A district programme officer uses PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) to plan the launch of a new primary health centre. In the PERT network diagram, the 'critical path' is best defined as:
- A The shortest sequence of activities connecting start to finish
- B The longest sequence of activities that determines the minimum time for project completion ✓
- C The path containing the maximum number of activities
- D The path with the greatest availability of resources
Correct answer: B. The longest sequence of activities that determines the minimum time for project completion
Explanation
The critical path is the longest time-consuming chain of dependent activities from start to finish; any delay along it delays the whole project, so it fixes the minimum project duration. It is not the shortest route, nor simply the path with most activities, since a few long-duration tasks can exceed many short ones. Activities on this path have zero slack or float.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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