Calculating and Using Float

Calculating and Using Float

As you travel on thru life brother, whatever be your goal,
Keep your eye upon the donut, and not upon the hole.
An Eastern Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch) saying

Calculating and Using Float [P110]

The concept of schedule float is the creation of the Critical Path Method (CPM) of scheduling in the late 1950s. In the 60s and 70s significant advances ion the concept of float occurred as the ADM scheduling methodology developed. Much of this sophistication has been lost in the intervening 40 years as the PDM methodology gained precedence. How significant is this loss of insight?

From a practical perspective there are two issues of paramount importance:

Resources levelling and smoothing is completely reliant on having access to accurate and understandable float values. The absence of these means the scheduling algorithms are likely to be less efficient.
Contract management relies on clearly defining critical and non-critical activities and knowing how much flexibility (float) is reasonably available on the non-critical activities.

This paper argues that the lack of defined calculations for most of the float values in a PDM schedule must reduce the overall value of the schedule model compared to more rigorous approaches. But also recognises that if scheduling is a modelling process designed to affect the future behaviours of people working on the project (ie, persuade them to work to the plan), other factors may be more important.

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