Free ARE Project Management Practice Test

Answer: B. A Construction Change Directive

A Construction Change Directive is the tool for directing a change before the price or time adjustment is agreed. The architect prepares it, the owner and architect sign it, and the contractor proceeds while the adjustment is worked out (A201 §7.3.1). A is wrong because a Change Order records agreement among all three parties, so it needs the contractor's signature too (§7.2.1). C fails because a minor change can't adjust the Contract Sum or Contract Time, and this one carries a disputed price. D asks for information; it doesn't authorize changed work.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.3 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §7.1.2, §7.2.1, §7.3.1, §7.3.6; AIA summary of G710-2017 (Architect's Supplemental Instructions), Synopsis

Answer: B. 180 hours

Reserve the project manager's time first: 12 × $150 = $1,800. That leaves $18,000 − $1,800 = $16,200, and $16,200 ÷ $90 = 180 hours. A (160) subtracts the manager's $1,800 twice. C (200) ignores the manager entirely ($18,000 ÷ $90). D (220) adds the manager's cost to the budget instead of subtracting it. These are internal cost rates, so don't add an overhead factor or swap in a billing rate.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.2 · Source: Original calculation (inputs and arithmetic shown above)

Answer: D. The jurisdiction's adopted edition and local amendments, recorded in the project code register

A code applies to a project because the jurisdiction adopted it, not because it's the newest. Jurisdictions don't all adopt the same edition, and they amend what they adopt, so the team works from the adopted edition plus amendments and records that decision. A and B substitute a publication date or a template for the governing record. C drops amendments that are part of the adopted requirements.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.1 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Research codes now or risk costly delays, pp. 1–2

Answer: D. Tie each milestone to its deliverables, responsible people, dependencies, review activities, and durations

A work plan earns its keep when you can trace each milestone back to the work and decisions that must happen first. D does that. A throws away the intermediate checkpoints that warn you early. B fixes half the problem but still hides owner reviews, which are frequent schedule drivers. C assumes equal effort with no link to tasks or availability.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.1 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Plan for success (project management), p. 1; GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practices 2–3

Answer: D. No. The designation controls who provides it, though any separate coordination duties still apply

The Supplemental Services table works by assignment: each listed service is marked as the architect's, the owner's, or not provided. Here the owner provides the study. A and B ignore the assignment. C overreaches: a responsibility designation for one service doesn't erase whatever coordination duties the rest of the agreement creates.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.1 · Source: AIA instructions for B101-2017, §4.1.1

Answer: B. $240,000, 5%

The difference is $5,040,000 − $4,800,000 = $240,000, and $240,000 ÷ $4,800,000 = 5%. The budget is the denominator because you're reporting how far over budget the project is. A divides by the estimate. C doubles the difference. D describes the whole estimate as a share of the budget, not the overage. This is a construction-budget comparison, not a fee calculation.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.1 · Source: AIA: What is the architect's obligation to design to budget?

Answer: C. Explain that approval doesn't authorize a deviation the contractor didn't specifically identify, and require Work that conforms to the Contract Documents

Shop drawings aren't Contract Documents; they show how the contractor proposes to meet them. An approval doesn't relieve the contractor of a deviation unless the contractor specifically identified it at submittal and either the architect gave written approval of that specific deviation as a minor change or a Change Order or Construction Change Directive authorized it. The architect can reject nonconforming Work, which protects the approved design goal. A gets the status of shop drawings wrong. B treats a review as a waiver. D is wrong because an order for a minor change cannot adjust the Contract Sum.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.4 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §3.12.4 and §3.12.8, p. 16; §4.2.6, p. 18; §7.4, p. 23; AIA summary of G710-2017 (Architect's Supplemental Instructions), Synopsis

Answer: B. Candidate B

Candidate B has the experience, can provide at least 20 hours, and costs 20 × $140 = $2,800 for the required weekly hours. A can't supply 20 hours. C lacks the required experience. D would cost 20 × $170 = $3,400. Available hours are a ceiling, not an instruction to buy every hour offered, so B's extra 4 hours don't count against the budget.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.1 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 3

Answer: B. Involve the architect in the relevant communications, and tell the architect the substance of what was already discussed

B101-2017 §5.12 requires the architect to be involved in owner communications that affect the architect's services, and if the owner and contractor talk directly, the owner tells the architect the substance. A blocks the required involvement. C goes too far: the agreement permits other direct owner–contractor communications with notice of their substance; communications affecting the architect's services or professional responsibilities require the architect's direct involvement.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.3 · Source: AIA summary of B101-2017, §5.12

Answer: C. A written order for a minor change in the Work, issued by the architect

The architect alone can order a minor change that doesn't adjust the Contract Sum or Contract Time and is consistent with the design intent; AIA's G710 form exists for exactly this. A records agreement among all three parties; B is used when the terms of a Change Order aren't fully agreed. Neither is needed for this minor, no-adjustment change. D bypasses the contract's change process and goes around the contractor to a subcontractor.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.3 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §7.1.2, §7.2.1, §7.3.2, §7.4; AIA summary of G710-2017 (Architect's Supplemental Instructions), Synopsis

Answer: D. $7,900

Architecture: 40 × $145 = $5,800. Consultant: 12 × $175 = $2,100. Total: $7,900. A leaves out the consultant. B bills all 52 hours at $145. C bills all 52 hours at $175. Note what the number is: a proposed fee. It doesn't authorize anything until the owner approves it under the agreement's process.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Managing design project costs, pp. 1–2

Answer: B. An experienced architect from another project team who meets the review's technical qualifications

The plan sets two conditions: competence and independence from the documents. B meets both. A reviewer from inside the firm can still be independent of the project. A fails independence; people close to a project miss things a fresh reviewer catches. C fails competence. D doesn't provide a qualified reviewer at all.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, pp. 1, 3

Answer: B. 75%

1,560 ÷ 2,080 = 0.75, or 75%. A (25%) is the non-billable share, 520 ÷ 2,080. D (133%) flips the ratio. C assumes every paid hour counts as billable. Utilization matters for resource planning because non-billable hours (administration, marketing, leave) still have to be paid for.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.2 · Source: Original calculation (inputs and arithmetic shown above)

Answer: A. Describe the service and the proposed fee and schedule adjustment, and get the owner's written authorization

Services under §4.2.1 need the owner's written authorization before the architect proceeds; AIA's G801 notice form is built around that step. B and C replace the required authorization with an invoice or a request. Notice the condition in the stem: §4.2.2 is a separate pathway for services needed to avoid construction delay, which is why "every additional service always needs prior written authorization" is too broad.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.1 · Source: AIA instructions for G801-2017 (Notice of Additional Services), Completing G801–2017

Answer: A. Get the board's actual submission and meeting requirements and build those dependencies into the schedule

Agency calendars often control what's achievable. Planning and zoning boards have meeting schedules and advance submission deadlines, so you map their actual dates to your design phases before promising anything. B and C invent timing the facts don't give you.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Research codes now or risk costly delays, pp. 2, 4

Answer: C. Issue both coordinated revisions in a numbered addendum to all bidders

C follows the stated procedure and keeps every bidder pricing the same documents. A gives one bidder information the others don't have. B leaves conflicting documents in circulation. D guarantees that bids won't reflect the change.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.3 · Source: AIA: Quality control in the preparation of working drawings, Drawing preparation checklist

Answer: C. Bring the affected disciplines together, resolve the conflict, and check the revised documents together before release

The job here is to resolve the interface and verify the fix, not to engineer a solution yourself. Coordination among architectural, structural, and MEP documents is a standard review criterion. A invents a precedence rule. B pushes an unresolved conflict into the field, where it can return as an RFI requiring more effort to resolve. D changes metadata only.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.3 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, pp. 3–4; AIA: Quality control in the preparation of working drawings, Drawing preparation checklist

Answer: A, C, E.

A, C, and E come straight from A201 §4.2.2, §4.2.6, and §4.2.8. B and D belong to the contractor, who is solely responsible for means, methods, sequences, and jobsite safety (§3.3.1; §10.1). F is expressly excluded: the architect isn't required to make exhaustive or continuous inspections (§4.2.2).

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.3 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §3.3.1, §4.2.2, §4.2.6, §4.2.8, §10.1

Answer: C. $80,000, which is $20,000 over budget

So far, $36,000 bought 45% of the work, so the phase is tracking at $36,000 ÷ 0.45 = $80,000, which is $20,000 over the $60,000 budget. A confuses percent spent with percent complete. B assumes the remaining 55% will cost what the budget allotted ($36,000 + 0.55 × $60,000), which ignores the overrun already happening. D is what's left to spend, not a projection. Catch this early and you can re-plan staffing or talk to the owner about scope before the fee is gone.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.2 · Source: Original calculation (inputs and arithmetic shown above)

Answer: B. Review the prime agreement it incorporates and reconcile the consultant's scope and dates before committing

C401-2017 incorporates the owner–architect agreement (the Prime Agreement) by reference and flows its relevant provisions down to the consultant, so the architect checks the actual requirements and fixes the mismatch before signing. A leaves the architect's promise to the owner unmet. C and D assume transfers the agreements don't make.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.2 · Source: AIA summary of C401-2017, Synopsis; Related documents

Answer: B. Not necessarily. Local permits and inspections don't ensure ADA compliance; the design must meet the applicable ADA Standards on its own terms

The ADA Standards are civil-rights design requirements, not a building code. There is no ADA plan review or permit, building departments aren't required or authorized by the ADA to enforce them, and the U.S. Access Board says a local occupancy permit or inspection doesn't ensure ADA compliance. Enforcement comes through federal complaints and litigation. A and D describe review processes that don't exist for the ADA. C is wrong because a local code doesn't displace a federal civil-rights law.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.1 · Source: U.S. Access Board: Using the ADA Standards, “How the ADA Standards are Enforced” and “State and Local Access Codes”

Answer: A. The package is still incomplete; the fire response and approval are outstanding and being tracked

The matrix lists two separate requirements, so one approval can't stand in for the other. A keeps the open item visible. B and C treat one agency's approval as satisfying another agency's requirement.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.4 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Research codes now or risk costly delays, pp. 1–2

Answer: C. A shortfall of 36 hours

Capacity is 3 × 32 × 4 = 384 hours, and 420 − 384 = a 36-hour shortfall. A reverses the result. B assumes 40-hour availability the facts rule out. D (96) is one week of team capacity, not the gap between demand and capacity.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.2 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 3

Answer: C. It's compensated as an Additional Service

The general rule in B101-2017 is redesign without added compensation, but the 2017 edition carves out an exception: when the overrun comes from market conditions the architect couldn't reasonably anticipate, redesign is paid as an Additional Service. The stem establishes that finding, so C applies. A states the general rule without the exception. B and D invent consequences.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.1 · Source: AIA summary of B101-2017, §6.7; AIA: What is the architect's obligation to design to budget?

Answer: D. The request comes through the architect, who coordinates the engineer's response

Under A201 §4.2.4, the architect's consultants communicate through the architect, unless the documents say otherwise. That keeps one record of what was asked and decided and keeps the architect in the loop. A and B bypass the architect. C sends a technical question to someone who isn't positioned to answer it.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.3 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §4.2.4

Answer: A, C, E.

Scope creep is work that drifts beyond the agreed services without anyone deciding it should. A, C, and E are classic examples, and each calls for documenting the request and its fee and schedule effect, then getting authorization under the agreement's process. B, D, and F are work the agreement and work plan already cover.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Managing design project costs, pp. 1–2; AIA instructions for G801-2017 (Notice of Additional Services), Completing G801–2017

Answer: A. Compare the current design with the approved goals, record any deviations, and assign decisions or corrections

Completeness and compliance are different checks. A design-phase review should test programmatic and performance compliance, not just whether the sheets exist. A adds that comparison and the follow-up. B checks completeness only. C measures spending, not design. D waits until fixes are far more expensive.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.4 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, p. 3, “Peer review criteria”; AIA Best Practices: Plan for success (project management), p. 1

Answer: C. The contractor gives timely written notice to the owner and architect and proposes an alternative, which the architect evaluates only for conformance with the design intent

A201 §3.3.1 makes the contractor solely responsible for means, methods, sequences, and jobsite safety. When the documents specify a method the contractor believes may be unsafe, the contractor must give timely written notice to the owner and architect and propose an alternative, and the architect evaluates that alternative solely for design intent. The contractor uses the proposed alternative if the architect does not object. A ignores the contractor's duty. B moves safety onto the architect, which the contract avoids. D puts the owner in charge of construction methods.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.3 · Source: AIA A201-2017 preview (unmodified text), §1.6.1, p. 10; §3.3.1, p. 13

Answer: A, C, E.

Team assembly starts from what the project needs: the right skills, people who are actually available when the work happens, and the credentials required to take responsibility for it. Scheduling guidance makes the same point: assign resources by the skills and availability the work requires. B, D, and F can matter at the margin, but on their own they don't show that the team can deliver.

PjM section 1, Resource Management · Objective 1.1 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 3

Answer: C. "Equipment dimensions open; Lee to obtain by Friday; layout approval pending until received"

Good minutes record status, who owns the next step, the deadline, and what's waiting on it. C does all four. A records an approval that didn't happen. B gives nobody anything to follow up on. D contradicts the project's stated rule about what minutes can authorize.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.3 · Source: AIA Community Hub: Documenting construction meeting minutes, Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA; discussion of decisions, follow-up, actions, responsible parties, and due dates

Answer: A. Notify the owner and recommend adjustments to the project's size, quality, or budget for the owner's decision

AIA's design-to-budget guidance calls for updated estimates, notice of budget variances, and the owner's approval before moving to the next phase. Doing this at the end of design development is far cheaper than redesigning after bids. C postpones a known problem. B makes the owner's decision for them. D increases the estimate instead of closing the gap.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.1 · Source: AIA: What is the architect's obligation to design to budget?, How B101 approaches budget; §6.3 discussion

Answer: A, C, E.

AIA's peer-review guidance lists compliance, completeness, coordination, and technical detailing as design-phase review criteria. B is wrong: a peer review doesn't shift responsibility away from the project team or management. D is a sliver of completeness, not a review. F is project accounting, not document quality.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, pp. 3–4, “Peer review criteria” and “Peer review audit follow-up”

Answer: A. Show the report as a dependency, coordinate the design milestone, and go through the owner for any change to the consultant's scope

A honors both supplied terms: integrating the report is your planning job, and changing the consultant's contract is the owner's call. B contradicts who holds that contract. C drops the coordination you agreed to. D adds a service nobody asked for.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.4 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Managing design project costs, pp. 1–2

Answer: A. Update the schedule with the actual approval date and logic, show the effect on later milestones, and tell the owner in writing

A schedule is only useful if it reflects what actually happened. Updating with actual dates and logic shows the true effect on later milestones, and putting it in writing gives the owner a chance to decide. C hides the problem. B risks rework on unapproved design. D erases a real dependency.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.2 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 9; AIA Best Practices: Plan for success (project management), p. 1

Answer: D. Explain the risk, cost, and schedule effect to the owner; prepare the variance request and a compliant fallback design the owner agrees to; and add the board's dates to the schedule

Zoning relief comes from the body the city names, here the zoning board, on its calendar. You keep the owner informed of the risk and cost, walk in with an agreed backup plan, and map the board's deadlines into the schedule. A and C send the question to building-code reviewers who don't grant zoning variances in this scenario. B bets construction documents on an approval you don't have.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.4 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Research codes now or risk costly delays, pp. 2–4, “Coordination,” “Completion and approval,” and the project checklist

Answer: D. Schedule qualified reviews during design, with time to evaluate and fix what they find before release

Reviews pay off when their findings can still change the documents. AIA's peer-review guidance recommends reviews at schematic design, design development, and around 75% or 90% construction documents, with issues addressed early in the next phase. A and B throw away that chance. C promises something no review can deliver.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, p. 2, “An audit program”

Answer: D. Require the architect to pay the difference between the bid and the budget

The stated agreement gives the owner the options in A, B, and C. It doesn't require the architect to fund the difference between the bid and the budget. D adds a payment obligation the supplied terms don't contain. This question tests the stated budget remedies, not liability under other contract terms or law.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.1 · Source: Original fictional agreement terms stated in the question

Answer: A, C, D.

Forward pass: A ends day 4; B ends day 10; C ends day 18; D ends day 15. E waits for the later of C and D, so it runs days 18–21, and F ends on day 23. The critical path is A–B–C–E–F. D finishes 3 days before E can start, so it has 3 days of float and isn't critical. E is false because F depends on E. F (28) adds parallel work as if it were sequential.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.1 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practices 2, 6, 7

Answer: A, D.

A: C is critical, so 4 days on C adds 4 days: 27. D: D now ends on day 20, later than C's day 18, so E runs 20–23 and F ends on 25. B is wrong: 2 days uses up 2 of D's 3 float days, so the finish stays at 23. C is wrong: B is critical, so the finish moves to 24. E gives 22, not 21. F gives 25, not 24. At a merge point, recompute which predecessor finishes last instead of adding every delay to the end date.

PjM section 2, Project Work Planning · Objective 2.2 · Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practices 6–7

Answer: D, F.

D defines the change; F meets the stated condition for starting. A and E skip that condition. B contradicts the express exclusion of marketing renderings. C changes the wrong contract; the renderings are a professional service under the owner–architect agreement.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.1 · Source: AIA instructions for G801-2017 (Notice of Additional Services), Completing G801–2017

Answer: A, C, E.

An added suite can change design effort, construction cost, and timing, so the assessment covers all three before the owner decides. B invents an approval. D treats billing as a measure of progress. F reaches a conclusion before doing the analysis.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.2 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Managing design project costs, pp. 1–2; AIA: What is the architect's obligation to design to budget?

Answer: B, E.

Exhibit B1 permits coordination use only and requires written agreement before any new reliance use. B identifies the boundary and E follows the required process. This mirrors C401-2017 §1.10.1, which requires protocols for using and relying on building information models. A confuses a software license with project permission. C, D, and F assume transfers or permissions the exhibit doesn't grant.

PjM section 3, Contracts · Objective 3.2 · Source: AIA summary of C401-2017, §§1.10–1.10.1

Answer: A, C, E.

Each correct answer is one step of the protocol in Exhibit B1: identify the revision (A), distribute it (C), and control the superseded record (E). B skips the formal process. D violates the archive requirement. F neither controls content nor confirms distribution.

PjM section 4, Project Execution · Objective 4.3 · Source: AIA: Quality control in the preparation of working drawings, Drawing preparation checklist

Answer: C, F.

C supplies the fix and F verifies it. Confirming that responses actually made it into the documents is part of good review follow-up. A is a label, not evidence. B is a schedule preference. D concerns a different package. E changes a name only.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.3 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Using document audits/peer reviews, p. 4; AIA: Quality control in the preparation of working drawings, Drawing preparation checklist

Answer: B, D, F.

B names the goal at risk, D gives the owner real options, and F carries the decision into the controlled record. A hides a material departure from an approved goal. C substitutes someone else's preference for the owner's decision. E ignores the governing record. The question tests the management process, not a structural solution.

PjM section 5, Project Quality Control · Objective 5.4 · Source: AIA Best Practices: Plan for success (project management), p. 1