What are the Example of Critical Path Method in Project Management?

If you are looking for a step-by-step explanation of Critical Path, you do not need to look further. Our guide on the Critical Path covers how to implement this crucial concept in Project Management. By the end of the article, you will gain a clear understanding of the Critical Path with examples. So, you are on the right track to learn and implement the Critical Path Method for your Project.

While Managing a Project, professionals always focus on the practical implementation rather than the theoretical mastery of the topic. And, to find the Critical Path for Project too, we must gain a practical understanding so that we can identify the most crucial activities of the Project and manage the project timeline. Thus, examples and scenario-based understanding will help you to implement the Critical Path Method in your Project.

In this insightful blog, we will quickly learn about Critical Path in Project Management, not only using the definition but also some real-world examples. Let us start without any single point of delay.

What is Critical Path?

Critical Path deals with the path that includes all the critical project activities. Generally, it is defined as the longest sequence of activities in our project that has the shortest completion time.

1. It includes crucial as well as non-crucial tasks of the projects that allow us to prioritize the tasks as per their importance in the workflow.
2. The more the number of tasks, more the time is required to complete them.
3. Suppose, you have two ways to complete the project. One path contains all the tasks that form the major portion of the tasks and another one includes the minor and non-crucial tasks.
4. Thus, the path with major tasks will help us to deliver the project faster.
5. This is the reason why this longest sequence of the tasks has shortest delivery time.

Key Components of CPM

Before learning the entire process of using the CPM method, let us understand the components of the CPM which are described below.

1. Work-Breakdown Structure: It defines all the set of activities that are required for project execution.
2. Estimated Completion Time: This means when the task is expected to be completed.
3. Task Dependencies: It defines what tasks are required to be executed before any other tasks.
4. Earliest Start Time (ES) and Finish Time (EF): When the project starts, how early we can start, and how early we can finish is determined using these parameters.
5. Latest Start Time (LS) and Finish Time (LF): When the project is in progress, the Latest start time is the latest point when we can start the task without delaying it and the Latest Finish Time is the time when we can finish it without delaying it.
6. Float: This is the duration for which a delay in task execution is allowed in a project.

Applying CPM in Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now, let us understand the process of using the Critical Path in the Project. This concept is important for two reasons. First is that it will help you to understand Critical Path more deeply, and second is that you can analyze these steps to understand critical path examples, and implement them for your use-case. The path to finding the critical path is called the Critical Path Method (CPM). A typical process to find the Critical Path in the Project is discussed as shown below.

Step 1: Find what tasks to do for the project

Your Project may include different tasks related to end-user experience, designing the architecture, essential functional features, testing of the tasks, etc. Project Tasks are not just limited to this. There can be more tasks. These tasks, processes, and activities have to be identified so that we can get a high-level idea of the project.

Step 2: Find the sequence of the tasks

After you establish a high-level understanding of the tasks, you can now identify their flow. It means that you have to list what task should be performed and when. Here, you also have to identify the dependencies among the different tasks. Thus, you can easily know which task has to be performed first so that an accurate workflow can be set up.

Step 3: Know how long the tasks will take to complete

Now, you have to find the estimated completion Time for each task which is the total time from its start to the completion. It is important to find the estimation time with accuracy so that the precise flow of the project activities can be determined.

Step 4: Draw a Network Diagram to find multiple ways

The Project Network Diagram is the visual representation of the various possible paths from the beginning of the project to the completion of the project. It includes a Node that tells us about the various parameters of the Task such as Earliest Start Time, Earliest Finish Time, Latest Start Time, Latest Finish Time, and Float.

Step 5: Find the optimal way which is the Critical Path

Now, analyze different paths and then choose the optimal path. You have to find the path that contains the longest sequence of the project tasks and the minimum completion time for the project. The Critical Path that we selected contains all the crucial interdependent tasks in our project.

Step 6: Find which tasks can be delayed and how much

By finding the Critical Path, we are aware of the crucial tasks. Now, you have to analyze the non-crucial tasks which can be delayed. You also have to calculate their delay time without impacting the quality of the project.

The above steps have to be performed to find the critical path. Now, let us see practical examples of Critical Path in Project Management.

Examples of CPM

Suppose that we have to manage a project of E-commerce Software Development. Then, to find the critical path of the project. Before delving deep into the critical path examples, let us understand the following terminologies.

1. Define the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

As we already know it includes all the activities in our project. Thus, we have to create a WBS that covers various tasks that need to be performed for the E-commerce Software Development. The tasks for this example will be

1. User Survey
2. Stakeholder Opinions
3. Market Research
4. Requirements Gathering
5. UI/UX Design
6. Database Design
7. Front-end Development
8. Back-end Development
9. Integration and Testing
10. Deployment

2. Calculate Parameters for Task Duration

This operation is generally performed by the project professionals to assign the duration of completion to each task. Here, various calculated parameters are shown in the below table including the formulas to create them:

Calculated Parameters with Formulas

	Task	ES (weeks)	EF (weeks)	LS (weeks)	LF (weeks)	Duration (weeks)	Duration (weeks) Total Float (weeks) (LS-ES)
1	User Survey	0	2	0	2	2	0
2	Stakeholder Opinions	EF of Task 1	2	EF + Duration	3	1	0
3	Market Research	EF of Task 2	3	EF + Duration	6	3	0
4	Requirement s Gathering	EF of Task 3	6	EF + Duration	8	2	2
5	UI/UX Design	EF of Task 4	8	LF- Duration	12	4	0
6	Database Design	EF of Task 5	12	LF- Duration	15	3	0
7	Front-end Development	EF of Task 6	15	LF- Duration	21	6	0
8	Back-end Development	EF of Task 7	15	LF- Duration	20	5	1
9	Integration and Testing	EF of Task 8	21	LF- Duration	25	4	0
10	Deployment	EF of Task 9	25	LF- Duration	27	2	2

3. Find the Critical Path

As seen, the zero float time of tasks denotes that they are critical for the project and cannot be delayed. Therefore, the critical path for our project will be 1-2-3-5-6-7-9. And, the float which we have calculated allows us to manage the tasks which can be delayed and executed later.

Benefits of CPM

1. It gives us a clear project visualization: Critical Path highlights the important tasks and their dependencies. Thus, we can easily visualize the project execution to ensure successful delivery.
2. Resources are not wasted: Since we are only allocating resources for crucial tasks, the resource allocation becomes efficient. As a result, project costs can be easily reduced.
3. We can also define the project baseline: The project baseline includes various indicators that indicate the accuracy of the project. CPM helps to highlight it so that we can take our project in the right direction.

Limitations of CPM

1. We have to assume fixed activities: CPM considers that activities are fixed which is not applicable in all the cases. Due to this rigid nature, we may face problems while adapting to the dynamic environment.
2. Non-critical tasks are tough to manage: CPM focuses more on critical tasks and less on non-critical tasks. This may lead to delays in the project activities. Hence, the overall timeline is disturbed.
3. It is challenging to handle the uncertain changes: Once the project activities are defined, there is less room for uncertain or sudden changes. Thus, CPM is not suitable for an environment where changes or updates are too frequent.

Conclusion

Critical Path plays an important role in creating the Work Breakdown Structure and managing timelines for executing the tasks. It includes all types of tasks, the ones which are important and the ones which we can delay for some duration without compromising the project quality. Hence, we can easily find the best path to complete our project and deliver it to the end user and other stakeholders. You have now gained a clear understanding of the example of Critical Path in Project Management. You can implement the same method in your project scenario.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between CPM and PERT?

PERT stands for the Project Evaluation and Review Technique which is used to find out the best sequence of activities using a probabilistic approach. This is different from the CPM in which the deterministic approach is used to find the Critical Path.

2. Is the Project Network Diagram is same as the Gantt Chart?

Both are visual tools that list down the project tasks. However, the main difference between them is in their application in the project. The Project Network Diagram gives us an idea about various paths to achieve project completion. But the Gantt Chart gives a timeline of the project tasks which are present in the Work Breakdown Structure.

3. Are CPA and CPM the same in Project Management?

Both the Critical Path Analysis and Critical Path Method deal with finding the best path for the project completion. Hence, they generally rather to the same context to control the project activities and manage their timelines.

4. How to find the Critical Path for a new product launch?

The approach of Critical Path for a new product launch would be similar to the standard approach. However, there are some additional considerations such as technical design specifications, marketing requirements, and risks. These considerations can also contribute to finding the critical path of the product launch.