AACE PSP Practice Test: Planning & Scheduling Professional
Prepare for AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) with focused preview pages, scheduling drills, timed mock exams, schedule-control scenarios, forecasting practice, and detailed explanations in PM Mastery.
Independent exam preparation
Mastery Exam Prep and PM Mastery are independent study tools and are not AACE International. For eligibility, applications, documentation, fees, or exam booking, contact AACE International directly at certification@aacei.org.
Practice preview and focused pages
Use this page to start the web app and choose the right public preview before longer mixed practice. For sample exam questions, use the focused topic pages, quick review, and free-practice page in this exam section; the interactive app remains the primary practice path.
- Focused topic pages: drill focused topics including Communication Competency; Conduct Planning Duties; and other domains with explanations.
- Quick review: CPM logic, schedule development, updates, float, resources, risk, and delay analysis.
- Free practice exam: Try 119 free AACE PSP questions across the exam domains, with answers and explanations, then continue in PM Mastery.
Practice preview pages
Use this page to start the PM Mastery web app, confirm the exam route, and compare nearby credentials. The focused topic pages and free-practice page carry the public sample-question blocks so this hub stays focused on route choice and app access.
- Free-practice page: Open the AACE PSP public free-practice exam for a static self-check with answers and explanations.
- Focused topic pages: use the topic links in this section when you want narrower sample exam questions before returning to mixed practice.
These are original PM Mastery practice materials, not official AACE questions, copied live-exam content, or exam dumps.
Free-practice page: Use PM Mastery for interactive practice with mixed sets, timed mocks, topic drills, explanations, and progress tracking; use the static free-practice page as a public style preview.
AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) is the route for practitioners who develop, monitor, update, forecast, and analyze integrated project schedules.
AACE PSP exam snapshot
For current eligibility, fees, delivery rules, and policy details, see the official AACE PSP detail page .
Official source check: Last checked May 5, 2026 against AACE International's PSP detail page.
AACE lists a 5-hour closed-book PSP exam with 119 simple multiple-choice and compound scenario questions across Planning and Scheduling, plus one communication memo assignment. Confirm current eligibility, fees, calculator rules, and delivery policies directly with AACE before booking.
- Vendor: AACE International
- Official credential: Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP)
- Route family: planning, scheduling, schedule control, and schedule analysis
- Best fit: planners and schedulers who own schedule development, monitoring, forecasting, and communication
PSP-style decisions usually reward the answer that protects schedule logic, reveals the real driver of date movement, and turns updates into defensible control or recovery action.
Official PSP exam format notes
| Official detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Time limit | 5 hours maximum |
| Question section | 119 simple multiple-choice and compound scenario questions |
| Main scored domains | Planning (36) and Scheduling (83) |
| Written component | 1 communication memo response based on a given scenario |
| Resource rule | Closed book |
| Passing standard | overall average of 70% or higher |
| Maintenance note | PSP is valid for 3 years and must be maintained through recertification or reexamination |
How the PSP format changes preparation
| Exam feature | Preparation implication |
|---|---|
| Planning and scheduling split | Study both the planning rationale and the schedule mechanics: scope breakdown, activities, logic, constraints, float, critical path, and updates. |
| Scheduling-heavy scenarios | Focus on what actually drives the finish date, whether logic is valid, and which recovery action preserves a credible schedule. |
| Communication memo task | Rehearse short schedule narratives: cause of movement, affected path, confidence level, assumptions, and recommended control action. |
| Closed-book format | Practice schedule logic and calculations until you can reason from the network and update data without reference lookup. |
What PSP is really testing
- whether you can build and maintain a logical schedule model rather than only operate a scheduling tool
- whether you can evaluate progress, variance, float, critical path, and recovery choices
- whether you can communicate schedule impacts to stakeholders without hiding assumptions or logic problems
Route decision checkpoint
| Choose PSP when… | Choose another route when… |
|---|---|
| your strongest exam need is schedule logic, critical path, progress updates, and recovery choices | your real need is earned value and integrated performance measurement, where EVP fits better |
| your market expects AACE project-controls scheduling recognition | your employer specifically expects PMI’s scheduling credential, where PMI-SP may be the better comparison |
How PSP differs from nearby routes
| If you are deciding between… | Main distinction |
|---|---|
| PSP vs EVP | PSP focuses on schedule logic and control; EVP integrates schedule with scope, cost, and earned value. |
| PSP vs PMI-SP | Both are scheduling-specialist lanes; PSP is the AACE project-controls route, while PMI-SP is the PMI route. |
| PSP vs PMP | PSP is scheduling depth; PMP is broad project leadership. |
Related PM Mastery pages
- PMI-SP for the closest PMI scheduling-specialist comparison
- PMP 2026 for broader delivery, stakeholder, and value-context practice
- PMP for current planning and monitoring scenarios
- PMI-PMOCP for governance and reporting practice
How to use live practice efficiently
- Confirm whether your employer or market expects AACE PSP, PMI-SP, or broader PMP recognition.
- Practice schedule logic decisions: relationships, constraints, float, critical path, progress updates, and recovery trade-offs.
- Write the cause-and-effect story behind every date movement instead of only calculating the new finish date.
- Use the PM Mastery practice page above if PSP is your target.
PSP decision filters
- Logic before dates: verify activities, dependencies, calendars, constraints, float, and critical path before accepting a finish-date answer.
- Update quality: decide whether progress data, status date, actuals, remaining duration, and out-of-sequence work support the conclusion.
- Control action: separate reforecasting, recovery, acceleration, resequencing, resource adjustment, and stakeholder communication.
- Memo discipline: explain the driver of movement, affected path, confidence level, assumptions, and recommended action in plain language.
When PSP practice is enough
If several unseen mixed attempts are above roughly 75% and you can explain the schedule logic, update evidence, recovery trade-off, and communication point behind each answer, you are likely ready. More practice should improve schedule-control judgment, not repeated-network recognition.
Web preview and premium practice
- Web/public preview: focused topic pages and the free-practice page let you check question style and explanations.
- Premium: interactive AACE PSP practice in PM Mastery with topic drills, mixed sets, timed mock exams, detailed explanations, and progress tracking across web and mobile.
What to open next
PSP schedule-control map
Use this flow when a question asks whether a project schedule can support a reliable control decision. PSP scenarios usually reward strong logic, update discipline, critical-path interpretation, and realistic recovery analysis.
flowchart LR
A["Scope and execution plan"] --> B["Activities, logic, and calendars"]
B --> C["Duration and resource assumptions"]
C --> D["Baseline and quality review"]
D --> E["Progress update and actuals"]
E --> F["Critical path and float analysis"]
F --> G["Forecast, risk, and recovery narrative"]
Mini Glossary
- Constraint: Date rule or limit that may affect schedule calculation.
- Calendar: Working and nonworking time applied to activities or resources.
- Schedule risk analysis: Review of uncertainty in durations, logic, and paths.
- Acceleration: Action intended to shorten schedule duration, often with cost or risk tradeoffs.
- Narrative report: Written explanation of schedule status, drivers, impacts, and actions.
Open AACE PSP in PM Mastery
Use this live AACE PSP page for web and app access, focused preview pages, timed mocks, topic drills, plans, and related PM Mastery exam links.
PSP Quick Reference
| Schedule topic | Strong PSP habit |
|---|---|
| Critical path | explain what drives the finish date |
| Constraints | distinguish target dates from logic-driven dates |
| Updates | verify actuals, progress, remaining duration, and logic |
| Recovery | evaluate feasible acceleration before forcing dates |
| Narrative | state cause, impact, confidence, and action |
In this section
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Quick ReviewQuick Review for the AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) exam: CPM logic, schedule development, updates, float, resources, risk, and delay analysis.
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Study PlanPractical 7-day, 14-day, 30-day, and 60/90-day study plan for AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) candidates, with scheduling practice, timed mocks, and review rhythm.
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Exam BlueprintPractical exam blueprint for the AACE International PSP exam: planning, scheduling, CPM, controls, updates, change, risk, and final review.
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Scenario Practice GuideLearn how to read PSP scheduling scenarios, find the decision point, and choose the most defensible answer.
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Quick ReferenceCompact PSP exam reference for AACE International Planning & Scheduling Professional candidates: CPM, float, updates, controls, risk, resources, and delay analysis.
- AACE PSP: Conduct Planning DutiesTry 10 focused AACE PSP questions on Conduct Planning Duties, with answers and explanations, then continue with PM Mastery.
- AACE PSP: Conduct Scheduling DutiesTry 10 focused AACE PSP questions on Conduct Scheduling Duties, with answers and explanations, then continue with PM Mastery.
- AACE PSP: Communication CompetencyTry 10 focused AACE PSP questions on Communication Competency, with answers and explanations, then continue with PM Mastery.
- Free AACE PSP Full-Length Practice Exam: 119 QuestionsTry 119 free AACE PSP questions across the exam domains, with answers and explanations, then continue in PM Mastery.
- PSP — AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional Official ResourcesFind official AACE PSP resources to verify current rules, exam version, registration, eligibility, and pair them with independent practice.