CRITICAL PATH DEFINITION

 ALL the tasks that determine the end date in your project schedule.  The critical path is the longest PATH, through the “AON” NETWORK (Activity On Node-explanation on 2nd slide from this one—slide # 13)  Longest path  Longest path of planned activities to the end of the project  Longest time in (days/weeks/months)  To be started and completed exactly as scheduled to ensure the project is completed by a certain date  ONE activity can NOT be done before the previous activity is completed CRITICAL PATH 2

CRITICAL PATH cont.  The critical path is the shortest possible TIME in which the ENTIRE project can be completed in  Any delay in ANY Critical Path” activities delays the project  Any delay in ANY of the “Critical Path” activities delays the project  All “Critical Path” activities have to be in sequence”  “Critical” does NOT refer to how important the task is, but rather the IMPACT the SCHEDULING of these tasks has on the FINISH date of the project 3