Critical Path Method

It is a project management technique, which involves analyzing the critical and non-critical jobs in the
project and plan the process accordingly such that there is no delay in the project or issues with bottle
neck. CPM was developed in 1950 by Morgan R. Walker of Dupont which was used in missle-defence
construction projects. Now CPM is used in all form of projects including software projects.

Steps to apply CRM

1. Compile a list of all the tasks to be performed, to complete the project

 Using Work Breakdown Structure, we can identify the tasks involved in a project, this is
the main input for critical path method
2. Estimate the time duration of all the tasks which is to be performed
 By planning and previous experience, the time taken for the tasks is calculated
3. Find the dependencies in each task and put them in a flowchart
 There are certain instances when one task is needed to be completed before the start of
another task. These are identified, and a network diagram is prepared using it
4. Evaluate the critical and non-critical tasks in the flowchart
 To identify these, four parameters are needed, they are
i. Earliest start time (ES)
ii. Earliest finish time (EF)
iii. Latest finish time (LF)
iv. Latest start time (LS)
 Float time is calculated, which is the difference between ES and LS or EF and SF
 The critical task is the one with float time as zero
5. Find the critical path and determine the expected completion of tasks and the project
6. Make backup plans of the critical paths in case of any failure

The critical path is identified by finding out when will be the earliest and latest start time of a job will be.
When the both times are same it is a critical task. All the critical tasks will lie in the critical path which is
responsible for the delay of project if the tasks delay.

Crash happens when a task is needed to be completed with high priority. More resources are deployed
to handle this task to finish on time. This usually delays the other process in pipeline. Using crash is not
beneficial for the project as it can make some non-critical tasks into critical ones.

Benefits of CPM

 Identifies the Most Important Tasks: if any tasks on the critical path is delayed or started late
then the whole project will be delayed.
 Helps Reduce Timelines: If after the start of the project there are certain resources which can
reduce the time duration of certain tasks, the CPM can tell where to deploy these resources to
reduce the project completion time.
 Comparing Planned with Actual: We can compare the actual timelines with the one of planned
and identify the improvements needed in either tasks or estimation or the cause of delays.
These can be used to come up with a better CPM for the next projects.