The Evolution of Software Quality in Project Scheduling

Abstract

Since the end of the 50’s when CPM -Critical Path Method- and PERT -Program Evaluation and Review Technique- were developed, the evolution of the use in practice of these and other methods of project scheduling has been closely linked to the evolution of the software and hardware which has made it possible from the start. We can divide its four decades of history into three principle periods. The first until the 70’s, during which large machines, mainframes, were necessary. Therefore, project scheduling in that period was quite costly, reserving it in practice for large projects and big companies. The PC’s are the protagonists of the second period, taking place in approximately the decade of the 80’s. In 1981 the IBM PC came out and in 1983 Harvard Project Manager software appeared. Later, tens of packages for the PC flooded the market, making it possible for any company to have access to software at a low cost and with few hardware requirements (Maroto and Tormos, 1994; Burke, 1997). Finally, the third period corresponds to the decade of the 90’s, in which software and hardware have made high quality and low price compatible. The improved quality of some programs has been achieved in successive versions by correcting flaws and deficiencies detected in previous ones, parallel to the improvements in the capabilities of the hardware and software in general. The programs are becoming more and more interactive and user-friendly, offering greater ease in connecting with other tools and more and better capabilities in resource-constrained project scheduling.