Mastering the Critical Path

Critical Path is the sequence of tasks that determine the minimum project duration.

?Understanding the Critical Path is essential for successful project management, in the workplace, at home or in school. ?Any delay in these tasks will directly impact the project's overall timeline. Many factors can affect the Critical Path, often leading to missed deadlines, cost overruns, and diminished team morale.

Two simple examples: ?

Hiring an Employee: ?The critical path for hiring an employee involves creating a job description, posting it, interviewing, making an offer, and onboarding. These steps must be done in sequence and define the minimum time needed to complete the hiring. Tasks like ordering a computer or setting up a desk are important but not on the critical path, as they can be done concurrently with, and in less time than, the critical path items and therefore don’t affect the overall timeline.

Preparing a Chicken Dinner: Some critical path items in preparing this dinner include marinating and cooking the chicken, as these steps are essential, must be done in sequence and contribute to the overall time to prepare the dinner. Setting the table, while necessary, can be done while the chicken cooks and doesn’t impact the timing of the meal. Thus, it’s not part of the critical path.

Factors Affecting the Critical Path: ?

The critical path is often dynamic as it can change as a project moves along. ?There are numerous factors that can affect critical path items. ?Building these into the task duration estimation contributes to a more stable critical path and therefore a more predictable schedule. ?

Imagine your company is launching a new marketing campaign with a strict deadline. The project involves several key tasks: market research, design approval, content creation, ad placement, and campaign launch. The Critical Path for this project includes the essential steps that must be completed on time to ensure a successful launch. ?

Here are some factors that can affect the critical path, and therefore the schedule. ?Your project plan should take these into account.

? Attrition: Employee turnover, such as a senior marketer leaving, can impact the critical path by causing delays in finding and training a replacement. ?If you have 5 people on the project for a year, and your employee attrition rate is 20%/year, then there’s a good chance that one of those five will leave during the project.

? Learning Curve: New team members may require time to get up to speed, affecting task timelines and delivery. ? Downtime: Breaks or vacations, such as a key team member's two-week absence, can delay critical tasks. Plan for coverage to avoid disruptions.

? Distractions: Office interruptions like meetings or urgent emails can slow down task progress. Build these distractions into your time estimates.

? First-Time Tasks: If the project has activities that have not been executed in the past, then these activities will generally take longer than if someone has implemented them ten times before. New tools or strategies, like unfamiliar software, can extend task durations due to a learning curve. ?

? Quality Expectations: Misunderstandings of quality expectations may lead to multiple revisions, which can delay phases like design approval and launch.

? Optimism: Almost every project has bumps to overcome. ?Set realistic timelines with buffer periods. ? Technical Feasibility: Ensuring all technical aspects are feasible before committing to a timeline will prevent technical surprises during execution. ?Alternatively, leave time for technical hurdles that are yet to be discovered.

? Scope Creep: Many projects have some scope creep, i.e. changes or additions to project requirements. ?Plan for some level of this.

? Unclear Requirements: Ambiguous project goals or objectives can lead to revisions and delays.

? Skills Mismatch: Inadequate skills among team members may require additional training or hiring, impacting timelines.

? Equipment Failure: Malfunctions or technical issues with equipment happen and will disrupt progress and delay tasks.

? Discoveries: Unexpected issues, such as technical limitations, employee sickness, or outside vendors or contractor delays can occur and cause delays if not addressed promptly.

Dynamics of the Critical Path:

When Non-Critical Tasks Become Critical Path Tasks The Critical Path can shift dynamically based on the above factors. ?In addition, non-critical path tasks may unexpectedly become critical path tasks if certain conditions change. Here’s how this can happen using the simple example of hiring an employee.

Ordering a new computer for the employee was not in the critical path, as you have time from when the employee accepts your job offer and when they start. ?Usually it's two weeks for the employee to start, and ordering and receiving a computer usually takes just three days. ?You make the offer to the employee, they accept and say they can start tomorrow. ?That's great news as you can use the help, but now ordering the computer is in the critical path because that takes a few days and the new employee won't be able to do any work until the computer arrives.

?The Takeaway: Managing the Critical Path involves more than just tracking deadlines and dependencies. By considering factors such as downtime, distractions, attrition, and others, you can better anticipate potential issues and make informed adjustments to your project plan. In a workplace setting, like launching a marketing campaign, understanding and addressing these often-overlooked elements can help you stay on track, avoid cost overruns, and maintain high morale. Additionally, being aware of how non critical path tasks can become critical path tasks helps you adapt to changing conditions, ensuring your project has a reliable schedule and achieves its goals.

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Mike Kallet; CEO of HeadScratchers

#criticalthinking #problemsolving #decisionmaking

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Mike Kallet, CEO and Principal - Headscratchers LLC Author of Think Smarter - Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills.

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