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Day
Zero
(O)
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Chapter 6 Time
4 4 6
A C E
5
Start G Finish
5 2 1
B D F
The critical path is the path that is the longest. That is path A,C,E,G with a
total of 19 days. Some rules to remember are as follows:
PMP Exam Success Series: Bootcamp Manual
© 2008-2011 Crosswind Learning, www.crosswindpm.com 1
Time Chapter 6
2. List out all paths on the network diagram (example B,E,D,J, etc.)
then add up the durations path by path so you can see the overall
duration of each path. We recommend that you use a top to bottom
approach when listing out the paths, meaning that you list the paths
as they start at the top of the diagram and work toward those on the
bottom. With the diagram in this example, you list the paths in the
following order: Paths ACEG, BDEG, BDFG -- the paths of the
network diagram. By working from the top to the bottom, you
ensure that you don't accidentally miss a path. Be sure to use the
letters of the path, not the durations, because that can get confusing
during exam questions. For example, use ACEG instead of 4,4,6,5
when listing the paths.
3. Determine the longest (duration) path of all that are listed. That is
the critical path.
There are two approaches to a forward/backward pass: start counting from day 0 or start
counting from day 1. This document shows how do to day 0 analysis of the network diagram.
You don’t need to know both day 0 and day 1 approaches. Choose one to use.
Forward Pass Provides the early start (ES) and early finish (EF) dates of each activity on the
Purpose network diagram
Forward Pass ES+Duration=EF
Formula
Variables Early Start (ES) - The earliest an activity can start based on network diagram logic
Early Finish (EF) - The earliest an activity can finish based on network diagram
logic
Duration - The length of an activity
Convergence - Where the output of more than one activity is a predecessor to an
activity on the network diagram, select the biggest early finish (EF) for the early
start (ES) of the next task.
Assumptions A day starts at 8:00 a.m. and finishes at 5:00 p.m. The first task starts with 0 as the
early start (ES).
Starting Point At the left of the network diagram, typically the start activity
Use Figure 6-16: Network Diagram for Critical Path Analysis to start your
calculation.
Forward
Pass
Legend Convergence
(into
activity
D)
choose
the
bigger
of
the
early
finish
values
from
activity
B
and
activity
C,
then
use
that
value
for
the
early
start
of
activity
D
ES Duration EF
3+2=5 5+2=7 7+3=10
Task
Name
LS Slack LF 3 2 5 5 2 7 7 3 10
B D F
0+3=3
12+5=17
0 3 3
12 5 17
Start A
H Finish
3+1=4 4+4=8 8+4=12
3 1 4 4 4 8 8 4 12
C E G
Formula
EF=ES+
Duration
4. Perform steps 2 and 3 until you have applied the forward pass
formula to all activities. The forward pass is complete at this point.
The network diagram should also be complete. The calculations are not part
of a typical diagram but are shown for clarification.
Forward
Pass
Legend
ES Duration EF
3+2=5 5+2=7 7+3=10
Task
Name
LS Slack LF 3 2 5 5 2 7 7 3 10
B D F
0+3=3
12+5=17
0 3 3
12 5 17
Start A
H Finish
3+1=4 4+4=8 8+4=12
3 1 4 4 4 8 8 4 12
C
E G
Formula
EF=ES+
Duration
1. The late finish (LF) becomes the same as the early finish (EF) on the
last activity (also, the duration of the critical path). If the network
diagram ends with multiple activities, the Late Finish (LF) for all is
the greatest Early Finish (EF).
2. Apply the backward pass formula (LF-Duration=LS) from the finish
(right) to the start (left) of the network diagram. If you encounter a
burst (see Figure 6-19: Backward Pass Calculation Description in
this step), return to the finish (right) of the diagram and continue this
step for all activities leading (from the right to the left) into the burst.
As you move from one activity to another, decrease the late start
(LS) by one to give you the late finish (LF) of the next activity. For
example, Activity H has a late start (LS) of 13; the activity that
precedes it has a late finish (LF) of 12.
Legend
ES Duration EF
Task Name
LS Slack LF
Backward
Pass
Formula Burst
(from
activity
C)
choose
the
smaller
of
the
late
start
values
from
activity
D
and
LF
-‐
Duration
=
LS activity
E,
then
use
that
value
for
the
late
finish
of
activity
C
3 2 5 5 2 7 7 3 10
B D F
5 2 7 7 2 9 9 2 12
0 3 3 7-‐2=5 9-‐2=7 12-‐3=9 12 5 17
Start A H Finish
0 0 3 12 0 17
3-‐3=0 3 1 4 4 4 8 8 4 12
C E G 17-‐5=12
3 0 4 4 0 8 8 0 12
4-‐1=3 8-‐4=4 12-‐4=8
Figure 6-19: Backward Pass Calculation Description
3. At any burst on the network diagram, select the smaller of the late
start (LS) values.
4. Perform steps 2 and 3 until all activities are done. At this point, the
network diagram should look like the following.
Legend
ES Duration EF
Task Name
LS Slack LF
Backward
Pass
Formula Burst
(from
activity
C)
choose
the
smaller
of
the
late
start
values
from
activity
D
and
LF
-‐
Duration
=
LS activity
E,
then
use
that
value
for
the
late
finish
of
activity
C
3 2 5 5 2 7 7 3 10
B D F
5 2 7 7 2 9 9 2 12
0 3 3 7-‐2=5 9-‐2=7 12-‐3=9 12 5 17
Start A H Finish
0 0 3 12 0 17
3-‐3=0 3 1 4 4 4 8 8 4 12
C E G 17-‐5=12
3 0 4 4 0 8 8 0 12
4-‐1=3 8-‐4=4 12-‐4=8
Figure 6-20: Backward Pass
Critical Path: The critical path is the longest path in the network diagram.
Any activities on the critical path have an early start and late start that are the same
value, as well as an early finish and late finish that are the same value. They have
zero slack, meaning that if any of those activities slips, the overall network diagram
slips as well.
If the path under review is not at the end of the path, you can still use this
method. Other methods show subtracting all the activities one by one until you have
the slack value you are calculating for. You need to do that method only if you must
calculate an early start or early finish of an activity. The next paragraph covers
calculation of the early/late start and finishes.
Task
Name
Late
Start Slack Late
Finish
(LS) (Float) (LF)
Backward
Pass
LF
-‐
Duration
=
LS
Figure 6-21: Network Diagram Analysis