All of the following statements about the critical path are false except for which one?
A.
The critical path cannot be crashed.
B.
The critical path is the shortest path in the project network diagram.
C.
The critical path is always one path with the longest duration.
D.
The critical path shows the project’s earliest date for completion.
Explanation:
The only statement that is true is that the critical path shows the project’s earliest date for
completion. A critical path is the sequence of project activities, which add up to the longest overall
duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an
activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e. there is no
float on the critical path). A project can have several, parallel, near critical paths. An additional
parallel path through the network with the total durations shorter than the critical path is called a
sub-critical or non-critical path. These results allow managers to prioritize activities for the effective
management of project completion, and to shorten the planned critical path of a project by pruning
critical path activities, by “fast tracking” (i.e., performing more activities in parallel), and/or by
“crashing the critical path” (i.e., shortening the durations of critical path activities by adding
resources).
Answer option C is incorrect. There can be more than one critical path, as two paths in the project
network diagram can both take the same amount of time and be longer than any other paths in the
project.
Answer option A is incorrect. The critical path can be, and often is, crashed with extra resources in
an attempt to recover the project schedule.
Answer option B is incorrect. The critical path is the longest path to project completion.