# Find the critical path in my project schedule

Identifies the chain of tasks that sets your end date, the float on everything else, and where a delay would hurt.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/find-the-critical-path-in-my-project-schedule

## Prompt

```text
Help me find the critical path in my project schedule.

**Task list:** [PASTE tasks with ID, duration, and predecessors - e.g. "T4 Build API, 10 days, after T2 and T3"]
**Dependency types if not finish-to-start:** [e.g. "T7 can start 3 days after T6 starts"]
**Start date and working calendar:** [DATE, working days, known holidays]
**Fixed dates or constraints:** [e.g. "vendor delivery no earlier than May 4"]

Steps:
1. Check the network first: tasks with no predecessor or no successor (other than start and end), circular dependencies, and missing obvious links. List these before calculating.
2. Do a forward and backward pass: early start, early finish, late start, late finish for each task.
3. Calculate total float for each task. Tasks with zero float form the critical path.
4. Identify near-critical paths (float of 3 days or less) - these become critical with a small slip.

Do not change my durations. If something looks wrong, flag it with [CHECK] rather than fixing it silently.

Return:
1. Any network problems found.
2. A table: task | duration | ES | EF | LS | LF | total float | critical?
3. The critical path written as a chain (T1 > T3 > T6 ...) and the project end date.
4. Near-critical paths.
5. The 3 best places to shorten the schedule, and the 3 tasks I should watch most closely each week.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "T7 can start 3 days after T6 starts"
- DATE, working days, known holidays
- e.g. "vendor delivery no earlier than May 4"
- CHECK

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.