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No, they are not. I may want something to be done by the end of next week and at the same time I would like somebody to spend less than 4 hours on the task. Sp

No, they are not. I may want something to be done by the end of next week and at the same time I would like somebody to spend less than 4 hours on the task. Spending entire two weeks of effort would not be acceptable in this case even if the task was delivered on time. An example would be a task that is not on the critical path of the project but still needs to be done. There is a deadline by which it must be delivered or it becomes part of critical path and starts delaying entire project. Assuming the task is performed by one person using the fraction of the time available before the deadline, I would like to be able to use the rest of that time (resource) as either a buffer in the project or for completion of another task. Having the person deliver the task before deadline but after two weeks of continuous work where I assume only 4 hours will be necessary means that the project was deprived of almost two weeks of buffer or there are now some other uncompleted tasks. When we are talking about project management, there is an important, clear distinction between time and cost.

lifeisstillgood 5y ago
>>> An example would be a task that is not on the critical path of the project but still needs to be done. There is a deadline by which it must be delivered or it becomes part of critical path and starts delaying entire project. I know it is picky but, if a task "needs to be done" then it is on the critical path. Just because "build the bridge" is not needed yet, it is on the critical path even before you arrive at the waters edge. I am of the opinion that pretty much every project management function can be replaced in software.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  > I know it is picky but, if a task "needs to be done" then it is on the critical path. You are wrong. Critical path is the longest path from start to end of the project. It dictates the length of the project. The idea is that if any of these tasks takes longer, entire project takes longer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method Has nothing to do with whether the task is important in itself. But the task on critical path is important from the point of view that it has power to affect entire project. You can still have tasks that need to be done that are not on critical path. This usually means the task can be done in parallel of some other critical task and you have more time available to complete it than the time slot where you can work on it. Imagine you are manager with only two employees. One employee can only write code, the other can only write documentation. Your project requires delivering to the client completed application with documentation. It takes 1 month to complete development and it takes 1 week to complete documentation. Moreover both employees can start immediately because they both know what needs to be done. Which is critical path? If the documentation task slips by one day, the project will not take more time. On the other hand if development slips it will. From that point of view, development is on a critical path. It does not matter which task is more important. If you had bright coder that took one week for development and slow writer that took a month to prepare fantastic documentation, the situation would revers and now it would be documentation that is on the critical path and where you will focus as a project manager to deliver it on time.

lifeisstillgood 5y ago

>>> An example would be a task that is not on the critical path of the project but still needs to be done. There is a deadline by which it must be delivered or it becomes part of critical path and starts delaying entire project. I know it is picky but, if a task "needs to be done" then it is on the critical path. Just because "build the bridge" is not needed yet, it is on the critical path even before you arrive at the waters edge. I am of the opinion that pretty much every project management function can be replaced in software.

lmilcin 5y ago
> I know it is picky but, if a task "needs to be done" then it is on the critical path. You are wrong. Critical path is the longest path from start to end of the project. It dictates the length of the project. The idea is that if any of these tasks takes longer, entire project takes longer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method Has nothing to do with whether the task is important in itself. But the task on critical path is important from the point of view that it has power to affect entire project. You can still have tasks that need to be done that are not on critical path. This usually means the task can be done in parallel of some other critical task and you have more time available to complete it than the time slot where you can work on it. Imagine you are manager with only two employees. One employee can only write code, the other can only write documentation. Your project requires delivering to the client completed application with documentation. It takes 1 month to complete development and it takes 1 week to complete documentation. Moreover both employees can start immediately because they both know what needs to be done. Which is critical path? If the documentation task slips by one day, the project will not take more time. On the other hand if development slips it will. From that point of view, development is on a critical path. It does not matter which task is more important. If you had bright coder that took one week for development and slow writer that took a month to prepare fantastic documentation, the situation would revers and now it would be documentation that is on the critical path and where you will focus as a project manager to deliver it on time.