What is the critical path in a plan?

The critical path in a plan is the sequence of tasks that determines the minimum time to complete the entire project. If any task on the critical path is delayed, the entire project will be delayed.

Understanding the critical path helps the manager to:

• Identify which tasks cannot be delayed.
• Optimize resources to accelerate the project.
• Control risks and priorities.

Example: if a project consists of tasks A, B, C, D, where A and B run in parallel, but C depends on A, and D depends on B, and the duration of C and D is longer, then the critical path is the sequence of tasks with the maximum total duration.