1. Resource Allocation & Leveling
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Resource Allocation & Leveling
Resource Leveling: Reschedule the noncritical tasks to smooth resource requirements
Resource Allocation: Minimize project duration to meet resource availability constraints 3

2. Resource Allocation & Leveling
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Resource Allocation & Leveling
Three types of resources:
1) Renewable resources: “renew” themselves at the beginning of each time period (e.g., workers)
2) Non-Renewable resources: can be used at any rate but constraint on total number available
3) Doubly constrained resources: both renewable and non-renewable 3

3. 11/29/100
Resource Leveling 3

4. Resource Leveling: Early Start Schedule
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Resource Leveling: Early Start Schedule 3

5. Resource Leveling: Late Start Schedule
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Resource Leveling: Late Start Schedule 3

6. Resource Leveling: Microsoft Project
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Resource Leveling: Microsoft Project 3

7. Renewable Resource Allocation Example (Single Resource Type)
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Renewable Resource Allocation Example (Single Resource Type) Ta sk B 3 w k s D 5 ks A 4 E
START
END C 1
3 workers
5 workers
6 workers
8 workers
7 workers
Maximum number of workers available = R = 9 workers 3

8. Resource Allocation Example: Early Start Schedule
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Resource Allocation Example: Early Start Schedule
Maximum number of workers available = R = 9 workers 3

9. Resource Allocation Example: Late Start Schedule
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Resource Allocation Example: Late Start Schedule
Maximum number of workers available = R = 9 workers 3

10. Resource Allocation Heuristics
Some heuristics for assigning priorities to available tasks j, where denotes the number of units of resource k used by task j
1) FCFS: Choose first available task
2) GRU: (Greatest) resource utilization =
3) GRD: (Greatest) resource utilization x task duration =
4) ROT: (Greatest) resource utilization/task duration =
5) MTS: (Greatest) number of total successors
6) SPT: Shortest processing time = min {tj}
7) MINSLK: Minimum (total) slack
8) LFS: Minimum (total) slack per successor
9) ACTIMj: (Greatest) time from start of task j to end of project = CP - LSj
10) ACTRESj: (max) (ACTIMj)
11) GENRESj: w ACTIMj + (1-w) ACTRESj where 0 ≤ w ≤ 1

11. Resource Allocation Problem #2
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Resource Allocation Problem #2 3

12. How to schedule tasks to minimize project makespan?
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How to schedule tasks to minimize project makespan?
Priority scheme: schedule tasks using total slack (i.e., tasks with smaller total slack have higher priority) 3

13. Resource Allocation Example (cont’d)
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Resource Allocation Example (cont’d)
But, can we do better? Is there a better priority scheme? 3

14. Microsoft Project Solution (Resource Leveling Option)
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Microsoft Project Solution (Resource Leveling Option)
Solution by: Microsoft Project 2000 3

15. Critical Chain Project Management
• Identify the critical chain: set of tasks that determine the overall duration of the project
• Use deterministic CPM model with buffers to deal with uncertainty
• Remove padding from activity estimates (otherwise, slack will be wasted). Estimate task durations at median.
• Place project buffer after last task to protect customer’s completion schedule
• Exploit constraining resource(s)
• Avoid wasting slack times by encouraging early task completions
• Have project team focus 100% effort on critical tasks
• Work to your plan and avoid tampering
• Carefully monitor and communicate buffer status

16. Critical Chain Buffers
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Critical Chain Buffers
Project Buffer: placed after last task in project to protect schedule
Feeding Buffers: placed between a noncritical task and a critical task when the noncritical task is an immediate predecessor of the critical task
Resource Buffers: placed just before a critical task that uses a new resource type 3

17. Critical Chain Illustrated
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Critical Chain Illustrated
Resource Buffers
Feeding Buffers 3

18. Non-Renewable Resources
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Non-Renewable Resources 3

19. Non-Renewable Resources: Graphical Solution
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Non-Renewable Resources: Graphical Solution 3

20. Resource Allocation Problem #3
Issue: When is it better to “team” two or more workers versus letting them work separately?
• Have 2 workers, Bob and Barb, and 4 tasks: A, B, C, D
• Bob and Barb can work as a team, or they can work separately
• When should workers be assigned to tasks? Which configuration do you prefer?

21. How to Assign Project Teams?B D
Start
End
Configuration #1
Bob and Barb work jointly on all four tasks; assume that they can complete each task in one-half the time needed if either did the tasks individually
Configuration #2
Bob and Barb work independently. Bob is assigned to tasks A and C; Barb is assigned to tasks B and D

22. Bob and Barb: Configuration #1
Bob and Barb work jointly on all four tasks.
What is the expected project makespan?

23. Bob and Barb: Configuration #2
Bob and Barb work independently. Bob is assigned to tasks A and C; Barb is assigned to tasks B and D

24. Bob and Barb: Configuration #2
Bob and Barb work independently. Bob is assigned to tasks A and C; Barb is assigned to tasks B and D
Expected Project Makespan:

25. Parallel Tasks with Random Durations
START
END
Task B
Task A
• Assume that both Tasks A and B have possible durations:
8 days with probability = 0.5
10 days with probability = 0.5
• What is expected duration of project? (Is it 9 days?)

26. Project Monitoring and Control
“It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of acts, which are incidental and which are vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated.”
Sherlock Holmes

27. Status Reporting?
One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!"
New business manager, Hallmark Greeting Cards

28. Control System Issues What are appropriate performance metrics?
What data should be used to estimate the value of each performance metric?
How should data be collected? From which sources? At what frequency?
How should data be analyzed to detect current and future deviations?
How should results of the analysis be reported? To whom? How often?

29. Controlling Project Risks
Key issues to control risk during projecct:
(1) what is optimal review frequency, and
(2) what are appropriate review acceptance levels at each stage?
“Both over-managed and under-managed development processes result in lengthy design lead time and high development costs.”
Ahmadi & Wang. “Managing Development Risk in Product Design Processes”, 1999

30. Project Control & System Variation
Common cause variation: “in-control” or normal variation
Special cause variation: variation caused by forces that are outside of the system
According to Deming:
• Treating common cause variation as if it were special cause variation
is called “tampering”
• Tampering always degrades the performance of a system

31. Control System Example #1
Project plan: We estimate that a task will take 4 weeks and require
1600 worker-hours
At the end of Week 1, 420 worker-hours have been used
Is the task “out of control”?

32. Control System Example (cont’d)
Week 2: Task expenses = 460 worker-hours
Is the task “out of control”?

33. Control System Example (cont’d)
Week 3: Task expenses = 500 worker-hrs
Is the task “out of control”?

34. Earned Value Analysis • Integrates cost, schedule, and work performed
• Based on three metrics that are used as the basic building blocks:
BCWS: Budgeted cost of work scheduled
ACWP: Actual cost of work performed
BCWP: Budgeted cost of work performed

35. Schedule Variance (SV)
Schedule Variance (SV) = difference between value of work completed and value of scheduled work
Schedule Variance (SV) = Earned Value - Planned Value
= BCWP - BCWS

36. Cost Variance (CV)
Cost Variance (CV) = difference between value of work completed and actual expenditures
Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value - Actual Cost
= BCWP - ACWP

37. Earned Values Metrics Illustrated
Planned Value (BCWS)
Present time
BAC
Worker-Hours
Actual Cost (ACWP)
Cost Variance (CV)
Earned Value (BCWP)
Schedule Variance (SV)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

38. Relative Measure: Schedule Index
If SI = 1, then task is on schedule
If SI > 1, then task is ahead of schedule
If SI < 1, then task is behind schedule

39. Relative Measure: Cost Index
If CI = 1, then work completed equals payments (actual expenditures)
If CI > 1, then work completed is ahead of payments
If CI < 1, then work completed is behind payments (cost overrun)

40. Example #2

41. Cumulative Percent of Work Completed: Worker-Hours Charged to Project:
Example #2 (cont’d)
Progress report at the end of week #5:
Cumulative Percent of Work Completed:
Worker-Hours Charged to Project:

42. Progress report at the end of week #5:
Example #2 (cont’d)
Progress report at the end of week #5:

43. Example #2 (cont’d)

44. Cumulative Percent of Work Completed:
Using a Fixed 20/80 Rule
Cumulative Percent of Work Completed:

45. Using a Fixed 20/80 Rule

46. Updating Forecasts: Pessimistic Viewpoint
Assumes that rate of cost overrun will continue for life of project….
= (64/52.2) 128 = 1.23 x 128 = worker-hrs

47. Updating Forecasts: Optimistic Viewpoint
Assumes that cost overrun experienced to date will cease and no further cost overruns will be experienced for remainder of project life…

48. Multi-tasking with Multiple Projects
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Multi-tasking with Multiple Projects
How to prioritize your work when you have multiple
projects and goals?
Consider two projects with and without multi-tasking
Project A
Project B
A-1
B-1
A-2
B-2
A-3
B-3
A-4
B-4 5

49. Due-Date Assignment with Dynamic Multiple Projects
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Due-Date Assignment with Dynamic Multiple Projects
• Projects arrive dynamically (common situation for both manufacturing and service organizations)
• How to set completion (promise) date for new projects?
• Firms may have complete control over due-dates or only partial control (i.e., some due dates are set by external sources)
• How to allocate resources among competing projects and tasks (so that due dates can be realized)?
• What are appropriate metrics for evaluating various rules? 5

50. What Does the Research Tell Us?
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What Does the Research Tell Us?
• Study by Dumond and Mabert* investigated four due date assignment rules and five scheduling heuristics
• Simulated 250 projects that randomly arrive over 2000 days
• average interarrival time = 8 days
• tasks per project (average = 24); resource types
• average critical path = 31.4 days (range from 8 to 78 days)
• Performance criteria: 1) mean completion time
2) mean project lateness
3) standard deviation of lateness
4) total tardiness of all projects
• Partial and complete control on setting due dates
* Dumond, J. and V. Mabert. “Evaluating Project Scheduling and Due Date Assignment Procedures: An Experimental Analysis” Management Science, Vol 34, No 1 (1988), pp 5

51. 11/29/100
Experimental Results
• No one scheduling heuristic performs best across all due date setting combinations
• Mean completion times for all scheduling and due date rules not significantly different
• FCFS scheduling rules increase total tardiness
• SPT-related rules do not work well in PM (SASP)
• Best to use more detailed information to establish due dates 5

52. Project Management Maturity Models
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Project Management Maturity Models
• Methodologies to assess your organization’s current level of PM capabilities
• Based on extensive empirical research that defines “best practice” database as well as plan for improving PM process
• Process of improvement describes the PM process from “ineffective” to “optimized”
• Also known as “Capability Maturity Models” 5

53. PM Maturity Model Example*
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PM Maturity Model Example*
Ad-Hoc The project management process is described as disorganized, and occasionally even chaotic. Systems and processes are not defined. Project success depends on individual effort. Chronic cost and schedule problems.
Abbreviated: Some project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and performance. Underlying disciplines, however, are not well understood or consistently followed. Project success is largely unpredictable and cost and schedule problems are the norm.
Organized: Project management processes and systems are documented, standardized, and integrated into an end-to-end process for the company. Project success is more predictable. Cost and schedule performance is improved.
4) Managed: Detailed measures of the effectiveness of project management are collected and used by management. The process is understood and controlled. Project success is more uniform. Cost and schedule performance conforms to plan.
5) Adaptive: Continuous improvement of the project management process is enabled by feedback from the process and from piloting innovative ideas and technologies. Project success is the norm. Cost and schedule performance is continuously improving.
* source: The Project Management Institute PM Network (July, 1997), Micro Frame Technologies, Inc. and Project Management Technologies, Inc. ( 5