The procedure of CPM analysis with example

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Completing a project in time is one of the most important objectives and
expectation of the stakeholders. Critical Path Method is used to prepare
the optimized project schedule involving all the project activities. 

CPM is applicable to both large and small projects, taking from space
programmes to wedding or horse shows. It is widely recognized and is
the most versatile and potent management planning technique.

CPM is a technique, used for planning and controlling the most logical
and economic sequence of operations for accomplishing a project. The
project is analysed into different activities whose relationships, as in
PERT, are shown on the network diagram. The network is then utilized
for optimising the use of resources, progress and control.

Critical Path Method helps in:

1. Determining the minimum time in which the project can be

completed
2. Determining the sequence of activities which must be completed
on time in order to complete the project in time
3. Determining which all tasks can be delayed without delaying the
project completion time
4. Determining the Early and Late Start of tasks
5. Tracking project progress with regards to agreed timeline and
taking proactive corrective action if the project seems to be getting
delayed

The typical steps involved to develop a project schedule

using CPM method are as below:
1. Identify the activities for all the work packages from the project’s
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
2. Sequence all the activities by identifying all the dependencies
between the activities. 
3. Develop a Schedule Network Diagram involving all the project
activities ensuring that each activity has at least one predecessor
and one successor except the first activity which will not have a
predecessor and last activity which will not have a successor. 
4. Estimating the duration of each activity in the schedule network
diagram.
5. Carrying out the process of “Forward Pass” where in the “Early
Start” (ES) and “Early Finish” (EF) for each activity are calculated
starting from the beginning of the network diagram.
6. Carrying out the process of “Backward Pass” where in the “Late
Finish” (LF) and “Late Start” (LS) for each activity are calculated
starting from the end (Finish) of the network diagram.
7. Identifying the “Path” which has the longest duration in the
Network Diagram. The longest path will also have the ES and LS
and EF and LF of all the activities as same.
8. The longest path is termed as the “Critical Path”. The duration of
this path will determine the shortest time taken to complete the
project. Any delay on this path delays the project completion time.
Hence they are critical from project’s schedule constraint point of
view.
9. The “Non-Critical-Path” path duration will be shorter than the
“Critical Path” and hence those paths will have flexibility to delay
the start of the tasks on them. 
10. The amount of time a task can be delayed on a “non-critical
path” is known as “float” or “slack”, which is calculated by taking
the difference between “LS-ES” or “LF-EF”.
11. The float on critical path will be Zero to start with and not-
critical paths will have a positive float time.
 12. There may be more than one critical path in a network. But
having more than one critical path increases the risk of falling
behind the schedule as there are more number of tasks which if
they get delayed, the project will get delayed.

An example of Critical Path analysis is as below:

In the above diagram, the path with longest duration is Start-D-E-F-G-

End is the critical path with duration of 17. The other 2 non-critical
paths Start-A-B-C-G-End has duration of 10 and hence has a slack
or float of 7 and other non-critical path Start-D-H-I-End has a duration of
11 and has a float of 6 days.

Critical Path once identified, the team can further explore if the duration
of critical path can be compressed if the need be. Techniques such
as crashing (applying more resources on critical path) or Fast
Tracking (doing tasks in parallel) are applied. Compressing the critical
path helps in compressing the overall project duration, thereby helping to
meet the required deadline.

How to Calculate the Critical Path

the steps to calculate the critical path in project management:

1. Collect Activities: Use a work breakdown structure to collect all the
project activities that lead to the final deliverable.

2. Identify Dependencies: Figure out which tasks are dependent on

other tasks before they can begin.

3. Create a Network Diagram: A critical path analysis chart, or network

diagram, depicts the order of activities.

4. Estimate Timeline: Determine the duration of each activity.

5. Use the Critical Path Algorithm: The algorithm has two parts; a

forward pass and a backwards pass.

6. Forward Pass: Use the network diagram and the duration of each

activity to determine their earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF).
The ES of an activity is equal to the EF of its predecessor, and its EF
is determined by the formula EF = ES + t (t is the activity duration).
The EF of the last activity identifies the expected time required to
complete the entire project.

7. Backward Pass: Begins by assigning the last activity’s earliest finish

as its latest finish. Then the formula to find the LS is LS = LF – t (t is
the activity duration). For the previous activities, the LF is the
smallest of the start times for the activity that immediately follows.

8. Identify the Float of Each Activity: The float is the length of time an

activity can be delayed without increasing the total project completion
time. Since the critical path has no float, the float formula reveals the
critical path: Float = LS – ES

9. Identify the Critical Path: The activities with 0 float make up the

critical path.
10. Revise During Execution: Continue to update the critical path
network diagram as you go through the execution phase.