Hello professor and classmates,

Critical Path in project management is defined as the input/output techniques that are of extreme importance to the success or prosperity of a particular project. The critical path specifically refers to the sequence or order of schedule activities that will make up the entire duration of a project. According to Mochal (2005) "The critical path is critical because it drives the end date of a project; and if the end date for the project has slipped, it is because at least one activity on the critical path did not complete on time.  After reading the articles available in the TechRepublic Website I have to say that I found them all very helpful and informational as they all explain the importance understanding the critical path of a project, and how to determine which parts of the project are critical to the timely and effective conclusion of a project and which are more flexible. But the article that I felt was most informational is "Understand the Critical Path to Proactively Manage Your Project Workplan". This article provides examples or scenarios that can arise during the execution of a project, and solutions to the possible problem.

For example, one of the questions I have faced during my project when it comes to critical path and was answered in this article is:

Q1. One of the activities that you estimated to take two weeks has ended up taking five weeks instead. Should you panic?

A1. Is the activity on the critical path? If it is, your project will be delayed three weeks and you should look for ways to get back on schedule. If the activity is not on the critical path, then the activity delay may be a problem (for instance a budget problem), but may not cause a delay in the project.

When it comes to my project I have two main critical paths:

1. The acquisition of licenses: without the mandated licensing requirements, renovations cannot be started and the memory care unit cannot be operational.

2. Renovation of building: the facility cannot admit Alzheimer's patients without a lockdown unit due to elopement risk.

My issues here are that I depend of (1) authorities to approve and issue the licenses, which many times these entities do not feel an urgency to issue these licenses. (2) Contractors, so I have to ensure that they complete their tasks timely and no time or resources are wasted.

Hiring and training are not as critical as the other two parts of the project as we have 30 days pf leeway after the hire date.

References:                                                                              

Makar, A. 2009. Why critical path is critical to project management. Project Management. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-manager/why-critical-path-is-critical-to-project- management/2039

Mochal, T. 2005. Understand the critical path to proactively manage your project workplan. Project Management. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/understand-the-critical-path-to-proactively-manage-your-project-workplan/