Critical Path
Critical Path
Early Finish (EF): This is the next number you go to in the forward pass analysis. It is taken by adding the
number in the ES box plus the number in the Duration box.
Late Finish (LF): The Late Finish is the number you begin the analysis with to do the backward pass. It is
defined to be equal to the number in the Early Finish box for the last activity in the project. The Late Finish
for preceding activities is calculated in one of two different ways, which will be demonstrated below.
Late Start (LS): This is the next number you go to in the backward pass analysis. It is taken by subtracting
the number in the Duration box from the number in the LF box.
Float: Once ES, ES, LF, and LS are determined, the float is calculated by either LS ES or LF EF. Just
remember that a piece of wood will float to the top of the water, so the float is calculated by taking the
bottom number and then going upward and subtracting the number thats on the top of it.
Step 2.
For activity A, the first activity in the project, ES = 0.
A
0
Step 3.
Then EF for activity A is simply ES + duration. Lets say activity A takes 5 days. Then EF = 0 + 5 = 5.
A
5
0 5
Step 4.
The forward pass for activity A is complete. Lets go on to activity B.
Since activity B has only one predecessor, activity B, the ES for activity B is simply equal to the EF of
activity A, which was 5.
B
3
5
Then the EF for activity B is taken by adding the ES of to the duration of activity B or 3, giving EF = 5 + 3 =
8.
Theres one more situation that we have to discuss and that is if an activity has more than one
predecessor.
Duration
5
3
6
Assume Activity A and Activity B are both done concurrently at the start of the project, and both need to be
done in order for Activity C to start. Well, before we do the formal forward pass analysis, what does logic
tell us. Activity A takes 5 days; Activity B takes 3 days. Both activity A and B have to be done before
Activity C can take place. In this case the start date of the project is considered to be 0. Can Activity C take
place on day 3, when activity B is done? No, because Activity A isnt completed yet, and you need BOTH A
and B to be done. The earliest possible start date for Activity C will be day 5, because only on that date will
both A and B be done.
So this illustrates the other way of calculating ES for an activity B. If there are multiple predecessors, then
the ES is equal to the LARGEST of the ES of the predecessor activities.
Step 5.
Now, lets assume we are at the end of the project at activity Z.
Z
5
9
5
100
EL = ES + duration gives us EL = 95 + 5 + 100. So the project will take 100 days according to our forward
pass calculation.
Now, we have the backward pass.
We start this out by stating as a principle that the late finish or LF date for the last activity in the project is
equal to the EF date.
Z
5
9
5
100
100
100
100
Step 6.
Now we go in the reverse direction towards the beginning of the network diagram, this time filling out the
bottom LS and LF boxes for each activity.
If the activity has one successor, then the LF for the predecessor activity equals the LS for the successor of
activity. But if there are more than one predecessor activity, then heres what you do. For the forward pass,
you take the highest EF of all predecessors.
For the backward pass, you take the lowest LS of all successors. Lets see how this works.
Lets assume the forward pass is done on A, B, and C. We do the backward analysis and we get to the
following point. What is the LF of activity A?
A
5
B
3
C
4
0 5 5 8 5 9
6 9 5 9
Well, activity B and activity C are both successors of A. In this case, activity B has an LS of 6 and activity C
has an LS of 5. The earliest LS is therefore 5, and so LS of activity A is 5.
A
5
B
3
C
4
0 5 5 8 5 9
0 5 6 9 5 9
Step 7.
What is the float? Take LF EF (or LS ES) for each of the activities.
A
5
B
3
C
4
0 5 5 8 5 9
0 5 6 9 5 9
0
1
0
So the float of B is 1, and the float of A and C are 0. Therefore A and C are on the critical path, and activity
B is on a non-critical path. If you needed to compress the schedule, you would do it with activities A and C
that are on the critical path. If you shortened B by one day, however, it would not shorten the overall
schedule at all, but would just reduce the float from 1 to 0.
3. Exam questions
Oh, PMI just loves giving questions on the critical path, and they can be time consuming. When taking a
test with 200 questions, every minute counts, so how can you answer questions on the critical path
without having to go through this long and time-consuming process? HINT: Most critical path questions
can be answered without the forward and backward pass methodology. How? Read the next post to find
out!
http://4squareviews.com/2013/04/16/5th-edition-pmbok-guide-chapter-6-critical-path-method/