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0.1 Current AACE PSP Exam, Eligibility, and Certification Facts

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AACE Planning and Scheduling Professional PSP

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1 Chapter 0: Introduction & AACE PSP Exam Structure

0.1 Current AACE PSP Exam, Eligibility, and Certification Facts 0.2 Planning and Scheduling Professional Roles and Competencies 0.3 Cost Engineering and Scheduling Terminology per RP 10S-90

2 Chapter 1: Scope Definition & Planning Fundamentals

1.1 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Architecture & RP 33R-15 1.2 Organization & Resource Breakdown Structures (OBS, RBS, RAM) 1.3 Project Planning and Activity-Logic Development 1.4 Contract Requirements and Delivery Constraints 1.5 Stakeholder Identification, Needs, and Plan Review 1.6 Constructability Methods and Value Engineering 1.7 Resource Identification and Project Variables 1.8 Scope, Goals, Project Plan, and Phase Definition 1.9 Cost Breakdown Structure and Cost Estimate Development 1.10 Phase Relationships, Baseline Plan, Forecasts, and Risk/Recovery Planning

3 Chapter 2: Critical Path Method Mechanics & Network Logic

2.1 Activity Definition and Logic Relationships 2.2 Activity Durations, Productivity, and Work Calendars 2.3 Forward and Backward Pass Mathematical Mechanics 2.4 Float Calculations and Critical-Path Identification

4 Chapter 3: Advanced Network Techniques & Schedule Constraints

3.1 Schedule Constraints and Their Impact on Dates and Float 3.2 Advanced Logic Modeling: Ladders and Fragnets 3.3 Schedule Levels of Detail and Schedule Basis Documentation 3.4 Schedule Scope and Schedule Specification 3.5 Breakdown-Structure Relationships and the Cost Estimate Model 3.6 Stakeholder Feedback and Types of Schedules 3.7 Activities, Milestones, Schedule Quality, and Basis Documentation

5 Chapter 4: Resource Management & Leveling

4.1 Resource Planning, Allocation, and Histograms 4.2 Resource Leveling vs. Resource Smoothing 4.3 Cumulative Resource S-Curves & Productivity Tracking

6 Chapter 5: Baseline Management & Schedule Updating

5.1 Baseline Establishment, Forecasts, and Controlled Revision 5.2 Progress Measurement and Data Date Mechanics 5.3 Out-of-Sequence Logic: Progress Override vs. Retained Logic 5.4 Schedule Update Review and Quality Verification per RP 53R-06 5.5 Cost/Resource Management, Schedule Change, and Feedback 5.6 Acceleration and Recovery Scheduling per RP 54R-07 5.7 Control Schedules, Variance Analysis, Forecasts, and Management Summaries

7 Chapter 6: Schedule Risk Analysis & Monte Carlo Simulation

6.1 Schedule Risk Principles, Risk Drivers, and Three-Point Estimates 6.2 Monte Carlo Simulation, Criticality, Correlation, and Merge Effects 6.3 Risk Outputs, Confidence Dates, Sensitivity, and Contingency

8 Chapter 7: Earned Value & Earned Schedule Management

7.1 Earned Value Foundations: PV, EV, AC, and Variances 7.2 Traditional EV Performance Indices & Late-Project Quirks 7.3 Earned Schedule (ES) Theory, SV(t), and SPI(t) 7.4 Independent Schedule Forecasting & IEAC(t)

9 Chapter 8: Forensic Schedule Analysis & Delay Claims

8.1 Delay Classification, Criticality, and Contract Questions 8.2 RP 29R-03 Taxonomy, Data Validation, and Method Selection 8.3 TIA, Windowed Analysis, and Subtractive Models 8.4 Concurrency, Pacing, and Float: Technical Analysis Before Entitlement

10 Chapter 9: Executive Communication & Practical Scenario Applications

9.1 Official PSP Memo Writing Framework 9.2 Structured Technical Problem-Solving for PSP Scenarios 9.3 Current Exam Strategy and Core Calculation Review

0.1 Current AACE PSP Exam, Eligibility, and Certification Facts

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

AACE currently requires either eight years of industry-related experience or four years of related experience plus a four-year industry-related degree.

The five-hour closed-book exam contains 119 simple and scenario multiple-choice questions plus one memo assignment.

The scored domains are Conduct Planning Duties, Conduct Scheduling Duties, and Communication Competency; their domain scores are averaged.

AACE lists a 70% overall average as the passing standard and reports final results only as pass or fail.

The PSP credential is valid for three years and currently requires 12 CEUs in at least two categories or re-examination for renewal.

Last updated: October 2026

0.1 Current AACE PSP Exam, Eligibility, and Certification Facts

The Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) is AACE International’s professional-level credential for experienced practitioners who plan work and develop, monitor, update, forecast, and analyze integrated project schedules. AACE describes the PSP as leading the planning and scheduling process within the Total Cost Management framework and communicating with internal and external stakeholders.

This independent guide uses the official PSP scope to organize study. It is not an AACE publication, and technical Recommended Practices are guidelines rather than an assurance that every example in this guide will appear on a particular exam form.

Eligibility

AACE publishes two eligibility routes:

  • Route Current requirement
  • Experience route Eight years of industry-related experience
  • Degree route Four years of industry-related experience plus a four-year industry-related college degree

Applicants must also adhere to AACE’s Canons of Ethics. The live PSP page calls the experience and degree industry-related ; it does not publish the narrower list of qualifying majors that some third-party summaries provide. An applicant should document education and employment accurately and let AACE determine whether the evidence satisfies the requirement.

Current fees and delivery

As checked on October 4, 2026, AACE lists these fees:

  • Item Published amount
  • Member examination USD 525
  • Non-member examination USD 690
  • Resit USD 260

Membership is not required. AACE says the application fee includes eligibility-document review and computer-based testing. The exam is available through designated Kryterion testing centers, and AACE also publishes an online-proctored system check. Delivery availability can depend on location and current policy, so candidates should confirm their own appointment options in the AACE portal.

The examination is closed book . AACE permits any style of battery-operated calculator, but the testing center does not provide one. Candidates should follow the appointment confirmation for identification, calculator, and check-in rules rather than rely on an older prep-site checklist.

Exam structure

The current PSP Candidate Handbook and live PSP page describe one five-hour examination with three scored domains:

  • Domain Assessment
  • Conduct Planning Duties 36 multiple-choice questions
  • Conduct Scheduling Duties 83 multiple-choice questions
  • Communication Competency One memo assignment
  • Total 119 simple/scenario multiple-choice questions plus one memo

The 119 multiple-choice items are not currently published as separate 56-question, 29-question, and 34-question parts. Those numbers appeared in older third-party descriptions and must not be used as the current official architecture. Likewise, AACE publishes a five-hour maximum for the whole exam , not a mandatory sixty-minute memo segment. A candidate may create a personal pacing plan, but the plan should remain flexible enough to complete all domains.

Scoring

AACE states that the three domain scores are averaged and that an overall average of 70% or higher is required. The handbook explains that a candidate need not reach 70% in every domain; the arithmetic average of the three domain results controls. This has an important preparation implication: the memo is not an optional add-on, and weak written communication can affect the same overall average as the technical domains.

AACE reports final results on a pass/fail basis and does not release individual domain scores. Avoid trying to convert the 70% average directly into “a required number of correct multiple-choice answers,” because the memo is a separate scored domain and AACE does not publish the internal raw-score conversion.

What the memo actually tests

AACE’s Certification Board says the memo tests concise written communication to a project manager, executive, or stakeholder. The candidate receives incomplete or conflicting information and must explain:

  • the nature of the issue;
  • the impact of the issue;
  • the alternative solutions; and

a recommended action.

The official memo guidance recommends a traditional To/From/Date/Subject/Project header and a response no longer than one full typewritten page. The memo should analyze the options supplied in the prompt, recommend one action, and hand the final decision and implementation back to the recipient. This differs materially from advice to write a multi-page forensic claim report.

Credential maintenance

The PSP certification is valid for three years . AACE currently lists two renewal routes: accumulate 12 continuing education units (CEUs) in at least two categories , or pass the examination again. Candidates who later become certificants should use the then-current recertification page because maintenance rules can change.

A reliable source hierarchy

For exam logistics, use this order:

  • current AACE PSP details page;
  • current PSP Candidate Handbook;
  • AACE Certification Board memo guidance;

appointment confirmation and testing-provider instructions.

Use the AACE PSP Certification Study Guide and Recommended Practices for technical study, while remembering that an older book’s logistics can be superseded by the current handbook.