Schedule Compression & Acceleration Techniques Flashcards

What is 'crashing' in the context of schedule compression?

Answer: Reducing activity durations by adding resources

Crashing adds resources (labor, equipment, etc.) to critical path activities to shorten their duration, typically at increased cost.

Which schedule compression technique involves overlapping activities that would normally be performed sequentially?

Answer: Fast-tracking

Fast-tracking overlaps activities normally done in sequence, reducing project duration but increasing risk of rework.

What is the primary trade-off when using the crashing technique?

Answer: Increased cost vs. reduced duration

Crashing reduces project duration by adding resources, which directly increases project costs.

When applying fast-tracking, which type of dependency is most commonly modified?

Answer: Discretionary finish-to-start dependencies

Discretionary (soft logic) finish-to-start dependencies are most commonly modified in fast-tracking because they are not technically required.

In schedule crashing analysis, the 'crash cost slope' is calculated as:

Answer: (Crash Cost - Normal Cost) / (Normal Duration - Crash Duration)

The crash cost slope equals (Crash Cost - Normal Cost) divided by (Normal Duration - Crash Duration), representing the additional cost per unit of time saved.

Which of the following is a primary risk associated with fast-tracking?

Answer: Increased rework if errors in overlapped activities propagate downstream

Fast-tracking increases rework risk because errors in early activities may require corrections in later activities that began before the upstream work was verified.

Schedule recovery plans are most commonly triggered when:

Answer: The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) falls below an acceptable threshold

A schedule recovery plan is typically initiated when SPI or float analysis indicates the project is significantly behind the approved baseline.