Early and Finish Time
of Critical Path Analysis
Critical Path Analysis
• Critical Path Analysis is sometimes called Network Analysis.
• It is a tool used to plan activities so that a job can be
completed in the shortest time.
• It breaks a job down into a number of tasks and looks at the
dependency of them eg.: list the activities that must be completed in
order to make a cup of tea.
• It is used commonly in manufacturing and construction.
A Simple Network Diagram
• A business wishes to build a new factory
• Before it can do so it needs to:
1. Buy the land (Activity A- will take 12 weeks)
2. Draw up Plans (activity B- will take 3 weeks)
• A simple network may be drawn to illustrate this scenario:
Calculating The Earliest Start Time
• The main reason for drawing a network is to identify the
CRITICAL activities.
• To do this we must calculate the earliest time at which given
activity can start
This is called the Earliest Start Time (EST) of the activity.
• It is calculated using the formula:
Calculating The Earliest Start Time
• This information is then placed in the top right-hand quarter of
the node
• The first node will ALWAYS
have an EST of zero
• Using our first simple example, the EST for each activity
would be calculated as follows:
The EST and Simultaneous Activities
• When there are simultaneous activities there may be more than
one value for the EST.
• Eg:
• Since Activity B is DEPENDENT on both Activities A and
AA, it cannot start until both are complete.
• So we must take the HIGHEST figure.
• This means that the EST is 14 weeks.
Recap of The Earliest Start Time
• The EST of the first activity is always zero.
• Calculate the EST by working left to right across a network.
• It is calculated using the following formula:
• When there are 2 simultaneous activities the HIGHEST figure
is used as the EST.
Calculating The Latest Finishing Time
• There is one final piece of information needed to complete our
network diagram.
• To identify the CRITICAL activities we must also know the
latest time at which any given activity must end. This is called
the Latest Finishing Time (LFT) of the activity.
• It is calculated by working BACKWARDS across the network
using the following formula:
Calculating The Latest Finishing Time
• This information is then placed in the bottom right-hand
quarter of the node.
• The first node will ALWAYS
have an LFT of zero
• Using our first simple example, the LFT for each activity
would be calculated as follows:
The LFT and Simultaneous Activities
• When there are simultaneous activities there may be more than
one value for the LFT.
• Eg:
• If Activity AA starts on week 2 it cannot be completed by
week 14.
• So we must take the LOWEST figure.
• This means that the LFT is week 0.
Recap of The Latest Finishing Time
• The LFT of the last activity is always equal to its EST.
• The LFT of the first activity is always zero.
• Calculate the LFT by working right to left across a network.
• It is calculated using the following formula:
• When there are 2 simultaneous activities the LOWEST figure
is used as the LFT.
