Critical PathThe longest path through a project, and why only it sets the deadline.Business & ManagementCritical path method, in outline.1List activities and durationsAnd what must precede what.2Draw the networkActivities as nodes, dependencies as arrows.3Forward passEarliest start and finish for every activity.4Backward passLatest start and finish without delaying the end.5Float = latest − earliestActivities with zero float form the critical path.IMPLICATIONSShortening a non-critical activity saves nothingThe critical path can move as the project progressesCrashing costs money to shorten the critical pathThere can be more than one critical path. Any of them delaying delaysthe whole project.Critical Pathlearnposters.com
Critical Path — printable business wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Critical Path, step by step

Critical path method, in outline.

  1. List activities and durationsAnd what must precede what.
  2. Draw the networkActivities as nodes, dependencies as arrows.
  3. Forward passEarliest start and finish for every activity.
  4. Backward passLatest start and finish without delaying the end.
  5. Float = latest − earliestActivities with zero float form the critical path.

Implications

  • Shortening a non-critical activity saves nothing
  • The critical path can move as the project progresses
  • Crashing costs money to shorten the critical path

There can be more than one critical path. Any of them delaying delays the whole project.

Questions about the Critical Path poster

What’s on the Critical Path poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Critical path method, in outline. List activities and durations — And what must precede what.; Draw the network — Activities as nodes, dependencies as arrows.; Forward pass — Earliest start and finish for every activity.; Backward pass — Latest start and finish without delaying the end.; Float = latest − earliest — Activities with zero float form the critical path.. There can be more than one critical path. Any of them delaying delays the whole project.
Who is the Critical Path poster for?
Critical Path belongs to the Business & Management section rather than to a school year, because business is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning operations can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Critical Path poster?
Only delay on the critical path delays the project. Everything else has float. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Critical Path belongs on the wall where that business work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Critical Path?
Agile & Waterfall, Capacity and Inventory Models sit alongside Critical Path in the Business & Management section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Agile & WaterfallCapacityInventory Models
Is the Critical Path poster free to download and print?
Yes. Critical Path downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Business & Management section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Critical Path poster print at?
Critical Path is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Critical Path loses nothing.Printing guide

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