Pass the AACE PSP® exam: CPM scheduling, planning, earned value, delay analysis and the memo — 70 lessons + mock exam
What You Will Learn:
- Build, calculate, and analyse CPM schedules using logic relationships, calendars, constraints, forward and backward passes, and float calculations.
- Develop integrated project plans using WBS, OBS, RAM, cost codes, execution strategies, productivity rates, resources, risks, and contractual requirements.
- Identify critical and near-critical paths, evaluate schedule sensitivity, and diagnose the causes and consequences of schedule movement.
- Perform schedule updates using data-date discipline, progress measurement, remaining-duration assessment, forecasting, variance analysis, and professional repor
- Apply resource loading, resource levelling, cost loading, S-curves, schedule compression, crashing, acceleration, mitigation, and recovery techniques.
- Calculate and interpret earned value indicators, including SV, CV, SPI, CPI, EAC, ETC, VAC, TCPI, and Earned Schedule.
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The No-Nonsense Verdict on the PSP® Prep Course
Let’s get one thing straight: project scheduling isn’t just about making pretty Gantt charts that nobody looks at. If you’ve spent any time in the trenches of large-scale infrastructure or tech deployments, you know that a schedule is either a legal shield or a ticking time bomb. I’ve seen enough “accidental schedulers” ruin a project’s profitability because they didn’t understand the logic behind the bars. That’s why I dove into this PSP® Prep Course. It’s marketed as a path to certification prep, but after grinding through all 70 lessons, I found it’s actually a deep-tissue massage for your project management brain.
What sets this apart from your run-of-the-mill tutorial is its refusal to treat you like a software operator. Most courses teach you where the buttons are in Primavera P6 or MS Project. This course teaches you the “why.” It forces you to think like a forensic analyst before the first shovel hits the ground. It’s a beginner to advanced journey that assumes you’re ready to put in the work, moving beyond simple task lists into the complex world of industry-standard tools and AACE international standards. If you’re tired of being the person who just “updates the dates” and want to be the person who predicts the delays before they happen, this is the pivot point for your career growth.
Prerequisites for the Brave
Don’t expect to walk in here without some skin in the game. While the course builds your knowledge from the ground up, the AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) designation itself has strict requirements. To get the most out of this, you should ideally have:
- At least 4 years of relevant project experience (or a 4-year degree plus 2 years of experience).
- A baseline understanding of project lifecycles—if you don’t know what a WBS is, you’ll be swimming upstream.
- A functional comfort level with basic algebra; the earned value and float calculations aren’t rocket science, but they require precision.
- Access to scheduling software (like Primavera P6) to practice the hands-on labs effectively.
The Arsenal: Skills & Tools Acquired
This isn’t just a theory dump. You walk away with a stack of job-ready skills that make you dangerous in a boardroom. You’ll master the Critical Path Method (CPM) not just as a concept, but as a calculation tool, running forward and backward passes until you can spot a logic error from a mile away. The course hammers home industry-standard tools and techniques, including:
- Resource Leveling & Loading: Moving beyond infinite capacity and learning how to actually manage a crew’s heartbeat.
- Earned Value Management (EVM): Calculating CPI, SPI, and TCPI to tell the real story of project health, not the “feel-good” version.
- Delay Analysis: Mastering the dark arts of forensic scheduling to understand who owes whom money when things go sideways.
- The Memo: This is the “final boss” of the PSP exam. You’ll learn how to synthesize complex data into a professional narrative that stakeholders actually understand.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
If you’re looking for career growth, this is one of the few certifications that actually moves the needle on your salary. In the world of high-stakes construction, oil and gas, or massive IT infrastructure, a PSP credential is a signal that you aren’t just guessing. You’re ready for real-world projects with nine-figure budgets. Common roles for graduates include:
- Lead Scheduler / Planning Manager: Owning the master integrated schedule for mega-projects.
- Project Controls Professional: Managing the intersection of time and cost.
- Claims Consultant: Using delay analysis to settle legal disputes.
- Project Manager: Moving into senior leadership with a technical edge that most “generalist” PMs lack.
Why This Course Hits Different (The Pros)
- The “Memo” Mastery: Most prep courses skip the writing portion of the exam. This one leans into it. The ability to translate a CPM schedule into a business recommendation is what separates a technician from a consultant.
- Rigorous Math: It doesn’t shy away from the earned value formulas. The mock exams are actually challenging, mirroring the pressure of the real AACE environment.
- Logic Over Software: I loved that it focused on the “CPM logic” rather than just being a software click-through. It makes you software-agnostic and truly job-ready.
The Reality Check (The Cons)
- The Pacing is Intense: This is not a “weekend watch.” If you’re looking for a quick cert-dump, look elsewhere. The depth of the 70 lessons requires significant “soak time” to truly grasp the nuances of schedule compression and acceleration. If you aren’t disciplined, you will get lost by lesson 30.
Bottom line: If you want to stop playing defense with your project timelines and start playing offense, this course is the blueprint. It’s an investment in becoming a high-level strategist in an industry full of amateurs.