We use the concept of âfloat" in our lives more often than we may like to admit. When your maintenance light turns on in your car, you know you have a window of time before your car actually needs maintenance. When your rent is due, you know you have three days after the first of the month to pay without being penalized. And you know that when the dryer finishes a load, youâve got a couple of hours before the clothes start to wrinkle. There are concrete deadlines in lifeâand then there are soft deadlines.Â
What is float in project management?
Float in project management refers to the amount of time that a task can be delayed before the hard deadline. Think of it as a buffer that accounts for delaysâit is helpful for avoiding a domino effect of delays that can hinder the project as a whole.Â
Knowing how to properly incorporate float can help ensure all your projects are delivered on time, no matter what issues arise. Float enables you to set realistic deadlines instead of relying on best-case scenarios. By thinking critically about timelines from the beginning, project managers can get a more accurate view of how the project is likely to go.
Types of float
The five kinds of float are:
- Total float: This is how much time a particular task can be delayed without affecting the overall project. This kind of float requires particular attention because if the float time runs over, the project is at risk.Â
- Free float: This is how much time a specific task can be delayed without affecting other tasks. It doesnât ordinarily affect the overall project delivery.
- Project float: Project float means thereâs a soft deadline and a hard deadline for the project delivery. There is a certain amount of time the project as a whole can be delayed before missing a critical deadline.Â
- Interfering float: Interfering float refers to the delay in starting a task rather than a delay in finishing it. For example, if you know a task will take six days to complete, but youâve planned for it to take ten days, you can safely delay starting the task by four days.
- Independent float: This kind of float defines the amount of time you can put off completing a task before it affects the early start of dependent projects. For example, if you want to edit a blog on September 3, the blog needs to be written by September 2.
How to calculate floatÂ
Each of the five types of float above has their own calculations. Here are their formulas:
Total float Â
latest start - earliest start = total float
or
latest finish - earliest finish = total float
Free float Â
early start of dependent task - early finish of current task = free float
Project floatÂ
latest finish of the project -Â earliest finish of the project = project float
Interfering floatÂ
total float - free float = interfering float
Independent floatÂ
early start of dependent task - late finish of prior task - total time of prior task = independent float
Benefits of float
Having a built-in allowance for contingencies is really a no-brainer for anyone who manages projects. But in case it seems scary to have deadline flexibility, here are some benefits to sway you:
- Establish prioritization: Prioritizing tasks is one of the most difficult parts of project management. Float helps by determining which tasks are flexible and which need to be completed quickly to avoid missed deadlines.
- Alleviate stress: Managing a project with no time included for potential delays adds a significant amount of pressure for everything to go perfectly. But as is the case in most things, something is likely to go wrong. Donât set your team up for failureâaccount for project float to alleviate team stress.
- Avoid missing deadlines: Float allows you to account for unexpected issues, so the project as a whole stays on track for success. Maintaining deadlines, even when things go wrong, strengthens your teamâs efficiency.
- Give space for superior performance: If thereâs a choice to submit a âmeets expectationsâ task on Tuesday or to take the time to deliver an âexceeds expectationsâ task on Wednesday with no penalty, your team will choose to deliver the better product. Float ensures your team doesnât have to prioritize deadlines over quality.
- Adjust pacing: Float makes projects and tasks more flexible. Having float means you can prioritize time-sensitive tasks and easily adjust timelines since youâve already accounted for them.
- Allow for the unexpected: There will likely be blockers that arise throughout the project that are out your teamâs control. If your deadlines have no flexibility, your project will inevitably be delayed. Allowing for the unexpected provides enough time to problem solve without endangering deliverables.
How to use float with Lucidspark and Lucidchart templates
Kanban board template
