A Critique of the Critical Chain Approach to Project Management

Course in Operations Management
ASSIGNMENT 1: “A CRITIQUE OF THE CRITICAL CHAIN APPROACH TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT”
3,000 words excluding reference list and summary

for Dr. Tom Mullen

Anthony C Mould October 2003

Reprinted with the kind permission of Anthony C Moulds. This essay should be viewed as an example of a well written, structured, referenced and argued assignment. It has been issued to MBA students on commencement of their studies, prior to submission of their first assignment.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report reviews the Critical Chain approach to project management as proposed by Dr Eliyahu Goldratt (1997). The approach is based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC).

The report finds the following:

Conventional techniques (Critical Path Method, PERT) often fall short of delivering projects on time and within budget.

Traditional approaches have two main problems: o Three mechanisms exist which create excessive project ‘safety time’. o Three mechanism exist which waste the created ‘safety time’.

The Critical Chain approach has stated advantages over the conventional approaches: o o Safety time is eliminated and replaced with project buffers. The resource contention and multi-tasking problems are addressed through ‘focussing’ and the use of ‘feeding buffers’. o o Total duration does not change as the project proceeds. Total project duration is reduced.

The Approach has been criticised on the following basis: o o o Not a revolutionary approach. Lack of clarity with regard to managing multiple-projects. Constraint may be in management capacity and not within project plans. o Lack of empirical evidence of success.

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CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

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LITERATURE REVIEW: 2.1 LIMITATIONS OF CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES 2.2 ADVANTAGES OF THE CRITICAL CHAIN APPROACH

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ANALYSIS: 3.1 THE CRITISCISMS AND CHALLENGES OF CRITICAL CHAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENT 14

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CONCLUSION AND LEARNING REFLECTION

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References: Duncan W R. editor. (1999) “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” Project Management Institute” Elton J. Roe J. (1998) “Bringing Discipline to Project Management” Harvard Business Review. March-April v76 n2 p153(7). Goldratt. E.M. (1997) “Critical Chain” Great Barrington (MA): The North River Press. Leach L.P. (1999) “Critical Chain Project Management improves Project Performance” Project Management Journal. June v30 n2 p39-51. McKay K. Morton T E. (1998) “Critical Chain” Institute of Industrial Engineers Inc (IIE). V30 n8 p759 (4). Michlaski L. (2000) “Applying the Theory of Constraints: Managing Multiple Deadlines” Pharmaceutical Technology. v24 n9 p126-132. Morris P.W.G (1994) “The Management of Projects” Thomas Telford Services, London. Patrick F.P. “Critical Chain Scheduling and Buffer Management… Getting Out from Between Parkinson’s Rock and Murphy’s Hard Place” (1999) PM Network. Project Management Institute. www.focusedperformance.com/articles/CCPM.htm Rand G.K. (2000) “Critical Chain: the Theory of Constraints Applied to Project Management” International Journal of project Management. June v18 n3 p173-177. Steyn H. (2000) “An Investigation into the fundamentals of Critical Chain Project Scheduling” International Journal of Project Management. v19 p363-369. Steyn H. (2002) “Project management applications of the theory of constraints beyond critical chain scheduling” International Journal of project Management. v20 n1 p75-80. The Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute. Theory of Constraints (TOC) Times Quarterly June 2001. www.goldratt.com/toctquarterly/june2001.htm. Umble M. Umble E. (2000) “Manage Your Projects for Success: An Application of the Theory of Constraints” Production & Inventory Management Journal. v41 i2 p27. 14