Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is based on methods and algorithms developed in 1997 by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Application of CCPM has been credited with achieving projects 10% to 50% faster &/or cheaper than the traditional methods (ie. CPM, PERT, Gantt, etc.) developed from 1910 to 1950's. Eliyahu M. Goldratt (1948 - ) is an Israel-born physicist turned business consultant, the originator of the theory of constraints (abbreviation: TOC). ...

From numerous studies by Standish Group and others for traditional project management methods, only 44% of projects typically finish on time, projects usually complete at 222% of the duration originally planned, 189% of the original budgeted cost, 70% of projects fall short of their planned scope (technical content delivered), and 30% are cancelled before completion.

These traditional statistics are mostly avoided through CCPM. Typically, CCPM users report 95% on-time and on-budget completion when CCPM is applied correctly.

With traditional project management methods, 30% of the lost time and resources are typically consumed by wasteful techniques such as multi-tasking, Student syndrome, In-box delays, and lack of prioritization. Student Syndrome - no matter how long you give students to work on something, they will start the night before. ...

In project management, the critical chain is the sequence of both precedence- and resource-dependent terminal elements that prevents a project from being completed in a shorter time, given finite resources. If resources are always available in unlimited quantities, then a project's critical chain is identical to its critical path. Project management is the discipline of defining and achieving targets while optimizing the use of resources (time, money, people, materials, energy, space, etc) over the course of a project (a set of activities of finite duration). ... Precedence is a simple ordering, based on either importance or sequence. ... Resources comprise the base material for an activity or industry: factors of production, the economics term human capital, human resources (HR) and innovation natural resources resource (computer science) resource (Web) resource (Windows) resource (Macintosh) resource (political) resource (project management) Resource Distribution, human influence and the effects of trade. ... In project management, a terminal element is the lowest element (activity or deliverable) in a work breakdown structure(WCS); it is not further subdivided. ... A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. ... In project management, a critical path is the sequence of project network terminal elements with the longest overall duration, determining the shortest time to complete the project. ...

Critical chain is used as an alternative to critical path analysis. The main features that distinguish the critical chain from the critical path are: In project management, a critical path is the sequence of project network terminal elements with the longest overall duration, determining the shortest time to complete the project. ...

1. The use of (often implicit) resource dependencies. Implicit means that they are not included in the project network but have to be identified by looking at the resource requirements.
2. Lack of search for an optimum solution. This means that a "good enough" solution is enough because:
   1. As far as is known, there is no analytical method of finding an absolute optimum (i.e. having the overall shortest critical chain).
   2. The inherent uncertainty in estimates is much greater than the difference between the optimum and near-optimum ("good enough" solutions).
3. The identification and insertion of buffers:
   • project buffer
   • feeding buffers
   • resource buffers.

CCPM aggregates the large amounts of safety time added to many subprojects in project buffers to protect due-date performance, and to avoid wasting this safety time through bad multitasking, student syndrome, and poorly synchronised integration. Multitasking may refer to: Computer multitasking - the apparent simultaneous performance of two or more tasks by a computers central processing unit. ... Student Syndrome - no matter how long you give students to work on something, they will start the night before. ...

Critical chain project management uses buffer management instead of earned value management to assess the performance of a project. Some project managers feel that the earned value management technique is misleading, because it does not distinguish progress on the project constraint (i.e. on the critical chain) from progress on non-constraints (i.e. on other paths). Earned value management is a project management technique for estimating how a project is doing in terms of its budget and schedule. ... A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful planning and execution of any project. ...

The critical chain concept was developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt as an application of his theory of constraints. Eliyahu M. Goldratt (1948 - ) is an Israel-born physicist turned business consultant, the originator of the theory of constraints (abbreviation: TOC). ... Theory of constraints (TOC) is a body of knowledge on the effective management of (mainly business) organizations, as systems. ...

See also: list of project management software The following is a list of project management software. ...

Further reading

• Critical Chain, ISBN 0884271536
• Project Management In the Fast Lane, ISBN 1574441957
• Critical Chain Project Management, ISBN 1580530745

Critical Chain is a book by Eliyahu Goldratt on the Critical Chain theory of Project Management. ...

External links

• Comparison of CCPM and traditional methods
• Project Management System Survey
• Critical Chain Implementation Results
• Critical Chain Mind Map and other goodies!
• Typical frustrations with Projects vs. CCPM
• Free Critical Chain Articles
• Getting Out From Between Parkinson's Rock and Murphy's Hard Place (Critical Chain basics for single projects)
• Program Management -- Turning Many Projects into Few Priorities with TOC (Multi-project management)
• Critical Chain and Risk Management - Protecting Project Value from Uncertainty
• Focused Performance weblog
• Whitepapers on Critical Chain