Fast Tracking and Crashing - project schedule acceleration techniques
Fast Tracking and Crashing - project schedule acceleration techniques
In project management according to the PMI methodology, Fast Tracking and Crashing are two schedule compression techniques used when a project requires faster delivery – for example, in the case of risk of delays or a change in the end date. Both methods allow for the project duration to be shortened, but they work in different ways and have different consequences.
📘 1. Fast Tracking – parallel acceleration
Definition: Fast Tracking involves executing tasks in parallel that were originally planned to be done sequentially.
🔍 What you need to know?
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Increases the risk of errors, resource conflicts, and quality issues.
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Requires good communication and flexible scope management.
✅ Advantages:
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Enables quick schedule compression without additional financial costs.
⚠️ Disadvantages:
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Raises the risk of errors, requires more supervision.
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May cause chaos within the team.
📌 Example:
In house construction – starting work on the walls before the foundations are fully completed to save time.
📘 2. Crashing – time task decomposition
Definition: Crashing involves adding extra resources (e.g. workers, equipment, budget) to critical path tasks to expedite their completion.
🔍 What you need to know?
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Effective when time is a priority, but resources are available.
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Mainly used on critical tasks that impact the project end date.
✅ Advantages:
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Increases the chance of completing the project on time.
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Impact on the schedule can be accurately estimated.
⚠️ Disadvantages:
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Raises project costs.
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May introduce organizational confusion if resources are too scattered.
📌 Example:
In an IT project, hiring additional programmers to expedite the completion of an application module.
🔄 Technique Comparison
| Technique | What it involves | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Tracking | Parallel task execution | No cost increase, fast | High risk of errors and chaos |
| Crashing | Adding resources to tasks | Controlled impact on schedule | High costs and coordination difficulty |
🧭 When to use?
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Fast Tracking: When the project has a tight deadline but no budget for additional resources.
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Crashing: When time is critical and cost is not a limitation.
Sometimes organizations use both techniques simultaneously – starting with fast tracking, and if that is not enough, adding crashing.
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