RPAX Risk Items: Critical Path Delay

What it is:  The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks that must be finished for the project to reach its completion. There is a delay within this chain of dependent tasks in this project.

Why it matters: If not addressed, a delay within this series of tasks puts the due date of the project at risk. This is because the downstream durations remain unchanged, pushing the completion date over the deadline.

In the example below there is a one day delay on the Team Kickoff Meeting task in the Critical Path. The original dates are shown here in Critical Path view denoted by a red "x." The Team Kickoff Meeting should have been finished on 1/5, but was not. The forecasted dates are shown below the original dates in purple. Look at the last task in the Critical Path--Revise/Finalize Q1 Plan--notice that our original completion date of 1/16 has shifted out to 1/17. This is one business day behind schedule. Without remediation our original deadline will be missed.

What's next:  Choose to accept delays and the new due date of your project, or review the Critical Path to identify ways to get the project back on schedule.

Contact the owners of downstream tasks to see where your durations can be shortened to bring you back within your originally forecasted timeframe. This can be done in person, or by opening up the task and sending a message to your team member via Moovila. It is also important that you reach out to the owner of the delayed task to ensure that they are aware of the delay and learn their expectation of when they will finish to mitigate any further delay.

In the example below the one business day delay was covered by shortening the duration of the third task in the Critical Path. Note that we're now finishing on 1/16 as originally scheduled.