You are the general manager of a large construction project. The contract has
both financial incentives for finishing on time or early as well as large
penalties if the project is completed late. You know that to get it done on time
or early, project planning using a formal time line is essential.

Address the following questions:

1. In terms of creating a timeline, what is meant by the critical path
   of a PERT chart?
2. As a project manager you know that the fastest possible time a project can
   be completed is known as the critical path. This implies that any delay in any
   step of a projects critical path, will therefore delay the overall project. On a
   particular project, step B is part of the critical path; step C and D both are
   not. Assume that all of these steps, B, C, and D are at risk of being delayed
   due to some issue (could be lack of people, lack of materials, equipment
   downtime—it makes no difference).
   
   
   • How would the manager go about prioritizing correction of the problem
     existing in B, C, or D?
   • Should the manager address the issue in step B first, step C first, or step
     D first; why?
3. Once repair is completed in step #2, how would go you about prioritizing
   repairs at the other two steps?