A novel activity time planning methodology for resource constrained projects by a new mathematical model and a hybrid metaheuristic: A case study

Öz

Projects are set of processes which aim to serve a unique product or a service in a time-bounded period. In the real life, every project has budget, time, scope and quality constraints. It is required to use all the resources efficiently, comply with the time and budget constraints, and satisfy all the project shareholders, especially the customer in order to complete the project successively. However, it is getting more difficult to reach a successful project due to the aggressive competitive requirements in almost all the sectors. Especially, pressure in terms of accelerating the time to market of the unique product or service which is the output of the project has become the reality in every organization. Thus, the companies need to search for new methodologies in order to make activity time planning of their resource constrained projects effectively. This paper presents a new mathematical model to complete activities of resource constrained projects in accordance with their logical relationships. Optimal solution of this complex model cannot be found in case of a high number of activities. Therefore, a new hybrid metaheuristic approach is proposed to find efficient solutions for the mathematical model. Moreover, the proposed mathematical model and hybrid metaheuristic are applied to plan the activities of projects in an information technology company in Turkey. It is observed that proposed model and solution approach provide efficient solutions with a small number of delayed projects and activities, high success ratio, and reliable plans.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Project management
• activity time planning
• mathematical modeling
• hybrid metaheuristic
• case study

Yeni bir matematiksel model ve hibrit meta sezgisel ile kaynak kısıtlı projelerin çizelgelenmesi: Bir vaka çalışması

Öz

Projeler, başlangıç ve bitiş tarihi belli olacak şekilde belirlenmiş bir zaman diliminde özgün çıktıların sunulmasının hedeflendiği çalışmalardır. Gerçek hayatta her projenin bütçe, zaman, kapsam ve kalite kısıtları vardır. Projelerin başarıyla sonuçlanabilmesi için bu kısıtlar dâhilinde tüm kaynakların etkin kullanımı, zaman ve bütçe kısıtlarına uyulması ve başta müşteri olmak üzere bütün paydaşların memnun edilmesi şarttır. Her alanda gittikçe zorlaşan rekabet koşulları nedeniyle projelerin başarılı bir şekilde tamamlanması her geçen gün zorlaşmaktadır. Özellikle proje çıktısı olan yeni ürün veya servisin pazara çıkış süresini hızlandırmak amacıyla zaman baskısı artık her işletmede rastlanan bir durumdur. Bunun için işletmeler, kaynak kısıtlı projelerin aktivite zamanını doğru planlamak için yeni yöntem arayışına girmek durumundadır. Bu çalışmada, kaynak kısıtlı projelerin aktivitelerinin zaman planına uygun olarak tamamlanabilmesi için aktiviteler arasındaki mantıksal ilişkileri dikkate alacak şekilde yeni bir matematiksel model önerilmiştir. İşletmelerdeki projelerin aktivite sayısının fazla olduğu durumlarda karmaşık yapıya sahip bu modelin en iyi çözümü bulunamamaktadır. Bu nedenle önerilen hibrit metasezgisel sayesinde kaynak kısıtlı projelerin aktivitelerinin zamanında tamamlanması probleminin çözülmesi hedeflenmiştir. Geliştirilen model ve metasezgisel yöntem, Türkiye’de hizmet vermekte olan bir bilgi teknolojileri şirketinin proje aktivite zaman planlaması için uygulanmıştır. Bu yaklaşım ile geciken proje ve aktivite sayısının çok az olduğu, yöntemlerin başarı yüzdesinin yüksek olduğu ve planların gerçekçi olduğu görülmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Proje yönetimi
• aktivite zaman planlama
• matematiksel model
• hibrit metasezgisel
• vaka çalışması

Kaynakça

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