The Dying Art of Critical Path Management

This is pretty arcane, and probably only of interest to project managers. I give a talk about this every once in a while to PMPs and other PM folks. This is the handout I provide with the talk (which is a highly interactive white-board presentation):

SSL

(No, not Secure Sockets Layer)

Savage’s Schedule Laws ™

 

I)     An effective schedule must have exactly one start milestone, and exactly one end milestone.

 

II)   Except for the start and end milestones, every other task must have at least one predecessor, and at least one successor.

 

III) If the “current date” line is to the right of the “% complete” bar (Gantt Chart View), the task must either be rescheduled, or a credible reason provided that explains why the task will “catch up.” Any task that shows a completion date in the past which is not, in fact, complete, must be rescheduled.

 

Quantitative Quality Measure

(Like golf, the low score wins. In this case zero is possible)

 

1)    Add 20 points if there is not a single start point, and a single end point

 

2)    Add a point for every task that does not have a predecessor, and an additional point for every task that does not have a successor (except for the start and end tasks)

 

3)    Add five points for every task that is scheduled to have been completed, but is not in fact complete (this indicates the need for a re-plan)

 

 

Bonus Quote:

 

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts.”

            --Albert Einstein

 

Rev: New, 11-04-26

© Terry C Savage

Permission to use and reproduce is granted, provided attribution is given to the author