What is the difference between lead and lag in scheduling, with examples?

What is the difference between lead and lag in scheduling, with examples?

• A. Lead is about cost; lag is about resources.
• B. Lead allows overlap (e.g., starting a dependent task before the previous one finishes); lag introduces delay (e.g., waiting days after one task ends before the next starts).
• C. Lead and lag are synonyms.
• D. Lead means delaying everything; lag means starting everything early.

Answer: (B)

In scheduling, timing relationships between tasks are adjusted with lead or lag to control when a successor starts relative to its predecessor. Lead is when you start the next task before the previous one finishes, allowing overlap. For example, you might begin integration testing while coding is still finishing, so testing starts before the coding completes. Lag is a deliberate delay after a task ends before the next one can start, such as waiting several days after finishing a task for quality checks or material curing before starting the next activity. These concepts are about timing, not cost or resources, and they describe overlap versus a waiting period. So the correct idea is that lead enables overlap, while lag introduces a delay.

In scheduling, timing relationships between tasks are adjusted with lead or lag to control when a successor starts relative to its predecessor. Lead is when you start the next task before the previous one finishes, allowing overlap. For example, you might begin integration testing while coding is still finishing, so testing starts before the coding completes. Lag is a deliberate delay after a task ends before the next one can start, such as waiting several days after finishing a task for quality checks or material curing before starting the next activity. These concepts are about timing, not cost or resources, and they describe overlap versus a waiting period. So the correct idea is that lead enables overlap, while lag introduces a delay.