AACE PRMP cheat sheet

Planning defines scope, WBS, milestones, calendars, coding, resources, risks, and reporting needs before schedule model construction.

WBS 100% rule: the hierarchy includes all project scope and only project scope; each work package is assignable, measurable, and uniquely coded.

Activity definition rule: each schedule activity has a unique ID, clear scope, duration basis, responsible owner, and one or more logic ties unless a justified open end exists.

Calendar rule: activity duration is calculated on its assigned calendar; resource calendars can restrict working time and increase duration when resources are assigned.

Coding rule: standardized activity attributes such as phase, area, discipline, work type, and responsibility enable filtering, grouping, earned-value mapping, and reporting.

Milestone rule: contractual, approval, and handover milestones are zero-duration checkpoints unless the contract explicitly defines otherwise.

Schedule basis content: scope, assumptions, exclusions, constraints, calendars, resource plan, risk allowances, estimating basis, and reporting requirements.

Planning sequence: WBS to activity list to sequencing to duration estimating to resource assignment to schedule calculation to quality review to baseline approval.

Forward pass: ES = max(EF of predecessors + lag); EF = ES + duration using the activity calendar.

Backward pass: LF = min(LS of successors minus lag); LS = LF minus duration; total float = LS minus ES = LF minus EF.

Free float = min(ES of successors) minus EF, adjusted for lag; zero free float means the activity consumes all float before delaying a successor.

Relationship types are FS, SS, FF, and SF; lag adds time between linked activities, while lead reduces the logical gap and can hide missing activities.

Negative total float indicates a constraint, imposed date, or logic condition prevents meeting a required date under the current schedule.

Resource leveling can change the critical path and completion date; resource smoothing adjusts timing within available float without changing the completion date.

PERT expected duration = (O + 4M + P) / 6; standard deviation = (P minus O) / 6 for a three-point duration estimate.

Schedule quality rule: no unjustified open ends, negative lags, excessive constraints, or missing logic; the critical path must be continuous from start to finish.

Progress rule: measure activity percent complete by duration, quantity installed, or milestone completion; cost-based percent complete is not a schedule progress measure.

Data date rule: actuals are recorded through the data date; remaining durations and forecast dates are calculated from that cutoff, not from the report issue date.

Out-of-sequence progress: when a successor starts before its predecessor finishes, a documented rule is applied; retaining logic and revising remaining work are common treatments.

Update cycle inputs include actual start and finish dates, remaining duration, revised logic, calendars, resources, and approved changes; the output is a recalculated controlled schedule.

Cost-based SPI = EV / PV; time-based SPI(t) = earned schedule / actual time; values below 1.0 indicate behind plan and above 1.0 indicate ahead.

Schedule variance in time = current or forecast date minus baseline date; the sign convention must be stated so negative and positive variances are interpreted consistently.

Change control rule: only approved changes are incorporated into the controlled schedule; re-baselining requires formal authorization and preserves the prior baseline for audit.

Look-ahead planning typically covers a one- to six-week window and identifies near-term constraints, resource needs, and activities required to protect the critical path.

Critical path rule: the critical path is the longest logic path through the network; it determines the calculated project duration and can change after progress updates.

Total float is path-dependent; an activity's total float can be consumed by other activities on the same path, so float is not a private activity attribute.

Near-critical path rule: paths with low total float are monitored because small duration growth or logic changes can transfer criticality and delay completion.

Time impact analysis inserts a fragnet representing the event into a contemporaneous schedule at the event time and calculates the change in forecast completion.

Delay analysis methods include as-planned versus as-built, impacted as-planned, collapsed as-built, and time impact analysis; method selection depends on records and contract rules.

Concurrent delay rule: overlapping independent delay events require separate timing and causation analysis; responsibility is determined by contract and documented facts.

Monte Carlo simulation samples duration and risk distributions to produce a completion-date distribution and probability-based dates such as P50 and P80.

Schedule audit checks logic continuity, open ends, constraints, lags, calendars, durations, float, critical path, resource loading, and baseline compliance.

Reporting hierarchy: executive summary, dashboard, milestone status, critical path and float summary, variance analysis, detailed schedule, and supporting narrative.

S-curve rule: plot cumulative planned versus actual progress against time; the vertical gap shows schedule variance and the horizontal gap estimates time variance.

Gantt charts show timing and progress clearly; network diagrams show logic and critical path; tabular reports show detailed data for analysis.

Variance reporting rule: define thresholds for schedule deviation and report exceptions above threshold with cause, impact, and corrective action.

Forecast reporting distinguishes data-date status from future forecast; forecast dates are projections, not actual commitments, unless contractually stated.

Milestone trend chart: plots forecast dates for the same milestones across updates; upward drift indicates recurring slippage and downward drift indicates recovery.

Schedule risk reporting includes deterministic dates, probabilistic confidence dates, top risk drivers, and the contingency or float available.

Narrative content includes data date, baseline, current and forecast dates, critical path changes, variance causes, risks, decisions needed, and corrective actions.