Research project critical path
Calculate earliest starts, latest starts and slack from task durations and dependencies.
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Use unique simple task labels, positive durations in one unit and explicit prerequisites. Maximum 50 tasks. Tasks without predecessors use a hyphen. This assumes unlimited resources and finish-to-start dependencies.
The starting values are hypothetical. Results update as you edit. Use aggregate or synthetic inputs only.
Calculation results
- Project duration
- 15
- Critical tasks
- protocol, ethics, pilot
- Task: earliest start / finish / slack
- protocol: 0 / 3 / 0 | ethics: 3 / 13 / 0 | code: 3 / 8 / 5 | pilot: 13 / 15 / 0
How to interpret the output
Critical-path analysis propagates longest prerequisite durations forward and latest allowable starts backward. Zero-slack tasks constrain the stated project duration. Estimates are deterministic; holidays, shared staff, uncertainty and approvals are not modeled. Slack is not permission to miss a deadline.
Method referenceSource checked 2026-11-06. Read the reproducible calculator validation report.