Chapter 55

Critical Path Analysis - Key Terms

Earliest Start Time (EST) - How soon a task in a project can begin, influenced by the lenght of time taken by tasks which must be completed before it can begin
Critical Path - The tasks involved in a project which, if delayed, could dealy the project
Critical Path Analysis (CPA) / Network Analysis - A method of calculating the minimum time required to complete a project, identifying delays which could be critical to its completion
Free Float - The time by which a task can be delayed wihtout affecting the folllowing task
Latest Finish Time (LFT) - The latest time that a task in a project can finish
Network Diagram - A chart showing the order of the tasks involved in completing a project, containing info about the times taken to complete the tasks
Nodes - positions in a netowrk diagram which indicate the start and finish times of a task
Total Float - the time by which a task can be delayed without affecting the project

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Information used to estimate times in the netwrom may be incorrect

Changes can occur during project

Resources used may be inflexible

Complex with large scale projects

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