Float consumption

Why finish dates lag reality

Slippage does not hit the completion date until a path runs out of float; until then, the network silently absorbs it. A path that entered the period with forty days of float and exits with twelve has had a bad month that no milestone report will show. Watching only dates means discovering problems at the exact moment they become expensive.

Measuring the burn

The mechanic is simple: for each significant path or work area, compare total float across consecutive updates and flag the largest drops. Rate matters more than level — forty days of float burning at ten a month is four months from critical, and that arithmetic is the early warning. Persistent burn concentrated in one area is a localized problem; broad burn across many paths is a plan losing its buffer everywhere at once, which is a different and worse conversation.

This is also a check on the update itself: float restored without explanation — logic loosened, a lag shortened, a constraint added — is how a bad month gets made to look survivable. Where the float went, and why, belongs in every period review.