Earliest finish time (EF) is the earliest point at which an activity can be completed. Calculate it by adding expected activity duration to earliest start time: EF = ES + duration. section 13.3 section 13.3.1
Use earliest finish times during a forward pass through a dependency network:
- Start an activity when its prerequisites finish; when multiple predecessors exist, use the latest predecessor earliest finish time as the activity’s earliest start. section 13.3.1
- Add the activity’s expected duration to its earliest start time to obtain its earliest finish time. section 13.3.1
- Use the resulting finish times to determine the project timeline and support critical-path identification. section 13.3
Automated reporting tool project
Activity A starts at week 0 and lasts 3 weeks, so its earliest finish is week 3. Activity B then starts at week 3, lasts 2 weeks, and finishes at week 5. Extending the forward pass across the network produces a 29-week project timeline. section 13.3.1
Figure 13.2 A visual representation of the automated reporting tool project plan, where each activity is represented by its unique identifier. Lines and arrows between activities represent dependencies. The sequence of digits immediately beneath each activity represents, in order, the activity’s earliest start time, expected duration, and earliest finish time. The earliest times are derived by using a forward pass through the network. Based on this analysis, the project timeline is 29 weeks, which is the length of the longest path in the network.
Trace each activity’s earliest start, duration, and earliest finish across the dependency network. section 13.3.1
