Schedule domain (critical path basics)
What you'll be able to do
The critical path is the chain that controls when you finish. To go faster, either spend more (crash) or take on risk (fast-track).
- Critical path = longest sequence; zero float.
- Estimate: analogous, parametric, PERT (3-point) = (O + 4M + P)/6.
- Compress: crash (more $, same risk profile) vs fast-track (more risk, same $).
The Schedule Performance Domain plans activities, sequences them, estimates durations, and produces a schedule baseline. The classic technique is critical-path method (CPM): identify activities, draw the dependency network, calculate the longest path from start to finish. The activities on that path have zero float — any delay there delays the whole project.
Three estimation techniques the exam expects: analogous (use a similar past project — fast but imprecise), parametric (rate × quantity — better when historical rates are reliable), and three-point/PERT (optimistic + 4×most-likely + pessimistic, all divided by 6 — better when uncertainty is high). On adaptive projects, velocity (story points per sprint) replaces date-based estimation.
Two compressions PMI tests: crashing (add more resources to reduce duration — costs more, doesn't change scope) and fast-tracking (perform sequential activities in parallel — increases risk, doesn't change cost). Both are valid; both have trade-offs. The exam rewards picking the right tool for the constraint.
Key points
- Critical path = longest sequence; zero float.
- Estimate: analogous, parametric, PERT (3-point) = (O + 4M + P)/6.
- Compress: crash (more $, same risk profile) vs fast-track (more risk, same $).
- Adaptive uses velocity instead of date-based estimation.
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