Critical Path Analysis

Planning and Monitoring Tool

Critical Path Analysis May be used as part of the decision making process Enables a firm to plan and monitor operations Time related – identifies the maximum time for an operation to be completed Identify potential problems in implementing operation Identifies where and when resources (including human ones) are needed

Critical Path Analysis Advantages – Maximise efficiency in the use of time – Improve efficiency and generate cost saving in the use of resources – Beneficial to monitoring cash flow Disadvantages – Usefulness may be limited in complex and large scale operations – Necessity of having clear and reliable information – Skilled management and team philosophy is essential

The Process

CPA – the Process Identify and prioritise the activities Identify which activities MUST be done before others EST – identify earliest start time LFT – identify latest finish time Identify the FLOAT – tasks which can be completed outside the critical path Identify the critical path – points connecting ESTs and LFTs (where these are the same)

Critical Path Analysis Nodes: Show the start and finish of a task 12 Node numbers showing order of activities in the left hand semi-circle of each node. 3 Earliest Start Time (EST) 5 Latest Finish Time (LFT) A 3 B 5 Arrows indicate the order of the tasks, the letter above shows the order, the time period below the arrow The Critical Path