8/22/2016

CriticalPathMethod

CriticalPathMethod
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Introduction
If you have been into project management, I'm sure you have already heard the term
'criticalpathmethod.'
Ifyouarenewtothesubject,itisbesttostartwithunderstandingthe'criticalpath'and
thenmoveontothe'criticalpathmethod.'
Criticalpathisthesequentialactivitiesfromstarttotheendofaproject.Althoughmany
projectshaveonlyonecriticalpath,someprojectsmayhavemorethanonecriticalpaths
dependingontheflowlogicusedintheproject.
Ifthereisadelayinanyoftheactivitiesunderthecriticalpath,therewillbeadelayof
theprojectdeliverables.
Mostofthetimes,ifsuchdelayisoccurred,projectaccelerationorresequencingisdone
inordertoachievethedeadlines.
Criticalpathmethodisbasedonmathematicalcalculationsanditisusedforscheduling
projectactivities.Thismethodwasfirstintroducedin1950sasajointventurebetween
RemingtonRandCorporationandDuPontCorporation.
The initial critical path method was used for managing plant maintenance projects.
Although the original method was developed for construction work, this method can be
usedforanyprojectwherethereareinterdependentactivities.
Inthecriticalpathmethod,thecriticalactivitiesofaprogramoraprojectareidentified.
Thesearetheactivitiesthathaveadirectimpactonthecompletiondateoftheproject.

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KeyStepsinCriticalPathMethod
Let's have a look at how critical path method is used in practice. The process of using
criticalpathmethodinprojectplanningphasehassixsteps.

Step1:Activityspecification
YoucanusetheWorkBreakdownStructure(WBS)toidentifytheactivitiesinvolvedinthe
project.Thisisthemaininputforthecriticalpathmethod.
In activity specification, only the higherlevel activities are selected for critical path
method.
Whendetailedactivitiesareused,thecriticalpathmethodmaybecometoocomplexto
manageandmaintain.

Step2:Activitysequenceestablishment
Inthisstep,thecorrectactivitysequenceisestablished.Forthat,youneedtoaskthree
questionsforeachtaskofyourlist.
Whichtasksshouldtakeplacebeforethistaskhappens.
Whichtasksshouldbecompletedatthesametimeasthistask.
Whichtasksshouldhappenimmediatelyafterthistask.

Step3:Networkdiagram
Once the activity sequence is correctly identified, the network diagram can be drawn
(refertothesamplediagramabove).
Although the early diagrams were drawn on paper, there are a number of computer
softwares,suchasPrimavera,forthispurposenowadays.

Step4:Estimatesforeachactivity

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ThiscouldbeadirectinputfromtheWBSbasedestimationsheet.Mostofthecompanies
use 3point estimation method or COCOMO based (function points based) estimation
methodsfortasksestimation.
Youcanusesuchestimationinformationforthisstepoftheprocess.

Step5:Identificationofthecriticalpath
Forthis,youneedtodeterminefourparametersofeachactivityofthenetwork.
Earlieststarttime(ES)Theearliesttimeanactivitycanstartoncetheprevious
dependentactivitiesareover.
Earliestfinishtime(EF)ES+activityduration.
Latestfinishtime(LF)Thelatesttimeanactivitycanfinishwithoutdelayingthe
project.
Lateststarttime(LS)LFactivityduration.
The float time for an activity is the time between the earliest (ES) and the latest (LS)
starttimeorbetweentheearliest(EF)andlatest(LF)finishtimes.
Duringthefloattime,anactivitycanbedelayedwithoutdelayingtheprojectfinishdate.
Thecriticalpathisthelongestpathofthenetworkdiagram.Theactivitiesinthecritical
pathhaveaneffectonthedeadlineoftheproject.Ifanactivityofthispathisdelayed,
theprojectwillbedelayed.
Incaseiftheprojectmanagementneedstoacceleratetheproject,thetimesforcritical
pathactivitiesshouldbereduced.

Step6:Criticalpathdiagramtoshowprojectprogresses
Critical path diagram is a live artefact. Therefore, this diagram should be updated with
actualvaluesoncethetaskiscompleted.
This gives more realistic figure for the deadline and the project management can know
whethertheyareontrackregardingthedeliverables.

AdvantagesofCriticalPathMethod
Followingareadvantagesofcriticalpathmethods:
Offersavisualrepresentationoftheprojectactivities.
Presentsthetimetocompletethetasksandtheoverallproject.
Trackingofcriticalactivities.

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Conclusion
Critical path identification is required for any projectplanning phase. This gives the
projectmanagementthecorrectcompletiondateoftheoverallprojectandtheflexibility
tofloatactivities.
A critical path diagram should be constantly updated with actual information when the
projectprogressesinordertorefinetheactivitylength/projectdurationpredictions.

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