What are the benefits and drawbacks of having a lot of slack and float in your project?

1 What is slack and float?

Slack and float are two terms that describe the same concept: the amount of time that a task can be delayed or extended without affecting the project completion date. Slack and float can be calculated for each task or for each path in the network diagram. There are two types of slack and float: total and free. Total slack and float is the difference between the latest and the earliest possible start or finish dates of a task. Free slack and float is the difference between the earliest possible start or finish dates of a task and its successor. Total slack and float affects the critical path, while free slack and float does not.

2 Why is slack and float important?

Slack and float are important because they indicate the level of flexibility and risk in your project schedule. Having some slack and float can help you cope with uncertainties, delays, changes, or emergencies that may occur during the project execution. For example, if a task takes longer than expected, you can use the slack and float to adjust the schedule without compromising the project deadline. Slack and float can also help you optimize the use of resources, prioritize tasks, and allocate contingency reserves.

3 What are the benefits of having a lot of slack and float?

Having a lot of slack and float can be beneficial for your project in many ways, including reducing stress and pressure on the project team and stakeholders, increasing creativity and innovation, enhancing quality and customer satisfaction, and improving communication and collaboration. With more time to complete tasks and deal with issues, the project team has the opportunity to experiment with different options and solutions. They can also focus on delivering high-value results that meet or exceed expectations. Furthermore, the project team can share information, feedback, and ideas more frequently and effectively.

4 What are the drawbacks of having a lot of slack and float?

Having a lot of slack and float can also have some drawbacks for your project, such as encouraging procrastination and complacency, which can lead to wasted resources and opportunities. It can also increase scope creep and changes, as well as reduce trust and accountability due to lack of clear communication and accurate reporting of progress and status.

5 How to manage slack and float effectively?

Managing slack and float effectively requires a balance between flexibility and control. You should monitor and update your project schedule regularly, and identify and communicate any changes or deviations from the baseline. Additionally, you need to analyze and evaluate the impact of slack and float on your project objectives, constraints, and risks. To do this, you can use various techniques and tools such as the critical chain method, resource leveling, schedule compression, and schedule reserve. The critical chain method reduces the duration estimates of each task by removing the safety margins, while resource leveling adjusts the start and finish dates of tasks to balance the demand and availability of resources. Schedule compression reduces the project duration by either crashing or fast-tracking some tasks. Lastly, schedule reserve allocates a percentage of the total project duration as a contingency reserve to account for uncertainties and risks.