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How to calculate the Critical Path with

Examples
Project Management

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The critical path method is one of the most important concepts in

project management; however, many students have difficulties in its
application. In this post, you will learn how to calculate the critical path
of a project step by step by following practical examples.

Before you start we recommend you to review our post how to create a
PERT CPM chart step by step with examples; where we explain how to
graphically represent the relationships between the activities of a project.
Creating the chart of project is the starting point to calculate our critical
path.

You can also check our online critical path method calculator that performs
the steps to calculate the critical path automatically.

What is the Critical Path Method?

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 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

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 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

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 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.

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 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): Learn more

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

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Slack – Float (S):
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S = LS – ES = LF – EF

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 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

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 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

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 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:

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 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.

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 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:

See also How to create a PERT Chart step by step: AON Network

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

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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.

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 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:

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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:

See also Critical Path Method Calculator - PERT and CPM Diagram

LSB = 9 – 4 = 5

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 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

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 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:

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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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 Early Finish Late Start Late Finish Slack
(ES) (EF) (LS) (LF) (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

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 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.

With the help of our entry, we are confident that you will gain more
understanding about the CPM technique and how it can be used to
calculate critical path.

Finally, we invite you to follow us on our social networks and join our
Facebook group where we can exchange more information with the
participants.

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