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The critical path is the consecutive sequence of planning objects in a schedule that determines the total schedule duration. If work on the planning objects is delayed, the schedule duration may be extended and the work may not finish on time. The planning objects that must be completed for other planning object to begin or for a schedule to finish on time are considered on the "critical path". Work on this planning object must be completed as soon as possible to reach the scheduled finish dates.
Proliance enables you to calculate the critical path to determine which planning objects must be finished on time to avoid a schedule delay. On a regular basis, you can calculate the critical path to view which planning objects are the most urgent. To effectively calculate the critical path, link the planning objects together in your schedule. Once you have linked the planning objects, the schedule displays critical tasks in red and non-critical tasks in green. For more information on linking planning objects, see “About Planning Object Links”.
Using the CPM calculation, you can trace the resources assigned to critical planning objects, establish which planning objects affect your schedule's finish date, and determine if your schedule can finish on time. When the last task in the critical path is completed, the work on the schedule is done.