Question

Which of the following statements regarding critical path is true?

a. some activities on the critical path may have slack
b. if a critical activity on a critical path is delayed, the total completion time of the project does not change
c. the longest of all paths through the network is the critical path
d. every network has only one critical path

Answer 1

The longest path through the project network is the critical path, and delays in critical path tasks affect the entire project's completion time. There can be multiple critical paths, and activities on them cannot have slack.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement c. the longest of all paths through the network is the critical path is the correct answer regarding the critical path in project management. The critical path is defined as the sequence of tasks that determines the shortest time possible to complete a project. Every task on the critical path is critical, meaning that any delay in these tasks will directly affect the project completion time, leading to delays in the entire project.

Statement a is incorrect because activities on the critical path have zero slack or float. Statement b is also incorrect because if a critical activity is delayed, it indeed changes the total project completion time. Finally, statement d is incorrect as well; a network can have multiple critical paths if several paths through the network have the same duration, which is the longest.