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Do you know useful tools for Critical Path Method? Piotr Hajnus Poland Hello Peers, I keep wondering about Critical Path Method, so here I am looking for a piece of advice. I still remember network diagrams used in the exercise for critical path method. I know how it looks like in MS Projects (I found it too heavy for wider audiance). So 2 questions here: 1) When do you usually use CPM? (size of the project, type of meetings, target audience) 2) How do you visualize it? Any useful tools ? Thank you, Piotr Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 6, 2023 9:57 AM

Sort By: Newest First Chronological Votes Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada Piotr - Any time I have more than a handful of tasks with interdependencies, CPM is helpful. However, before using a scheduling engine it is advisable to create/maintain a network diagram separately. I've done this using sticky notes on a white board or using a collaborative tool such as Miro or Mural. Kiron ... 1 reply by Piotr Hajnus Nov 07, 2023 5:20 AM Piotr Hajnus ... Thank you Kiron, that is more than useful. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 6, 2023 11:09 AM Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, USA Most PM software tools with scheduling functionality will calculate the critical path. I find CPM most beneficial when I know I have a very tight schedule with lots of moving parts. Chances are that the CP(s) will change and at some project stages they may change frequently so the ability to manage that change is critical. If the CP involves many tasks and dependencies, I will request support from a scheduling expert to manage the path in our enterprise level tools like Primavera which makes the job easy. A step down is MSP but if it is "too heavy" for the wider audience, focus on the message, not the tool/process. I will typically show the graphic scaled to a size where you can't actually read it but rather to illustrate the use of the tool, and audiences like colored pictures more than lots of words. I don't explain the graphic itself in much detail, but rather emphasize the critical tasks calculated by the method. For about 20 or less tasks I will create a one page network diagram in Visio and calculate the CP manually in Excel. That requires no special tools, but is more painful to setup unless you have a template, and is also more difficult to manage change. ... 1 reply by Piotr Hajnus Nov 07, 2023 5:22 AM Piotr Hajnus ... Thanks Keith for robust insight. Interesting approach that I could use for complex projects in the organization. I've never seen that way of handling MSP into manageable pieces in Visio and Excel. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 6, 2023 12:25 PM Piotr Hajnus Poland Nov 06, 2023 11:09 AM Replying to Kiron Bondale ... Piotr - Any time I have more than a handful of tasks with interdependencies, CPM is helpful. However, before using a scheduling engine it is advisable to create/maintain a network diagram separately. I've done this using sticky notes on a white board or using a collaborative tool such as Miro or Mural. Kiron Thank you Kiron, that is more than useful. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 7, 2023 5:20 AM Piotr Hajnus Poland Nov 06, 2023 12:25 PM Replying to Keith Novak ... Most PM software tools with scheduling functionality will calculate the critical path. I find CPM most beneficial when I know I have a very tight schedule with lots of moving parts. Chances are that the CP(s) will change and at some project stages they may change frequently so the ability to manage that change is critical. If the CP involves many tasks and dependencies, I will request support from a scheduling expert to manage the path in our enterprise level tools like Primavera which makes the job easy. A step down is MSP but if it is "too heavy" for the wider audience, focus on the message, not the tool/process. I will typically show the graphic scaled to a size where you can't actually read it but rather to illustrate the use of the tool, and audiences like colored pictures more than lots of words. I don't explain the graphic itself in much detail, but rather emphasize the critical tasks calculated by the method. For about 20 or less tasks I will create a one page network diagram in Visio and calculate the CP manually in Excel. That requires no special tools, but is more painful to setup unless you have a template, and is also more difficult to manage change. Thanks Keith for robust insight. Interesting approach that I could use for complex projects in the organization. I've never seen that way of handling MSP into manageable pieces in Visio and Excel. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 7, 2023 5:22 AM Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani Manager, Quality and Continuous Improvement| Hörmann-TNR Industrial Doors Newmarket, Ontario, Canada As far as I know, most of those software do CPM. MSP, Primavera, Smartsheet, etc... Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 7, 2023 11:46 AM Jonathon Mann Director| SecureScope PTY LTD Macquarie Park, Nsw, Australia I find that there are two useful aspects: 1) the diagram, which in a summarised form can be a handy tool for visual audiences. I use Lucidchart for generating a diagram with colour coding of helpful information like resource groups or status, depending on the audience and message. I do this during planning for most projects to communicate the essential task chains, and then I will adapt that during implementation to help with status reporting. 2) the calculations; a tool like MSP is suitable for this, as the manual effort in maintaining a PERT doesn't warrant the outcome a tool can do automatically. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 7, 2023 10:09 PM Mayte Mata Sivera PMO Director | Speaker | Author Ut, USA Our PM tool does it for us. :) Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 8, 2023 12:01 PM Verónica Elizabeth Pozo Ruiz Community Champion RYLAI Access Control Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador Certain PM software has the functionality of Critical Path calculation, for example: LiquidPlanner, Wrike, Office Timeline, Zoho Projects, etc. Saving Changes... Posted: Nov 24, 2023 11:42 AM

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