Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

12 CRITICAL
PATH
ANALYSIS
Objectives
After studying this chapter you should
• be able to construct activity networks;
• be able to find earliest and latest starting times;
• be able to identify the critical path;
• be able to translate appropriate real problems into a suitable
form for the use of critical path analysis.

12.0 Introduction
A complex project must be well planned, especially if a number
of people are involved. It is the task of management to
undertake the planning and to ensure that the various tasks
required in the project are completed in time.

Operational researchers developed a method of scheduling

complex projects shortly after the Second World War. It is
sometimes called network analysis, but is more usually known
as critical path analysis (CPA). Its virtue is that it can be
used in a wide variety of projects, and was, for example,
employed in such diverse projects as the Apollo moonshot, the
development of Concorde, the Polaris missile project and the
privatisation of the electricity and water boards. Essentially,
CPA can be used for any multi-task complex project to ensure
that the complete scheme is completed in the minimum time.

Although its real potential is for helping to schedule complex

projects, we will illustrate the use of CPA by applying it to
rather simpler problems. You will often be able to solve these
problems without using CPA, but it is an understanding of the
concepts involved in CPA which is being developed here.
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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

12.1 Activity networks

In order to be able to use CPA, you first need to be able to form
what is called an activity network. This is essentially a way of
illustrating the given project data concerning the tasks to be
completed, how long each task takes and the constraints on the
order in which the tasks are to be completed. As an example,
consider the activities shown below for the construction of a
garage.

activity duration (in days)

A prepare foundations 7 B make and position door

frame 2 C lay drains, floor base and screed 15 D
install services and fittings 8 E erect walls 10 F
plaster ceiling 2 G erect roof 5 H install door and
windows 8 I fit gutters and pipes 2 J paint outside 3

Clearly, some of these activities cannot be started until other

activities have been completed. For example
activity G - erect roof
cannot begin until
activity E - erect walls
has been completed. The following table shows which activities
must precede which.
D must follow E
E must follow A and B
F must follow D and G
G must follow E
H must follow G
I must follow C and F
J must follow I.

We call these the precedence relations.

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

All this information can be represented by the network shown

below.
A
G
7 5
10
5 8
H
E
0
23 82
J
2 10
0
Start B Finish
I

0
15

In this network
DF

each activity is represented by a vertex;

joining vertex X to vertex Y shows that

activity X must be completed before Y can be started;

the number marked on each arc shows the duration of the

activity from which the arc starts.
Note the use of 'arc' here to mean a directed edge. Sometimes
we can easily form the activity network, but not always, so we
need to have a formal method. First try the following activity.

Activity 1 Making a settee

A furniture maker is going to produce a new wooden framed
settee with cloth-covered foam cushions. These are the tasks
that have to be done by the furniture maker and his assistants
and the times they will take :
activity time in days

A make wooden arms and legs 3

 B make wooden back 1
C make wooden base 2
D cut foam for back and base 1
E make covers 3
F fit covers 1
G put everything together 1

Each activity can only be undertaken by one individual.

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis networks increases. Such an
algorithm is summarised below.
The following list gives the For simple problems it is often easy to construct
activity networks, but as the complete project
order in which the jobs must be becomes more complex, the need for a formal
method of constructing activity networks increases.
Such an algorithm is summarised below.
done: B must be after C
Start Write down the original
A must be after B and C vertices and then a second copy
D must be after B and C of them alongside, as illustrated
on the right. If activity
E must be after D
F must be after E
G must be after A, B, C, D, E
and F
Construct an appropriate activity
network to illustrate this
information.

12.2 Algorithm
for constructing
activity
Original vertices
networks A
B
For simple problems it is often Shadow vertices
relatively easy to construct A
activity networks but, as the B
complete project becomes more
complex, the need for a formal
method of constructing activity
Y must follow activity X draw an arc
from original C
vertex Y to shadow vertex X. (In this way
X
you construct a bipartite graph.)
.... .. C
. ... X
Step 1 Make a list of all the original
 vertices which have no arcs incident to vertices have been used.
them.

Step 2 Delete all the vertices found in The use of this algorithm will be
Step 1 and their corresponding shadow illustrated using the first case study,
vertices and all arcs incident to these constructing a garage, from Section 12.1.
vertices. YY

Step 3 Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until all the

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

The precedence relations are:

A
D must follow E A
E must follow A and B BB
CDE
F must follow D and G G I must follow C and F J
F
must follow E must follow I GHI
H must follow G CDEFGHI
These are illustrated opposite. JJ

Applying the algorithm until all vertices have

been chosen is shown below.

Step 1 - original vertices with no arcs A, B, C

Step 2 - delete all arcs incident on A, B, C and D D

redraw as
EFGHI
shown
Step 3 - repeat iteration EFGHI
JJE

Step 1 - original vertices with no arcs

Step 2 - delete all arcs incident on E and redraw as shown
D
D
 F
F
Step 3 - repeat iteration
G
G
H
H
I
I
J J D, G

Step 1 - original vertices with no arcs

F
F
Step 2 - delete all arcs incident on D, G and redraw as shown
H
H
I
Step 3 - repeat iteration
I
J J F, H

Step 1 - original vertices with no arcs

Step 2 - delete all arcs incident on F, H and redraw as shown
I
I
J
J
Step 3 - repeat iteration

Step 1 - original vertices with no arcs

I
redraw as shown
Step 2 - delete all arcs incident on I and JJ

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

Step 3 - stop as all vertices have been chosen

So the vertices have been chosen in the following order:

A
DF
BEIJ GH
C

The activity diagram as shown belowcan now be drawn.

Iterations 1st 2nd 3rd 8 4th 5th 6th
A
 7 I

2
0 E 2
5

0
Start Finish
10
B
DF

10 2 3
J

C
0 15
5 8
G H

From the 'start' vertex, draw arcs to A, B and C, the first iteration
vertices, putting zero on each arc. In the original bipartite graph
the shadow vertex A was joined to the original vertex E - so join
A to E. Similarly join B to E and C to I.

Indicate the duration of the activity on any arc coming from the
vertex representing the activity.

Continue in this way and complete the activity network with a

'finish' vertex into which any free vertices lead, again indicating the
duration of the activity on the arc.

Note that the duration of the activity is shown on every arc

coming from the vertex representing the activity. (So, for
example, arc ED and arc EG are both given 10.)

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

Exercise 12A
assemble units (B) 4 -
1. Use the algorithm to find the activity network for the
fit carpet (C) 5 hang wallpaper paint woodwork
problem in Activity 1.
2. Suppose you want to redecorate a room and put in new hang wallpaper (D) 12 paint woodwork
self-assembly units. These are the jobs that need to be hang curtains (E) 2 hang wallpaper paint woodwork
done, together with the time each takes:
Complete an activity network for this problem.
time
activity (in hrs) preceded by 3. The Spodleigh Bicycle Company is getting its
assembly section ready for putting together as many
paint woodwork (A) 8 - bicycles as possible for the Christmas market. This
 diagram shows the basic information.
components of a bicycle.
4. An extension is to be built to a sports hall.
Details of the activities are given below.

time
activity (in days)

A lay foundations 7
B build walls 10
C lay drains and floor 15
D install fittings 8
E make and fit door frames 2
Putting together a bicycle is split up into small jobs F erect roof 5
which can be done by different people. These are: G plaster ceiling 2
time activity (mins)
H fit and paint doors and windows 8
A preparation of the frame 9 B mounting and I fit gutters and pipes 2
aligning the front wheel 7 C mounting and aligning J paint outside 3
the back wheel 7 D attaching the chain wheel to the
crank 2 Some of these activities cannot be started until
others have been completed:
E attaching the chain wheel and crank
to the frame 2 F mounting the right pedal 8 G B must be after C
mounting the left pedal 8 C must be after A
H final attachments such as saddle, D must be after B
chain, stickers, etc. 21
The following chart shows the order of doing the jobs. E must be after C
B must be after A F must be after D and E
C must be after A G must be after F

D must be after A H must be after G

E must be after D I must be after F

F must be after D and E J must be after H

G must be after D and E Complete an activity network for this problem.

H must be after A, B, C, D, E, F and G

Draw an activity network to show this

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

12.3 Critical path

You have seen how to construct an activity network. In this section
you will see how this can be used to find the critical path. This will
first involve finding the earliest possible start for each activity, by
going forwards through the network. Secondly, the latest possible
start time for each activity is found by going backwards through
the network. Activities which have equal earliest and latest start
time are on the critical path. The technique will be illustrated using
the 'garage construction' problem from Sections 12.1 and 12.2.
The activity network for this problem is shown below, where
sufficient space is made at each activity node to insert two
numbers.
F
8
A
D0

2
0 10 7
B I J Finish
E 5 2
Start 0 GH
0 10
230
58

0
15
C

The numbers in the top half of each circle will indicate the earliest
possible starting time. So, for activities A, B and C, the number
zero is inserted.

Moving forward through the network, the activity E is reached

next. Since both A and B have to be completed before E can be
started, the earliest start time for E is 7. This is put into the top half
of the circle at E. The earliest times at D and G are then both 17,
and for H, 22. Since F cannot be started until both D and G are
completed, its earliest start time is 25, and consequently, 27 for I.
The earliest start time for J is then 29, which gives an earliest
completion time of 32.

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

AD
F
0 17
8
25
2
0 10 7
B E
5 I J Finish
2
29 32
 Start 0
23
0 27 32
7
10 GH
0 17
5 8 22
C
0
15

Since 32 is the earliest possible completion time, it is also

assumed to be the completion time in order to find the latest
possible start times. So 32 is also put in the lower half of the
'finish' circle. Now working backwards through the network, the
latest start times for each activity are as follows:

J 32 − 3 = 29

I 29 − 2 = 27

F 27 − 2 = 25

H 32 − 8 = 24

D 25 − 8 = 17

G the minimum of 25 − 5 = 20 and 24 − 5 = 19 E the

17 19 A7−7=0
minimum of −10 = 7 and −10 = 9

B7−2=5

C 27 −15 = 12

This gives a completed network as shown below.

AD
F
0 8
0 25
0 10 7 25
17 17 2
5
B I J Finish
E
2

29 32
230
7 5 27
0 27 29
Start 32
10
7 GH
17
5 8 22
0
C 0
 12
19 24

15

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

The vertices with equal earliest and latest starting times define the
critical path. This is clearly seen to be

A E D F I J.

Another way of identifying the critical path is to define the

float time = latest start time − earliest start time.

The information for the activities can now be summarised in the

table below.

start times
activity earliest latest float

A000
← B055
C 0 12 12
E770 D 17 17 0
← ← G 17 19 2
F
25
25

0
←
H 22 24 2
I 27 27 0 J 29 29 0
← ←

So now you know that if there are enough workers the job can be
completed in 32 days. The activities on the critical path (i.e. those
with zero float time) must be started punctually; for example, A
must start immediately, E after 7 days, F after 25 days, etc. For
activities with a non-zero float time there is scope for varying their
start times; for example activity G can be started any time after 17,
18 or 19 days' work. Assuming that all the work is completed on
time, you will see that this does indeed give a working schedule for
the construction of the garage in the minimum time of 32 days.
However it does mean, for example, that on the 18th day activities D
and C will definitely be in progress and G may be as well. The
solution could well be affected if there was a limit to the number of
workers available, but you will consider that sort of problem in the
next chapter.

Is a critical path always uniquely defined?

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

Activity 2 Bicycle construction

From the activity network for Question 3 in Exercise 12A find
the critical path and the possible start times for all the activities
in order to complete the job in the shortest possible time.

Exercise 12B
1. Find the critical paths for each of the activity
networks shown below.
075
11
Start
(a) 4
11
ABF
12
I
CEH12 Finish

7 5
(c) BE7
G
D 10
10 3 4

10

0
Start Finish
7
(b) 6
8 10
BE ACG

5 10 7
85 12
8 DF
Start ADG 3 3
0 Finish

7 5 11
5
H hire hall 1 week I arrange refreshments 1 week J
CF
7 organise make-up 1 week

2. Find the critical path for the activity network in

Question 4, Exercise 12A.
K decide on musical 1 week L organise lighting 1
3. Your local school decides to put on a musical. These
week M dress rehearsals 2 days
are the many jobs to be done by the organising
committee, and the times they take: N invite local radio/press 1 day P choose stage hands 1
day Q choose programme sellers 1 day R choose
A make the costumes 6 weeks B rehearsals 12 weeks 1 1
performance dates 2 day S arrange seating 2 day T
C get posters and tickets printed 3 weeks D get
sell tickets last 4 weeks
programmes printed 3 weeks E make scenery and
V display posters last 3 weeks
props 7 weeks F get rights to perform the musical 2
weeks G choose cast 1 week
 (c) Find the critical path and minimum
(a) Decide on the precedence relationships. (b) completion time.

Construct the activity network.

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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis

12.4 Miscellaneous Exercises

3. A project consists of eight activities whose
1. Consider the following activity network, in which the durations are as follows:
vertices represent activities and the numbers next to
the arcs represent time in days. activity A B C D E F G H
A 3
0 8
G duration 4 4 3 5 4 1 6 5
D 2
3

Start Finish 0

0 4 F must follow C
9
B EF 4
3 B must follow A and E
The precedence
4 2 relations are as D must follow A G must follow C
H3 and E
C follows: and C
(a) Assuming that an unlimited number of (a) Draw an activity network in which the
workers is available, write down: activities are represented by vertices.
(i) the minimum completion time of the
(b) Find a critical path by inspection, and write down
project;
the earliest and latest starting times for each
(ii)the corresponding critical path. activity.
(b) Find the float time of activity E. 4. The eleven activities A to K which make up a project
are subject to the following precedence relations.
2. A project consists of ten activities, A-J. The duration (in
days) of each activity, and the activities preceding each of preceding
them, are as follows: activities activity duration
preceding C, F, J A 7
activity duration activities EB6

A 10 - -C9

B4- B, H D 7

C 8B C, J E 3

D 6C -F8

E8I A, I G 4

F 5- JH9

G 10 A, D E, F I 9

H 2G -J7

I 4- B, H, I K 5

J 10 D, F, I
(a) Construct an activity network for the project. (b)
Find:
Using the algorithms in Section 12.2,
(a) construct an activity network for this project; (b) (i) the earliest starting time of each activity in
the network;
find a critical path in this activity network; (c) find the
(ii) the latest starting time of each activity.
latest starting time for each activity.
(c) Calculate the float of each activity, and
H must follow B and D. hence determine the critical path.
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duration preceding
5. The activities needed to replace a broken activity (in days) activities
window pane are given below.
A prepare site 2 -
duration preceding
B build retaining wall for 3 A patio
activity (in mins) activities
C lay patio * (see below) 4 A D lay lawn 1 A E lay
A order glass 10 - B collect glass 30 A C paths 3 A B F erect pergola, 1 A B D G trellis,
remove broken pane 15 B, D D buy putty 20 - E etc.
put putty in frame 3 C F put in new pane 2 E G
G prepare flower 1 A B D beds and border
putty outside and smooth 10 F H sweep up
H plant out 3 A B D G I clean up 1 all
broken glass 5 C I clean up 5 all
* Note also that the patio cannot begin to be laid until
(a) Construct an activity network. 2 days after the start of the building of the retaining
wall.
(b) What is the minimum time to complete the
replacement? (a) Construct an activity network for this
problem.
(c) What is the critical path?
(b) Find the earliest and latest start time for each
6. Write the major activities, duration time and activity, state the minimum time for
precedence relationship for a real life project with completion of the work and identify the
which you are involved. Use the methods in this critical path.
chapter to find the critical path for your project.
(c) Which activities have the greatest float time?
7. Consider the following activity network, in which
the vertices represent activities and the the numbers (AEB)
next to the arcs represent time in weeks:
9. At 4.30 pm one day the BBC news team hear of a
6
G Government Minister resigning. They wish to prepare an
Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis item on the event for that evening's
0 4 lists the jobs
H5
needed to prepare
Start 0 0 2 this news item, the
A 2 3 time each job takes
DE Finish
and the constraints
2
6 o'clock news. on when the work Time needed
4 The table below can commence. Constraints
B
C
44 F
A Interview the 15 Starts
7
Job (in minutes) at 4.30 pm
(a) Write down the minimum completion time of the and B are completed
project, if an unlimited number of
D Review possible 40 Cannot start until
workers is available, and the corresponding replacements B is completed
critical path.
E Review the Minister's 25 Cannot start until career A
(b) Find the float times of activities D and B. is completed
8. A firm of landscape gardeners is asked to quote for F Prepare film for 20 Cannot start until archives C
constructing a garden on a new site. The activities and E are completed
involved are shown in the table.
G Edit 20 Cannot start until A, B, C, D, E and
resigning Minister
F are completed
B Film Downing St. 20 None
C Get reaction from 25 Cannot start until regions A
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Chapter 12 Critical Path Analysis reporter, and once a reporter has started a job that
same reporter alone must complete it; explain how
(a) Construct an activity network for this problem and, three reporters can have the news item ready before
by finding the critical path in your network, show 6.00 pm, but that two reporters cannot. (AEB)
that the news item can be ready before 6.00 pm
that day.

(b) If each of the jobs A, B, C, D, E and F needs a

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