Identifying and Managing the Critical Path, Essay Example

The critical path is an essential component of project management because it helps the team understand how long the project will take in addition to setting short term deadlines to ensure that the project is finished on time. It is important to clearly identify and manage the critical path of a project because it ensures that the project will be completed adequately (Makar 2009). If short term deadlines are pushed back or not accomplished on time, the project as a whole may not be successful because each step on the critical path is a prerequisite for the next. While following a critical path is an easy way to understand what needs to be done and when to complete a project, when identifying and managing the critical path, it is essential to set realistic goals and deadlines. It is unreasonable to expect a team to act efficiently and accurately if this aspect of designing the critical path is not met.

Unfortunately, failing to adequately establish, communicate, monitor, and manage a project’s critical path and related tasks has cost and quality implications. When certain tasks are scheduled to be do at specific times, the results of those tasks are often needed to continue onwards; when this requires the scheduling of external personnel or use of specialized equipment, timeliness could lead to increased costs. Furthermore, the quality of work may decrease as a consequence of trying to finish a task on time when not enough time has been budgeted.

Works Cited

Baker SL. Critical Path Method (CPM). 2004. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/Courses/J716/CPM/CPM.html>

Makar A. Why critical path is critical to project management. 10 September 2009. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-decision-maker/why-critical-path-is-critical-to-project-management/2039/>