AACE PRMP study plan
AACE PRMP · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Schedule Planning
Map the Schedule Planning domain task areas into a personal checklist of inputs, outputs, and review questions.
Draft a three-level work breakdown structure for a sample capital project with at least 15 work packages.
List the calendar, resource, constraint, and stakeholder assumptions that must be settled before schedule development.
Write a one-page schedule basis outline covering scope, assumptions, exclusions, and approval path.
Your checkpoint
A one-page WBS plus assumptions log for the sample project, with at least 15 work packages and five explicit planning assumptions.
Schedule Planning & Schedule Development
Convert the week-1 WBS into an activity list with clear scope boundaries and duration estimates.
Construct a precedence diagram with at least 20 activities and logical relationships.
Classify each dependency as mandatory, discretionary, external, or internal, and record the rationale.
Test lag and lead usage on at least three relationships and note where each would be inappropriate.
Your checkpoint
An activity list and precedence diagram covering 20-plus activities, with a dependency rationale table for every relationship.
Schedule Development
Calculate forward pass, backward pass, total float, free float, and critical path for a 25-activity network.
Build a resource-loaded version of the network and flag at least five overallocation points.
Apply project and resource calendars to the schedule and document the effect on dates and float.
Compare the CPM result with a simple critical-chain view and explain the practical difference in buffering.
Your checkpoint
A solved 25-activity network with a CPM table, critical path identified, float values reconciled, and a short memo explaining calendar and resource effects.
Schedule Development & Schedule Maintenance and Control
Create a baseline schedule package from the developed network with a documented approval sign-off.
Design a progress update cycle covering data capture, actual start and finish dates, remaining duration, and update frequency.
Set up baseline-versus-actual tracking fields and define the thresholds that trigger schedule review.
Define a schedule change-control procedure with request, impact assessment, approval, and revision logging steps.
Your checkpoint
A baseline schedule package with 25-plus activities, a CPM validation check, and a one-page progress-update and change-control procedure.
Schedule Maintenance and Control
Perform a progress update on the sample project using realistic actuals and recalculate the schedule.
Analyze at least five date or float variances and separate critical-path impacts from non-critical impacts.
Update the schedule risk log with triggers, owners, and response actions for the top five schedule risks.
Recommend and document corrective actions, including any re-sequencing or resource adjustment.
Your checkpoint
An updated schedule with a variance report covering five deviations, critical-path impact notes, and recovery actions with owners.
Schedule Analysis
Run a schedule health check covering logic, constraints, lags, float, and missing predecessors or successors.
Analyze float distribution and identify activities whose critical-path status changed after the update.
Perform a what-if scenario that increases selected durations by 10 percent and quantify the completion impact.
Compare baseline and current schedule to attribute delay to scope, logic, resources, or external events.
Your checkpoint
A schedule analysis report with health metrics, a float histogram, five variance findings, and one quantified what-if scenario.
Schedule Analysis & Schedule Communication and Reporting
Build an executive dashboard showing milestones, critical path, float trend, variance, and recovery status.
Write a plain-language schedule narrative for non-technical stakeholders, translating float and critical-path data into decisions.
Prepare a recovery recommendation with cost, resource, and schedule trade-offs stated explicitly.
Rehearse a five-minute status briefing and revise the message for clarity and brevity.
Your checkpoint
A two-page executive status report with dashboard mockup, narrative, recovery recommendation, and five-minute briefing notes.
Schedule Communication and Reporting
Consolidate reporting templates into a reusable kit for status reports, dashboards, and change notices.
Complete a timed 60-question mixed review across all five domains and log every miss by domain and cause.
Rewrite weak-area notes into three one-page cheat sheets focused on calculation steps and reporting language.
Finalize an exam-day plan covering timing, review checkpoints, and a stop-doing list for low-yield habits.
Your checkpoint
A final review log showing at least 85 percent accuracy on the 60-question mixed set, with every miss categorized and three completed cheat sheets.
Milestones
Week 2: Submit the WBS, activity list, and precedence diagram for a 20-plus activity sample project; verify every dependency has a written rationale.
Week 4: Produce a baseline schedule with 25-plus activities and a CPM table in which forward pass, backward pass, total float, and critical path reconcile without unexplained gaps.
Week 6: Complete the schedule health review and show a float histogram, at least five variance findings, and one what-if scenario with quantified completion impact.
Week 7: Deliver a two-page executive status report and pass a five-minute mock briefing covering milestones, critical path, variance, and recovery actions.
Week 8: Score at least 85 percent on the 60-question mixed review and log every miss by domain and root cause.