Effective Project Management Tools
Critical Path Analysis
There are many tools you can use to assist in the completion of a project. Critical Path Analysis (CPA) is an extremely useful tool at identifying what tasks should be carried out and how to achieve the shortest completion time, dependant on order of tasks.
Why use a CPA?
The CPA allows you to determine priorities for tasks, which can be useful when there are multiple tasks running parallel to each other - which can be especially useful when projects have a short time scale and are urgent for completion. In addition, CPA allows you to identify what resources are required in order to complete the overall project.
There are many key tools that can be used whilst acting as a PM, but CPA can help to maintain a successful project rather than letting it fall into a failed one, by drawing a schedule for tasks. It helps to plan for problems that may be encountered during the project’s completion.
When use a CPA?
A Critical Path diagram can be drawn for any project; there isn’t a specific type that it can be used for. This makes it a powerful tool which can be drawn and applied generically. CPA may seem time consuming due to having to plan out for all tasks; identify how long they’ll each take to complete; who is carrying them out; etc. However, it is almost always beneficial to take time before carrying out a task to plan out the strategy, in order to achieve a successful project. This helps to identify all future problems you may encounter and to allocate time to selective tasks which may be more time consuming than others.
CPA can be drawn and used at the beginning of a project in order to prepare for future scenarios. However once drawn, it can act as a checklist to make sure everything is covered and completed to finish the project. Where you need to carrying out a project in a shorter time period, the CPA helps you to choose which steps you can shorten down, so you will be able to deliver the project on time.
How to create your own CPA Chart
Creating a CPA Chart can prove difficult and confusing if you don't know how to start. So, below we have put together a set-by-step guide to assist you in doing so.
STEP 1
Identify & List Activities Within the Project
With each activity, you must display the earliest time the activity can start; how long you estimate it will take to complete; whether the activity can run parallel to another activity, or whether it is sequential (dependant on completion of a previous activity).
- Task
- Earliest start
- Length
- Type
- Does it depend on another task's completion?
STEP 2
Plotting the Basic Diagram (Nodes & Arrows)
When making a CPA chart, you will create a series of circles and arrows to create the overall diagram. The circle (referred to as ‘node’) represents the start of an activity taking place. The number on the left hand side of the node represents what activity number it is.
Following the node, an arrow connects one activity to the next sequential one. Usually the time taken for the activity to be completed is written on top of the arrow, and the type of activity written below it.
Earliest Start Time of Activities
When an activity can’t begin until the previous has finished (sequential activity), we start the activity’s arrow at the beginning of the following node.
The 2 following activities, 'Analyse Market' & ‘Development' can’t begin until the ’Research' activity has completed. The number displayed in the top right of each node shows the earliest start time the activity can start. The first activity within the project starts at 0.
STEP 3
Identifying the Critical Path
Each node also has a number in the bottom right. This shows the latest time an activity can finish if the you are to completed the entire project in the minimal time. This figure is calculated by starting at the last event of the project and working backwards. If the latest finish time of the activity and the earliest start time of the following activity are same, they are on the Critical Path (fastest route for completion).
You must pay close attention to activities that lie on the Critical Path, in order for the project to be completed on time. If activities that lie on this path over-run, you must make immediate amendments to the rest of the activities to get the project on schedule.
