A quick look at Critical Chain Project Management

Background

The concept of Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) has grown in popularity since Eli Goldratt’s book Critical Chain was published in 1997. The project management field seems to be open to a fresh solution to old problems. The logic of the method, and some more well-publicized successes, have sparked widespread interest.

What is Critical Chain Project Management??

It is a method of organizing and managing projects that focuses more on the physical and human resources required to complete project tasks. This approach, also known as CCPM, is a project-based implementation of the Theory of Constraints. One such constraint that must be taken into account is time. It often gives project managers and team members a deadline for completing a project. To take advantage of the current constraint, tasks placed on the critical chain are preferred over all other activities during critical chain project management.

After that, projects can be designed and handled. When the time comes for the vital activities to begin, this phase will ensure that the resources are accessible and ready to use. Consequently, all other resources are effectively subordinated to the critical chain. This is a critical procedure in a way that it helps projects to be completed on schedule by paying close attention to critical details. All project proposals, regardless of project type, should be resource-leveled.

Three Methodologies of Project Management

It is undoubtedly true that No Project can succeed without appropriate Project Management. But choosing the best project management method for your company and your particular project is even more crucial.

Major types of Project Management methodologies are:

Conventional 

Traditional project management is characterized by a staggered approach, in which such steps are completed in a specific order, with five steps being the most common. Initiation, design, produce, monitoring, and closing are the steps, but they are not in any specific order. In certain programs, not all phases are needed, while in others, more is required or the order in which the phases are performed must be altered.

Critical Chain 

The critical chain approach, places a greater focus on the resources that are required to complete a project as a whole as well as the activities that make up the project. Critical chain project management varies from traditional project management in the way it handles any unforeseen complexity. In conventional project management, uncertainty is controlled by overestimating the time it takes to complete a job, beginning tasks as soon as possible, and multitasking, while in the critical chain model, uncertainty is managed by using averages to predict durations, scheduling backward from the required completion date, and using buffers to allow for movement and monitor the project schedule.

Advanced

Advanced project management is a style that is often used in projects that are highly complicated or unpredictable. It differs from conventional project management because it takes a much more versatile approach and is more concerned with the project’s human aspects. Rather than precise scheduling and structured timescales, this humanistic approach focuses on handling the relationships between the humans involved.

What is the Significance of Critical Project Management?

CCPM marks a major step forward in the history of project management. Critical chain project management is one of the most common project management methodologies. It helps in achieving business objectives to complete the project in time without exhausting your staff. The critical chain is distinguished from the critical path. It is source dependent and never changes. The project plan is improved by using CCPM to endorse that it is practical and has a certain level of tolerance for uncertainty or statistical fluctuations.

CCMP substantially reduces overall project length without adding further input. A better understanding of the project’s critical path helps the organization to prioritize which activities demand more attention. Those activities have a direct effect on the company’s ability to complete the project in a stipulated timeline. Any delays in these tasks cause the project’s completion date to be pushed back.

CCPM allows the requisite improvements in resource actions, such as removing waste. Most significantly, CCPM increases the project manager’s and performers’ attention. Projects that use CCPM have a much better track record in terms of schedule, expense, and scope. Experience with CCPM projects shows that they can be completed in less than half the time it takes to complete projects using conventional planning and control methods.