Developing Robust Project Scheduling Methods for Uncertain Parameters

Abstract

A common problem arising in project management is the fact that the baseline schedule is often disrupted during the project execution because of uncertain parameters. As a result, project managers are often unable to meet the deadline time of the milestones. Robust project scheduling is an effective approach in case of uncertainty. Upon adopting this approach, schedules are protected against possible disruptions that may occur during project execution. In order to apply robust scheduling principles to real projects, one should make assumptions close to the actual conditions of the project as much as possible. In this paper, in terms of uncertainty in both activities duration and resources availability, some methods are proposed to construct the robust schedules. In addition, various numerical experiments are applied to different problem types with the aid of simulation. The main purpose of those is to assess the performance of robust scheduling methods under different conditions. Finally, we formulate recommendations regarding the best method of robust scheduling based on the results of these experiments.