CPM Critical Path Method

CPM Critical Path Method In 1957, Dupont developed a project management method designed to address the challenge of shutting do n chemical plants for maintenance and then restarting the plants once the maintenance had !een completed" #iven the comple$it% of the process, the% developed the Critical Path Method &CPM' for managing such projects" CPM provides the follo ing !enefits( Provides a graphical vie of the project Predicts the time re)uired to complete the project" *ho s hich activities are critical to maintaining the schedule and hich are not"

CPM models the events and activities of a project as a net or+" ,ctivities are depicted as nodes on the net or+ and events that signif% the !eginning or ending of activities are depicted as arcs or lines !et een the nodes" -he follo ing is an e$ample of a CPM net or+ diagram !ased on the follo ing .or+ /rea+do n *tructure &./*'(
6andscape Project

1"1 Design home landscape

3"1 Put in la n

0"1 /uild 2ence

3"1 Purchase la n material

3"3 Install sprin+ler s%stem

3"0 Plant grass

3"4 Plant shru!s

0"1 ,)uire fence material

0"3 Construct fence

3"3"1 Identif% sprin+ler location

3"0"1 7emove de!ris

0"3"1 Mar+ fence line and posts

0"3"3 Install posts

0"3"0 Install fencing and gates

0"3"4 Paint5stain fence

3"3"3 Dig trenches

3"0"3" Prepare soil

3"3"0 Install pipe and hard are

3"0"0 Plant la n seed 8 *ummar% -as+ or Milestone

3"3"4 Cover sprin+ler s%stem 8 .or+ Pac+age or -as+

Sources: PMI PM/9:, 7ita Mulcah%, NetMBA.com The Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. @ !! " !!# Page $

CPM Critical Path Method

/ 1 da% D 5 da%s < 0 da%s 2 1 da% I 1 da%

2inish *tart 7 da%s , C 3 da%s ; 0 da%s = 3 da%s : # 5 da%s 3 da%s 0 da%s 6 M 5 da%s > 5 da%s

6andscape Project Predecessor -a!le WBS ID Task ID Task 1"1 , Design home landscape 3"150"1 / ,c)uire materials 3"3"1 C ID sprin+ler location 3"3"3 D Dig trenches 3"3"0 < Install pipe and hard are 3"3"4 2 Cover sprin+ler s%stem 3"0"1 # 7emove de!ris 3"0"3 ; Prepare soil 3"0"0 I Plant la n seed 3"4 = Plant shru!s 0"3"1 : Mar+ fence line 0"3"3 6 Install posts 0"3"0 M Install fencing ? gates 0"3"4 > Paint5stain fence

Predecessor , , #, C /, D < , # #, 2 ; # /, : 6 M

Resources ;omeo ner ;omeo ner -eens -eens -eens -eens -eens -eens -eens -eens Carpenter Carpenter Carpenter -eens

Time Estimate 7 1 3 5 0 1 5 0 1 3 3 0 5 5

*teps in CPM Project Planning( 1" 3" 0" 4" 5" @" *pecif% the individual activities" Determine the se)uence of those activities" Dra a net or+ diagram" <stimate the completion time for each activit%" Identif% the critical path &the longest path through the net or+' Apdate the CPM diagram as the project progresses"

1" *pecif% the individual activities" 2rom the .or+ /rea+do n *tructure, a listing can !e made of all the activities in the project" -his listing can !e used as the !asis for adding se)uence and duration information in later steps" 3" Determine the se)uence of those activities" *ome activities are dependent upon the completion of others" , listing of the immediate predecessors of each activit% is useful for constructing the CPM net or+ diagram" 0" Dra a net or+ diagram"

9nce the activities and their se)uencing have !een defined, the CPM diagram can !e dra n" CPM originall% as developed as an activit% on node &,9>' net or+, !ut some project planners prefer to specif% the activities on the arcs"

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CPM Critical Path Method

4" <stimate the completion time for each activit%" -he time re)uired to complete each activit% can !e estimated using past e$perience or the estimates of +no ledgea!le persons" CPM is a deterministic model that does not ta+e into account variation in the completion time, so onl% one num!er can !e used for an activit%Bs time estimate" 5" Identif% the critical path -he critical path is the longestCduration path through the net or+" -he significance of the critical path is that the activities that lie on it cannot !e dela%ed ithout dela%ing the project" /ecause of its impact on the entire project, critical path anal%sis is an important aspect of project planning" -he critical path can !e identified !% determining the follo ing four parameters for each activit%( <* earliest start time( the earliest time at hich an activit% can !egin given that its predecessor activities must !e completed first" <2 earliest finish time, e)ual to the earliest start time for the activit% plus the time re)uired to complete the activit%" 62 latest finish time( the latest time at hich an activit% can !e completed ithout dela%ing the project" 6* latest start time, e)ual to the latest finish time minus the time re)uired to complete the activit%"

-he slac+ or float time for an activit% is the time !et een the earliest and latest start time, or !et een the earliest and latest finish time" *lac+ is the amount of time that an activit% can !e dela%ed past its earliest start or earliest finish ithout dela%ing the project" -he critical path is the path through the project net or+ in hich none of the activities have slac+, that is, the path for hich 6*8<* and 628<2 for all activities in the path" , dela% in the critical path dela%s the project" *imilarl%, to accelerate the project it is necessar% to reduce the total time re)uired for the activities in the critical path" @" Apdate CPM diagram ,s the project progresses, the actual tas+ completion times ill !e +no n and the diagram can !e updated to include this information" , ne critical path ma% emerge, and structural changes ma% !e made in the net or+ if project re)uirements change" CPM limitations CPM as developed for comple$ !ut fairl% routine projects ith minimal uncertaint% in project completion times" 2or less routine projects there is more uncertaint% in the completion times, and this uncertaint% limits the usefulness of the deterministic CPM model" ,n alternative to CPM is the P<7- &Program <valuation and 7evie -echni)ue' project planning model, hich allo s a range of durations to !e specified for each activit%"

Sources: PMI PM/9:, 7ita Mulcah%, NetMBA.com The Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. @ !! " !!# Page %