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Questions and Answers
What is the purpose of the project buffer in critical chain scheduling?
Which technique involves adjusting start and finish dates based on resource constraints?
In project management, what does resource smoothing accomplish?
What is the main goal of schedule compression techniques?
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Which of the following best describes fast tracking in project management?
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What are feeding buffers used for in critical chain scheduling?
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When is it necessary to use schedule compression strategies?
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Which of the following statements about resource optimization is false?
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What is the main purpose of knowing the critical path in project management?
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Which statement accurately describes free slack or free float?
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What is a common misconception about the critical path?
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What does a forward pass through a project network diagram determine?
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In critical chain scheduling, what assumption is made about resources?
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What role do buffers play in project scheduling?
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How can the critical path help project managers in making schedule trade-offs?
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Which of the following laws emphasizes that tasks expand to fill the time allowed?
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What could happen if an activity on the critical path takes longer than planned?
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When multiple paths have the same duration in a project network diagram, what can be said about them?
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What is mandatory dependency in project management?
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What does rolling wave planning involve?
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What purpose do work packages serve in project management?
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What is the primary function of a project network diagram?
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Which of the following best describes discretionary dependencies?
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In the context of critical path analysis, why is it necessary to determine dependencies?
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What are external dependencies?
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What does the Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) represent?
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What is the concept of project buffers?
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Which of the following is a key component of scheduling techniques in project management?
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Study Notes
Determining the Critical Path
- Critical path is the longest path in the project network diagram
- The critical path determines the shortest amount of time needed to complete the project
- Activities on the critical path have no slack, meaning they cannot be delayed without delaying the project completion date
Critical Path Analysis
- Critical path analysis helps determine which activities have float (slack) and can be delayed without delaying the project completion date
- If an activity on the critical path is delayed, the entire project schedule will slip unless corrective actions are taken
- There can be more than one critical path if the lengths of two or more paths are the same
- The critical path can change as the project progresses
Critical Path and Schedule Trade-offs
- Knowing the critical path helps you make informed schedule trade-offs
- Free slack or free float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities
- Total slack or total float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date
- A forward pass through the network diagram determines the early start and finish dates
- A backward pass determines the late start and finish dates
Why Critical Path is Important
- It helps prove how long a project will take
- It helps determine where to focus project management efforts
- It helps determine if a problem needs immediate attention
- It helps compress the schedule during project planning and whenever there are changes
Critical Chain Method
- Critical chain scheduling addresses the challenge of meeting or beating project finish dates
- It is an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC)
- It takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule
- It includes buffers to protect the project completion date
- It assumes resources do not multitask because it often delays task completions and increases total durations
Buffers and Critical Chain
- Buffers are additional time to complete a task
- Critical chain scheduling removes buffers from individual tasks and instead creates:
- A project buffer, which is additional time added before the project’s due date
- Feeding buffers, which are additional time added before tasks on the critical path
Resource Optimization Techniques
- Resource optimization matches available resources (human, machinery, financial) with the needs of the organization to achieve established goals
- Techniques used to adjust the schedule include:
-
Resource leveling: adjusts start and finish dates based on resource constraints to balance demand for resources with available supply
- Can be used when shared or critically required resources are only available at certain times
- Can be used when resources are in limited quantities or overallocated
- Can cause the original critical path to change, usually increasing its length
-
Resource smoothing: adjusts activities of a schedule model to prevent exceeding predefined resource limits
- The project critical path is not changed and the completion date may not be delayed
- Activities can only be delayed within their free or total float
-
Resource leveling: adjusts start and finish dates based on resource constraints to balance demand for resources with available supply
Schedule Compression
- Shorten durations of critical tasks by:
- Adding more resources or changing their scope
- Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost
- Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or overlapping them
Rationale for Schedule Compression
- When the project has unrealistic time-frame or schedule end dates
- To analyze the impacts on the project schedule during the Integrated Change Control process
Project Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team
- The WBS begins with the project as the final deliverable
- Major project deliverables/systems are identified first
- Sub-deliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables are defined
- The process is repeated until the sub-deliverable detail is small enough to be manageable and where one person can be responsible
- This sub-deliverable is further divided into work packages
- Work packages are grouped by type of work to form cost accounts
- Cost accounts help monitor project progress by work, cost, and responsibility
- Work packages are short duration tasks with definite start and stop points, consume resources, and are assignable
Rolling Wave Planning
- Iterative planning technique where work in the near future is planned in detail, while work in the future is planned at a higher level
- As more is known about future work, it is planned in detail
Expert Judgement
- Project team members or other experienced and skilled experts are used to provide expertise in defining activities and project schedules
Activity Sequencing: Determining Dependencies
- Mandatory dependencies: inherent in the nature of the work; hard logic
- Discretionary dependencies: defined by the project team; soft logic
- External dependencies: involve relationships between project and non-project activities
Mandatory Dependencies
- Also referred to as hard logic
- Required as per contract or inherent in the nature of the work
- Usually involve physical limitations (e.g., you cannot build the ceiling until walls are constructed)
Discretionary Dependencies
- Also referred to as preferred logic, preferential logic, or soft logic
- Should be used with care and well documented, as they may limit later scheduling options
External Dependencies
- Involve a relationship between project and non-project activities such as activities outside the project team’s control (e.g., dependence on external sources for deliveries, environmental factors governed by statutes, etc.)
Project Network Diagrams
- Preferred technique for showing activity sequencing
- A schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities
Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
- Also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) project network diagrams
- Activities are represented by arrows
- Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities
- Can only show finish-to-start dependencies
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Description
Explore the fundamentals of critical path analysis in project management. This quiz will assess your knowledge on determining the critical path, understanding float, and making informed schedule trade-offs. Test your skills on the importance of the critical path and its impact on project timelines.
