Example Problem
A project consists of the following activities with their respective durations and dependencies:
Activity Duration (days) Predecessors
A 4 -
B 3 A
C 5 A
D 2 B
E 6 C, D
F 4 E
Tasks:
1. Determine the earliest start (ES), earliest finish (EF), latest start (LS), latest finish (LF),
and slack for each activity.
2. Identify the critical path.
Solution Steps
1. Calculate ES and EF:
o Activity A:
▪ ES = 0
▪ EF = ES + Duration = 0 + 4 = 4
o Activity B:
▪ ES = EF of A = 4
▪ EF = 4 + 3 = 7
o Activity C:
▪ ES = EF of A = 4
▪ EF = 4 + 5 = 9
o Activity D:
▪ ES = EF of B = 7
▪ EF = 7 + 2 = 9
o Activity E:
▪ ES = Max(EF of C, EF of D) = Max(9, 9) = 9
▪ EF = 9 + 6 = 15
o Activity F:
▪ ES = EF of E = 15
▪ EF = 15 + 4 = 19
2. Calculate LS and LF:
Start from the end of the project:
o Activity F:
▪LF = EF = 19
▪LS = LF - Duration = 19 - 4 = 15
o Activity E:
▪ LF = LS of F = 15
▪ LS = LF - Duration = 15 - 6 = 9
o Activity D:
▪ LF = LS of E (D is not directly linked to F) = 9
▪ LS = LF - Duration = 9 - 2 = 7
o Activity C:
▪ LF = LS of E = 9
▪ LS = LF - Duration = 9 - 5 = 4
o Activity B:
▪ LF = LS of D = 7
▪ LS = LF - Duration = 7 - 3 = 4
o Activity A:
▪ LF = Min(LS of B, LS of C) = Min(4, 4) = 4
▪ LS = LF - Duration = 4 - 4 = 0
3. Calculate Slack:
Slack = LS - ES
o Activity A: 0 - 0 = 0
o Activity B: 4 - 4 = 0
o Activity C: 4 - 4 = 0
o Activity D: 7 - 7 = 0
o Activity E: 9 - 9 = 0
o Activity F: 15 - 15 = 0
4. Identify the Critical Path:
The critical path consists of activities with zero slack. In this case, the critical path is:
A → B → D → E → F (Total Duration = 19 days)
Summary
• Critical Path: A → B → D → E → F
• Total Project Duration: 19 days
• All activities have zero slack, indicating they are critical
