Project Management – The Critical Path

MethodDr. Jeff Landry

Rosalind McCullough

What is a Project Temporary – A project has a beginning and an end

Unique – A project is outside of routine work

Sponsored – A project has a sponsor that provides resources for the work

Why is Project Management Important?

On time (T

ime)

Delivering what was promised (scope)

On budget (Cost)Triple Constraints

Challenged and Failing Software Projects

Successful39%

Challenged43%

Failed18%

Chaos Resolution

SuccessfulChallengedFailed

Chaos Manifesto 2013, The Standish Group

Myers-Briggs Personality Test A test designed to discover how a person sees things and makes decisions

Click on the MBTI link on your desktop

Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Find your personality type

Balanced Teams Activity

Find four people who do NOT have your personality type and sit with them. This is your new team.

Teams that have a variety of personality types tend to perform better because Different personality types tend to see problems differently

One personality type may be better at a task than another

Critical Path Activity – Part 1

Lay the cards end to end in the correct order to make a sandwich

Step1

Step8

Step2

Step3

Step4

Step5

Step6

Step7

The Critical Path

Start

The longest sequence of activities in a project to be completed on time for the project to complete on the due date.

Finish

4 days

1 day 1 day1 day

3 days

1 day

2 days2 days

9 Days

How long does it take to make the sandwich

21 minutes

How can you shorten the time?

Do things in parallel (at the same time)

Remove/change the requirements

Add resources

Shorten the duration to complete a task

Critical Path Activity – Part 2

Card 1

Card 8

Card 2

Card 3

Card4

Card 5

Card 6

Card 7

Repeat the previous activity – this time put the cards in an order that will shorten the time it takes to make the sandwich

Making A Sandwich

Toast

bread

Gather

ingredients

Cook

bacon

EndAssemble

sandwich

Wash

lettuce

Start

Slice

cheese

Cut

tomato

Butter

bread

Conclusion

On time (T

ime)

Delivering what was promised (scope)

On budget (Cost)Triple Constraints