Project management generally requires directing a series of time-limited activities and tasks to meet project objectives. Proper scheduling, resource management and monitoring is critical. One of the major planning and scheduling techniques for project management is referred to as the critical path method or critical path analysis. It was first developed in the 1950s and was soon adopted as a tool to manage complex federal defense projects. Now it is used in business organizations to plan and manage a wide variety of projects and programs.
Activities and Tasks
Critical path analysis starts with developing a list of all activities and tasks required to complete an objective. In addition to staff performance requirements, project activities might include, for example, any staff training or outsourced activities that may be required to achieve the objective. Each activity and task is lettered for purposes of later linkage with interdependent activities and tasks.
In critical path planing, timescales are used to identify the amount of time necessary to complete a given task or activity, which is generally necessary to develop a realistic estimate for completing the final objective. Alternatively, if you have a 10-week deadline to complete a project objective, you will then need to schedule realistic deadlines for each task and activity that works within the deadline set for the project. On a critical path analysis chart, time estimates are recorded alongside the list for each task or activity.
One of the major concepts in critical path analysis relates to sequencing activities and tasks. In planning, this acknowledges that some activities must first be completed before others can be performed. These are called parallel activities. Time sequencing involves identifying parallel activities and tasks and properly ordering them within a project schedule. In critical path analysis planning, this makes it easy for planners to next develop precise sequencing and time schedules for parallel tasks and activities.
Critical path analysis is an effective technique for project management. It assists project managers in developing timescales and deadlines for tasks and activities. Also, by identifying the interrelationship between activities and tasks, project managers are better able to develop time sequences and set priorities to reduce the potential for project delays. For complex projects, it can be useful in evaluating problems that arise during the implementation stage of the project plan.
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