ARC PPE study plan

Map every Practice Management and Project Management content area to a one-page outline you write yourself, ranking subtopics by your confidence from 1 to 5.

Draft a two-column comparison of common project delivery methods (design-bid-build, design-build, CM at-risk, IPD) covering risk allocation, cost certainty, and schedule compression.

Calculate fee structures from scratch: given a project construction cost and a percentage fee, derive hourly billing rates that recover a target profit and overhead.

List the contractual documents in a standard owner-architect agreement and note which terms most often create scope disputes.

Build a critical-path schedule for a small hypothetical project by hand, identifying the critical path, total float, and the effect of a 5-day delay on a non-critical activity.

Write out the steps for processing a change order from request through pricing, approval, and documentation, and identify who signs at each step.

Compare quality-control and quality-assurance workflows in a construction-phase services scope and note where each sits in the schedule.

Draft a risk register with ten risks, each with a likelihood, impact, and mitigation owner.

Assemble a drawing set index for a mid-size commercial project and label each sheet by phase, discipline, and purpose.

Trace the programming process from client interview through area tabulation, and compute net-to-gross ratios for three building types.

Write the coordination checklist you would use to confirm structural, mechanical, and architectural drawings agree at a given milestone.

Explain how building information modeling workflows change the division of responsibility between architect and consultant.

Compare three schematic design options for the same program against budget, code, and site constraints, and defend the selection in writing.

Identify the code occupancy classification and construction type for two sample buildings and note the egress implications of each.

Write a sustainability goal statement that ties a rating-system target to specific design decisions and cost implications.

Draft a design review agenda that surfaces owner decisions early enough to avoid redesign.

Evaluate a hypothetical site for zoning setbacks, floor-area ratio, and impervious coverage, and compute the maximum buildable envelope.

Sketch site drainage and grading concepts and explain how slope, soils, and stormwater retention drive layout.

Compare structural systems (steel frame, cast-in-place concrete, mass timber) on span, cost, and coordination impact.

Explain how mechanical, electrical, and plumbing system selection constrains ceiling height, shaft size, and structural bay spacing.

Sequence the construction administration tasks that occur from award through substantial completion and place each on a timeline.

Write the procedure for reviewing a submittal, a shop drawing, and a request for information, and state the architect's authority in each.

Describe how commissioning and systems testing are documented at closeout.

Draft a punch list process and explain the difference between substantial and final completion.

Work through five ethics scenarios covering conflicts of interest, undisclosed compensation, and competence limits, and write the defensible response to each.

Summarize the architect's standard of care and distinguish it from a warranty of results.

Explain licensure, firm registration, and continuing-education obligations as they affect practice decisions.

Review your earlier confidence table and re-rank every subtopic.

Complete two full timed practice exams under test conditions and log every missed item by domain.

Re-teach your ten weakest subtopics from scratch without notes, then check your accuracy.

Drill the calculations you got wrong: fee math, area tabulation, FAR, and float.

Write a one-page test-day strategy covering pacing, flagging, and how you handle unfamiliar content.