Roundup of Top Critical Path Planners With Step-by-Step Visuals
Visualizing a critical path is essential for project success. It ensures timely task execution and efficient resource usage. Therefore, applying a professional critical path planner is vital to staying on schedule, managing tasks, and addressing risks.
Wondering how to choose the right software for this?
We’ve selected top solutions for creating excellent critical path examples easily.
What is the best way to visualize a critical path?
When starting your search for a critical path planner, you’ll find various online platforms, from basic visualization systems to comprehensive project management tools. Trustworthy solutions usually provide the option to identify the advantages of the critical path method using a Gantt chart.
While some tools offer alternatives like flowcharts, organizational charts, and RERT diagrams, they often present crucial tasks less effectively. Many of these tools require payment without a free trial.
However, a Gantt chart simplifies critical path identification by visually representing tasks and their dependencies. It helps project managers and teams focus on critical activities that can impact the project schedule if delayed.
All these reasons serve as a basis for picking up critical path planners that propose an online Gantt view for this purpose.
Let’s explore these planners.
Best critical path planners
Generating a critical path manually is complex, yet essential for meeting deadlines. Fortunately, automated tools simplify identifying crucial tasks and avoiding project delays.
If you rely on the critical path method, consider these software solutions.
Note: pricing and ratings may change; visit software websites for updates.
1. GanttPRO
If you have a powerful Gantt chart maker such as GanttPRO, finding a Gantt chart critical path is a really simple process.
- Pricing: starts at $7.99 user/month (billed annually).
- Customer ratings (as of Q4, 2023): G2: 4.8/5, Capterra: 4.8/5, SaaSworthy: 4.8/5.
This critical path software comes with a professionally designed Gantt chart and many other project management features. It is widely used in many industries, from IT to complex manufacturing and construction PM.
Project teams use the Gantt chart maker to plan and schedule tasks, set deadlines, track events, consider costs, and collaborate effectively. If you are new to working with the chart, GanttPRO proposes friendly Gantt chart templates.
GanttPRO tops our list of the top critical path planners as it provides a convenient way to determine what tasks directly affect the project completion date.
Also read about how experts choose GanttPRO and other PM platforms when look for the best planner for project managers https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/best-planners-for-project-managers/.
Consistent steps to identify a critical path in GanttPRO
It is quite easy to generate a critical path in GanttPRO.
You just have to create a project, fill it with tasks, and click on the related feature to switch the path on.
GanttPRO allows for “downloading” ideas and initiatives onto a handy timeline and creating tasks based on them. You can add start and end dates, as well as the duration of each task.
For complex long-term tasks, you can use GanttPRO’s WBS work breakdown structure to break down tasks, assign responsibilities, and estimate completion times in days, weeks, months, or years.
The following steps in creating a critical path involve incorporating task dependencies. This entails identifying tasks that must precede others. In GanttPRO, you can easily depict these dependencies using the drag & drop feature.
Additionally, it is crucial to designate project milestones, which are key activities on the timeline warranting special attention.
Your project timeline is now prepared for defining and visualizing a critical path.
To activate it, simply click the corresponding icon in the top left corner.
GanttPRO quickly reveals the task sequence.
Now you can see that the critical tasks are highlighted in red, illustrating the order of your essential processes effortlessly.
Certainly, every project is unique. However, when utilizing GanttPRO’s critical path identification process, you can streamline and simplify the visualization of crucial task sequences in your projects.
Is there any other reliable critical path planning tool?
One of them is Smartsheet.
2. Smartsheet
- Pricing: starts at $7 user/month (billed annually).
- Customer ratings (as of Q4, 2023): G2: 4.4/5, Capterra: 4.5/5, SaaSworthy: 4.1/5.
This handy project organization tool is popular among enthusiasts of spreadsheets. It offers a robust set of project management capabilities, encompassing data visualization, task scheduling, collaboration, and more. You also gain access to additional views such as Gantt charts, boards, and calendars.
Additionally, it serves as a valuable resource for expense tracking and budget control.
Smartsheet offers convenient templates and formatting tools, rendering it suitable for various business scenarios.
Feel free to learn more about this platform in the following article: Smartsheet vs Teamgantt https://ganttpro.com/smartsheet-vs-teamgantt/.
Consistent steps to identify a critical path in Smartsheet
Users traditionally initiate working with this PM tool by starting with a regular sheet.
To start your way of finding a critical path, you need to create a project.
After creating your sheet, proceed to transform project-related ideas into actionable tasks. Utilize the Gantt View, located in the top left corner, for a comprehensive project overview.
Smartsheet facilitates the organization of subtasks by breaking them down into manageable components. You can assign start and end dates to each task, as well as estimate their durations. Additionally, identifying task dependencies is an option.
You can now include assignees, task statuses, categories, and other necessary data.
Next, you may wish to establish task logic and dependencies, as well as highlight key project milestones.
To accomplish this, access task settings.
You can now emphasize a critical path in your project to visually represent its impact on the project’s duration.
Simply click on the critical path icon located in the upper right corner of your screen.
This will result in all tasks and milestones that constitute the critical path of your project being highlighted in red.
If identifying a critical path in this software doesn’t seem convenient to you, it’s time to consider other options.
To do it, you can move to the full version of this article https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/critical-path-planners, where you’ll find step-by-step tutorials on how to create critical paths with Hive, nTask, and MS Project.
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