Arizona State University (ASU) CON 495 Construction Planning and Scheduling Exam 1 Practice

Which statement correctly differentiates lead and lag in schedule logic?

Lead means a delay between activities; lag means overlap.

Lead and lag both shorten durations.

Lag allows the successor to start before the predecessor finishes.

Lead allows overlapping; lag introduces a delay between activities.

In schedule logic, lead and lag are about how one activity relates in time to the next. A lead lets the successor start before the predecessor finishes, creating overlap between the two activities. A lag adds a delay after the predecessor finishes before the successor can start. For example, if A must precede B, a lead of a couple of days means B can begin while A is still finishing, reducing the idle time between them. A lag of a few days means B waits after A finishes, so there’s a clear gap before B starts. This is exactly what the statement describes: lead allows overlapping, while lag introduces a delay between activities. The other ideas mix up overlap and delay, or claim the timing relationships shorten durations, which isn’t what lead and lag do.