Critical path, recalculated every time a date changes

Placker calculates your project's critical path from task dependencies and marks every zero-float task in red on the Gantt timeline. You see at a glance which tasks cannot slip without delaying your end date.

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Quick facts

Critical Path in Placker

See the exact sequence that sets your finish date, right on the Gantt:

See what controls your finish date. Placker calculates total float from your task dates and dependency links and highlights the zero-float tasks in red on the Gantt, so the sequence that sets your earliest finish is visible without a separate tool.
One toggle, no rebuild. Turn it on from the Gantt Visibility menu with Show critical path — no rebuilding of the plan required.
Always current. The critical path recalculates in real time as you change any date or dependency, so it always reflects the plan in front of you.
Real constraints, not just the shortest route. Adding minimum dependency durations for approval windows, shipping times, or waiting periods folds those lags into the float, so the path reflects what the schedule actually requires.

Critical path visibility

Know exactly which tasks determine your deadline

Enable the critical path toggle and every zero-float task is marked in red directly on the Gantt timeline. You see which tasks have no buffer and which have room to slip. There is no separate analysis to run and no spreadsheet to maintain alongside your plan. Focus supervision and risk management on the tasks that actually control when the project finishes, and let the rest have room to flex.

A Placker Gantt chart with the critical path switched on, marking the zero-float tasks and their dependencies in red into the Launch milestone while the tasks with float stay blue and show their slack as a dashed outline.

Integrated scheduling

Auto-scheduling that stays in sync with your critical path

That set of critical tasks is not fixed: Placker's auto-scheduling and critical path work together, so when a task date shifts or a dependency changes, dependent tasks reschedule and the critical path updates in the same step. Choose loose mode to reschedule only when a dependency is violated, or strict mode to cascade changes across all linked tasks whenever any one of them moves. You see the current state of your schedule and your delivery risk at the same time, without running a separate recalculation.

A Placker Gantt chart after one date changed, where auto-scheduling has moved the dependent tasks and the Launch milestone in the same step - dashed grey outlines mark where they used to sit - and the critical path stays marked in red through the rescheduled chain.

Dependency precision

Dependency depth that reflects how projects actually run

Because both the rescheduling and the critical path follow your dependencies, how precisely you can model them matters. All four dependency types are supported: finish-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-start, and start-to-finish. Set a minimum duration on any dependency to add required buffer between tasks, or allow two tasks to overlap. Both are factored into the critical path calculation. On complex projects where two or more independent task sequences have equal total duration, every critical path is highlighted simultaneously, so no high-risk sequence goes unnoticed.

The Placker dependency settings panel listing all four dependency types with finish-to-start selected and a minimum duration of two days, alongside the Gantt timeline where that setting holds a two-day buffer open between the two dependent tasks.

How It Works

See the critical path on your Gantt timeline in four steps.

1
Open your project in Placker's Gantt view
Switch any project to the Gantt view. Your tasks appear on a timeline with their dates and dependency links.
2
Enable Show critical path from the Visibility menu
In the Gantt toolbar, open Visibility and toggle on Show critical path. Placker calculates each task's float from its dates and dependencies.
3
Critical tasks highlight in red
Zero-float tasks — the ones that control your end date — turn red. Tasks with float keep their default color.
4
Change a date — the path recalculates automatically
Update any task date or dependency and the critical path recomputes instantly, so the red chain always reflects the current plan.

Use cases

Where teams rely on the critical path to protect their deadline.

Protecting a product launch date
A product manager running a multi-team launch can't tell which delays actually threaten the ship date. With critical path on, the tasks that control the end date show in red — so when one slips, they see immediately whether the launch is at risk and can reallocate before it's too late.
Focusing the team on what can't slip
A project lead managing dozens of dependent tasks needs to know where to concentrate effort. Critical path highlights the zero-float tasks, so the team protects the work that controls the deadline and stops over-managing tasks that have slack.
Answering 'will we still hit the date?'
A delivery manager is asked whether the deadline still holds. Because Placker recalculates the critical path live as dates and dependencies change, they can answer with confidence and show exactly which tasks would move the date.

Tips & Best Practices

Practical advice to get the most out of your workflow

Keep dates and dependencies current for the sharpest critical path

Placker recalculates the critical path from your dates and dependencies, so it is only as accurate as they are. Set real start and due dates and link every genuine dependency, and the red critical tasks you see are the ones truly driving your deadline.

Make sure the people on your red tasks aren't overloaded

A slip on a zero-float task moves your end date, so pair the critical path with Reports to check that whoever owns those red tasks has the capacity to deliver them on time.

Shorten the critical path to pull your deadline in

Only changes to critical tasks move your finish date, so to deliver earlier, focus there first: overlap sequential red tasks or split a long one into parallel work, and watch the end date come forward.

Drill into a long red task with child cards

When one critical task is really several steps, break it into child cards with Parent-Child Cards and link them, so the critical path runs through the exact sub-step driving the delay.