Operations management

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - Operations management - introduction
2. Operations Management (OM) - Introduction
3. 5.1 Production methods notes
4. 5.1 Production methods - questions
5. 5.2 Costs and revenues - notes
6. 5.2 Costs and revenues - questions
7. 5.3 Break-even analysis - notes
8. 5.3 Break-even analysis - questions
9. 5.3 Break-even analysis - simulations and activities
10. 5.4 Quality assurance - notes
11. 5.4 Quality assurance - questions and activities
12. 5.5 Location - notes
13. Innovation - notes (HL only)
14. 5.6 Innovation - questions
15. 5.7 Production planning - notes
16. 5.7 Production planning - questions
17. 5.8 Project management - notes (HL only)
    1. Project management - introduction
    2. Critical path analysis
    3. Critical path analysis - The rules and methodology
    4. CPA Stage 1 The data collection
    5. CPA Stage 2 The draft network diagram
    6. CPA Stage 3 - tidying and simplifying
    7. CPA Stage 4 - Earliest starting time (EST)
    8. CPA Stage 5 - Add the Latest finishing time (LFT)
    9. CPA Stage 6 - Identify the CRITICAL PATH
    10. Use of networks
    11. Float analysis
    12. Evaluation of networks
    13. Example - A simple project network
    14. Use of CPA diagrams
18. 5.8 Project management - questions (HL only)
19. Print View

Critical path analysis - The rules and methodology

Learning CPA is like learning a new board game. It has rules, which once learned allow the planning of any project. CPA is normally prepared by a project team controlled by a Project Manager or Director who will be an expert in CPA techniques. As you will appreciate later, CPA is really a management philosophy and so needs skilled dedicated staff.

What are the functions of the team? On the following pages we work through the various stages of developing a critical path analysis diagram.