Project Scheduling Calculations: Critical Path, Float, and Delays explains how activity durations and dependencies turn into project dates. This free English handbook uses a blueprint-style visual design to walk through the forward pass, backward pass, critical path and float before exploring what happens when the plan changes. Worked networks connect the calculations to their effect on the project finish.
What you will find in this ebook
Build and calculate the activity network
The first pages explain an activity, map the work and calculate early and late dates. The forward pass identifies when work can begin and finish under the stated dependencies. The backward pass works from the required finish to determine late dates. The critical path section then connects those values to the sequence controlling completion.
Interpret float and dependency rules
Total float and free float receive separate explanations, followed by a page showing how float can be shared across a route. The handbook introduces the four dependency types, lags and leads, and the implications of activity slips. Deadlines and negative float show why a required date and a calculated completion date can tell different stories.
Recalculate delays and recovery options
Later pages cover remaining work and schedule crashing, including the cost of shortening activities. A complete worked case calculates a new network, then tests a delay and a recovery option. The final desk reference gathers the principal relationships and the assumptions that need checking before you use them.
A practical way to use this handbook
Draw a small network and confirm every predecessor relationship before calculating dates. Complete the forward pass, use the stated finish for the backward pass, and calculate total and free float separately. If a duration or dependency changes, rerun the network rather than adjusting one final number. Compare the controlling route before and after the change, then test a feasible recovery action against its cost and delivery constraints.
Who this book is for
Project planners, schedulers, project managers, coordinators and learners who want to understand the calculations behind a schedule.
Inside the PDF
The download contains 20 pages: a cover, 17 content pages and two promotional pages. The advertisements follow content pages 5 and 15; the learning-page numbers exclude the cover and advertisements.
View the complete contents
- Read an Activity
- Map the Work
- The Forward Pass
- The Backward Pass
- Find the Critical Path
- Calculate Total Float
- Calculate Free Float
- Float Is Shared
- Four Dependency Types
- Calculate Lags & Leads
- When an Activity Slips
- Deadlines & Negative Float
- Update Remaining Work
- Recover Time: Crashing
- Worked Case: Full Calculation
- Worked Case: Delay & Recovery
- Your Formula Desk Reference
Continue exploring project management
- Essential Project Management Formulas: A Quick Reference Guide
- Earned Value Management: The Essential Formula Handbook
- Cost Estimation and Budgeting Formulas for Project Managers
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Frequently asked questions
Does this include a Microsoft Project or Primavera file?
The download is an illustrated PDF handbook with worked scheduling calculations. It does not include a native scheduling-software project file. Apply the methods using the calendars, constraints and dependency rules of your own scheduling system.
Is this ebook free to download?
Yes. Download the English PDF directly from WikiFree without creating an account. You can keep a copy and read it offline in a PDF reader.
What are the promotional pages in the PDF?
The PDF includes an advertisement for a project-management templates bundle and an advertisement for Coursera Plus. Their links are optional; you do not need to purchase either offer to use the handbook. The promotional links may generate a commission for WikiFree.