AACE EVP: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Use this focused AACE EVP page to drill Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties decisions before returning to mixed practice, timed mocks, and the full PM Mastery question bank.

Topic snapshot

Sample questions

These questions are original PM Mastery practice items aligned to this topic area. They are designed for self-assessment and are not official exam questions.

Question 1

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

During baseline development, a control account manager is time-phasing Activity E, Module Integration. Activity E has a 10-workday duration and a budget of $100,000 spread evenly from its planned start. Day values are measured from project start; an activity finishing at day 15 can support a zero-lag finish-to-start successor starting at day 15.

Use these logic rules: FS means successor start \(\ge\) predecessor finish + lag; SS means successor start \(\ge\) predecessor start + lag; FF means successor finish \(\ge\) predecessor finish + lag, so successor start \(\ge\) required successor finish - successor duration.

Which relationship controls the planned start of Activity E and therefore when its budget should begin to be time-phased for earned-value planning?

• A. Activity D via FF + 5; Activity E starts on day 5 and planned value begins then.
• B. Activity B via FS + 0; Activity E starts on day 15 and planned value begins then.
• C. Activity A via FS + 2; Activity E starts on day 10 and planned value begins then.
• D. Activity C via SS + 10; Activity E starts on day 10 and planned value begins then.

Best answer: B

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: For earned-value planning, the planned value for Activity E should be time-phased according to the schedule logic that actually controls its planned start. Activity A finishes on day 8, so FS + 2 allows E to start on day 10. Activity B starts on day 3 and lasts 12 workdays, so it finishes on day 15; FS + 0 allows E to start on day 15. Activity C’s SS + 10 also allows E to start on day 10. Activity D finishes on day 10; FF + 5 requires E to finish no earlier than day 15, and with a 10-workday duration that only requires E to start no earlier than day 5. The controlling start constraint is the latest allowed start requirement, day 15 from Activity B, so Activity E’s $100,000 budget should not be time-phased before day 15.

Activity B’s finish-to-start constraint gives the latest required start, day 15, so it controls Activity E’s planned sequence and earned-value timing.

Question 2

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account manager submitted a May 31 earned value update for a work package with a budget of $200,000. The approved measurement method is weighted milestones with no partial credit; a milestone earns value only when its objective accomplishment criterion is met by the status date.

The control account manager claimed 70% earned value, or $140,000. Which professional judgment is best supported by the exhibit?

• A. The claimed earned value of $140,000 is supportable because prototype testing has been performed even though failures remain open.
• B. The supported earned value is $150,000 because the readiness review is scheduled and should be credited as near-term progress.
• C. The full $200,000 should be earned because all four milestones have either started or have scheduled completion evidence.
• D. The supported earned value is $100,000 because only the first two milestones met their objective criteria by May 31.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Weighted milestones support earned value only when the approved accomplishment criteria are objectively satisfied at the status date. Here, the design approval and procurement release have documented evidence by May 31, so 50% of the $200,000 work package budget is earned. That supports $100,000 of earned value. The prototype test milestone cannot be earned because the criterion was passing all acceptance tests, and two failures remain open. The installation readiness review also cannot be earned because it is only scheduled after the status date and has no signed minutes. Crediting near-complete, scheduled, or partially successful work would weaken schedule-status integrity and overstate physical accomplishment.

The approved no-partial-credit milestone method supports earning only the 30% and 20% milestones completed by the status date.

Question 3

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account has two critical-path work packages with finish-to-start logic and no approved out-of-sequence work authorization. The equipment installation work package may not start until the foundation acceptance milestone is complete.

Status date: June 30

Use EV = BAC × physical % complete only when the reported accomplishment is supported by the authorized schedule status. Which action best preserves integrated cost and schedule control?

• A. Move $50,000 of installation budget into the foundation work package so the earned value matches the critical-path sequence.
• B. Accept the installation report, report total EV of $110,000, and explain the positive schedule variance as early field progress.
• C. Do not credit the $50,000 installation EV yet; report supported EV of $60,000, retain total AC of $120,000, and resolve the schedule-status conflict through control account review.
• D. Delete the $30,000 installation AC until the installation work package is formally allowed to start in the CPM schedule.

Best answer: C

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Earned value depends on objective accomplishment, but it must also remain integrated with authorized scope, schedule logic, and work authorization. Here, the foundation predecessor is only 75% complete and its acceptance milestone is not complete, while the successor installation has no planned value and no approved out-of-sequence authorization. Crediting installation EV would make the control account appear ahead of schedule even though the critical-path logic says the work should not have started. The supported EV is foundation EV only: $80,000 × 75% = $60,000. Actual costs should not be hidden or deleted; the $30,000 charged to installation remains part of AC and requires reconciliation, variance analysis, and management action.

The installation EV conflicts with the authorized logic, so the report should retain traceable actual costs while withholding unsupported earned value until schedule status and accomplishment evidence are reconciled.

Question 4

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

At the 30 June baseline freeze, an EVP reviews a control account planned to fit within a 30-workday window before a customer readiness review. For this review, informal schedule margin is calculated as:

\(\text{informal margin} = \text{control account window} - \text{duration of visible authorized work activities}\)

Visible baseline activities currently shown:

The approved risk handling plan authorizes a thermal-cycling mitigation activity of 5 workdays with a budget of $100,000, but it is not shown as an activity and has no accomplishment criteria in the schedule. All activities are sequential and use the same workday calendar.

Which assessment should the EVP make?

• A. The baseline is adequate because the 8-workday lag exceeds the 5 workdays needed for mitigation, so no further baseline action is required.
• B. The baseline should keep the 8-workday lag and add $100,000 of budget to management reserve until the risk event occurs.
• C. The baseline should remove all 8 workdays because risk mitigation activities should never be included in the performance measurement baseline.
• D. The baseline is not adequate: the 8-workday lag hides margin, and the approved 5-workday, $100,000 mitigation should be planned as authorized work with objective completion criteria.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Approved risk mitigation that is part of the planned work should be incorporated into the baseline as visible, authorized, measurable work. Here, the schedule contains 18 + 4 = 22 workdays of visible work in a 30-workday window, leaving 8 workdays hidden as an unmeasured lag. The approved mitigation is not merely reserve or informal padding; it is a defined 5-workday activity with a $100,000 authorized budget. To support earned value, it needs schedule logic, budget, and objective accomplishment criteria so planned value and earned value are traceable. Any remaining 3 workdays after adding the mitigation should be handled through approved schedule-margin or float controls, not hidden inside an unexplained lag.

The current plan shows 30 − (18 + 4) = 8 workdays of zero-budget lag, while the approved mitigation is 5 workdays and $100,000 of authorized work that must be visible and measurable.

Question 5

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account manager is preparing accomplishment criteria for a fabrication work package in the performance measurement baseline. The work package will use weighted milestones to earn value. Which proposed milestone is the most meaningful for EVMS performance measurement?

• A. Use pressure-test certificate accepted because it provides objective evidence that a defined deliverable has met acceptance criteria.
• B. Use steering committee review held because management attention confirms the milestone is important.
• C. Use month-end status submitted because it aligns earned value with the reporting cycle.
• D. Use supplier invoice paid because payment provides an auditable financial event.

Best answer: A

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: For earned value measurement, a milestone should be tied to objective completion of defined scope. The exhibit shows that the pressure-test certificate is accepted only after the deliverable passes documented acceptance criteria, so it provides verifiable evidence of physical accomplishment. That makes it suitable for a weighted milestone in the performance measurement baseline. A reporting cutoff, management review, or invoice payment may be useful for administration, governance, or accounting, but none proves that the planned technical work has been completed. EVMS planning should avoid milestones that earn value simply because time passed, a meeting occurred, or money was paid.

A meaningful EVMS milestone should represent objective accomplishment of authorized work, not merely a date, meeting, or payment event.

Question 6

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account uses a milestone-based earned value technique for a cable installation work package with a BAC of $400,000. The first milestone earns 50% of the work package budget only when all 10,000 meters of cable are installed.

Status date: August 1

Use: remaining duration = remaining units ÷ current production rate, rounded up to whole workdays.

Which interpretation best identifies the planning and scheduling risk for the control account?

• A. The milestone is credible because more than half of the cable has been installed, so the 50% earned value milestone can be forecast as achieved.
• B. The schedule risk is minor because the downstream integration milestone has 3 workdays of float, so no forecast adjustment is needed.
• C. The main issue is a budget overrun because the BAC is $400,000 and only 54% of the physical quantity has been installed.
• D. The installation milestone is at risk because 4,600 meters require 16 workdays, exceeding the planned milestone date by 8 workdays and consuming more than the available float.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Milestone credibility depends on objective completion evidence and a realistic schedule forecast, not on partial physical progress alone. At the status date, 4,600 meters remain. At 300 meters per workday, the remaining installation duration is 15.33 workdays, rounded up to 16 workdays. Only 8 workdays remain before the planned installation milestone, so the milestone is forecast to be 8 workdays late if current performance continues. Because only 3 workdays of float exist before the downstream integration milestone, the delay also threatens the reliability of the broader schedule forecast and earned value timing. A professional assessment should identify the planning and scheduling risk and require recovery planning or forecast revision rather than prematurely claiming milestone performance.

The calculated remaining duration is 16 workdays, which exceeds the 8 workdays available and threatens both milestone credibility and the downstream forecast.

Question 7

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A contractor is preparing for an integrated baseline review scheduled in three weeks. The customer asks what evidence will show that the schedule baseline is ready for review. Constraints are:

• The performance measurement baseline has been approved for the first six months of authorized work.
• Control account managers must be able to explain how near-term work packages earn value.
• The monthly cost report and the first progress invoice are both available.
• Two significant variances occurred last month and have written explanations.

What is the best professional response?

• A. Provide the progress invoice because it verifies that contract costs have been billed in accordance with payment terms.
• B. Provide the variance explanations because they show management understands the causes of recent performance problems.
• C. Provide the monthly cost report because it shows PV, EV, AC, and variance values for management review.
• D. Provide the approved control account plans, time-phased work packages, objective completion criteria, schedule logic, and CAM ownership evidence for the authorized baseline.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Integrated baseline review readiness is supported by evidence that the performance measurement baseline is executable and credible: authorized scope is planned into control accounts and work packages, schedule logic supports the work sequence, earned value methods are objective, and control account managers understand their scope, budgets, risks, and accomplishment criteria. Routine status reports can help management monitor performance, but they do not by themselves prove that the baseline is properly planned. Contract billing supports payment administration, not baseline readiness. Variance explanations are useful after performance occurs, but they are not a substitute for showing that the baseline was integrated, measurable, and under responsible management control before execution.

IBR readiness is demonstrated by evidence that the authorized baseline is planned, integrated, measurable, and owned before or at execution.

Question 8

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account manager is presenting the proposed schedule baseline for a qualification work package. The project controls procedure says risk mitigation may be in the performance measurement baseline only when it is an approved risk response with WBS/control account budget, objective accomplishment criteria, and schedule logic; schedule reserve must be separately identified and approved.

Which interpretation is best supported by the exhibit?

• A. The eight-day lag should be kept in the baseline and earned as progress once the test is complete.
• B. The mitigation should remain only in the risk register until the test-chamber risk occurs and becomes an issue.
• C. The entire baseline treatment is acceptable because all inserted time protects the customer demo from an identified risk.
• D. The approved response activities are valid baseline mitigation, but the eight-day lag is hidden schedule margin that should be formally approved and identified or removed.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: Risk mitigation can be incorporated into an earned value baseline when it represents authorized work or approved schedule reserve that is visible, traceable, budgeted, and logically connected to the plan. In the exhibit, the alternate chamber reservation and pre-test checkout satisfy those conditions: they are tied to an approved response, control account, budget, and schedule logic. The eight-day lag does not. It has no WBS or control-account identity, no budget, no risk reference, and no approval record. Leaving it in the baseline as informal protection would obscure float, weaken schedule credibility, and make variance and forecast analysis less transparent. The proper professional judgment is to preserve the authorized mitigation while either obtaining formal approval and identification for the schedule reserve or removing the hidden margin.

The response activities are traceable and authorized, while the unlabeled lag lacks the required control-account, budget, risk, and approval basis.

Question 9

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

During an integrated baseline review for Control Account 3.2, the review team compares the authorized scope, CPM schedule, and time-phased budget.

What is the most appropriate professional response?

• A. Use management reserve to cover the September modules immediately because the missing budget represents normal execution risk.
• B. Accept the baseline because the CPM schedule includes all 12 acceptance milestones, and budget phasing can be corrected through future variance analysis.
• C. Approve the plan if the CAM updates the EAC to include the four September modules without changing the time-phased PMB.
• D. Record an IBR finding and require the control account plan to reconcile authorized scope, schedule milestones, budget phasing, and supportable assumptions before baseline acceptance.

Best answer: D

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: An integrated baseline review tests whether the performance measurement baseline is executable, internally consistent, and traceable to authorized scope. Here, the authorized scope and schedule include 12 modules, but the time-phased budget covers only eight. The September work is not supported by approved scope deletion, budget transfer, or change control, and the CAM’s productivity assumption is not objective planning evidence. The proper response is to document the deficiency and require correction before accepting the affected baseline. A credible control account plan must align scope, schedule, budget, responsibility, and earned value measurement assumptions so that future performance data will be meaningful.

The evidence shows missing budget for authorized scope and an unsupported planning assumption, so the control account is not ready for baseline acceptance.

Question 10

Topic: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

A control account manager is updating the baseline schedule for an EVMS project. The customer wants milestones that can be used for earned-value status and variance analysis. The planning guidance requires each milestone to be tied to authorized scope, have objective completion evidence, and represent accomplishment rather than administration. Which milestone is the best professional choice?

• A. Supplier progress payment 2 released after the invoice is approved by accounts payable
• B. Subsystem factory acceptance test passed with a signed test report confirming all contract test criteria were met
• C. Engineering nearly complete based on the lead engineer’s assessment during the reporting cycle
• D. Monthly customer progress review held with meeting minutes distributed to the project team

Best answer: B

What this tests: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties

Explanation: A meaningful EVMS milestone should represent a discrete accomplishment of authorized work and should have objective completion criteria. It must support schedule status, earned-value credit, and variance analysis without relying on administrative events or subjective judgment. A passed factory acceptance test with a signed report is a clear completion event: it is tied to a deliverable, confirms technical criteria, and provides auditable evidence. A management review may be useful for communication, but holding a meeting does not prove physical accomplishment. A payment event records a financial transaction, not earned progress. A vague label such as “nearly complete” lacks measurable completion criteria and is not reliable for earned-value status.

This milestone is tied to authorized deliverable scope and has objective evidence that the planned accomplishment occurred.

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Related focused pages

• Free AACE EVP Full-Length Practice Exam
• AACE EVP: Organizing
• AACE EVP: Communication Competency
• AACE EVP: Perform Budgeting Duties
• AACE EVP: Account Considerations
• AACE EVP: Analysis and Management Reports
• AACE EVP: Revisions and Data Maintenance

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