Critical Path Method developed by James E. Kelley Jr. and Morgan R. Walker (Critical-Path Planning and Scheduling, 1959); Critical Chain by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (Critical Chain, 1997).
Finds the longest run of dependent tasks, which sets a project's earliest possible finish, and in the Critical Chain version swaps padded task estimates for shared buffers.
When to reach for it
Planning or rescuing a project with dependent tasks and shared people, when the question is which tasks actually decide the finish date.
How it runs
- List the tasks and which must finish before each can start.
- Estimate each task's duration; use median estimates for Critical Chain.
- Trace the longest dependent chain: the critical path.
- Add resource conflicts and move padding into shared project and feeder buffers.
- Track buffer use, and act when it runs ahead of progress.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- Critical-Path Planning and Scheduling, Eastern Joint Computer Conference, 1959
- Critical Chain, North River Press, 1997