12-02-2016, 03:52 PM
For fairly simple projects, the critical path is usually the longest path through the project.
For projects with several parallel and interlinked activities, this may not always be the case.
For more complicated projects, the critical path can be determined with an ‘earliest time’ forward sweep through the diagram followed by a ‘latest time’ reverse sweep.
Summary: CPM Steps
List all activities and expected durations.
Construct CPM diagram for activities list.
Determine EARLIEST start time for each event (working forward from project start).
Determine LATEST start time for each event (working backwards from project end).
Identify the CRITICAL PATH (and the ‘float’ time for any non-critical activities).