What is CPM Scheduling?

First things first: CPM stands for Critical Path Methodology. The Critical Path Methodology is a
mathematical algorithm for scheduling project activities.

In simpler terms, I like to say that CPM scheduling assigns dates to activities. But it does a bit
more than that as well.
CPM Scheduling produces 3 distinct pieces of information:
CPM assigns dates to project activities
CPM calculates your projects Finish Date
CPM reveals your projects Critical Path

Essentials and Foundation

As I mentioned, CPM Scheduling is a mathematical process and being so, it has a list of
pre-requisites to meet before it can work its magic.
Before you can perform the Critical Path Method (or run the scheduler in Primavera P6), heres
what you need:
an Activity list
Duration estimates for each activity in the list
linkages between activities that describe the order of execution
The first 2 items are fairly obvious. But its those linkages that play a very important part in the
process. Its linkages that transform your list of activities into a network of inter-dependent
nodes that can have many paths through from the start to the finish.

Just Model it
To help you better understand your projects network, you can see at it as a PERT diagram.
Pert Diagram courtesy Wikipedia Commons
A PERT diagram uses arrows and nodes to model your projects activities in a network a
series of activities linked to each other.

The Scheduling Process

So how does the whole scheduling thing work, right?
The Critical Path Methodology process goes through your project activity by activity twice.It
starts with the first activity and moves forward this is called the Forward Pass. For each
activity, it assigns or calculates that activitys Early Dates.
Early Dates the most optimistic start and finish dates for your projects work activities.
The Backward Pass comes next. This time you start at the last activity in your network, and
move backward assigning dates to each activity, until you reach the first activity in the network.
These dates are called you guessed it the Late Dates.
Late Dates define the latest your activities can start and finish without extending the project
finish date.
It sounds confusing, but you NEED 2 sets of Dates both Early and Late to come up with a
projects Critical Path.
Finding Your Critical Path
To find a projects Critical Path, we need to calculate Total Float for each activity. Total Float is
the difference between the Late and Early Dates.
Total Float = Late Start Early Start (or Late Finish Early Finish), Total Float is a measure of
how much scheduling flexibility an activity has.
After Total Float is calculated for each activity, you will find that many activity have Total Float =
0d. And its those 0d-Float activities that define your projects Critical Path. Simply follow the
path of activities where Total Float = 0d and your Critical Path will show itself.
 Flight Chart image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Applying CPM Scheduling
We all know that knowledge is power. Well, I like to say that applied knowledge is power.
Although the details of CPM Scheduling seems like its only for academics, arming yourself with
it will ensure youre not caught off-guard when a clients asks you for early dates or why an
activity is critical. Then, you can dazzle them with your own backward pass calculations.