A project has activities with the following durations: A(5 days), B(8 days), C(6 days), D(4 days). The network shows A→C→D and B→D as parallel paths. What is the critical path duration?
Correct Answer
D) 15 days
Path A→C→D = 5+6+4 = 15 days. Path B→D = 8+4 = 12 days. The critical path is the longest path, which is A→C→D at 15 days.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The critical path is the longest sequence of activities that determines the minimum project duration. To find it, we calculate the total duration of each possible path through the network. Path A→C→D takes 5+6+4=15 days, while path B→D takes 8+4=12 days. Since 15 days is longer than 12 days, the critical path duration is 15 days.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: 23 days
23 days would result from incorrectly adding all activity durations together (5+8+6+4=23), which ignores that activities B and A→C occur in parallel, not sequentially.
Option C: 17 days
12 days represents the duration of path B→D (8+4=12), which is the shorter path and therefore not the critical path.
Memory Technique
Remember 'LONGEST = CRITICAL' - the critical path is always the longest path through the network, just like the critical bottleneck determines overall project completion time.
Reference Hint
Look up 'Critical Path Method (CPM)' or 'Project Scheduling' in construction management chapters - typically found in project management sections of contractor reference books.
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