DCMA

 DCMA 14 check-points guarantee many benefits for the project schedule. Some of 

those are the following:

- Provide the possibility for a constant in-depth analysis of the schedule; 

- Help to identify weak points in the schedule;

- Assist in designating potential problems around the project activities and in 

creating appropriate corrective plans;

- Assure that the project is managed and executed with success and on time.

The metrics that need to be followed and examined are the following:

ü Logic

ü Leads

ü Lags

ü Relationship Types

ü Hard Constraints

ü High Float

ü Negative Float

ü High Duration

ü Invalid Dates

ü Resources

ü Missed Tasks

ü Critical Path Test

ü Critical Path Length Index (CPLI)

ü Baseline Execution Index (BEI)

Logic

The metric ‘Logic’ provides the possibility for measurement of the ‘%’ of incomplete 

tasks with no predecessors and/or successors, also called ‘dangling’ activities

Lead s

‘Leads’ is the control criteria that helps measure the ‘%’ of tasks that have a 

negative lag between each other

Lags

The metric ‘Lags’ is the opposite of ‘Leads’. Specifically, it allows an evaluation of 

the ‘%’ of project activities that have a positive lag between each other

Relationship Types

It is recommended that the 90% of the project schedule activities are of a finish-to- 

start type (FS). The finish-to-start type of relationship stands for ‘Activity A must be 

completed before activity B can begin’. This type of relationship between particular 

tasks is the foundation of the Waterfall method used in project management.

Finish-to-start relationship provides the most explicit presentation of the project 

schedule activities. The other types of relationships, which can be identified in a 

schedule, are finish-to-finish (FF), start-to-start (SS), and start-to-finish (SF). 

However, it is not recommendable for these to be used since they are harder to 

monitor and control.

Hard Constraints

Under ‘Constraints’ in a project schedule are identified Hard Constraints 

(Mandatory Start and Mandatory Finish) and Soft Constraints (As Late As Possible, 

Start On, Start On or Before, Start On or After, Finish On, Finish On or Before and 

Finish On or After).

High Float

This metric measures the ‘%’ of unfinished tasks with total float greater than 44 

working days. DCMA requires that the High Float activity doesn’t exceed 44 working 

days, i.e. the percentage of total incomplete tasks doesn’t exceed 5%.

Negative Float

This metric is interconnected with Hard Constraints since it can indicate that Hard 

Constraints have been assigned to the schedule. When this happens, it is very much 

feasible that the project's or milestones' completion is delayed.

High Duration

This metric provides the possibility to monitor and control the duration of tasks and 

it requires that no task should last longer than 44 working days. If it is detected that 

the percentage of incomplete tasks with duration beyond 44 days is above 5% it is 

preferable to examine if it is achievable to decompose them in distinct tasks.

Invalid Dates

The metric for Invalid Dates analyses both forecast and actual dates of project 

activities. An activity is considered to have invalid dates if it has forecast start/finish 

dates in the past or actual start/finish dates in the future. More specifically, this 

metric refers to tasks with actual start/finish date after project status date and with 

start/finish date before project status date without an actual start/finish.

Resources

The metric for ‘Resources’ is the most open-ended on the list. DCMA recommends 

that all project schedules are resource-loaded, but additionally, it allows some 

schedules to not include resources at all.

Missed Tasks

The metric for ‘Missed Tasks’ can cause or prevent the project to fall far behind. It 

assists in measuring the schedule performance in parallel to the baseline plan. 

Particularly, the number of missing tasks can indicate how well or badly the project 

schedule meets the baseline schedule.

Critical Path Test

This test focusses on assessing the integrity of the schedule’s network logic. Firstly 

it is identified as a critical activity and its remaining duration. The next step is 

intentionally extending the duration of this activity for 600 days. The last step is 

recalculating the schedule dates and identifying if the date for completion of the 

project is extended for the same number of days applied to the critical activity.

Critical Path Length Index (CPLI)

The Critical Path Length Index (CPLI) presents the measure of the efficiency 

necessary for completing a milestone on assigned time. CPLI evaluates the integrity 

of the overall network logic and measures the ‘realism’ of completing a project 

successfully.

Baseline Execution Index (BEI)

The Baseline Execution Index (BEI) test is a metric for evaluating schedule 

performance in parallel with the baseline plan but it focuses on the project’s team 

productivity in the process of executing activities.