Using the Critical Path: Basics

The Critical Path Engine^TM is a powerful tool for organizing projects and managing dependent tasks. When projects use task dependencies, the Critical Path Engine will calculate the longest string of dependent tasks, from beginning to end. The Critical Path represents the chain of events that dictate a project’s length.

When the Critical Path option is active, potential issues are highlighted, allowing the owner to visualize downstream impact and take corrective action to ensure the project remains on track.

This tool leverages several task attributes to perform its calculations:

• Task Work Window (Duration): The time span the owner has to complete the task
• Dependencies: Relationships between tasks, or the limitations imposed on the task by preceding tasks
• Start Date: The day on which the task is to begin (calculated either from its preceding dependent task or is “pinned” as an explicitly stated date)
• End date: The day on which the task is to be completed (calculated from its start date and duration or “pinned” as an explicitly stated date)
   

To access the Critical Path Engine:

1. Open a project and select the Critical Path icon from the View options. The Critical Path Engine^TM view appears.
   
    

2. Use the Filter at the top right to determine which tasks appear on the screen.

   a. 

   Click Filter. The Filter tasks screen appears.
   
   
   Available filter options include:
    

   i.	Task Status: Not Started, In Progress, Blocked, Complete, and/or Cancelled (all are indicated by task owners as they progress). If you are using the ConnectWise integration, your custom statuses will appear here.
   ii.	Status Category: This dropdown will only appear for users with the ConnectWise integration.
   iii.	Dependency Status: Dependencies Complete (indicates that this task is ready to begin), Dependencies Not Complete (indicates that this task can not begin because its predecessors are still in progress), No Dependencies (these are tasks not on the Critical Path)
   iv.	Risk: Late Tasks (tasks whose due date has passed)
   v.	Priority: Critical, High, Normal, Low
   vi.	Owner: Lists the users who own tasks in this project. Click the "or Scheduled" checkbox to display users who have been assigned an appointment associated with this task as well.
   vii.	Assigner: Lists the users who have assigned tasks in this project
   viii.	Creator: Lists the users who have created tasks in this project.
   ix.	Team: Lists the teams who are associated with this project
   x.	Viewing Privacy: No Restrictions (tasks that any Team Member can view, whether inside or outside of the organization), Our Organization Only (tasks restricted to those within the organization), Owner/Creator/Assigner Only (tasks only visible to those who own, created, or assigned them)
   xi.	Start Date: Tasks that are set to start Today, This Week, Next Week, This Month, In the next…(enter a custom value), In the previous…(enter a custom value)
   xii.	Due Date: Tasks that are due Today, This Week, Next Week, This Month, In the next…(enter a custom value), In the previous…(enter a custom value), No Due Date (no due date has been assigned)
   xiii.	Changed Date: Tasks that were altered in some way Today, This Week, Next Week, This Month, In the next…(enter a custom value), In the previous…(enter a custom value)
   xiv.	Completed Date: Tasks that were marked as complete Today, This Week, Next Week, This Month, In the next…(enter a custom value), In the previous…(enter a custom value)
   xv.	Start or Due Within: Enter a date range for task start or due dates.
   xvi.	Viewing Privacy: Tasks with No Restrictions, Our Organization Only, or Owner/Creator/Assigner Only.
   xvii.	Cost Code: Tasks associated with specific cost codes in this project.
   xviii.	Project Phase: The phases that exist for this project are listed, and selection of a phase will show all tasks in that phase
   xix.	Workstreams: All Workstreams (shows all tasks in the project), Critical Path (limits the view to Critical Path taks—those with dependencies)
   xx.	Task Type: All Tasks (shows all tasks in the project), Milestones (tasks marked as Milestones because of their significance to the project)
   xxi.	Next Appointment: Choose the date range for the next appointment scheduled for the task.
   xxii.	Customer: Choose the customer to whom the task(s) have been associated.

   b.

   Use any or all of the dropdown menus to indicate which tasks will appear in the filtered view. Click on a dropdown menu and it will open to reveal filter options.
   
    

   c.

   Select the filter criteria to be applied by clicking on that option. Once selected, a purple check mark will appear to the left of the option. Multiple options can be selected. To clear selections, click <reset>. Repeat this process until all desired filters are in place.

   d.

   Select Workstream boxes to display either All Workstreams (every task in the project) or Critical Path only (tasks that are a part of the Critical Path).

   e.

   Select Task Type boxes to display either All Tasks (all tasks in the project) or Milestones (tasks marked as Milestones because of their significance to the project).

   f.

   Click Save as my default to save these filter settings. These filter criteria will be applied to the Project view every time it is opened going forward.

   g.

   Click Reset to return all filters to their saved default settings. To remove custom default settings, click Reset on the dropdown of each saved filter, then click Save as my default. The filter criteria will then return to Moovila’s standard default settings.

   h.

   Click Apply. The text below the Filter icon will change to read “custom,” indicating that the filter criteria have been changed from the default settings. 
   
    

   i.

   Click the Refresh icon to the upper left of the Filter icon to return the filter to default settings.

3. Click the Layers icon ( ) to adjust the level of detail displayed in the Critical Path view. Learn more about Layers in the Using Layers section.

4. Click the Focus icon ( ) to hide tasks that are excluded by the current filter criteria.

   a.	When the Focus icon is not selected, filtered tasks will be visible in the Critical Path view, and excluded tasks will appear transparent:
   b.	When the Focus icon is selected, filtered tasks will be visible in the critical path view, and excluded tasks will be removed from the view:

5. Click the Dependencies edit icon () to edit dependencies. To learn more about this functionality, see Understanding Dependencies

6. Use the toolbar at the bottom right of the screen to customize the view and see information in greater detail. This tool will become more important as more tasks and dependencies are added, and the screen becomes more complex to read.
   

   	Click to zoom out.
   	Click to zoom in.
   	Click to create a shaded marquis that allows areas not occupied by a tak to be clicked to zoom in and out.
   	Click to return the task cards to their default 100% size.
   	Click to have all task cards fit on a single page view.
   	Click to create a cursor that can be dragged over a portion of the screen to magnify it

7. Use the bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll horizontally and view the entire path. (A scrollbar is also available in the Kanban view.)

8. The Diagnostics Panel delivers key metrics and information points on the Critical Path at a glance. These information points include:

   	RPAX Score: Projects are given an RPAX score that corresponds to adherence to best practices in project planning. The more that these best practices are followed, the higher the score, the stronger the project plan, and the better the odds of hitting deadlines. See Using RPAX to learn more.
   	Debugger: Using over two dozen different project management best practices as guides, the mPix Debugger highlights opportunities for projects to increase the likelihood of finishing on-time and on-budget.
   	Timeline: This number shows the difference between the due date and the forecasted completion date. In this example, the project will complete thirty days late. See Creating a Project to set your project Start/Due dates.
   	Financials: This number indicates the total daily financial impact of the project based on the forecasted completion date. In this example, the project is forecasted to have a negative impact of 300,000 based upon the thirty day variance in its completion date. See Creating a Project to set your project financial information.