Question

Consider the table below, which includes time and activity data for a Small IT Project. All duration estimates or estimated times are in days. Perform a critical path analysis for this project.

Activity	Duration (Days)	Predecessor
A	8	-
B	10	A
C	18	A
D	4	A
E	28	B, D
F	2	C, E
G	32	E
H	18	B
I	12	F
J	2	H, G, I

1. Draw a network diagram representing the project. MS PowerPoint or Visio are good tools for this task. (10 points)

2. Identify and list all of the paths through the network diagram and note how long they are. (4 points)

3. What is the timeline within which the project can earliest be completed? (3 points)

4. If D takes 7 days, what will be the impact to the project and the critical path? (2 points)

5. If G takes an additional 7 days, what will be the impact to the project and the critical path? (2 points)

Answer 1

As per given table the network diagram is as follows:

And also represented list of possible paths and their costs:

What is the timeline within which the project can earliest be completed?

Answer: 38 days

The shortest path is A-->B-->H-->J. which takes 38 days.

If D takes 7 days, what will be the impact to the project and the critical path?

The shortest path which the project can complete is : A-->B-->H-->J

It does not contain D. So even if D takes 7 days, there will be no impact on project completeion time.

The critical path is nothing but the longest path: A-->B-->E-->G-->J

It does not contain D. So even if D takes 7 days, there will be no impact on critical path.

If G takes an additional 7 days, what will be the impact to the project and the critical path?

If G takes an additional 7 days, the value of G will be = 32+7 = 39

The shortest path which the project can complete is : A-->B-->H-->J

It does not contain G. So even if G takes an additional 7 days, there will be no impact on project completeion time.

The critical path is nothing but the longest path: A-->B-->E-->G-->J

It contains 'G'. So if G takes an additional 7 days, the cost of critical path will change to = 87.