The Critical Path Method of Scheduling

Job aid purpose: Use this job aid to help you make Critical Path Method (CPM) calculations.

Earliest start time (EST)

The EST of an activity is equal to the sum of all duration times for its predecessor activities.

Suppose Activity C is the third activity of a project, and its predecessors are Activities A and B. If Activity A has a two-day
duration and Activity B has a one-day duration, then the EST for Activity C is three days.

Earliest finish time (EFT)

The EFT of an activity is equal to the sum of its EST and its own duration (EFT = EST + activity duration).

Suppose the EST Activity D is four days into the project and that Activity D has a six-day duration. Therefore, the EFT for Activity
D is 10 days from the first day of the project.

Latest finish time (LFT)

The LFT of an activity is the greatest amount of time that can pass between the project start date and the activity finish date
without affecting the end date of the entire project

Suppose the final two project activities are Activities Y and Z. The latest that Activity Z can finish without affecting the project
duration is Day 50. If Activity Z cannot begin until Activity Y ends, and if Activity Z takes exactly 10 days to complete, then the
LFT for Activity Y is no later than the end of Day 40.

Latest start time (EST)

The latest start time of an activity is equal to the difference between its latest finish time and its duration (LST = LFT - activity
duration).

Suppose Activity Y has an eight-day duration and an LFT of Day 40 of the project. The LST for Activity Y is Day 32. If Activity Y
does not begin on or before Day 32, then the project will not finish on time.
Float

To calculate float (the length of time an activity start can be deferred without affecting the project completion date) for an activity,
subtract the earliest finish time from the latest finish time (Float = LFT - EFT).

Suppose Activity D has an LFT of 25 days and an EFT of 11 days. The float for Activity D is 14 days.