Question

Which of the following correctly describes the focus of the Critical Path Method?

a. To order activities in a project in terms of their completion time to facilitate scheduling of the activities.
b. To determine when a project should be completed and to schedule when each activity in the project must begin in order to keep the project on schedule.
c. To estimate the probability of completing a project by a given deadline when the time required to perform the activity is essentially a random variable.
d. To structure the activities of a project to eliminate or reduce critical dependencies among the activities.

Answer 1

The focus of the Critical Path Method is to determine the completion date for a project by scheduling when each activity must begin to maintain the project timeline, focusing on the longest sequence of dependent tasks known as the critical path.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project management technique that is focused on scheduling and managing complex projects. The correct description of the focus of the Critical Path Method is option (b): To determine when a project should be completed and to schedule when each activity in the project must begin in order to keep the project on schedule. This technique allows project managers to identify the longest stretch of dependent activities and measure the time required to complete a project from start to finish, which is known as the critical path.

By analyzing these dependencies, the CPM provides a visual representation of the project's tasks and the sequence in which they must be completed. It is essential for project success to ensure that tasks along the critical path are prioritized and completed on time since any delay in these tasks could potentially push back the entire project's completion date.