It is astounding how few project managers use critical path analysis. It's a simple tool to ensure that you don't waste resources and that your schedule is optimized. It's also great for answering the question that project sponsors and clients always ask which is, "How can we finish sooner?"
Why don't all project managers use this marvelous critical path tool to optimize? Well, your project schedule has to be built on a predecessor network, work estimates and resource availability, not due dates plucked from the sky. In other words your project schedule has to reflect reality and not be a fairytale. Meet that simple criteria, as you'll see in the story, and all the benefits of critical path will come to you.
In this month's article, a simple critical path story, you will learn about using the critical path to do all kinds of good things for your projects.
To learn how to build project schedules the way the professionals do and master the art of optimization with the critical path, consider taking one of our project management courses. You'll get personal, 1-on-1 instruction and work at your own pace and schedule. Look at our certifications too.
Regards
Dick Billows, PMP, GCA
President 4PM.com
The project management website
