How to Use Critical Paths in Microsoft Project

Not all tasks are created equal in Microsoft Project. There will always be some tasks that are more critical to the overall project than others, and we refer to these tasks as the critical path.

The critical path is a chain of linked tasks that directly affect the project’s finish date. These tasks are so important that if any of the tasks on the critical path are late, the whole project is delayed. Tasks not on the critical path have a certain amount of slack, whereas tasks on the critical path, do not. Slack refers to the amount of time a task can be delayed without affecting the overall end date of the project.

Project calculates the longest path through the plan based on dates. The path will typically contain a chain of linked tasks. These tasks are the critical path. For example, if Project calculates a path that is 20 days long (path a) and another path of linked tasks is only 15 days long (path b), the tasks in path b can be up to 5 days late without changing the critical path.

The tasks within the critical path control the calculated start or finish dates of the project and are often linked by task dependencies. The project is considered complete when the last task in the critical path is finished.

The critical path is continuously calculated by Microsoft Project and can change as tasks are modified or updated. It is worth noting that this calculation is purely an estimate. Despite this, the critical path gives project managers a good idea of where to focus attention.

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[raycarlone]

Calculate multiple critical paths is what i have been searching for a ever. thanks so much.

[truthalwayswinss]

Excellent explanation in a very simple and easy understanding. Thank you very much. God bless you

[changcunLiu]

For critical paths calculation, does the software only consider the task duration, should it also consider the resources availability?

[shameerhafeezullakhan]

Crisp and clear explanation. But one question, not all longest tasks may be critical, so how do we "change" or toggle such task?

[cpwyou]

How can you tell which are the multiple critical paths

[ivynya]

When will the multiple critical paths be useful?

[udayanbhanot]

Well done! Thanks for making this video.

[amritheshe]

Calculate Multiple Critical Paths.. Thank you

[nimabagherifam]

Hi. Can a project not have a critical path?

[MVK_GS]

Not all MS Project versions do this. Stupidly, the web-based versions do not have a critical path toggle.

[colcot]

Summary tasks shouldn’t be predecessors or successors