| Course | MT246 Project Planning and Project Execution |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Network and critical path |
| Length | About 970 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT246 Unit 4
One Truck, Two Places on the Same Morning: A Unit 4 Network and Critical Path for a Food Truck Launch
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT246: Project Planning and Project Execution
Unit 4 Network and Critical Path
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Harlan Street Barbecue, its vendors, the agencies and every duration are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
Method
The network was built by hand from the twenty-two activities and durations in the estimating exercise. Each activity has a letter, and every link is finish-to-start: the next activity cannot begin until the previous one is complete. That is the simplest relationship and the one most of these activities really have, since an inspector will not inspect an unfinished truck and a cook cannot be trained on equipment that is not installed. Working left to right fixes the soonest each box can begin and end; working back from the last box fixes how long each may wait before it starts to push the finish; the gap between the two is total float. Larson and Gray (2021) describe this method, and doing it by hand for twenty-two activities makes every link visible.
The Activity Table
Each activity is listed with its letter, WBS code, duration in working days and predecessors.
A Plan approved (1.1): 3; none
B Upfitter layout (2.2): 8; A
C Health plan review (3.1): 15; B, L, M
D Kitchen upfit (2.2): 30; C, E
E Van bought and inspected (2.1): 10; A
F Generator and electrical (2.3): 3; D
G Fire suppression install (2.4): 2; D
H Fire marshal inspection (3.3): 2; F, G
J Health inspection (3.2): 1; H
K Wrap install (5.1): 5; J, Q
L Commissary letter (3.4): 3; A
M Draft menu (4.1): 5; A
N Permit issuance (3.2): 3; J
O City vending license (3.5): 9; N, P
P Insurance binder (3.6): 5; E
Q Wrap design (5.1): 8; A
R Menu testing (4.2): 8; M
S Hiring two cooks (6.1): 15; A
T Supplier setup (4.3 and 4.4): 5; R
W Crew training (6.2): 5; K, N, R, S
X First smoke (6.3): 3; W, T
Y Soft launch (6.3): 4; X, O
Plan review needs the layout, the draft menu and the commissary letter, because the health department reviews all three together. Crew training needs a wrapped, permitted truck with tested recipes and hired cooks.
The Critical Path
The forward pass ends on working day 79. The controlling chain runs through eleven activities: A plan approved (days 1 to 3), B upfitter layout (4 to 11), C plan review (12 to 26), D upfit (27 to 56), F generator and electrical (57 to 59), H fire marshal (60 and 61), J health inspection (62), K wrap install (63 to 67), W crew training (68 to 72), X first smoke (73 to 75) and Y soft launch (76 to 79). Every one of these has zero float: a day lost on any of them is a day lost at the end. The PMBOK Guide treats this chain as the one that fixes how soon the project can possibly finish (Project Management Institute, 2021), which is why the restaurant's attention belongs on these eleven boxes.
The Float Table
The other eleven activities have float, ranked from least to most.
O City license: 1 day (days 66 to 74, needed by day 75)
G Fire suppression: 1 day (57 and 58, needed by 59)
N Permit issuance: 2 days (63 to 65, needed by 67)
M Draft menu: 3 days (4 to 8, needed by 11)
L Commissary letter: 5 days (4 to 6, needed by 11)
E Van bought: 13 days (4 to 13, needed by 26)
P Insurance binder: 47 days
S Hiring: 49 days
Q Wrap design: 51 days
R Menu testing: 51 days
T Supplier accounts: 51 days
The activities with one or two days of float are nearly critical and need watching as closely as the chain itself. The city license, in particular, depends on a clerk's office whose turnaround the restaurant does not control; if it takes ten days rather than nine, it joins the critical path.
Float of one day on a city clerk's queue is not float the project owns.
The Truck Link: Three Versions
The first draft of the network had J health inspection and K wrap install both starting after H fire marshal, in parallel. On paper, that saved time: the project ended on day 78. But both activities need the truck. The inspector inspects the truck at the commissary, and the wrap shop needs it for five days in its bay. The truck cannot be in both places on day 62.
Two corrected versions were tested.
Inspect first. J health inspection on day 62, then K wrap install from day 63 to 67. Permit issuance, which needs no truck, runs from day 63 to 65 alongside the wrap. Training starts on day 68. The project ends on day 79, one day later than the impossible draft.
Wrap first. K wrap install from day 62 to 66, then J health inspection on day 67. Permit issuance moves to days 68 to 70, the city license to days 71 to 79, and the soft launch, which needs the license, cannot start until day 80. The project ends on day 83, five days later than the draft.
Inspect first is the better order, because permit issuance and the city license can run while the truck is at the wrap shop, and those office steps are what drive the later dates. The rejected draft stays in the paper because it shows how a network can be correct in arithmetic and impossible in practice. The scheduling practice standard notes that resource conflicts like this are often invisible in a logic-only network (Project Management Institute, 2019).
References
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Project Management Institute. (2019). Practice standard for scheduling (3rd ed.). Project Management Institute.
Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
What the MT246 Unit 4 assignment asks for
The fourth unit asks students to link the project's activities into a network, calculate early and late dates and identify the critical path and float. The prompt usually expects an activity table with letters, durations and predecessors, a node diagram, the critical path stated with its dates, and a float table for the rest. Most undergraduate sections accept hand calculation, which makes every link visible. Check whether two activities need the same truck, room or person at once; a network can be correct arithmetic and still impossible. If you find such a conflict, test each order and keep the comparison in the paper. Expect roughly five pages, and credit the method to the course text and a scheduling standard.
Inside the MT246 Unit 4 example
The method section explains finish-to-start links and the forward and backward passes, citing Larson and Gray. The activity table gives all twenty-two letters with predecessors, followed by a note on why plan review needs the layout, menu and commissary letter. The critical path is listed with day numbers, under a margin note on checking the arithmetic, and tied to the PMBOK Guide's view of the controlling chain. A float table ranks the eleven other activities, and the highlighted line warns that float on a clerk's queue is not owned. The truck link section sets out three versions, the impossible draft ending on day 78, inspect first on 79 and wrap first on 83, with the scheduling standard cited and a final note.
MT246 Unit 4 rubric: what earns full points
Network papers earn marks for correct logic, accurate early and late dates, a clearly stated critical path and a useful float table. Predecessors should reflect real dependencies, explained where they are not obvious. Graders check the forward and backward passes, so showing day numbers for the chain helps. Ranking float, and noting activities that are nearly critical, shows the writer understands where risk sits. Finding and resolving a resource conflict that the logic missed earns strong credit, especially when alternatives are compared by end date. A legible diagram, a table that matches it and accurate citations for the method complete the rubric.
MT246 Unit 4 help from the desk
Many students draw a network where every activity follows the one before it, which hides parallel work and inflates the project's length. Another frequent problem is missing predecessors, such as an inspection that does not wait for the equipment it inspects. Some papers name the critical path without showing the dates that prove it. Others treat float as spare time without noting activities whose float depends on an outside office. Check that every activity except the first has a predecessor. Send your activity list and durations, and a writer can link them, run both passes and test any resource conflict you suspect.
Get an MT246 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Networks are specific to a single project; send the estimates or activity list the section is working from, the Unit 4 prompt and rubric, and whether a hand-drawn diagram or software output is expected. A first network is free, delivered in 24-48h, with both passes shown and every link given a reason. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT246 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT246 Unit 1: Discussion Board Post
- MT246 Unit 2: Work Breakdown Structure
- MT246 Unit 3: Estimating Exercise
- MT246 Unit 5: Project Schedule
- MT246 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- MT246 Unit 7: Cost Baseline
- MT246 Unit 8: Resource Assignment Plan
- MT246 Unit 9: Status Report
- MT246 Unit 10: Change Request Package
- MT245 Unit 4: Project Charter
- MT243 Unit 4: Audience Profile
- MT242 Unit 4: Facility Allocation Plan
- MT241 Unit 4: Player Comparison Report
MT246 Unit 4 questions, answered
What if a resource, not a task, forces the order?
Then the network needs a link it would not otherwise have. The truck in the example is a physical resource: it cannot sit at the wrap shop and the inspection bay at once, so one appointment has to follow the other. Some courses leave this to resource leveling later; adding it now keeps the critical path honest. The sample shows both orders and why one was chosen.
Why keep the rejected version of the network in the paper?
Because it shows the reasoning a grader wants to see. The parallel version finished a day sooner and named a different controlling chain, and only the question of where the truck would physically be exposed it. Keeping it, labeled as rejected, shows the critical path was tested rather than accepted. If your instructions want the final network only, the comparison moves into a short note.
Why are all the links finish-to-start?
Because in this project each step genuinely waits for the one before it: the inspector will not come until the fire marshal signs, and the city will not license a truck without a health permit. Overlap links belong where work can really run together. The example considered a start-to-start link for training and rejected it, since the new cooks cannot train on a truck still at the wrap shop.
Where can I find a free MT246 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page carries the full MT246 Unit 4 network and critical path. It links twenty-two food truck activities, finds an eleven-activity chain ending on working day 79, ranks float and tests two orders for a truck needed in two places.
Why does inspecting first cost only one day in the MT246 Unit 4 sample?
Because permit issuance and the city license, which need no truck, can run while the truck is at the wrap shop. Wrapping first pushes those office steps back and costs five days.