Critical Path Method (CPM)

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This training video provides you an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Critical Path Method (CPM). You will learn:
- How the CPM method works
- How the CPM method calculates the project finish date ( forward and backward pass calculations)
- The concept of Total Float and Free Float and how to calculate them
- Why floats are important in planning/ scheduling
- What is the critical path
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[@roninenlightened6350]

Finally a CPM class on youtube with better English!

[@flotfyr88]

This was great! Before viewing this video, I didn't understand how the "longest duration" of the critical path determined the "minimum time for completion" of the project - but now I do. Great work!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

You are absolutely right J Ochoa. The examples state the logic right, but in the formulas there is a typo. The right formulas are: ES= Immediate Predecessors EF max and LF= Immediate Successors LS min. Thanks for catching the typos in the slides.

[@RajeshKumar-dq6me]

Thanks . CPM has been explained in very simple way .Very easy to understand

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Rajesh for your comment. Glad to hear that it was easy to understand :)

[@bluecafe509]

This is great, thank you! Covers everything I learned in class, except I can rewind and pause. :)

[@cuserroro]

I was searching for detailed example of free float. Thanks!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

You are right Ajyuk. The examples state the logic of ES & LS right, but in the formulas there is a typo. The right formulas are: ES= Immediate Predecessors EF max and LF= Immediate Successors LS min.

[@hmoneymkr]

Finally!!!! Someone who answered my question regarding which ES to use when more than one predecessor is present. I never knew which one and now I know to use the MAX. My professor seems to assume that his class knows this prior to starting his class. Frustrating. Keep up the good work Shohreh

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Oh, I am so happy to hear that the video helped you understand the concept better. Thanks for watching the video and commenting on it. Keep up your great work in continuing your studies.

[@hendrikvanbrantegem7526]

thank you! it's so much easier when somebody explains it:) !

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Hendrik. Glad to hear that it was helpful.

[@MuthukumarRamasamyCloud]

I teach Proj Mgmt and this is one of the best presentation and the best in CPM out there over web. Good luck and hope to see more.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Muthukumar for your uplifting comment. Much appreciated.

[@longtran-hf9qj]

Very good song .Could you please tell me the name of this song ? Thanks in advance.

[@deepanshupant7896]

with videos like this we can challenge our prof that i can score full without attending your boring class. NICE VIDEO I LOVED IT .....

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks deepanshu pant for your comment. I am glad to hear that this video helped you better understand the Critical Path and float concepts.

[@mhlayel]

Fantastic sequencing and overall presentation. You made it very easy to understand. Much appreciated effort.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Many thanks for your comment. I am glad to hear that it was easy to understand :)

[@christosmavrogiannis4331]

Awesome analysis, very appropriate voice for a speaker. Professional job, thank you.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Christos Thanks for your complement. Glad to hear that you liked the video on CPM.

[@AndreBatesTrinidad]

Very good showing of CPM. Thanks

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Andre :)

[@tarunrao23]

Very Well Explained in 15 mins ..Our prof took more than 3 hours to explain the same

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Tarun. Glad to hear that it was helpful for you :)

[@graceanthony]

this is an excellent tutorial. I love the speaker and the graphics. Excellent, excellent. and one more time, excellent.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Grace Thanks for your excellent comment . You made my day an "excellent" one :)

[@4EverBADFan]

Wish I had come across this video two weeks ago! Finally something I can understand has helped me so much, thank you so very much, excellent presentation!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Oh, thanks Chris. It is awesome to hear that the video helped you understand the concept of the CPM method better. The video was my understanding and interpretation of the CPM method. I am glad to see that the concept is conveyed properly. Thanks again for your comment.

[@johannwibowo6560]

It's easy to understand. Good explanation, good examples. I recommend this to my colleagues.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Johann for your comment and referring this video to your colleagues. Much appreciated.

[@kaoakana]

This was an excellent video - I'm in a PM course now and wish their videos were this good!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Kao Akana thank you very much. I appreciate your positive feedback.

[@Slavik822]

very easy & complicated explanation Thank you

[@muhammadraufaslam7976]

A really helpful tutorial, clearing all basic concepts

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Muhammad for your comment. Happy to hear that it was helpful :)

[@andrewpoverchuk8809]

I liked this video. It was concise with clear examples that precisely conveyed the concepts. A little boo-boo though at about 5:02: the narration does not match the content. Overall a very good job.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Andrew Poverchuk Thanks for your comment. We did make changes on the video to match the narration with the content at the point you mentioned. However, the new video is not uploaded here. Thanks for your attention to details.

[@GirishNinjur]

Good One, explained very clearly and in a simple manner, Thanks!!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank Girish for your comment. Glad to hear that it helped you.

[@marwayoussef2025]

Amazing Explanation and analysis

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Many thanks +Marwa :)

[@harshavardhan3282]

thanks for the video mam this very informative,especially total float and float are very easy to understand by your methodology

[@thadeu07]

Thanks for the detailed information of CPM It was easy for me to understand

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Great to hear that Thadeus.

[@Songstress38208]

Excellent video on CPM. Thank you!

[@McLuvin411]

So much space for activities!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Morpheus Sam, I am not clear on your comment. I appreciate if you provide more information.

[@TusharManetheRaindrop]

Thank you so much for this awesome representation.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Tushar for your comment. I am glad to hear that you liked it :)

[@TusharManetheRaindrop]

You deserve this comment for this excellent presentation. Thanks once again

[@franciscoFEUP]

It saved me ! Final exam this week

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Francisco. Good luck with your final exams.

[@sharmilasheik]

The best presentation. Thanks

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Sheikh for your great comment :) It feels good to read the positive comments like yours.

[@Winky92000]

Thanks for the full explanation, really better than in school :)

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank you so much. I am glad to hear it.

[@mariasanz390]

Very good! Thank you very much! It was really helpful

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Maria thank you for your comment. Glad to hear that your found the video helpful :)

[@ahmedal-nabhani6726]

شكرا جزيلا لك. That was really helpful & useful.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Ahmeh.

[@HalfHalfLife]

Thank you, you are a very effective teacher!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank you very much. Glad to hear that it was helpful :)

[@s.andrabi8760]

SG: Thanks for sharing the video. It is very useful to understand CPM and calculations. Very useful for the Project I am dealing with. Thanks one again..

[@Pepakudrna]

So helpful :) ...you can really say that the textbook sucks, when video in different language than your own is better for comprehension :D

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Pepakudrna for your comment. I am happy to hear that the video helped you comprehend the text book better.

[@roxanrelano7937]

thanks for the video it helps a lot especially in my assignment and coming final exam..

[@arvindsinghrathore5243]

nicely explained... you should upload more videos... and thanx for this video :)

[@Nicktaylorhorrorshow]

Wow - this is helping me stay sane this weekend!

[@tby7]

concise presentation...really helpful....Thank You!!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Terin. Glad to hear that it was helpful.

[@crisbula11]

Very nice video but there are some mistakes. At min 3:01- ES is the highest of EF of all immediate predecessors. And at min 5:12 - LF = Immediate Successor's LS min

[@isratzaman8984]

Thank you for your tutorial. It was really effective!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Israt thank you for your comment. Much appreciated :)

[@arpiyeghiazaryan5278]

thank you very much, the video was really helpful !!!

[@TravelwithShama]

nice mam better than my teachers

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Oh, thanks Shama :)

[@indrarocks2012]

I am unable to understand. ....

[@harishdhir2738]

Nice presentation Shohreh.......

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Harish

[@Gy987654321]

Very helpful. thank you!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

You are welcome. Thanks for your comment.

[@Avemeus]

excellent presentation! Thank you very much!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Avemeus Thanks to you for leaving your positive comment here.

[@whitemamba00]

YOU ARE AMAZING, PERFECT ! finally I got it.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+whitemamba00 Thank you very much. Much appreciated.

[@anirbanchakraborty9132]

A great tutorial. Thanks for your help!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank you very much Anirban. Happy to hear that your found the tutorial helpful :)

[@vadimkoller6232]

Great video, very helpful and easy to understand :)

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Vadim for your comment. Glad to hear that the video was helpful for you.

[@dariatcyplukhina5130]

thank you for this video. such an awesome explanation!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank you very much for your comment. It is awesome that you like the video.

[@efrosynimaher3454]

Great video. Thanks for the very good explanation. At backward pass Activity A, should the late finish be 5 because it is the minimum late start of activity B & C which is 10 & 5. Therefore the late start of Activity A is LS=LF-D in this case 5-2=3? This part confusing me because should this be zero like the activity D, I mean the late start is zero in activity D which is correct..

[@chriscalawod9186]

nice presentation! It helped me a lot!

[@bamod78]

Nice...very easy to understand

[@samirkaluskar2994]

That was very accurate and clear, the explanation also was to the point.. Thank you very much for this video :-)

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Samir Kaluskar Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated.

[@shivashaw2220]

amazing video...great work

[@ghorbanishohreh]

shiva shaw Thank you :)

[@chandunaidu4693]

excellent teaching

[@nabutenati4853]

It helps more to visualize the terms

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Nabute. I tried to add the visuals according to my own undertanding of the Critical Path Method and float analysis.

[@amirbehzad2009]

I think you are right, I had the same confusion

[@AntaresCorScorpii]

Great video, very clear! Thank you!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Antares.

[@AsmaAsma-wz2sq]

Thanks for uploading such an informative tutorial.... great explanation great work 👏👏

[@canyoneagle]

Good video. However, the forward pass example implies a SS relationship with the successor (using latest ES). Would be simpler to use latest EF of predecessors, since FS is the most common tie.

[@sunnynguyen8877]

so easy to understand! thank you

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Emily Khan Thank you for your comment. Glad to hear that it helped you better uderstand the concept of Critical Path.

[@adnanh2833]

thank you, you are professional.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Adnan Hamdan It is kind of you :)

[@lisheva1]

Thanks a lot very very clear explanation.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thank you. I am glad to hear that you the vidoe helped you in your project. For more free Project Controls resources and trainings visit the ProjectControlAcademy website.

[@TheShirgo91]

thanks for video. its really clear video. very useful. But I need ur help. can u advise some books which can be useful for learning Project Mangament?

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Shirgylych Bayramov Thank you for your comment. I am glad to hear that you found the video helpful. If you help me better understand what exactly you are trying to learn in Project Management, I will be able to better help you.

[@TheShirgo91]

+Shohreh Ghorbani I would like to learn all calculations which being used in Projects. for example Cost Performance index, Return on Investment etc..thats why I need a book in which I can find all these things.

[@DonCorleoneMafiosi]

Excellent video, thank you so much for uploading.

[@NisankaMandara]

a good explanation. Thanks a lot

[@hafizmuhammadasad6247]

Plz clear my doubt.The correct formula to calculate early finish is: (a) EF=ES+duration (b)EF=ES+duration-1 Which one is correct

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Hafiz, we have used (a) for simplicity of calculation and based on considering "start-of-the day" for calculating both start and finish dates. Computer scheduling programs use (b) ; the “start of the day” for calculating start dates and the “end of the day” for calculating finish dates. Using either (a) or (b) results in the same dates, if the assumption used for the calculation is clear. Great point you brought up here.

[@tkt228]

Great video, really a life saver

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Tom. I am happy to hear that the video was helpful for you.

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Don. I am glad to hear that you liked it. For more free Project Controls resources and trainings visit the ProjectControlAcademy website.

[@nathangarret2009]

You are a genius

[@rajapradeep3556]

Very good 1 n helped alot. A big thank you😋👌👍

[@indrarocks2012]

please help me understanding of project planning and scheduling..

[@bhavani00772]

Thank you very much very useful

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Roxan. I am glad to hear that you found the video helpful. I am sure you will like my complenetary Project Controls trainings that I have recently posted. Get intant access to training video series that reveal secrets of Project Controls Industry and how to succeed in Project Controls & Project Management. Check it out at wwwProjectControlAcademycom

[@jhzkhattak]

very informative video. thx

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Great Ted. I am glad to hear that you found it helpful. Check out ProjectControlAcademy website for more resources.

[@masoudtehrani1046]

Amazing!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Masoud Tehrani Thank you for your comment.

[@vikashkumar-qk8el]

thank u

[@konkataDineshkumar]

thank you mam for this video

[@ghorbanishohreh]

You are welcome Konkata

[@ajyuk]

Isn't the ES of an activity the maximum of the "Early Finish" of its preceding activities and Late Finish the minimum of the "Late Start" of its successors? Please rectify me if I am wrong.

[@nmindhe1]

Thank you !!

[@abbasjafri2473]

Can you please explain how Start-A-B-E-Finish is 7 days?

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Abbas, You just add the duration of each activity to get the total path duration. The path Start-A-B-E-Finish is 7 days because by adding the duration of activities (0+2+1+4+0), you reach 7 days.

[@abbasjafri2473]

Thank you!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Please be aware of a typo in the slides. The examples state the logic of ES & LS right, but in the formulas there is a typo. The right formulas are: ES= Immediate Predecessors EF max and LF= Immediate Successors LS min.

[@SlashMcBryt]

i try hard to understand because the process is short cutted can you please show all the calculations

[@temasek65]

I was taught the formula for Free Float as " ES-EF-1" is this correct?

[@ghorbanishohreh]

That's absolutely right Temasek. Actually this is the way that Primavera and other scheduling software calculate the Early and Finish dates. For simplicity and ease of understanding, I didn't include -1 or +1 in the video.

[@temasek65]

Thank you mdm.

[@AaronMetallion]

THANK YOU BESTAUBUVIUDEI EVER !!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Aaron. It is so kind of you. Glad to hear you like the video.

[@momzyadig]

Can you replace my professor, please! Anyways, awesome content very easy to understand!

[@ghorbanishohreh]

david james Thank you so much. Much appreciated :)

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks Jhan. Check out more complementary deep-dive Project Controls training here at wwwProjectControlAcademy com

[@samabraham1457]

*correction !! LF = immediate successors LSmin not LFmin

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Sam Abraham You are right. Thanks for your attention to details. The examples state the logic of ES & LS right, but in the formulas there is a typo. The right formulas are: ES= Immediate Predecessors EF max and LF= Immediate Successors LS min.

[@conglekhanh2584]

Exellent, thanks you

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Thanks, Cong.

[@Anestori]

ty so much!

[@jochoa1140]

I have dificulty with your logic. At the begining your example indicates that ES of any node is equal to the latest time of completion (EF) of all its predecesors (ES = Immediate Predecesors' EFmax). However, later you state that ES = Immediate Predecesors' ESmax. ES = Immediate Predecesors' EFmax, makes sense. ES = Immediate Predecesors' ESmax, does not make sense. Same argument in the Backward Pass. LF = Immediate Predecesors' LSmin, makes sense. LF = Immediate Predecesors' LFmin, does not.

[@charunnakornsocharunruttan9748]

INTERESTING

[@tannamaleki140]

SOOOOOO useful ✔👌💜

[@RealGame101]

good video. now i need to find a video that has lag times associated

[@ghorbanishohreh]

+Ricky, may I ask what specific topic you are looking to explore? Are you looking for a video that describes how to run CPM calculations on activities that have lags? Is this what you are looking for?

[@RealGame101]

+Shohreh Ghorbani I'm no longer looking for that information. that class is over lol

[@ghorbanishohreh]

Many thanks everyone for your comments on the video. For more free Project Controls resources and trainings visit the ProjectControlAcademy website ( link to the website is under the video description).