Previously the concept and definition of Project and Project

Management was introduced Now lets get to know a bit about the
Critical Path Method which is a commonly used tool in project
management

History of the CPM?

The critical path method (CPM) was invented by DuPont
Corporation project managers in 1957.
The company along with another giant, the Remington
Rand Corporation originally needed a technique for the
management of large chemical plants.
Nowadays, this knowledge is used widely and vastly. Its
application ranges from within the construction industry to
software development.

WHAT IS CPM?
Critical Path Method (CPM)
A tool/ procedure for using network analysis to
identify those tasks which are on the critical path:
ie where any delay in the completion of these tasks
will lengthen the project timescale, unless action is
taken.
Critical path
The critical path marks the series of tasks that must
be completed on schedule for a project to finish on
schedule.
Each task on the critical path is a critical task.

Continued from Part 1.

Basic CPM Definitions

CRITICAL TASKS
Task that do not have any FLOAT. These tasks dictate the
calculated finish date (Project completion date )
When the last task in the critical path is completed, the
project is completed.
WHAT IS FLOAT (Also known as SLACK)
The amount of time you can delay starting an activity without
increasing the amount of time it takes to complete the
project. Can be more precisely detailed into:
Total Float
Free Float

Free Float (FF) : The maximum amount of time that

an activity can be delayed without delaying the
early start of any other activity, specifically those
activities immediately following that activity.
Total Float (TF) : The maximum amount of time that
an activity can be delayed without delaying the
project completion.

It is important to manage float. Using too much of the

total float (more than the free float) will eat up buffer
time for other activities that might need float.
So float should be used wisely.