Business Degree Certification Practice Test

How can a project finish one day early if it consists of multiple critical paths?

1. Reduce completion time for each of the 150 jobs.

2. Reduce completion time for each of the jobs on the three critical paths.

3. Reduce completion time by completing Job J or Job K.

4. Reduce completion time by including additional jobs.

The correct answer is: Reduce completion time by completing Job J or Job K.

In project management, critical paths represent the sequences of dependent tasks that determine the shortest possible duration for the project. When multiple critical paths exist, any adjustment that reduces the duration of a task on one of these paths can have a significant impact on the overall project timeline. By selecting the option that suggests reducing completion time by completing Job J or Job K, it effectively acknowledges that these jobs fall on one or more of the critical paths. If either Job J or Job K is finished earlier than planned, it can lead to the project being completed a day sooner. This is a feasible strategy, as it directly affects the timeline without the need to make sweeping alterations to all jobs. In contrast, reducing the completion time for each of the jobs on all critical paths may not guarantee that the project finishes earlier unless the reduction is significant and aligns perfectly to impact the overall project completion. Similarly, reducing the completion time for each of the 150 jobs could involve negligible changes that do not necessarily align with critical path management principles, potentially leading to no overall time savings. Lastly, including additional jobs typically adds complexity and could extend the timeline unless managed very carefully, which is counterproductive to the goal of finishing early.