Critical path methodology is a project management technique that analyzes the duration the project would take as well as the activities that require to be completed on time. Critical activities are the tasks that must be completed in time to make the whole project complete. (Lockyer, 2011).The technique can be applied in all form of a project to facilitate effective utilization of resources. Additionally, the tool helps the project managers to reduce the wastage of time in completing a specific project.
The essential elements that are required in the project management include, a list of all activities that are required to complete categorized within a work breakdown structure, the time that each activity would take to complete, the dependencies between the activities and the logical endpoints deliverable items (OCR, 2013). The critical path methodology is used to calculate the longest and the shortest paths of the planned activities to the end of the project without delaying any activity.
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In a specific project, there are some activities that cannot be started until others are finished. These activities need to be completed in a sequence, with each stage of the project being more or less completed before the next stage can start. Therefore, activities that depend on other activities in a project can be termed as sequential activities (Lockyer & Gordon, 2011). On the other hand, there are other activities that do not depend on the completion of any other activity. They can be performed at any time before or after a particular stage. These activities that do not depend on other tasks are termed as non-dependant or parallel activities.
The critical path helps the project manager to plan all the tasks that must be completed based on the type of project. Moreover, the tool acts as the basis both for preparation of schedule as well as for resource planning (Lang, 2013). During the progress of the project, the manager is able to monitor the achievement of project goals and identify the stages where remedial actions need to be taken to get a project back on its course.
The article by Lockey &Gordon (2011) is the most valuable in relation to the critical path. The article reveals all the necessary elements that are required for the project. An example of a project that would use the critical path as a project management tool is the project that involves building three buildings in one location. The three building includes the largest building, medium-sized building, and small building. The network diagram will consist of three paths and each path resembles each building. Each building will have four stages. The network diagram would be as follows.
In review of the network of the project, the path for the largest building is the longest of all the three. It is thirteen months longer than the second building and 18 months longer than the duration of building the smallest building. The critical path is the longest path of the project since the project cannot be complete before constructing the large building. The other two building can be completed quickly but the large building need to be completed for the project to be considered complete. Therefore the critical path is the longest path on the network diagram which would take thirty months to be completed. Similarly, the shortest duration to complete the project is thirty months since the project cannot be considered complete before the thirty months. This is the duration for the critical path.
Reference
Lang, D. W. (1977). Critical path analysis . London: Teach Yourself Books.
Lockyer, K. G. (1984). Critical path analysis and other project network techniques . Pitman Publishing
Lockyer, K. G., & Gordon, J. (1991). Critical path analysis and other project network techniques . Beekman Books Incorporated.
OCR, A. E. M. (1969). Critical path analysis.
