12. Critical path test
A delay injected into the critical path must reach the finish.
- Default threshold
- The finish moves by the full injected delay
- On the demo programme
- Passfinish moved 601d of 600d injected
Definition
The app adds 600 working days to the longest remaining activity on the recomputed critical path and reschedules. In a sound network, the project finish moves by the same amount.
How the app counts it
- It passes if at least 95% of the delay reaches the finish, or if the delayed activity still drives the same completion activity afterwards. Pushing work years later can land it on different holidays and shift patterns, which is a calendar effect, not a broken path.
- It fails outright if the network contains logic loops.
Thresholds, the counting basis and whether the check counts towards the score can all be changed. See settings.
Why it matters
If a delay on the critical path doesn't move the finish, something is absorbing it: a constraint, an open end, a lag or a broken link. Any delay analysis built on that path is unreliable.
How to fix it in P6
- Look for hard constraints and open ends on or near the path first.
- Trace the tested activity's successors in the Gantt, which shows its logic when clicked, to find where the chain breaks.
- Fix the logic, reschedule, and run the test again.