What is lag in scheduling?

• A. Lag is a wait time between activities.
• B. Lag is the early start of a task.
• C. Lag is the acceleration factor of a task.
• D. Lag is the total float of a path.

Answer: (A)

Lag is a wait time between activities. When two tasks are linked, a lag adds a delay after the first finishes before the second can start, modeling real-world constraints like waiting for materials, inspections, or approvals. This is different from starting a task earlier (lead) and different from the total float, which measures how long a path can slip without delaying the project finish. So, lag units the dependency with a pause, keeping the schedule aligned with those delays.