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According to Malhortra/Krajewski/Ritzman, In their book "Operations Management", The maximum length of time that a task can be delayed without procrastinating the whole project is called activity slack. Activity on a critical path has Zero slack. Information on slack is useful because it summit activities that call for close attention. In this respect, activity slack is the amount of timetable slippage that can be accepted for an activity before the entire project will be delayed. Slack at an activity is lessened when the assessed time duration of an activity is surpassed or when the planned start time for an activity must be put off because of resource considerations (1).

1- Malhortra Krajewski Ritzman, "Operations Management" , 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, NJ

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Q: What is the importance of slack time critical activies and critical path?
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What a critical path in a project is and how it is determined?

The longest route through a series of interrelated tasks. Should a task on the critical path slip then the end date of the project would be jeopardized. Critical Path Most projects contain a large number of tasks. The critical path is the order of tasks that must be finished for the project to be considered complete. This path dictates the final finish date of your project plan. The critical path is not primarily a list of vital tasks. It is a specific sequence of tasks, each task depending on the last. As the project progresses, different sequences might be named as critical. Consider a project with two vital task sequences which we'll call selecting the new office site and Moving in to new offices. At the onset, the first task is projected to take 9 months and the second is projected to take 6 months. Since the first task will take longer and is deemed as being on the critical path. After three months work, should the first task perform ahead of schedule with a new estimate of 5 additional months more while the second has been delayed by three moths the latter task would now be on the critical path? What is a Critical Task The definition of a critical task is any task that with a change of duration may positively or negatively affect the end date of the project if delayed Tracking the Critical Path The Gantt chart and network diagram two classic views in MS Project will display critical tasks and links in red automatically to make these tasks easier to observe and report. Slack Time Total slack is the amount of time that lies off the critical path. In other words changes to the duration of these tasks may or may not affect the critical path. Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed and still be on schedule. A 5 day task with a 10 day deadline has 5 days of slack. A task with no slack is automatically critical. Imagine two tasks due to finish at the same time. Packing computer equipment with one day of duration and packing files with four days duration. If they both started at the same time the pack equipment tasks would have three days of slack. http://www.mousetraining.co.uk/training-manuals/Project2007.pdf for a training manual and quick key card


What is significance of a critical path analysis?

The shortest route through a series of interrelated tasks. Should a task on the critical path slip then the end date of the project would be jeopardized. Critical Path Most projects contain a large number of tasks. The critical path is the order of tasks that must be finished for the project to be considered complete. This path dictates the final finish date of your project plan. The critical path is not primarily a list of vital tasks. It is a specific sequence of tasks, each task depending on the last. As the project progresses, different sequences might be named as critical. Consider a project with two vital task sequences which we'll call selecting the new office site and Moving in to new offices. At the onset, the first task is projected to take 9 months and the second is projected to take 6 months. Since the first task will take longer and is deemed as being on the critical path. After three months work, should the first task perform ahead of schedule with a new estimate of 5 additional months more while the second has been delayed by three moths the latter task would now be on the critical path? What is a Critical Task The definition of a critical task is any task that with a change of duration may positively or negatively affect the end date of the project if delayed Tracking the Critical Path The Gantt chart and network diagram two classic views in MS Project will display critical tasks and links in red automatically to make these tasks easier to observe and report. Slack Time Total slack is the amount of time that lies off the critical path. In other words changes to the duration of these tasks may or may not affect the critical path. Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed and still be on schedule. A 5 day task with a 10 day deadline has 5 days of slack. A task with no slack is automatically critical. Imagine two tasks due to finish at the same time. Packing computer equipment with one day of duration and packing files with four days duration. If they both started at the same time the pack equipment tasks would have three days of slack. http://www.mousetraining.co.uk/training-manuals/Project2007.pdf for a training manual and quick key card


What if the activity is accelerated in critical path?

If activity is accelerated in the critical path, then it may no longer be the critical path, assuming some other activity now takes longer.


'project control should always focus on the critical path' comment?

Not necessarily. Critical path analysis determines the longest path through a network of project activities, because the main purpose of understanding the critical path is to focus effort on activities that lie on this path, thus increasing the chances of finishing the project on time. If you solely only focus on the critical path activities, then chances are that the activities not on the critical path will soon be on the new critical path because you haven't taken sufficient time to focus on all the activities. Project control should focus on the project as a whole, however more emphasis can be placed on the critical path activities as well as any risky/uncertain activities that could (if not monitored closely) eventually become a critical path activity and push the end date out even further.


Why is it important to determine the critical path of a project?

The critical path helps you in determining how to accelerate your project by compressing tasks. Putting more people on critical path tasks and finishing it earlier will shorten the duration of the project (this is called crashing).

Related questions

What is the importance of critical path and critical task estimation?

The importance of the Critical path is that helps you in reducing risk, contingency planning, and project planning.


What is the differences between critical path and slack time?

the critical path determines the duration of the project and hence the finish date of the project given the start date. Slack time is relative to the total float.


Can there be no slack time in a critical path network diagram?

The critical path is the set of activities that can't be put off -- they determine how long the project will take overall, and a delay in any of these activities will delay the project.You can always put off the slack, however, without increasing the total duration of the project. So the answer is "Yes, there can be no slack time in a critical-path network diagram."


What is critical path?

In Project Management the Critical Path is the series of tasks that must finish on time for the entire project to finish on schedule. Each task on the critical path is a time critical task. You can also think of it as:the longest path from start to finishor the path without any slack,the path corresponding to the shortest time in which the project can be completed.


What a critical path in a project is and how it is determined?

The longest route through a series of interrelated tasks. Should a task on the critical path slip then the end date of the project would be jeopardized. Critical Path Most projects contain a large number of tasks. The critical path is the order of tasks that must be finished for the project to be considered complete. This path dictates the final finish date of your project plan. The critical path is not primarily a list of vital tasks. It is a specific sequence of tasks, each task depending on the last. As the project progresses, different sequences might be named as critical. Consider a project with two vital task sequences which we'll call selecting the new office site and Moving in to new offices. At the onset, the first task is projected to take 9 months and the second is projected to take 6 months. Since the first task will take longer and is deemed as being on the critical path. After three months work, should the first task perform ahead of schedule with a new estimate of 5 additional months more while the second has been delayed by three moths the latter task would now be on the critical path? What is a Critical Task The definition of a critical task is any task that with a change of duration may positively or negatively affect the end date of the project if delayed Tracking the Critical Path The Gantt chart and network diagram two classic views in MS Project will display critical tasks and links in red automatically to make these tasks easier to observe and report. Slack Time Total slack is the amount of time that lies off the critical path. In other words changes to the duration of these tasks may or may not affect the critical path. Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed and still be on schedule. A 5 day task with a 10 day deadline has 5 days of slack. A task with no slack is automatically critical. Imagine two tasks due to finish at the same time. Packing computer equipment with one day of duration and packing files with four days duration. If they both started at the same time the pack equipment tasks would have three days of slack. http://www.mousetraining.co.uk/training-manuals/Project2007.pdf for a training manual and quick key card


What is significance of a critical path analysis?

The shortest route through a series of interrelated tasks. Should a task on the critical path slip then the end date of the project would be jeopardized. Critical Path Most projects contain a large number of tasks. The critical path is the order of tasks that must be finished for the project to be considered complete. This path dictates the final finish date of your project plan. The critical path is not primarily a list of vital tasks. It is a specific sequence of tasks, each task depending on the last. As the project progresses, different sequences might be named as critical. Consider a project with two vital task sequences which we'll call selecting the new office site and Moving in to new offices. At the onset, the first task is projected to take 9 months and the second is projected to take 6 months. Since the first task will take longer and is deemed as being on the critical path. After three months work, should the first task perform ahead of schedule with a new estimate of 5 additional months more while the second has been delayed by three moths the latter task would now be on the critical path? What is a Critical Task The definition of a critical task is any task that with a change of duration may positively or negatively affect the end date of the project if delayed Tracking the Critical Path The Gantt chart and network diagram two classic views in MS Project will display critical tasks and links in red automatically to make these tasks easier to observe and report. Slack Time Total slack is the amount of time that lies off the critical path. In other words changes to the duration of these tasks may or may not affect the critical path. Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed and still be on schedule. A 5 day task with a 10 day deadline has 5 days of slack. A task with no slack is automatically critical. Imagine two tasks due to finish at the same time. Packing computer equipment with one day of duration and packing files with four days duration. If they both started at the same time the pack equipment tasks would have three days of slack. http://www.mousetraining.co.uk/training-manuals/Project2007.pdf for a training manual and quick key card


What if the activity is accelerated in critical path?

If activity is accelerated in the critical path, then it may no longer be the critical path, assuming some other activity now takes longer.


When was Critical Path - video game - created?

Critical Path - video game - was created in 1994.


When did Critical Path - video game - happen?

Critical Path - video game - happened in 1994.


Is the critical path always the longest path?

The critical path is the sequence of activities that takes all dependencies into account. Thus, it determines the duration of the project, and is necessarily the longest path.


What is inhumane path the Cherokees moved west on?

Critical Path


'project control should always focus on the critical path' comment?

Not necessarily. Critical path analysis determines the longest path through a network of project activities, because the main purpose of understanding the critical path is to focus effort on activities that lie on this path, thus increasing the chances of finishing the project on time. If you solely only focus on the critical path activities, then chances are that the activities not on the critical path will soon be on the new critical path because you haven't taken sufficient time to focus on all the activities. Project control should focus on the project as a whole, however more emphasis can be placed on the critical path activities as well as any risky/uncertain activities that could (if not monitored closely) eventually become a critical path activity and push the end date out even further.