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CPM Critical Path Method In 1957, Dupont developed a project management method designed to address the challenge of shutting down chemical plants for maintenance and then restarting the plants once the maintenance had been completed. Given the complexity of the process, they developed the Critical Path Method (CPM) for managing such projects. CPM provides the following benefits: Provides a graphical view of the project Predicts the time required to complete the project. Shows which activities are critical to maintaining the schedule and which are not.
CPM models the events and activities of a project as a network. Activities are depicted as nodes on the network and events that signify the beginning or ending of activities are depicted as arcs or lines between the nodes. The following is an example of a CPM network diagram based on the following Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):
Landscape Project
Sources: PMI PMBOK, Rita Mulcahy, NetMBA.com The Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. @ 2002-2004 Page 1
Finish Start 7 days A C 2 days H 3 days J 2 days K G 5 days 2 days 3 days L M 5 days N 5 days
Landscape Project Predecessor Table WBS ID Task ID Task 1.0 A Design home landscape 2.1/3.1 B Acquire materials 2.2.1 C ID sprinkler location 2.2.2 D Dig trenches 2.2.3 E Install pipe and hardware 2.2.4 F Cover sprinkler system 2.3.1 G Remove debris 2.3.2 H Prepare soil 2.3.3 I Plant lawn seed 2.4 J Plant shrubs 3.2.1 K Mark fence line 3.2.2 L Install posts 3.2.3 M Install fencing & gates 3.2.4 N Paint/stain fence
Predecessor A A G, C B, D E A G G, F H G B, K L M
Resources Homeowner Homeowner Teens Teens Teens Teens Teens Teens Teens Teens Carpenter Carpenter Carpenter Teens
Time Estimate 7 1 2 5 3 1 5 3 1 2 2 3 5 5
Steps in CPM Project Planning: 1. Specify the individual activities. 2. Determine the sequence of those activities. 3. Draw a network diagram. 4. Estimate the completion time for each activity. 5. Identify the critical path (the longest path through the network) 6. Update the CPM diagram as the project progresses. 1. Specify the individual activities. From the Work Breakdown Structure, a listing can be made of all the activities in the project. This listing can be used as the basis for adding sequence and duration information in later steps. 2. Determine the sequence of those activities. Some activities are dependent upon the completion of others. A listing of the immediate predecessors of each activity is useful for constructing the CPM network diagram. 3. Draw a network diagram. Once the activities and their sequencing have been defined, the CPM diagram can be drawn. CPM originally was developed as an activity on node (AON) network, but some project planners prefer to specify the activities on the arcs.
Sources: PMI PMBOK, Rita Mulcahy, NetMBA.com The Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. @ 2002-2004 Page 2
The slack or float time for an activity is the time between the earliest and latest start time, or between the earliest and latest finish time. Slack is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed past its earliest start or earliest finish without delaying the project. The critical path is the path through the project network in which none of the activities have slack, that is, the path for which LS=ES and LF=EF for all activities in the path. A delay in the critical path delays the project. Similarly, to accelerate the project it is necessary to reduce the total time required for the activities in the critical path. 6. Update CPM diagram As the project progresses, the actual task completion times will be known and the diagram can be updated to include this information. A new critical path may emerge, and structural changes may be made in the network if project requirements change. CPM limitations CPM was developed for complex but fairly routine projects with minimal uncertainty in project completion times. For less routine projects there is more uncertainty in the completion times, and this uncertainty limits the usefulness of the deterministic CPM model. An alternative to CPM is the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) project planning model, which allows a range of durations to be specified for each activity.
Sources: PMI PMBOK, Rita Mulcahy, NetMBA.com The Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. @ 2002-2004 Page 3