Discussion Board 5
Discussion Board 5
The critical path of a PERT chart is “the sequence of tasks where there is no slack time”. This means that if there is a delay in any of the activities on the critical path, it will result in an extension of the project completion date. A task in a critical path cannot start unless the predecessor activity is completed. As an example if an activity in the critical path is delayed for two days, then the completion of the whole project will be delayed unless the task following the delayed activity is finished two days earlier. The activities in the critical path have the same early days and late days.
How would the manager go about prioritizing correction of the problem existing in B, C, or D?
If steps B, C and D are at risk of being delayed and step B is part of the critical path, the manager should prioritize step B because a delay in step B will cause a delay in the whole project. Since C and D are not part of the critical path, even if they are delayed, it may not result in a delay in the completion of the project. The manager should focus his attention more on step B because it is the task that will affect the scheduled completion date.Should the manager address the issue in step B first, step C first, or step D first; why?
The manager should address the issue in step B first since it is part of the critical path. The problems in steps C and D can be tackled after the problem in step B is resolved.Once repair is completed in step #2, how would go you about prioritizing repairs at the other two steps?
Once step #2 is completed, there is a need to determine which among steps C or D has a shorter slack time. The step which has the shorter slack time should be prioritized. The early finish of both steps C and D should be established so that the early start of the next task will be known.
Works Cited
The Pennsylvania State University. (2008). Lesson 4: PERT charts. Retrieved from ds.psu.edu: http://www2.ds.psu.edu/AcademicAffairs/Classes/IST260W/topic0A/topic_0116_05.html
WebFinance, Inc. (2013). Critical path. Retrieved from businessdictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/critical-path.html
