If two consecutive activities on the same path each have two days of activity slack, this means that each of them can be delayed by two days without delaying the overall project.
True False
The correct answer and explanation is :
False.
While it might seem logical to assume that each activity with 2 days of slack can be delayed independently by that amount, this is not necessarily true for consecutive activities on the same path.
Explanation:
- Understanding Slack (Float):
Slack (or float) is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the overall project completion date. If an activity has 2 days of slack, it means that delaying it by up to 2 days will not impact the project’s finish date. - Consecutive Activities on the Same Path:
When two consecutive activities each have 2 days of slack, their individual slack values indicate their delay potential relative to the overall project. However, their slacks are interdependent since they belong to the same path. - How Slack Works in a Chain:
If Activity A and Activity B are consecutive on the same path and each has 2 days of slack, delaying only one of them by 2 days would not impact the project. However, if both are delayed by 2 days each, the total delay on the path becomes 4 days. This would likely push the project’s completion beyond its planned finish date. - Conclusion:
The key mistake in the statement is assuming that the slack for each activity is independent when they are on the same path. In reality, the slack applies to the entire path, not just individual activities. Thus, both activities cannot each be delayed by 2 days without exceeding the total allowable slack for the path.
Hence, the correct answer is False because delaying both activities together could exceed the total slack available for that sequence, potentially delaying the overall project.