ARE 5.0: PjM study plan

Map the PjM exam content outline for Resource Management and Work Planning into a one-page topic checklist

Define the project manager's authority over budget, schedule, and staffing versus the architect-of-record's contractual role

Draft a work breakdown structure for a hypothetical mid-size project, decomposing scope into billable phases and tasks

Identify the staffing roles typically required across each phase of a standard design and construction sequence

Calculate a staffing plan from a work breakdown structure by estimating hours per task and applying a utilization factor

Build a project budget covering direct labor, reimbursables, consultants, and a contingency line

Compare lump-sum, hourly, and percentage-of-construction-cost fee structures and state when each is appropriate

Reconcile a planned staffing curve against a fee to detect an unprofitable staffing profile

Sequence project phases into a milestone schedule with dependencies and reasonable durations

Differentiate the owner's program schedule, the design schedule, and the construction schedule and explain how they interlock

Identify which tasks sit on the critical path and describe the consequence of a slip in each

Select appropriate schedule formats (Gantt, milestone chart, critical path) for different audiences

Integrate the staffing plan, budget, and schedule into a single coherent project plan

Write the scope-of-services and deliverable definitions for owner and consultant agreements

Identify the information the project manager must collect before committing to a schedule and fee

Diagnose at least three common causes of scope creep and describe a control for each

Define roles, responsibilities, and decision authority for each team member on the sample project

Draft a team communication plan specifying meeting cadence, channels, and documentation standards

Describe methods for giving constructive performance feedback and addressing underperformance

Explain how to onboard a new team member mid-project without disrupting schedule

Build a risk register for the sample project identifying at least ten risks across cost, schedule, quality, and staffing

Score each risk by likelihood and impact and assign a mitigation or transfer strategy

Describe how team composition and delegation practices affect project risk exposure

Explain conflict-resolution approaches and when escalation to the owner is warranted

Distinguish risk avoidance, mitigation, transfer, and acceptance and match each to a sample scenario

Describe how professional liability insurance, contracts, and indemnification clauses allocate risk

Outline a monitoring process for tracking risk triggers and updating the register through construction

Explain the project manager's role in quality control and how QA/QC failures translate into risk

Synthesize all four domains by walking through one integrated project scenario end to end

Self-test on each domain and log weak areas with a targeted review action for each

Re-derive the staffing and budget math without notes to confirm retention

Write a personal exam-day strategy covering time allocation and question triage