In project management, critical path analysis outlines all the steps required to complete a task, along with their durations and relationships. The technique was developed in the late 1950s by James E. Kelley and Morgan R. Walker while working on the project.
This guide discusses critical path analysis and why it is important in project management and software development.
Do you want to become a certified project manager? We’ve got a list of the best project management certifications to help you get started.
What is critical path analysis?
Critical Path Analysis (CPA) is a project management tool that can help organizations make better decisions about the best way to execute their projects. It is a methodology for scheduling project tasks based on resource usage. Essential to using CPM is the construction of a project model that contains the following:
- A collection of tasks needed to complete the project
- Interdependencies between these tasks
- Estimated time required to perform each activity
Critical path analysis is often called the “critical path approach” or “critical path method” because it helps predict whether a project will be completed on time and allows the project to be reshaped as it progresses to ensure that deliverables are available on time.
Critical path analysis helps project managers organize tasks and understand their order of completion by looking at how long each task will take and then identifying the critical path through the project schedule.
CPM can be used to create static and dynamic schedules, and is particularly suited to software projects with complex interdependencies. While CPM has traditionally been used for large construction projects, it has since been adapted for use in other industries such as manufacturing, software development, and event planning.
How does critical path analysis work?
Critical path analysis determines the sequence of critical and interdependent tasks of the work plan from start to finish. It also highlights non-essential tasks (ie, tasks that will not prevent the completion of the project). The project manager charts the process by listing the tasks, their order, and their estimated duration by hand or using critical path analysis software.
In CPM, each project activity is represented by a node in the network diagram, and the relationships between activities are shown by arrows. The length of each arrow represents the duration of the corresponding activity. To create the critical path, you will need to add up the estimated completion times for each activity in the sequence.
By identifying the key tasks that need to be completed in order to complete the project, you can ensure that these tasks are given the attention they need and that delays are kept to a minimum. By following this method, you can avoid unnecessary delays or schedule conflicts in your projects.
Read: The best project management software for developers
Advantages of critical path analysis
It is more efficient to schedule tasks and projects when critical and non-critical tasks are separated. Using the critical path scheduling technique, the project manager can identify the tasks that are critical to the smooth operation of your software project. You can avoid hiccups and keep your project on schedule by understanding where changes can be made.
Critical path analysis allows project managers to determine which activities are imperative to project success. It can be used to compare expectations with actual progress.
Information from your current initiatives can be used to shape future planning. This information can then be used to ensure that critical activities are prioritized and any risks associated with them are effectively managed.
It is essential to complete the project within budget constraints. When the budget is tied to subtasks rather than to the project, it’s easier to identify cost issues so you can resolve issues more efficiently and in a way that preserves overall budget parameters.
In addition, it can help reduce bottlenecks. Unpredictable bottlenecks can cost your developers valuable time. Once identified, these bottlenecks can be addressed to ensure the project stays on schedule.
Critical path analysis can also be used to identify activity dependencies, which is information that can be used to create more efficient project schedules. Adding dependencies will help you understand which tasks can – and cannot – be executed in parallel.
The downsides of critical path analysis
Some of the disadvantages of the critical path method are:
- It requires a lot of time and effort
- It requires constant resource planning
- Does not adapt well to change
How to determine the critical path
Here is the sequence of steps in the CPM process:
- List the activities: To do this, you need to break the project down into smaller tasks and then identify the individual activities that should be completed for each task.
- Determine the order of activities: This means determining which activities need to be completed before others begin, and which activities can be done at the same time.
- Create a network diagram: Now draw a network diagram and connect all the tasks.
- Estimated duration: Next, project managers should estimate how much time each activity will take. You can do this by specifying a start and end time for each task. Once you have an estimated completion time for each activity, you can start creating the critical path.
- Determine the critical path: The critical path is given by the longest sequence of tasks in the project.
Final Thoughts on Critical Path Analysis
For a software development project to be completed on time, the critical path must be followed from start to finish. It is imperative to regulate critical path activities extremely precisely. While critical path analysis can seem intimidating at first, once you get the hang of it, it’s a valuable tool that can save you a lot of time and effort in effectively managing your project.
Read more project management guides and project management software reviews.