Critical Path Method (CPM)

Lesson Outline

ӹӹ The concepts of critical path and critical activities

ӹӹ Location of the critical path
ӹӹ Evaluation of the project completion time

Learning Objectives

After reading this lesson you should be able to

ӹӹ understand the definitions of critical path and critical activities

ӹӹ identify critical path and critical activities
ӹӹ determine the project completion time

Introduction

The critical path method (CPM) aims at the determination of the

time to complete a project and the important activities on which a manager
shall focus attention.

Assumption For Cpm

In CPM, it is assumed that precise time estimate is available for

each activity.

Project Completion Time

From the start event to the end event, the time required to complete
all the activities of the project in the specified sequence is known as the
project completion time.

1
Path In A Project

A continuous sequence, consisting of nodes and activities

alternatively, beginning with the start event and stopping at the end event
of a network is called a path in the network.

Critical Path And Crtical Activities

Consider all the paths in a project, beginning with the start

event and stopping at the end event. For each path, calculate the time of
execution, by adding the time for the individual activities in that path.

The path with the largest time is called the critical path and the
activities along this path are called the critical activities or bottleneck
activities. The activities are called critical because they cannot be delayed.
However, a non-critical activity may be delayed to a certain extent. Any
delay in a critical activity will delay the completion of the whole project.
However, a certain permissible delay in a non –critical activity will not
delay the completion of the whole project. It shall be noted that delay in a
non-critical activity beyond a limit would certainly delay the completion
the whole project. Sometimes, there may be several critical paths for a
project. A project manager shall pay special attention to critical activities.

Problem 1

The following details are available regarding a project:

Predecessor
Activity Duration (Weeks)
Activity
A - 3

B A 5

C A 7

D B 10

E C 5

F D,E 4

2
 Determine the critical path, the critical activities and the project
completion time.

Solution

First let us construct the network diagram for the given project. We
mark the time estimates along the arrows representing the activities. We
obtain the following diagram:

Start event B 3 D End event

5 10
A
1 2
3 F
5 6
C 4
7 E
5
4

Consider the paths, beginning with the start node and stopping
with the end node. There are two such paths for the given project. They are
as follows:

Path I

A B D F
1 2 3 5 6
3 5 10 4

with a time of 3 + 5 + 10 + 4 = 22 weeks.

Path II

A C E F
1 2 4 5 6
3 7 5 4

with a time of 3 + 7 + 5 + 4 = 19 weeks.

Compare the times for the two paths. Maximum of {22,19} = 22.
We see that path I has the maximum time of 22 weeks. Therefore, path
I is the critical path. The critical activities are A, B, D and F. The project

3
completion time is 22 weeks.
We notice that C and E are non- critical activities.
Time for path I - Time for path II = 22- 19 = 3 weeks.

Therefore, together the non- critical activities can be delayed upto

a maximum of 3 weeks, without delaying the completion of the whole
project.

Problem 2

Find out the completion time and the critical activities for the
following project:
D
5
2 20 1

G 8
A
8 E H 11 K 6
B 6 8 10
1 3
10 16
14
1 1

I L
7 5
C
J 9
F 10 1

7
4 25

Solution

In all, we identify 4 paths, beginning with the start node of 1 and

terminating at the end node of 10. They are as follows:

Path I

A D G K
1 2 5 8 10
8 20 8 6

Time for the path = 8 + 20 + 8 + 6 = 42 units of time.

4
Path II

B E H K
1 3 6 8 10
10 16 11 6

Time for the path = 10 + 16 + 11 + 6 = 43 units of time.

Path III

B E I L
1 3 6 9 10
10 16 14 5

Time for the path = 10 + 16 + 14 + 5 = 45 units of time.

Path IV

C F J L
1 4 7 9 10
7 25 10 5

Time for the path = 7 + 25 + 10 + 5 = 47 units of time.

Compare the times for the four paths. Maximum of {42,

43, 45, 47} = 47. We see that the following path has the maximum
time and so it is the critical path:

C F J L
1 4 7 9 10
7 25 10 5

The critical activities are C, F, J and L. The non-critical activities

are A, B, D, E, G, H, I and K. The project completion time is 47
units of time.
Problem 3

5
 Draw the network diagram and determine the critical path for the
following project:

Activity Time estimate (Weeks)

1- 2 5
1- 3 6

1- 4 3

2 -5 5
3 -6 7

3 -7 10

4 -7 4

5 -8 2

6 -8 5
7 -9 6
8 -9 4

Solution

We have the following network diagram for the project:

D 5
2
5 1
H
2
A
5
1 B E 6
I 8
K
3
6 7 1
3 1
4 9
1

10 J
3 C F
6
G 7
4
4

6
Solution

We assert that there are 4 paths, beginning with the start node of 1
and terminating at the end node of 9. They are as follows:

Path I

A D H K 9
1 2 5 8
5 5 2 4

Time for the path = 5 + 5 + 2 + 4 = 16 weeks.

Path II

B E I K 9
1 3 6 8
6 7 5 4

Time for the path = 6 + 7 + 5 + 4 = 22 weeks.

Path III

B F J
1 3 7 9
6 10 6

Time for the path = 6 + 10 + 6 = 16 weeks.

Path IV

C 4 5
1 4 7 9
3 4 6

Time for the path = 3 + 4 + 6 = 13 weeks.

Compare the times for the four paths. Maximum of {16, 22, 16, 13}
= 22. We see that the following path has the maximum time and so it is the
critical path:

7
 D E I K
1 3 6 8 9
6 7 5 4

The critical activities are B, E, I and K. The non-critical activities are A, C,

D, F, G, H and J. The project completion time is 22 weeks.

Questions

1. Explain the terms: critical path, critical activities.

2. The following are the time estimates and the precedence relationships
of the activities in a project network:

IMMEDIATE
time estimate
Activity Predecessor
(weeks)
Activity
A - 4

B - 7

C - 3

D A 6

E B 4

F B 7

G C 6

H E 10

I D 3

J F, G 4

K H, I 2

Draw the project network diagram. Determine the critical path and the
project completion time.

****

8
 Earliest And Latest Times

Lesson Outline

ӹӹ The Concepts Of Earliest And Latest Times

ӹӹ The Concept Of Slack
ӹӹ Numerical Problems

Learning Objectives

ӹӹ After reading this lesson you should be able to

ӹӹ Understand the concepts of earliest and latest times
ӹӹ Understand the concept of slack
ӹӹ Calculate the earliest and latest times
ӹӹ Find out the slacks
ӹӹ Identify the critical activities
ӹӹ Carry out numerical problems

Introduction

A project manager has the responsibility to see that a project is

completed by the stipulated date, without delay. Attention is focused on
this aspect in what follows.

Key concepts

Certain key concepts are introduced below.

Earliest Times Of An Activity

We can consider (i) Earliest Start Time of an activity and (ii) Earliest
Finish Time of an activity.

9
 Earliest Start Time of an activity is the earliest possible time of
starting that activity on the condition that all the other activities preceding
to it were began at the earliest possible times.

Earliest Finish Time of an activity is the earliest possible time of

completing that activity. It is given by the formula.

The Earliest Finish Time of an activity = The Earliest Start Time of

the activity + The estimated duration to carry out that activity.

LATEST TIMES OF AN ACTIVITY

We can consider (i) Latest Finish Time of an activity and (ii) Latest
Start Time of an activity.

Latest Finish Time of an activity is the latest possible time of

completing that activity on the condition that all the other activities
succeeding it are carried out as per the plan of the management and
without delaying the project beyond the stipulated time.

Latest Start Time of an activity is the latest possible time of

beginning that activity. It is given by the formula

Latest Start Time of an activity = The Latest Finish Time of the

activity - The estimated duration to carry out that activity.

TOTAL FLOAT OF AN ACTIVITY

Float seeks to measure how much delay is acceptable. It sets up a

control limit for delay.

The total float of an activity is the time by which that activity can
be delayed without delaying the whole project. It is given by the formula

Total Float of an Activity = Latest Finish Time of the activity -

Earliest Finish Time of that activity.

It is also given by the formula

Total Float of an Activity = Latest Start Time of the activity - Earliest

10