Final answer:
The late start date for activity D is determined by counting back four workdays from the early start date of activity E. Since E cannot start before the longest predecessor (activity C) is completed, the late start for D is the Monday of the week before E is scheduled to start.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking to identify the late start date for activity D in a project schedule, considering a sequence of activities dependent on each other and a workweek that excludes weekends. To determine the late start date for activity D, we need to establish the early start and finish dates for all activities based on their durations and dependencies.
Activity A begins on a Monday and has a duration of 5 days, so it will finish on Friday of that week. Both activities B and C will start the next Monday, given that they depend on the completion of activity A. Activity B will last another 5 days, ending on Friday of the same week, while activity C will take 10 days, finishing on the Thursday of the following week. Activity D can start as soon as activity A is completed, meaning it can start on the next Monday after A finishes.
In this scenario, the critical path to determine the late start for activity D includes the longest duration among its dependencies. Since activity C takes the longest (10 days), and assuming no holidays or weekends are worked, activity E, which depends on the completion of B, C, and D, cannot start before C is completed. After determining the finish date of C, which would be Thursday of the second week after it starts, we can establish the early start for activity E would be the following Monday.
To ensure E starts on time, activity D must finish by the Friday before E's early start date. Given that activity D's duration is 4 days, its late start date would be the Monday of the week E is scheduled to begin. Therefore, we count back four workdays (not including the weekend) from activity E's start date to find D's late start date.