Latest Update: 1-15-2026
Understanding how the critical path is defined in Planera helps teams accurately identify schedule risk, assess delays, and interpret progress on active and completed work. This article walks through the logic Planera uses, including how actual starts and finishes influence the critical path.
How Critical Path Is Calculated in Planera
Planera defines the critical path as the longest continuous path of activities that determines the project’s forecast finish date, based on current logic, durations, and status.
Key principles of Planera’s critical path logic include:
The critical path is recalculated every time the schedule is run
It reflects the current state of the project, not just the original plan
Activities on the critical path have the least amount of total float
Both planned and actualized activities can be part of the critical path
How Actualized Activities Are Included on the Critical Path
Planera includes actualized activities on the critical path to preserve continuity and accurately reflect how completed work impacts the remaining schedule.
What This Means in Practice
Activities with Actual Start (AS) and/or Actual Finish (AF) are still evaluated as part of the critical path
Completed activities remain critical if they:
Were on the longest path driving the project finish, and
Connect critical remaining activities downstream
This ensures the critical path represents the true historical and forward-looking driver of the schedule
Including actualized activities allows teams to:
Trace delays back to their root causes
Understand how completed work influenced the current forecast
Maintain a continuous critical path from project start to finish
How the Schedule Run Impacts the Critical Path
The critical path in Planera is always based on the latest schedule run.
During a schedule run:
Planera evaluates all logic relationships
Actual dates override planned dates where applicable
Remaining durations are recalculated
Total float is recalculated for all activities
Activities with the least amount of total float are identified as critical
Viewing the Critical Path in Planera
You can visualize the critical path directly in Planera by turning on the critical path.
Run the schedule to ensure the critical path is up to date
Enable critical path highlighting and view 2 ways:
In the Gantt
On the Canvas
How Constraints Affect the Critical Path
Constraints can change how the critical path is calculated and displayed in Planera.
Key impacts to be aware of:
Hard constraints (such as must Finish On or Start On or After) can:
Force activities onto or off of the critical path
Create artificial critical paths that do not follow logical relationships
Constrained activities may show:
Zero float even if they are not part of the true longest logical path
Critical styling driven by the constraint date rather than downstream logic
Constraints can mask underlying logic issues, making it harder to identify the true driver of project delays
Best practice in Planera is to:
Use constraints sparingly
Rely primarily on logic relationships and durations
Review critical path results carefully when constraints are present
For more information on schedule calculations, see:
Running the Schedule
Understanding Total Float in Planera
Types of Constraints in Planera
Key Takeaways
Planera’s critical path reflects the longest path to the forecast finish
Actualized activities remain on the critical path when they influence downstream work
This approach provides a continuous, realistic view of schedule drivers
Always run the schedule before reviewing critical path results