CPM Training, Critical Path Method

CPM Training, Critical Path Method Training

The critical path method (CPM) is a technique project managers use to schedule their project activities so that everything lands where it’s supposed to and the project fits the approved timeline.

Projects are made up of tasks that have to adhere to a schedule in order to meet a deadline. It sounds simple, but without mapping the work it can quickly get out of hand and you’ll find your project off track. CPM is essentially a sequence of stages where you figure out what the least amount of time is necessary to complete a task with the least amount of slack.

There are several reasons why the critical path method is relevant. For one thing it helps improve resource management. It gives enhanced visibility and clear direction as to what is coming up next and who needs to work on it. Once critical tasks are identified and assigned to different people, it helps a project manager to allocate resources in a better manner.

CPM also has value in that it encourages better planning. It helps to compare progress as planned with what has been actually achieved. CPM can identify tasks that are completed, plan or predict the time required for tasks coming up and changes planned for future tasks; this results in updates in schedules often and can help a project timeline to be monitored efficiently.

CPM can also shorten timelines. Usually bar charts are used which can help users visualize the activities of a critical path, task durations and sequences of the same. When it comes to software like Smartsheet or Edraw, the tasks of such paths are in red outlines and easy to spot; they are made to stand out in the timeline of a project as well as showcases correlation between the different tasks.

Consequently, users are able to know which tasks are important, durations that need modification, etc.

The essential technique for using CPM is to construct a model of the project that includes the following:

• A list of all tasks required to complete the project
• The dependencies between the tasks
• The estimate of time (duration) that each activity will take to complete

The critical path method has been used in a variety of projects, from construction, aerospace and defense to software and product development, engineering, plant maintenance and more. Projects with interdependent activities can benefit from this.

The critical path method is most commonly used for projects consisting of numerous activities that interact in a complex manner. Typical steps in the process:

• Defining the required tasks and noting them in an ordered list
• Developing a diagram illustrating tasks and their relationship with one another
• Acknowledging the critical and non-critical relationships among tasks
• Determining the expected completion time of each task
• Devising alternatives for the most critical paths

CPM Training, Critical Path Method Course by Tonex

CPM is usually applied in all types of projects, such as construction, aerospace and defense, software development, research projects, product development, engineering, and plant maintenance. During this hands-on course, we will provide you with the concepts, methods, and tools you need to know in order to create a CPM unique to your project.

The critical approach of using CPM is to build a model that contains the following:

• An outline of all actions necessary to finish the project
• The time period that each of these activities need to accomplish
• The dependencies among the activities
• Rational end points including objectives or deliverables

By considering all of these values, CPM evaluates the longest path of intended actions to the logical end points or to the final stage of the project, and the earliest and latest time that every activity can begin and end without making the project last longer.These algorithms identify the crucial activities and the “total float.”

In project management, a critical path is the series of project system actions that add to the longest total period, no matter if such longest duration has float or not. This recognizes the shortest time possible to finish the project. CPM training will teach you how to identify the crucial activities and the logical end points of your project in order to develop the CPM that fits your project best.

CPM training is made up of both lectures and practical exercises. The practical exercise, making up for more than 80% of the course, includes labs, individual/group activities, role-plays, and hands-on workshops. The course agenda is designed to be comprehensive, but it is also flexible to be tailored based on the needs of your organization,

Audience

CPM training is a 3-day course designed for:

• Project managers
• Project engineers
• Team managers
• Supervisors
• All professional who needs to manage scheduling of a project

Training Objectives

Upon the completion of CPM training, the attendees are able to:

• Define the project elements
• Define project management
• Understand all the process of managing the project
• Plan the project
• Understand and apply project management tools
• Understand the terms and definitions associated with CPM
• Discuss the benefits and limitations of CPM
• Articulate the CPM assumptions
• Analyze the problems and context
• Formulate the indicators
• Assess the impacts
• Perform PID
• Develop the CPM process
• Estimate the earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF)
• Estimate the latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF)
• Apply and evaluate crash action

Course Outline

Overview of CPM

• What is project?
• What is project management?
• What is critical path method?
• Background of CPM
• Essential elements of CPM
• CPM advantages
• CPM limitations
• CPM applications
• Schedule management
• CPM methods
• CPM assumptions
• Task representations
• Common CPM mistakes
• Project lifecycle

Fundamentals of Project Management

• Introduction to project management
• Planning failures
• Project management lifecycle
• Logical structure approach
• Problems evaluation
• Context evaluation
• Project planning matrices
• Formulating indicators
• Project identification
• Preparing and design
• Specified project planning
• Budgeting and financing
• Execution and monitoring
• Appraisal and evaluation
• Impact analysis

Project Lifecycle

• Project Initiation Document Component (PID)
• Permits and environmental investigations element
• Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (PS&E) element
• Right of way element
• Construction element

Project Process

• Process units
• Initiating procedures
• Planning procedures
• Executing procedures
• Monitoring and controlling procedures
• Closing procedures

CPM Terminology

• Float (slack)
• Critical path
• Critical activity
• Resource leveling

Critical Path Method

• Introduction to scheduling
  • Definition of a schedule
  • Why is a schedule important?
  • What will it take to schedule?
• Software demonstration
• Implementation plan
• Specifications
• Roles and responsibilities
  • Roles accountable for schedule development
  • Scheduler / planner skills
• Early and late start: ES/LS
• Early and late finish: EF/LF
• Free float
• Total float
• Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
• CPM vs CCPM
• Critical paths, slack
• Task “crashing” and cost
• Gradual refinement
• CPM judgment

CPM Development Process

• Phase 1
  • Breaking the project into tasks required for completion
  • Recognizing consecutive relationship of functions
• Phase 2
  • Developing time approximations for each task
  • Identifying the earliest possible start time, earliest possible finish time, latest start & finish time
  • Modified after completion of phase 3
• Phase 3
  • Creating time-cost correlation
  • Creating scheduling variants
  • Normal Start

Fundamental Approaches

• Task relationships
• Network-based (graph theory) methods
  • CPM
  • PERT
• Matrix-based methods
  • DSM
  • Interrelationships are off-diagonal entries
• System Dynamics
• Gantt chart

Schedule Function

• Function of the schedule in an incorporated business system
• Government guidelines
• Effect of system deficiencies

 The Scheduling Development

• Major steps of a schedule process
• Defining the objective
• Documenting the environment
• Determining the main events to fulfill the objective
• Organizing the key events based on their occurrence
• Recognizing the actions necessary to complete the key events
• Evaluate the length of each activity
• Plan for executing the detailed actions
• Load and level resources
• Commitment and support

Project Scope Definition

• Defining the requirements
• Setting up a disciplined method
• Defining core requirement
• Planning the program
• Integrated product process configuration
• Integrated Master Plan (IMP)
• Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)

Tonex CPM Hands-On Workshop Sample

Draw a critical path analysis chart for the project provided:

• List all activities in the plan
• Plot the activities as a circle and arrow diagram
• Consider the crash action
• Perform PERT

CPM Training, Critical Path Method