AACE Planning and Scheduling Professional

What does WBS stand for in project planning, and what is its primary purpose?

• AWork Baseline Schedule — a list of activities used as the project baseline
• BWork Breakdown Structure — a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the total…
• CWeekly Budget Summary — a financial reporting tool
• DWorkforce Balancing System — a resource leveling technique

In a Work Breakdown Structure, what is the lowest level of decomposition called?

• AActivity
• BWork package
• CDeliverable
• DControl account

What does the OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure) define on a project?

• AThe hierarchy of project deliverables
• BThe hierarchy of organizational units responsible for performing the work, used to assign…
• CThe list of equipment and materials required
• DThe sequence of project activities

What is a Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) used for?

• AA hierarchy of project risks
• BA hierarchical list of resources by category and type used for planning, estimating, and…
• CA breakdown of customer requirements
• DA list of regulatory requirements

Which AACE Recommended Practice provides guidance on Forensic Schedule Analysis?

• ARP 14R-90
• BRP 24R-03
• CRP 29R-03
• DRP 49R-06

In Critical Path Method (CPM), how is Total Float calculated for an activity?

• ATF = LS - ES (or equivalently LF - EF)
• BTF = ES - LS
• CTF = EF + LF
• DTF = Duration - Lag

How is Free Float calculated between a predecessor activity and its successor in a Finish-to-Start relationship with a lag?

• AFF = LF_predecessor - EF_predecessor
• BFF = ES_successor - EF_predecessor - lag
• CFF = LS_successor - ES_predecessor
• DFF = Duration_successor - Duration_predecessor

Activities A (5 days) → B (10 days) → C (4 days) form a single chain with FS relationships and no lags. What are the Early Start (ES) and Early Finish (EF) of activity C, assuming the project starts on day 0?

• AES = 14, EF = 18
• BES = 15, EF = 19
• CES = 9, EF = 13
• DES = 10, EF = 14

What does a backward pass through a CPM network calculate?

• AEarly Start and Early Finish dates
• BLate Start and Late Finish dates by working backward from the project finish using the la…
• CTotal cost of each path
• DResource demand by period

Which set of relationships is supported by Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) but NOT by Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM/AOA)?

• AFinish-to-Start only
• BStart-to-Start, Finish-to-Finish, Start-to-Finish, and Finish-to-Start with leads or lags
• CMandatory and discretionary dependencies
• DExternal and internal dependencies

What is a 'fragnet' in scheduling and forensic analysis?

• AA fragmentary network — a small, isolated portion of the project schedule used to model a…
• BA fragmented baseline schedule
• CA network of fragmented resources
• DA type of summary bar chart

What is 'laddering' (or a 'ladder' relationship) used for in network scheduling?

• ATo represent cyclical work that repeats each day
• BTo model continuous, overlapping activities — typically using SS and FF relationships wit…
• CTo assign multiple resources to a single activity
• DTo level resources across the project

PERT estimates an activity duration as Optimistic = 4 days, Most Likely = 10 days, Pessimistic = 22 days. What is the PERT (beta) expected duration?

• A10 days
• B11 days
• C12 days
• D14 days

What is the primary visual purpose of a Gantt chart?

• ATo show the network logic between activities
• BTo display activities as horizontal time-scaled bars against a calendar, communicating st…
• CTo show resource leveling histograms
• DTo display earned value cumulative curves

What is the difference between resource leveling and resource smoothing?

• ALeveling and smoothing are synonyms
• BLeveling resolves over-allocation by delaying activities and may extend the project end d…
• CLeveling adds resources; smoothing removes resources
• DSmoothing extends the project; leveling never does

What does a resource histogram display?

• AThe cumulative cost of the project over time
• BThe total demand for a specific resource (e.g., labor hours, crew count) plotted against…
• CThe number of activities completed each day
• DThe probability distribution of project duration

What is a 'lookahead schedule' and how is it typically used in construction?

• AA long-range master schedule covering the entire project
• BA short-interval (commonly 3- or 6-week) detailed schedule extracted from the master sche…
• CA what-if schedule used for planning only
• DA schedule prepared after the fact for forensic purposes

An S-curve in project controls typically plots which of the following?

• AThe shape of the activity duration distribution
• BCumulative planned (or earned) value, hours, or cost over time, producing an S-shaped cur…
• CThe variance between two schedules
• DThe frequency of resource over-allocations

What is a baseline schedule, and what is its role in schedule control?

• AThe current updated schedule used for daily field work
• BThe approved, frozen version of the schedule against which actual progress is measured fo…
• CA what-if schedule used only for planning
• DA schedule reconstructed after the project is complete

Which AACE Recommended Practice provides guidance on Time Impact Analysis (TIA) as applied in construction?

• ARP 29R-03
• BRP 49R-06
• CRP 52R-06
• DRP 53R-06

When performing a prospective Time Impact Analysis (TIA) per RP 52R-06, into which schedule is the delay fragnet inserted?

• AThe original baseline schedule
• BThe most recent updated schedule (contemporaneous to the delay event) with actuals throug…
• CThe as-built schedule
• DA what-if schedule with no actuals

What is the role of Monte Carlo simulation in schedule risk analysis?

• AIt calculates the deterministic critical path
• BIt runs many iterations of the schedule, sampling activity durations from probability dis…
• CIt optimizes resource leveling
• DIt validates the WBS

If a Monte Carlo schedule risk analysis reports a P80 completion date of December 15 and a P50 of November 1, what is the implied schedule contingency to commit to the P80?

• AZero — the P50 is the deterministic plan
• BAbout 6 weeks (the difference between P50 and P80)
• CAbout 2 days
• DA full year of buffer

Which formula correctly defines Schedule Performance Index (SPI) in earned value management?

• ASPI = AC / EV
• BSPI = EV / PV
• CSPI = EV - PV
• DSPI = PV / EV

How does Earned Schedule (ES) improve on traditional EV-based schedule metrics late in the project?

• AIt does not — Earned Schedule is identical to EVM
• BEarned Schedule converts EV into a time-based measure (ES, in time units) so that SPI(t)…
• CIt eliminates the need for a baseline schedule
• DIt replaces the critical path method

What does scope definition produce that the WBS organizes?

• AA list of risks
• BA complete description of the project's deliverables and the work required to produce the…
• CA budget summary
• DAn organizational chart

In a deliverable-oriented WBS, which item is most appropriate at WBS level 2?

• APour concrete (a single activity)
• BFoundations (a major deliverable subsystem)
• CHire a carpenter (a procurement task)
• DProject finish milestone

Per AACE RP 14R-90, which skill is identified as a core competency of a project planning engineer?

• APerforming destructive concrete testing
• BDeveloping the WBS, schedule, and cost estimate, and integrating them with risk and resou…
• CRunning brand marketing campaigns
• DNegotiating union labor contracts

What is the difference between an activity and a work package?

• AThey are the same thing
• BA work package is the lowest WBS element representing scope to be delivered; activities a…
• CActivities are always larger than work packages
• DWork packages exist only on construction projects

Which of the following is a valid characteristic of a 'deliverable' in project planning?

• AIt is always a software file
• BIt is a unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is…
• CIt must be tangible only
• DIt is the same as a milestone

An activity has Early Start = 10, Early Finish = 15, Late Start = 14, Late Finish = 19. What is its Total Float?

• A0 days
• B4 days
• C5 days
• D9 days

Two paths through a network have the following durations: Path 1 = 30 days, Path 2 = 25 days. The project's required completion is day 30. What is the total float on Path 2?

• A0 days
• B5 days
• C-5 days (negative float)
• D30 days

Per AACE RP 49R-06, which method is the primary basis for identifying the critical path?

• AThe longest cumulative cost path
• BThe longest path of activities (sum of durations along sequential logic) from project sta…
• CThe path with the most resources
• DThe path with the most activities

In a Start-to-Start (SS) relationship with a 3-day lag, when can the successor start relative to the predecessor?

• A3 days before the predecessor starts
• B3 days after the predecessor starts (the successor's earliest start is 3 days after the p…
• CImmediately when the predecessor finishes
• DThere is no time relationship

Why does AACE generally caution against the overuse of constraints (e.g., 'Start No Earlier Than') in CPM schedules?

• AConstraints make the schedule run faster
• BConstraints can mask true logic, suppress float calculations, distort the critical path,…
• CConstraints are required by every contract
• DConstraints automatically improve schedule accuracy

Which AACE Recommended Practice covers Schedule Update Review?

• ARP 14R-90
• BRP 52R-06
• CRP 53R-06
• DRP 54R-07