Failed for the millionth time.

June 29, 2026 16:19

So practice management has been my thorn. I thought i had it this time. My score was 504. Any recommendations on what or how to study for these two sections? Materials i used were: Black Spectacles, AHPP, Law for architects, Hyperfine, and the contracts. Any suggestions on what and how to study for risk? I am going to get a little vulnerable and share my percentages. These were my scores: Business operations: 69% Finances, risk, and development of practice: 52% Practice wide delivery of services: 26% Practice methodologies: 83%

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8 comments

LeventK June 29, 2026 20:59

Hi,
It seems your weakest area is Project Delivery Methods (Practice-Wide Delivery of Services). I may advise reading Chapter 3 and 4 from "The Project Resource Manual - CSI Manual of Practice", which is also a reference book in ARE Guidelines.

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WaqasAl June 30, 2026 02:41

I am sorry that you have failed the exam, but you seem to be almost there! I was on the same boat. I have the read the A201 and B101 before, but I did not realise how much important information I missed until I listen to the hours long youtube videos of Michael Hanahan explaining each section in great detail. The name of the channel is "The Futur of Design"

Most of the exam seem to be not based on memorising those two documents, but actually understand their logic. Listening to Michael reading them and explaing them in detail helped me pass the PcM and PjM.

I hope you found this helpful. Goodluck on retaking it!

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Shadymoawad July 02, 2026 10:34

You seem to be overburdened with multiple sources. I recommend the AHPP in depth, and the AIA has very useful videos on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjEJ6rHriSU

Black spectacles is my only paid subscription and books (makes you move with your own pace).

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kkgalicinao July 02, 2026 17:56

I'm so sorry to hear about your struggles with PcM guzmanelsa33! The great news is that you were very close to passing with a 504, but I know that is also frustrating because you missed by just a few questions. I agree with Shadymoawad in that you shouldn't overwhelm yourself with too many resources - rather, build upon what you have and use those resources strategically. For your next round of studying, I'd recommend focusing on how the concepts apply in real-world scenarios rather than trying to memorize details. As you study, review why each answer is correct and why the other choices are incorrect—that pattern recognition can make a big difference on exam day. You've already built a strong foundation, so hopefully a more targeted review will get you over the finish line next time. If you haven't already met with one of our licensed architect consultants to review your score report, please send me an email at kiaragalicinao@blackspectacles.com so I can help you get that meeting set up!

Best of luck! You've got this!

Kiara | Black Spectacles | Community

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guzmanelsa33 July 08, 2026 05:09

kkgalicinao I sent you an email. I would like to meet with one of your consultants and go over my results.

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guzmanelsa33 July 08, 2026 05:11

LeventK I do have that book. I am going to start this next round with that book and move on to Law for architects. I have read the AHPP so many times, i think i need to start backwards and start with the contracts as well. I always leave the contracts for the end.

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guzmanelsa33 July 08, 2026 05:12

WaqasAl I am familiar with his lectures. I always make the mistake of leaving the contracts for the end. I think i am going to start with contracts first this time around.

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JCorrington July 08, 2026 15:50

The contract lectures by Hanahan are something like 20 hours of content. I was listening to about 3 hours per day in the 2 weeks leading up to my PCM and PJM exams. The trick is to read and highlight the contracts first. Then while you're listening to him as background noise at work or whatever, you'll recognize the familiar concepts.

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