EXAMPLE

Activities Duration Predecessor

A B C D E F G

2 6 5 4 6 9 3

B A,C D B E,F

Act

Dur

Pre

A A D start B F C E G finish B C D E F G

2 6 5 4 6 9 3

B A,C D B E,F

EX: add in durations

Act Dur Pre

A A 2 C 5 B 6 F 9 D 4 E 6 G 3 finish B C D E F G

2 6 5 4 6 9 3

B A,C D B E,F

start

But what is the Critical Path?

(We must tell the family when the house will be done -- how soon?) A 2 start B 6 C 5 F 9 D 4 E 6 G 3 finish

The critical path is the path of activities that takes the longest amount of time; the path with the activities that cannot be altered time-wise without changing the overall project duration.

What is the Critical Path?

Add up all the paths possible; see what path is the longest. That path is the critical path. A-D-E-G = 12 A B-C-D-E-G = 24 2 D E B-F-G = 18 4 6 C start 5 G finish 3 B F 6 9

Defining slack, ES, EF, LS, LF

Slack: how much extra time you have available for a particular activity. ES -- early start: the earliest possible time you could begin a particular activity. EF -- early finish: the earliest possible time you could finish a particular activity. LS -- late start: the latest possible time you could begin a particular activity. LF -- late finish: the latest possible time you could finish a particular activity.

Calculating slack, ES, EF, LS, LF

Slack = (time available) - (duration) ES = (calc. time at the beginning of the node) EF = ES + duration LS = LF - duration LF = (calc. time at the ending of the node)

Calculating slack
Any activity on the critical path has NO SLACK. Any others are based on when they meet the critical path. EX: Activity A requires two days, but there are 11 days available ( Activity A meets the critical path at start (0) and at D. 11 days have passed on the critical path before getting to D (B+C=11). A 2 start B 6 C 5 F 9 D 4 E 6 G 3 finish

Calculating ES (Early Start)

Early start is the earliest possible time the activity could start. EX: Activity A could start (at the earliest) at 0. Activity D could start (at the earliest) at 11 (CP No slack) Activity F could start (at the earliest) at 6. A 2 start B 6 C 5 F 9 D 4 E 6 G 3 finish

Calculating EF (Early Finish)

Early finish is the earliest possible time the activity could finish. EF = ES + Duration. EX: Activity A could finish (at the earliest) at 2 (0 + 2). Activity D could finish (at the earliest) at 15 (11 + 4) (CP). Activity F could finish (at the earliest) at 15 (6 + 9). A 2 D E 4 6 C start 5 G finish 3 B F 6 9

Calculating LF (Late Finish)

Late finish is the latest possible time the activity could finish without affecting the overall project time. EX: Activity A could finish (at the latest) at 11. Activity D could finish (at the latest) at 15 (Crit path no slack). Activity F could finish (at the latest) at 21. A 2 D E 4 6 C start 5 G finish 3 B F 6 9

Calculating LS (Late Start)

Late start is the latest possible time the activity could start w/o affecting the overall project time. LS = LF Duration. EX: Activity A could start (at the latest) at 9 (11 2). Activity D could start (at the latest) at 11 (crit. path no slack). Activity F could start (at the latest) at 12 (21 9). A 2 D E 4 6 C start 5 G finish 3 B F 6 9

Labeling the CPM

Basic model:

Activity Duration

ES EF LS LF

A 0 2 2 9 11 start B 0 6 6 0 6 C 6 11 5 6 11

D 10 15 4 10 15

E 15 21 6 15 21 G 21 24 3 21 24 finish

F 6 15 9 12 21

CPM: Creating the Diagram

Act. Dur. Follows D 4 F 5 finish E 7 B 5 G 1

A B C D E F G

4 5 2 4 7 5 1

A C C D B start

A 4

C 2

CPM: Calculating the Critical Path

Possible paths from start to finish: A-C-D-F 4+2+4+5 = 15 4+2+7 = 13 A-C-E D 5+1 =6 B-G
A 4 start E 7 B 5 G 1 C 2 4

F 5 finish

CPM: Calculating the ES & EF

Early start: how soon it can start Early finish: ES + Duration
D | 6 10 4 | F | 10 15 5| finish E | 6 13 7| B|0 5 5| G|5 6 1 |

A| 0 4 4| start

C|4 6 2 |

CPM: Calculating the LS & LF

Late finish: the last possible time it must be done to not affect the overall project time. Late start: LF - Duration
A| 0 4 4|0 4 start E | 6 13 7 | 8 15 B|0 5 5 | 9 14 G|5 6 1 | 14 15 C|4 6 2 |4 6 D | 6 10 4 | 6 10 F | 10 15 5 | 10 15 finish

CPM: Calculating the slack

Slack: how much wiggle room you have for an activity Slack = LS ES = LF - EF
S=0 A| 0 4 4|0 4 start S=0 C|4 6 2 |4 6 S=0 D | 6 10 4 | 6 10 S=2 E | 6 13 7 | 8 15 S=9 G|5 6 1 | 14 15 S=0 F | 10 15 5 | 10 15 finish

S=9 B|0 5 5 | 9 14

Crashing: Buying Time

Sometimes you can buy a quicker time for an activity
Paying overtime Paying for another worker to help Paying for guaranteed quicker delivery (EX: FedEx)

But is it worth it?

Crashing Activity Times

Things to consider:
Is the activity on the critical path? How much will it cost to crash the activity? Are there other activities that are more cost-effective to crash? How much do you need to crash the project time?

Crashing Activity Times: Example

Shorten project by 2 days while minimizing costs.
Activity Duration Follows Normal Crashed Cost ($) Cost ($) $600 $1300 $400 $1000 $1200 $300 $400 $800 $2000 $700 $1200 $1500 $200 Max. Time Reduction 2 2 1 3 4 2 -

A B C D E F G

4 5 2 4 7 5 1

A C C D B

Crashing Activity Times: Example

Shorten project by 2 days while minimizing costs. First, calculate the cost/day to crash each activity.
Act Dur Foll Norm Crash Max Cost Cost Red. A B C D E F G 4 5 2 4 7 5 1 A C C D B 600 800 2 1300 2000 2 400 700 1 1000 1200 3 1200 1500 4 300 200 2 400 Cost / day to crash (800-600)/2

Crashing Activity Times: Example

Shorten project by 2 days while minimizing costs. Next, see whats on the critical path.
Act Dur Foll Norm Crash Max Cost Cost Red. A B C D E F G 4 5 2 4 7 5 1 A C C D B 600 800 2 1300 2000 2 400 700 1 1000 1200 3 1200 1500 4 300 200 2 400 Cost / day to CP? crash 100 450 300 66.66 75 50 Yes No Yes Yes No Yes (irrelevant)

Crashing Activity Times: Example

Shorten project by 2 days while minimizing costs. Finally, see what the cheapest way to reduce is.
Act Dur Foll Norm Crash Max Cost Cost Red. A B C D E F G 4 5 2 4 7 5 1 A C C D B 600 800 2 1300 2000 2 400 700 1 1000 1200 3 1200 1500 4 300 200 2 400 Cost / day to CP? crash 100 450 300 66.66 75 50 Yes No Yes Yes No Yes (irrelevant)

Crashing Activities: Watch Out

If we had to crash the project by more than two days, we would have had to look again the critical path may change.
A-C-D-F 4+2+4+5 = 15 4+2+7 = 13 A-C-E 5+1 =6 B-G
start A 4 C 2 D 4 E 7 B 5 G 1

F 5 finish

Small Group Exercise

Crash the project by 3 days while minimizing costs.
Act Dur Foll A B C D E F G H 6 4 5 6 7 5 3 2 A A B C E B F Norm Cost 600 500 1000 1300 800 400 500 1100 Crash Cost 900 700 1200 1600 1000 550 800 1500 Max Red. 2 2 1 4 3 2 2 3 Cost / day to crash CP?