When you schedule a project, you can choose to calculate multiple critical float paths.
- Choose Tools, Schedule.
- Click Options, then click the Advanced tab.
- Mark the Calculate multiple float paths option.
- Choose to calculate multiple paths using Total Float or Free Float.
- In the Display multiple float paths ending with activity field, click the Browse button to choose the activity on which you want the float paths to end.
You can choose any activity; however, typically this activity is a milestone or some other major activity in the project schedule. - Specify the number of float paths you want the module to calculate.
Enter a low number (10 or less) to optimize performance. - Click Close.
Notes
- If you choose to calculate multiple paths using Total Float, to calculate the most critical path, the module first determines which relationship has the most critical total float. Using this relationship as the starting point, the module determines which predecessor and successor activities have the most critical relationship total float, among all possible paths, until an activity is reached that does not have any relationships. The path that contains these activities is the most critical path. These activities are assigned a Float Path value of 1 (the most critical float path) and the process begins again until the specified number of paths are calculated.
- If you choose to calculate multiple paths using Free Float, the most critical path will be identical to the critical path that is derived when you choose to define critical activities as Longest Path in the General tab of the Schedule Options dialog box. In a multicalendar project, the longest path is calculated by identifying the activities that have an early finish equal to the latest calculated early finish for the project and tracing all driving relationships for those activities back to the project start date.