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Project Management & Agile · Advanced

Critical Chain Method (CCM)

Scheduling method that accounts for limited resources and uses buffers to protect the project end date.

Definition

Developed by Eliyahu Goldratt from the Theory of Constraints, it removes safety from individual estimates and aggregates it into a project buffer at the end and feeding buffers where non-critical chains join the critical chain. Buffer consumption is monitored rather than individual task float.

Example

Each estimate is cut to 50% confidence and a project buffer equal to half the saved time is added.

Exam tip

Know project buffer (end of chain) vs. feeding buffer (where non-critical chains merge).

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