Critical path

[Fátima]

Hi!
After introducing all the activities, durations and predecessors in MS
Project 2003, and after reviewing and certifing me that everything obeyed a
logic, I do not obtain the critical path (from the start to the end of the
project).
But critical tasks only appear in midle of the project until the o end.
I would like to know what could be the error that leads into the situation
that the critical path doesn't start with the first activity.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Fatima --

In the future, please post your questions in the microsoft.public.project
newsgroup, as this newsgroup is closing down. To answer your question, the
definition of Critical Path in Microsoft Project differs from the CPM
definition. In Microsoft Project, the Critical Path can run from the
beginning of the project to the end, OR it may run from a task in the middle
of the project to the end. If you have a Start No Earlier constraint on a
task in the middle of the project that causes slack on tasks that are
predecessor tasks, then the Critical Path begins with that task. This is
because Critical Tasks are only those tasks with 0d of Total Slack, meaning
that they cannot slip without impacting the finish date of the entire
project. Hope this helps.

 

[Fátima]

Fatima --

In the future, please post your questions in the microsoft.public.project
newsgroup, as this newsgroup is closing down. To answer your question, the
definition of Critical Path in Microsoft Project differs from the CPM
definition. In Microsoft Project, the Critical Path can run from the
beginning of the project to the end, OR it may run from a task in the middle
of the project to the end. If you have a Start No Earlier constraint on a
task in the middle of the project that causes slack on tasks that are
predecessor tasks, then the Critical Path begins with that task. This is
because Critical Tasks are only those tasks with 0d of Total Slack, meaning
that they cannot slip without impacting the finish date of the entire
project. Hope this helps.







Thanks for your answer, but I still have some doubts.

I have As Soon As Possible constraint in all tasks, is it possible just to
have critical tasks in the middle of the project to the end?
I haven't used Start No Earlier constraint as you have explained in your
answer. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Fatima --

Apply the Gantt Chart view and then click View - Table - Schedule. Pull the
split bar all the way to the right and examine the Total Slack column. Only
those tasks with a Total Slack = 0d are critical tasks. Do the tasks not
shown as critical have a Total Slack value greater than 0d? Let us know.