In: Operations Management
Build the network and determine the critical path.
Based on the given data, we prepare the project network diagram as shown below:
The above network diagram in the form of formulas is shown below for better understanding and reference:
The above project diagram is prepared as per the legend shown in the top-left corner.
EST = Early start time
LST = Late start time
EFT = Early finish time
LFT = Late finish time
SLK = Slack = LST - EST or Slack = LFT - EFT
The EST of an activity = EFT of previous activity
EFT of an activity = EST + Duration
Similarly LFT & LST are calculated during backward pass.
There are multiple paths in the diagram:
1-2-4-7
1-2-5-6-7
1-3-4-7
1-3-5-6-7
Out of the above paths, path 1-2-4-7 is the longest path and has 0 slack. Hence, this is the critical path