Free Slack and Total Slack in Projects

In this podcast Ricardo talks about the difference between total slack and free slack in projects. He explains clearly how to identify the free slack and total slack, through a practical example.

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Episode transcript

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Hello everybody welcome to the five Minutes BM Podcast Today like to discuss with you an email message that I received at a couple of weeks ago, asking about the difference between the two types of float. The two types of Slack that I have in the projects, the free float and the total float. This is an extremely important concept to scale the management.

If you remember a few weeks ago, a publisher, the podcast about the critical path concept in the critical path shows all that taskers with the lower float, usually float equals to zero. So no floats and the other tests that are not on the critical path, the have at least some fruit, some fluctuations. What do you mean by that?

That this test, the can be postpone it or delayed? Oh, you to beat without damaging or order tasks or damaging the final project deadline. And this will be the frame four, the concept of free Slack and Total is like, what is a freeze lek is the float that I have let's suppose that am a task. So if the float that I have, so the delay that I have that will not that much anybody, no other task, the critical and the other critical task.

So let's do a comparison with money is the money that I have in my pocket that belongs to me. If let's suppose I have two days of float, what do I mean by that is that I can have up to two days of delay without damaging anybody. This is the free float is the float that I have in what is the concept of the Total float or Total Slack is the flute that I have, plus all the floats that my successors have, that only one aspect must be respected, that I cannot delay the final project date, but that kill the Lake, every task in the project, but the critical tasks.

So let's suppose I'm tasked a and B you are a task B I have two days off free float. What do you mean by that? I can delay my tasks up to two days without any damage to anybody. And you are my successor in, you have also three days have a float of time, three days. So you can delay your up two or three days, but you can depend on the Projects that I would produce on task eight.

What is my total free float? My total float is to plus three. It's my float and your float. So why can delay my project up to five days? And with that guy will not that much to the project. What I will damage, I will demo to you and your task in you will become critical because of this three days. So look, the difference, the free float is the float that belongs to me.

And the total float is a floater that belongs to me. Plus the float that belongs to order tasks in the future that are linked to my task. And one of, for me, this is my own concept for me. The more trustable float is your flea float. I don't think it's a good option to use the float of other people. It's good to know that you have this like the safety, but if you use this, you will be damaging future work.

Imagine again, the money I have $2 in my pocket and my brother has pre doors and let's suppose that I take my $2 and I go also to my brother's pocket can pick up $3. My family will not go to bankruptcy, but I'm damaging FEU through reserves, future float. So. This is the important aspect of understanding.

What is pre float in what is thought to float or Total Slack and how do we calculate that? Most of the software will do this easily, but if you need to do this by hand is just the same process of doing the critical path you have the forward past and the backward past where you go adding and then subtracting the durations up to find the critical path. The critical path is the path where the forward pass will be the same off the backward PEs in the float.

The Total float is very easy to calculate is just look at the backward and subtracted to the forward pass. So let's suppose that the early start of my task is Stan and the late start of my task is 12. So I have two days of float, 12 last time. And the Free, this is a total flop in the Free float. Just look two, the successor So the early start of my successor is on 14th in the late, early finish of the predecessor is 12.

So 14 last 12th. I have to days of free float that belongs to me and nobody else. So it's more hi money. It's my time. And the thought afloat. It's my time plus or the time. So let's suppose that. Now, given again, the example of the money let's suppose that I don't have any cash in my pocket, but my brother is my success. Sure. He has $5 and then I go shopping and spent $5.

I'm not making my family go to bankruptcy, but I'm taking all the savings off my brother. So this concept is search an impact and concept to do scatter management. So free float. The float that belongs to me, Total float the float that belongs to me. Plus the float that belongs to someone else. The only prerequisite for this thought a float is I cannot delay the project. I hope you enjoy this podcast. Thank you very much and see you next week with another five minutes PM.

Podcast bye.

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