Critical chain project management improves project performance

Article June 1999

Project Management Journal

Leach, Lawrence P.

How to cite this article:

Leach, L. P. (1999). Critical chain project management improves project performance. Project Management Journal, 30(2), 39–51.
This paper describes the theory and practice of critical chain project management (CCPM). CCPM provides a substantial step in the ongoing improvement to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. The critical chain differs from the critical path by including resource dependencies and never changing. CCPM improves the project plan by ensuring that it is feasible and immune from reasonable common cause variation (uncertainty or statistical fluctuations). It does this by aggregating uncertainty into buffers at the end of activity paths (or chains). The project buffer protects the overall project completion on the critical chain path, and feeding buffers protect the critical chain from path merging. Buffer management enhances measurement and decision-making for project control. CCPM implements required changes in resource behavior, including elimination of date-driven activity performance and multitasking.
member content locked

Become a PMI member to gain access

or Join

Advertisement

Advertisement

Related Content

  • Article Change Management, PM in Academia 1 December 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Navigating Tensions to Create Value member content locked

    By Farid, Parinaz | Waldorff, Susanne Boche This article employs institutional logics to explore the change program–organizational context interface, and investigates how program management actors navigate the interface to create value.

  • Article PM in Academia 1 December 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Getting Past the Editor's Desk member content locked

    By Klein, Gary | Müller, Ralf To reach acceptance, every research paper submitted to Project Management Journal® (PMJ) must pass several hurdles. This editorial aims to declare the editorial process and reveal major reasons for…

  • Article Complexity, PM in Academia 1 December 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Investigating the Dynamics of Engineering Design Rework for a Complex Aircraft Development Project member content locked

    By Souza de Melo, Érika | Vieira, Darli | Bredillet, Christophe The purpose of this research is to evaluate the dynamics of EDR that negatively impacts the performance of complex PDPs and to suggest actions to overcome those problems.

  • Article PM in Academia 1 December 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Coordinating Lifesaving Product Development Projects with no Preestablished Organizational Governance Structure member content locked

    By Leme Barbosa, Ana Paula Paes | Figueiredo Facin, Ana Lucia | Sergio Salerno, Mario | Simões Freitas, Jonathan | Carelli Reis, Marina | Paz Lasmar, Tiago We employed a longitudinal, grounded theory approach to investigate the management of an innovative product developed in the context of a life-or-death global emergency.

  • Article Risk Management, PM in Academia 1 December 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Narratives of Project Risk Management member content locked

    By Green, Stuart D. | Dikmen, Irem The dominant narrative of project risk management pays homage to scientific rationality while conceptualizing risk as objective fact.

Advertisement