What is “Critical Path”?
If any task on the critical path is delayed, the entire project is delayed.
Critical Path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks in a project that determines the shortest possible completion time.
Read this wonderful article from Harvard Business Review and this one from Atlassian to learn more.
Using “Critical Path” app in JIRA
Install the app from Atlassian Marketplace by clicking “Try it free”
Pre-define durations of your Jira work items by setting Start and Due dates (e. g. with dragging in the Advanced Roadmap or Timeline)
Link your Jira work items with “blocks” or “blocked by” links
Navigate to the Jira work item representing the final milestone of your project
Click on the Apps button and select the “Critical Path” app (if it’s not there, subscribe first in the Marketplace)
(Optionally adjust settings like where you store Start Dates and what slack tolerance you want)
Push the “Calculate Critical Path” button
Wait for a bit
Review your critical path report
Act on recommended action items to fill in missing data for more accurate critical path analysis
Share with your team with handy copy buttons
Label work items with a custom label by clicking “Add custom label”
Visualize your critical path in your Timeline or Advanced Roadmap view by filtering by the generated label (either try our direct link from the app or do your custom filtering using the label).