calendar

a method of identifying project work days that can be altered so that weekends, holidays, vacation, weather days, and so forth are not included.

cost performance index (CPI)

the ratio of budgeted costs to actual costs (BCWP/ACWP). The CPI is often used to predict the magnitude of a possible cost overrun using the following formula: original cost estimate/CPI = projected cost at completion. See also earned value.

cost variance (CV)

(1) any difference between the estimated cost of an activity and the actual cost of an activity.

(2) in earned value, BCWP less ACWP.

critical activity

any activity on the critical path.

critical path

the series of activities of a project that determines the earliest completion of the project. The critical path generally changes from time to time as activities are completed ahead of or behind schedule. The critical path is usually defined as those activities with total float less than or equal to zero. See also critical path method.

critical path method (CPM)

a network analysis technique used to predict project duration by analyzing which sequence of activities (which path) has the least amount of scheduling flexibility (the least amount of total float). Early dates are calculated by means of a forward pass using a specified start date. Late dates are calculated by means of a backward pass starting from a specified completion date (usually the calculated project early finish date of the forward pass).

cycle

see loop.