Critical Path Method Flashcards
7 cards from real Project Management practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Critical Path Method flashcards as text
What is the primary purpose of performing a 'forward pass' and 'backward pass' in CPM network analysis?
Answer: To determine the early and late start/finish dates and calculate float for each activity
The forward pass calculates early start and early finish dates; the backward pass calculates late start and late finish dates, together revealing float for each activity.
A project network diagram contains a loop (circular dependency). What is the standard resolution approach?
Answer: Identify and eliminate the incorrect dependency that creates the loop before proceeding with CPM calculations
Loops (circular logic) make CPM calculations impossible; the incorrect dependency relationship must be identified and corrected in the network diagram.
In a Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) network, what does a 'Start-to-Start (SS) with lag of 5' relationship mean?
Answer: The successor activity cannot start until 5 days after the predecessor activity starts
SS+5 means the successor cannot begin until at least 5 days have elapsed since the predecessor started, allowing some overlap while enforcing a minimum lead time.
Which of the following scenarios would most likely cause the critical path to CHANGE during project execution?
Answer: A non-critical activity experiences a delay greater than its total float
When a non-critical activity's delay exceeds its total float, it exhausts all schedule flexibility and its path becomes the new (or parallel) critical path.
What distinguishes 'interfering float' from 'independent float' in CPM?
Answer: Independent float can be used without affecting any predecessor or successor's schedule; interfering float affects either predecessors or successors if used
Independent float is the safest type — using it affects neither predecessors' late dates nor successors' early dates; interfering float, if used, may impact adjacent activities.
A project manager is reviewing a schedule and finds that the critical path runs through a single vendor's deliverable. What is the best risk response?
Answer: Identify and accelerate a near-critical parallel path, monitor the vendor closely, and develop contingency plans
The best response combines proactive monitoring, near-critical path management, and contingency planning rather than an immediate disruptive change to the network.
When using CPM for a complex project, how should a project manager treat 'hammock activities'?
Answer: As summary activities that span from the start of the first sub-activity to the end of the last, with duration determined by those sub-activities
Hammock (or span) activities are summary bars whose start and finish are tied to the actual activities they encompass, making their duration dependent on the underlying work.