How to calculate the Critical Path with Examples

The critical path method is one of the most important concepts in project
management; however, many students have difficulties in its application. In this
topic, you will learn how to calculate the critical path of a project step by step
by following practical examples.

Before you start, it is recommended that you review the topic how to create a
PERT CPM chart step by step with examples; where it was explained how to
graphically represent the relationships between the activities of a project.
Creating the chart of project is the starting point to calculate the critical path.

What is the Critical Path Method?

The Guide for Project Management (better known as PMBOK Guide), defines
the critical path as:

“The sequence of scheduled activities that determines the duration of the

project”.
To complete a project, we must perform all the activities that compose it. Some
activities can be done simultaneously, but others must be done in a certain
order. For example, if I am going to build a house, I must first build the walls
before painting them. Of all the sequences of activities that make up the project,
the sequence that has the longest duration will be the critical path and
determines the total project time. As a consequence, the critical path method
specifies the algorithm for finding it.

Why is Critical Path Important?

By identifying the critical path, teams recognize the most important tasks to
be performed in a project.
Further, any delay in a critical path activity can cause the entire project to be
delayed, so managers take extra care to ensure those activities take place as
planned.

Important: Projects may have multiple critical paths.

What methods are used to calculate the Critical Path?

The methods used to calculate the critical path are the Project Evaluation and
Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM).

The PERT and CPM methods began to be developed in the 1950s to assist
managers in scheduling, monitoring and controlling large, complex projects.
The CPM method (1957) was implemented as a procedure to assist in the
construction and maintenance of chemical plants. The PERT technique was
developed independently in 1958 for the U.S. Navy's Polaris project.

Although both methods are similar, they used different techniques to estimate
task durations. The PERT method used three different time estimates for the
duration of each task, plus it calculated the probability of completing the project
at a given time. The CPM method used a single duration for each task; however,
it also analyzed the additional costs that would be incurred if the project is
accelerated.

The differences between the two techniques are now considered to be minimal;
therefore, we can refer to both as an overall method called PERT CPM.

How to calculate the critical path?

To calculate the critical path, we will follow the following steps:

• Step 1: Obtain the project data. Make a list of all the activities of the
project along with their dependencies and their specific times.
 • Step 2: Elaborate the network diagram. We have written a post that
explains how to elaborate the project network diagram step by step.
• Step 3: Calculate the Early Start and Late Start Times. Determine the
Early Start and Late Start Times for each activity.
• Step 4: Calculate the Early Finish and Late Finish Times. Determine the
Early Finish and Late Finish Times for each activity.
• Step 5: Calculate the slack time. The critical path must be determined by
finding out the slack for each activity of the process. The activities where
there is no slack are the ones making up the critical path.

How to Calculate Early Start, Late Start, Early Finish, Late Finish and
Slack (Float)

To visualize the calculation of these values, we will use the following graphic
representation of the activity:

Duration (t):

Indicates the time it takes to complete the activity.

Early Start Time (ES):

This is the earliest time that an activity can be started assuming all previous
activities have been completed beforehand. For activities that have more than
one precedent, the ES is the greatest of the late start time of their precedents.

Early finish Time (EF):

This is the earliest time that an activity can finish. It is equal to the early start
time plus its estimated duration (t):

EF = ES + t

Late Finish Time (LF):

This is the latest time at which an activity can be completed without delaying
the entire project. It is obtained by equaling the late start time of the activity
that immediately follows. If activities have more than one task immediately
following them, the LF will be the least of the late start time of those activities.

Late Start Time (LS):

It is the latest time an activity can begin without delaying the whole project. It
is equal to the Late Finish Time minus the expected duration of that activity (t):

LS = LF – t

Slack – Float (S):

A period of time when an activity can be delayed without causing the entire
project to be delayed. All activities contained in the critical path have zero slack.

Here is how it is calculated mathematically:

S = LS – ES = LF – EF
We will illustrate these concepts with an example:

Imagine that your professor asks you to write an essay to be submitted in 15

days.

According to the length of the topic, it will take you approximately 1 week to
prepare it. If you are a very responsible person, you will probably start the essay
as soon as possible. The earliest start time (ES=0), represents the first moment
when you can start your essay:

If you start your project at point 0; you will have it ready at point 7. That final
value represents the early finish time (EF=7).

Now let's suppose that you like to do your activities at the last minute; most
likely you want to finish your essay right on the day of the presentation. That
day would be point 15 and represents the late finish time (LF=15). You cannot
exceed that point because you will no longer submit the paper on time.

In order for you to finish your paper on the 15th day, you have to start 7 days
earlier (the time it takes to do the rehearsal); therefore you must start on the
8th day. This point represents the late start time (LS=8). If you start after this
date you will not be able to submit your work on time.
The 8 free days you have between the time you start work and the date of
submission is the slack (float) in your activity.

Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF
Slack = 8 – 0 = 15 – 7 = 8

If we change the scenario and our teacher gives us only the one-week deadline
to submit the essay. We will no longer have any free time (slack) so I must start
working on the essay from the very beginning to get it done on time. Since this
activity has no chance of being delayed, we call it a critical activity.

In project management, it is required to calculate these values for each activity

which is achieved through a two-path process: a forward path to calculate ES
and EF; and a backward path to calculate LS, LF and slack (float).
This procedure will be detailed by means of solved examples:

Example 1:

Draw the activity-on-node (AON) project network associated with the

following activities for Dave Carhart’s consulting company project.

Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Time (Days)

A – 3
B A 4
C A 6
D B 6
E B 4
F C 4
G D 6
H E, F 8
• How long should it take Dave and his team to complete this project?
• What are the critical path activities?

Solution 1:

The network diagram would look as follows:

The development of this diagram was explained in detail in our article
on creating PERT CPM diagrams. The number at each node represents the
duration of each activity.

Forward path

We will now perform the forward path to calculate the ES and EF with an
analysis of each activity.

Start node:

This dummy node has all values equal to zero.

Activity A:

Since it is the first activity, its ES will be equal to the EF of the starting node
(zero); the EF is calculated as follows:

EF = ES + activity time
EFA = 0 + 3 = 3
Activity B:

It has as precedent only activity A; therefore its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity A. In the same way as the previous node, the EF of activity B is
calculated by adding its ES + the corresponding time:

EFB = 3 + 4 = 7
Activity C:

It has as precedent only activity A; therefore its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity A. The EF of activity C is calculated by adding its ES + the
corresponding time:

EFC = 3 + 6 = 9

Activity D:

It has as a precedent only activity B; therefore, its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity B. The EF of activity D is calculated by adding its ES + the
corresponding time:

EFD = 7 + 6 = 13
Activity E:

It has as a precedent only activity B; therefore its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity B. The EF of activity E is calculated by adding its ES + the
corresponding time:

EFE = 7 + 4 = 11
Activity F:

It has as precedent only activity C; therefore its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity C. The EF of activity F is calculated by adding its ES + the
corresponding time:

EFF = 9 + 4 = 13
Activity G:

It has as precedent only activity D; therefore its ES will be equal to the EF of

activity D. The EF of activity G is calculated by adding its ES + the
corresponding time:

EFG = 13 + 6 = 19
Activity H:

This activity has two precedents: E and F; therefore its ES will be equal to the
highest EF of both activities. In this case, activity F has the highest value with
13. The EF of activity H is calculated by adding its ES + the corresponding
time:

EFH = 13 + 8 = 21
End Node:

The end fictitious node is joined with the last activities G and H; and the highest
value of the EF of both activities is placed as ES: 21. This value represents the
total duration of the project. As this node has zero duration (because it is
fictitious) its EF will be equal to 21 + 0 = 21.
Backward path

To finalize the critical path calculation, we will perform the backward traversal
to calculate the LF and LS, starting from the final node; placing the values at
the bottom of the node as follows:

End Node:

For the end node the LF value is equal to the project duration (21). The LS is
calculated by subtracting the LF minus the duration (zero).

LSEnd = 21 – 0 = 21

Activity H:

Since the final node is the only successor to activity H, its LF will be equal to
the LS of the final node (21). The LS of activity H is calculated by subtracting its
LF minus its duration:

LSH= 21 – 8 = 13
Activity G:

Since the end node is the only successor of activity G, its LF will be equal to the
LS of the end node (21). The LS of activity G is calculated by subtracting its LF
minus its duration:

LSG = 21 – 6 = 15

Activity F:

Since activity H is the only successor of activity F, its LF will be equal to the LS
of activity H (13). The LS of activity F is calculated by subtracting its LF minus
its duration:

LSF = 13 – 4 = 9
Activity E:

Since activity H is the only successor of activity E, its LF will be equal to the LS
of activity H (13). The LS of activity E is calculated by subtracting its LF minus
its duration:

LSE = 13 – 4 = 9
Activity D:

Since activity G is the only successor of activity D, its LF will be equal to the LS
of activity G (15). The LS of activity D is calculated by subtracting its LF minus
its duration:

LSD = 15 – 6 = 9
Activity C:

Since activity F is the only successor of activity C, its LF will be equal to the LS
of activity F (9). The LS of activity C is calculated by subtracting its LF minus its
duration:

LSC = 9 – 6 = 3
Activity B:

How activity B has as successors activities D and E, its LF will be equal to the
smaller value of the LS of both. In this case, since both have a value of 9; that
value will be the LF of activity B. The LS of activity B is calculated by
subtracting its LF minus its duration:

LSB = 9 – 4 = 5
Activity A:

How activity A has as successors activities B and C, its LF will be equal to the
smaller value of the LS of both. In this case, the lowest value is that of activity
C (3); therefore, that value will be the LF of activity A. The LS of activity A is
calculated by subtracting its LF minus its duration:

LSA = 3 – 3 = 0
Initial Node:

Using the same analysis as above we complete the values of the initial node
with zero.
Finally, we calculate the slack for each node with the following formula:

Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF

The final graph would look like this:

The activities with zero float (marked in red) are the critical activities. In this
example, these activities follow a single path that will be our critical path: A –
C – F – H. Total project time is 21 days.

Example 2:

Shirley Hopkins is developing a program in leadership training for middle-level

managers. Shirley has listed a number of activities that must be completed
before a training program of this nature can be conducted. The activities,
immediate predecessors, and times appear in the accompanying table.
 Activity Immediate Predecessor Time (days)
A – 2
B – 5
C – 1
D B 10
E A,D 3
F C 6
G E,F 8

Provide the following:

• AON diagram for these precedencies

• What is the critical path?
• What is the total project completion date?
• What is the slack time for each individual activity?

Solution 2:

We will solve this example by showing the results and analysis of our critical
path method calculator:

Each activity is broken down by its precedents and descendants:

Predecessor Activity Successor

Start → A A A→E
Start → B B B→D
Start → C C C→F
B→D D D→E
A→E
E E→G
D→E
C→F F F→G
E→G
G G → End
F→G

This table serves as a guide to build our network diagram. Two dummy
activities were added to show the start and end. The activities with 0 (zero)
slack are the ones that make up the critical path.
CPM Network Diagram

CPM Network Diagram with Calculations of ES, EF, LS, LF and Float

The following table presents the results to determine the critical path:

• Early Start (ES): It is equal to the Early Finish to the activity's precedent.
If it has more than one precedent, the highest value is taken.
• Early Finish (EF): It is equal to the Early Start of the activity plus its
duration (t). EF = ES + t.
 • Late Start (LS): It is equal to the Late Finish minus its duration (t). LS =
LF – t.
• Late Finish (LF): It is equal to the late start of the activity that follows. If
it has more than one successor, the lowest value is taken.
• Slack (S): It can be calculated in two ways. S = LS – ES = LF – EF.
Activities with zero clearance make up the critical path.

Activity Time Early Start (ES) Early Finish (EF) Late Start (LS) Late Finish (LF) Slack (S)
A 2 0 2 13 15 13
B 5 0 5 0 5 0
C 1 0 1 11 12 11
D 10 5 15 5 15 0
E 3 15 18 15 18 0
F 6 1 7 12 18 11
G 8 18 26 18 26 0

The critical path is:

B→D→E→G

The total project time is: 26 hours

Final Reflection
The critical path shows us the main activities that will determine the total time
of the project; that is why Project Managers must be aware of the fulfillment
of each one of them. This does not mean that the other activities should be
neglected; on the contrary, if they are delayed longer than their slack, the
project will have problems to finish on time.