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Introduction to the Critical Path Feature in OnePager

This article describes OnePager’s Critical Path feature. The article covers the Add-in and Standalone editions of OnePager Pro, and OnePager 360. Illustrations used in this article are from OnePager Pro but the feature's function, controls, and manual edits apply equally to OnePager 360.

About Editing The Critical Path

A powerful feature of OnePager is the ability to display the critical path on task bar in the OnePager graph. Critical Path information is generated in your source plan and made available to OnePager when your source plan data are imported. When you enable the critical path capability, OnePager displays critical path information within the displayed task bars. Below is a sample chart with the critical path feature enabled:

Critical Path Representation

This feature displays critical path segments on the top of each task bar showing where the source plan's critical path intersects with each task bar on the path as illustrated above.

Critical Paths in Virtual Summary Tasks

The critical path segments for a summary task are computed by finding sub-task bars that are on the critical path and have no sub-task bars of their own. OnePager then applies the same rule to sub-task bars of sub-task bars, if any. OnePager repeats this search until it examines the entire work breakdown structure beneath the summary task. To determine whether a given sub-task bar is on the critical path, OnePager can use the Microsoft Project critical path indicator Critical field in your source plan. Alternatively, OnePager can use any Flag or Number fields in your source plan as a critical path indicator. A virtual summary task (VST) constructed from several individual task bars in the chart with critical path segments looks like this:

Virtual Summary Tasks with Critical Path Segments Turned OFF

When a task bar is edited to not display the critical path segment and that task bar is included in a Virtual Summary Task (VST). The task bar with the maverick critical path segment is still represented in the virtual summary task with the critical path displayed as shown in the two illustrations that follow. Five tasks in the chart before construction in Virtual Summary Task:

The constructed Virtual Summary Task from the five task bars shown above is shown here:

Although the chart before the construction of the Virtual Summary Task shows a gap in the critical path, nevertheless, the actual critical path for the constructed Virtual Summary Task is contiguous. In effect, Virtual Summary Tasks are constructed to ignore any maverick critical path segment that are not displayed in the chart.

For more information on Virtual Summary Tasks, please see the article at: Creating and Managing Virtual Summary Tasks 18.0.1-71

Editing All Task Critical Path Properties

All task bar critical path properties can be edited without changing the settings in the current Template Properties form by using these steps.

Chart Properties Form's Task Bars Tab

Click the Chart Properties button on the Home ribbon tool bar tab in the Settings group. Next, navigate to either the Task Bars tab. Ensure that the Critical-Path Segments checkbox is checked ON as shown below:

Set Critical-Path Properties Form

You can control the critical-path segments property's by clicking the Critical Path Properties button which accesses the Set critical-path properties form shown below:

The default Critical-path field setting is Critical, that is, the field that OnePager uses to access critical path segment information from your Microsoft Project source plan for its computations. As shown below, you can select from other Microsoft Project source plan fields that are either Boolean or Numeric:

In the Set critical-path properties form, you can edit the color of the critical path segment represented in a task bar by clicking the Critical-path color dropdown button which accesses the standard Color Chooser form. Additionally, you can adjust the height of the critical-path segment within the task bar by editing the percentage value in the Critical-path height control of the above form. The Critical-path height is a percentage of the total task bar height. The default setting is 20 percent. Here is an example of task bar with the Critical-path height set to 50%:

Import Rules for Source Plan Critical Path Data

If you did not previously check the Critical-Path Segments checkbox ON in the Task Bar tab of the Chart Properties form before importing your source plan data to OnePager, you are not able to display the critical path segments because OnePager did not compute the critical path segments when importing the source plan. As discussed above, it is recommended that you turn ON the critical-path segment display controls in the Template Properties form before importing the source plan. However, you can subsequently use the controls above in the Chart Properties form to display critical-path segments in follow on snapshots. This is done by checking the Critical-Path Segments checkbox ON in the Task Bars tab of the Chart Properties form. With this control checked ON, all subsequent snapshots display critical path segments depending on the source plan data imported.

Milestone Symbols And Critical Path Segments Representation

OnePager does not support the representation of critical-path segments for milestone symbols. Accordingly, there are no Critical Path Segment Controls on the Milestone tab of the Template Properties form or the Chart Properties form which is shown below in the highlighted Milestone Symbols Decorations control group:

Editing Individual Task/Milestone Critical Path Properties

The default settings for displaying critical path information for individual task bars (milestones do not have critical path segments) can be minimally edited by using these steps. Select the task bar and right-click to access the task bar right-click context menu with the Format… command, or right-click the task bar name label, or click the Format… button on the OnePager Home ribbon tool bar tab after selecting the desired task bar/milestone symbols. Clicking the Format... button accesses the Change Task/Milestone Properties form. Now, click the Critical Segments tab in the Change Task/Milestone Properties form which looks like this:

The Show Critical-Path Segments checkbox allows you to turn the critical path ON and OFF for the selected task bar. Clicking the Use Critical-Segments Defaults button changes the selected task bar’s critical path segment properties to the critical path settings current in the Chart Properties form. Here is an example of a chart with one task bar’s critical path turned OFF:

Individual Editing of Other Task Bar Critical Path Properties

There are no controls in the Critical Segments tab of the Change Task/Milestone Properties form to edit other critical path properties for an individually selected task bars such as critical-path field, color, and critical-path height.

Critical Path Segments and Milestone Symbols

As mentioned earlier, OnePager does not support the representation of critical-path segments for milestone symbols. If you select a milestone symbol with a right-click to access its right-click context menu and subsequently click the Format... command, the version of the Change Task/Milestone Properties form accessed does not have the Critical Segment tab as shown below:

Related Links

Creating and Managing Virtual Summary Tasks 18.0.1-71

(10.7.1-71)