AACE CCP study guide
AACE CCP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Cost Professional (CCP) is a professional credential administered by AACE International, the association behind the Total Cost Management Framework and the Recommended Practices series. It is aimed at practitioners who own or support cost engineering and project controls work - cost estimators, planners and schedulers, project controls engineers, quantity surveyors, and the managers who rely on their outputs. The AACE CCP study guide has 5 sections and about 1,634 words.
01Cost Estimating: Classes, Methods, and Contingency
AACE's five estimate classes (Class 5 through Class 1) are driven by the degree of project definition - how much scope, engineering and design are complete - not by the dollar value of the project. Typical accuracy ranges are roughly Class 5 (−20% to −50% / +30% to +100%), Class 4 (−15% to −30% / +20% to +50%), Class 3 (−10% to −20% / +10% to +30%), Class 2 (−5% to −15% / +5% to +20%), Class 1 (−3% to −10% / +3% to +15%).
314 words, about 2 min02Planning and Scheduling: Logic, Float, and Control
Planning defines scope, sequence, durations and resources; scheduling calculates dates. Decompose to a WBS, define activities with unique IDs and deliverable-based completion criteria, then sequence with precedence relationships (FS, SS, FF, SF) plus lags and leads.
347 words, about 2 min03Progress and Performance Measurement: Earned Value and Forecasting
PV is the budgeted value of work scheduled; EV is the budgeted value of work actually performed; AC is what that work actually cost. From these: CV = EV − AC, SV = EV − PV, CPI = EV/AC, SPI = EV/PV.
319 words, about 2 min04Project Management Fundamentals: Structure, Risk, and Change
A project is temporary and produces a unique product, service or result; programs group related projects for coordinated benefit; portfolios are the collection selected to meet strategic objectives; operations are ongoing and repetitive. Distinguish the project life cycle (phases and gates) from the product life cycle, and know the five process groups - initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, closing - noting that monitoring and controlling spans all the others.
320 words, about 2 min05Business and Economic Analysis: Comparing Cash Flows
Cash flows are compared on a present-value basis: PV = FV/(1+i)^n, with annuities using [(1+i)^n − 1]/[i(1+i)^n]. NPV discounts at the hurdle rate (MARR or WACC); accept independent projects with NPV greater than zero.
334 words, about 2 min