1

The Merits and Pitfalls of Critical Chain Scheduling

Oya I. Tukel, Ph. D.

2

Fundamentals of Critical Chain Scheduling

Critical Chain by Goldratt, 1997

Claimed to be the most important breakthrough in project management since the development of critical path

3

Resources Project Management in the Fast Lane,

Newbold, 1998. Critical Chain Project Management, Leach,

2000. Articles: Cabanis-Brewin, 1999;

Globerson, 2000; Pinto, 1999. Web pages:

www.pdinstitute.comwww.prochain.com

4

Resources

www.focusedperformance.com Book reviews: Elton and Roe, 1998;

McKay and Morton, 1998;

Letters to the editor in Project Management Journal and PM Network

5

Steps in Critical Chain Develop late start schedule using

average task durations Eliminate resource contentions Identify critical chain(s) Insert feeding buffers Insert project buffer

6

An Example

Three paths, nine tasks and six resources

7

Late start schedule

8

Resource Conflicts

Eliminate resource contentions, blue and orange

9

Resolve Contentions

Add two artificial precedence relations

10

Determine Critical Chain

11

Insert Feeding Buffers

12

Insert Project Buffer

13

Buffer Size Cut and Paste Method Root Square Error Method Monte Carlo Simulation Method