The use of buffers in project management: The trade-off between stability and makespan

Abstract

During execution projects may be subject to considerable uncertainty, which may lead to numerous schedule disruptions. Recent research efforts have focused on the generation of robust project baseline schedules that are protected against possible disruptions that may occur during schedule execution. The fundamental research issue we address in this paper is the potential trade-off between the quality robustness (measured in terms of project duration) and solution robustness (stability, measured in terms of the deviation between the planned and realized start times of the projected schedule). We provide an extensive analysis of the results of a simulation experiment set up to investigate whether it is beneficial to concentrate safety time in project and feeding buffers, or whether it is preferable to insert time buffers that are scattered throughout the baseline project schedule in order to maximize schedule stability.