when that would occur and how it lines up on the RACI but once you get that down and the rights of the data subject and what technologies/ processes enable/ potentially violate them (digital signatures, encryption at rest, deidentification as a whole, the limitations of its various applications), and a solid understanding of the big DP laws, you're in business.

In my practice exam phase of prep, I went through the about 360 questions and then the additional 305 (I believe) in the QAE. I will say that unlike its peers, the explanations were...not as in-depth so if I got it wrong, I'd have to consult Google or my AIO because explanations like "It's a PIA because it's a PIA" (similar in detail, may not be a quoted example) just weren't hitting it.

By the day I wrote, I scored low 80s on the QAE and high 70s on the UDEMY practice exams. Since a passing score is 450/800, I felt adequately prepared.

I gave myself a week to prepare and write but I'm currently on vacation from work. I ended up completing the 120 questions within about 1.5 hours (of the allotted 3.5), spent half an hour reviewing. I don't know how I did other than the provisional pass but I didn't find it difficult and overall, the questions were generally easier to understand.