Critical Path Method

Critical Path is another technique to do the Schedule Network Analysis. Its again a very popular technique and we will study this method in next few slides. First, let me explain what is a critical Path? Critical path is defined as the longest duration path through a network diagram and determines the shortest time to complete the project. We will shortly learn on how to identify a critical path in a network. Float is another concept, which is quiet important in understanding the critical path. Float is calculated once the network diagram is ready. There are three kind of float that can be calculated. The first being the Total Float, which is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date or an intermediary milestone. The second type of float is Free Float which is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor(s) activities. The last type is Project Float which is the amount of time a Project can be delayed without delaying the externally imposed project completion date required by the customer or previously committed by the Project Manager. You can think of float as a cushion time available to complete an activity. Float is also called slack. Now, let me ask you. What is the slack of the activities on the critical path? The answer is Zero. Because, there is no scope to delay activities on the critical path. Critical Path actually represents the Project duration. They actually add …