Abbreviated as CPM, a project management technique that analyzes what activities have the least amount of scheduling flexibility (i.e., are the most mission-critical) and then predicts project duration schedule based on the activities that fall along the “critical path.” Activities that lie along the critical path cannot be delayed without delaying the finish time for the entire project. Projects planned with CPM typically are graphically represented in a diagram showing how each activity is related to the others.
CPM can be employed in the development of hardware or software and there are CPM applications available for computerized project management.
