To control which activities are reported as critical, you select a scheduling option on the Projects > Tools page.
To specify critical activities
- Open the project or group of projects you want to work with in the Projects section.
- Click
on the Projects toolbar to display the Tools page.
- If multiple projects are open, choose the project you want to work with from the Select Project list.
Note: If a single project is open, the Select Project list does not appear. When multiple projects are open, the Select Project box lists all open projects you have rights to access. Any action you perform, and all data that appears on the page, applies to the selected project only.
- Click Scheduling Options.
- On the General tab, in the Define critical activities as section, choose the Total Float less than or equal to, or Longest Path option.
Total Float defines critical activities based on the float value and computation method you specify.
Longest Path defines critical activities based on the sequence of driving activities that determine the project end date.
- If choosing the Total Float less than or equal to option, type a value. Also, in the Compute Total Float as field, specify the method you want to use.
Activities whose float does not exceed the value you specify are listed in the Critical activities behind schedule portlet, which can be displayed in the Project Workspace.
Tips:
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The longest path is broken when activities are no longer driven by relationships, that is, when activity dates are driven by constraints or resource leveling. Longest path calculation includes interproject relationships; therefore, activities designated as on the longest path may change depending on whether you schedule a project alone or with its related projects. If a project has interproject relationships and you schedule it alone, the interproject relationships are treated as scheduling constraints.
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When you run the scheduler, activities are flagged as critical based on the option you select as described above. If you also choose to calculate multiple critical float paths (on the Advanced tab of the project scheduling options), the float paths are calculated after the project has been scheduled. Critical activities that are not part of a critical float path remain tagged as critical.