HKIA/ARB PA Paper 5 study plan

Map the Paper 5 case-study format: identify how scenario material is presented, what is asked, and how marks are typically distributed across the four domains within a case

Build a personal case-analysis template (site/context, statutory constraints, procurement route, buildability and sustainability, risk allocation) and apply it to one worked scenario end to end

List the Hong Kong statutory and administrative instruments that recur in case scenarios (Buildings Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations, lease conditions, Outline Zoning Plan, PNAP series, Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings) and note where each bites

Practise reading a scenario for embedded triggers: change of use, lease modification, unauthorised building works, heritage constraints, and phased occupation

Draft full written answers to two case questions under 45-minute timed conditions and self-mark against the question's own command words

Diagnose recurring weaknesses (missing statutory citation, unquantified answers, no recommendation) and rewrite one answer to close them

Assemble a one-page timeline of the Hong Kong project approval chain: lease/planning, Buildings Department plan submission and approval, consent to commence, supervision, occupation permit, and the role of the Authorized Person and Registered Structural Engineer

Summarise the professional conduct and practice obligations that shape exam answers (duties to client and public, conflict of interest, competence boundaries, record keeping, continuing professional development)

Distinguish the statutory duties of the Authorized Person from contractual and advisory roles so scenario answers assign responsibility correctly

Compare the standard Hong Kong building contract forms in common use and state, for each, how risk is allocated on design responsibility, ground conditions, delay, and payment

Explain the practical operation of security-of-payment and adjudication provisions, liquidated damages, retention, and performance security in a scenario answer

Draft the regulatory-compliance section of a case answer that ties a design decision back to a specific Ordinance or regulation

Produce a project programme logic for a mid-rise development that sequences statutory approvals against construction activities and identifies the critical path

Practise quantifying and assessing extension-of-time claims: identify the delaying event, establish causation and concurrency, and apply the contract's notice and assessment mechanism

Explain how cost control tools (bill of quantities, interim payment certification, variation valuation, final account) are used and where disputes arise

Evaluate procurement routes (traditional, design and build, management contracting) against a given client brief on time, cost certainty, and risk transfer

Explain the statutory and code-based requirements driving fire safety, means of escape, access for firefighting, and barrier-free access in Hong Kong buildings

Compare structural and construction systems for mid-rise and high-rise work and justify a selection on buildability, programme, and cost grounds

Apply the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM Plus) categories to a design decision and state which credits a described scheme could realistically pursue

Explain the energy-code obligations for building services and envelope design and how they interact with the overall building design

Work two full case studies that combine statutory constraints with technology and sustainability choices, and integrate both domains in a single coherent answer rather than treating them separately

Practise recommending rather than describing: end each answer with a justified option and its principal risk

Time-box three short case questions to exam pace and check that each answer cites an instrument, a contract mechanism, or a technical standard

Sit one full mock under exam conditions and mark it against the domain weightings to find the weakest domain

Re-drill the two weakest areas using condensed notes and short-answer recall rather than re-reading

Consolidate the cheat sheets into a single revision sheet that can be reviewed in 30 minutes and rehearse it from memory