An improvement of resource-constrained multi-project scheduling model based on priority-rule based heuristics

Abstract

This paper presents a new way to solve the general resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem (RCMPSP) which changes the condition that multiple projects cannot carry out simultaneously due to the fixed limit to the resource usage. We define a lower bound and an upper bound to limit the resource usage of each activity in multi-project. Then, the priority rule based heuristic is introduced and one of the most suitable priority rule based heuristic is chosen to deal with the resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem. Finally, an example is given to demonstrate the improvement of the resource-constrained multi-project's model. Result of the example shows that the multi-project schedule can be more efficient with the bounds of resource usage and priority rule-Maximum Total Work Content (MAXTWK) based heuristic.