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On the summary measures for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Author

Listed:
  • Rob Eynde

    (Ghent University
    Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Barcelona)

  • Mario Vanhoucke

    (Ghent University
    Vlerick Business School
    University College London)

  • José Coelho

    (Ghent University
    Universidade Aberta
    INESC TEC, Campus da FEUP)

Abstract

The resource-constrained project scheduling problem is a widely studied problem in the literature. The goal is to construct a schedule for a set of activities, such that precedence and resource constraints are respected and that an objective function is optimized. In project scheduling literature, summary measures are often used as a tool to evaluate the performance of algorithms and to analyze instances and datasets. They can be classified in two groups, network measures describe the precedence constraints of a project, while resource measures focus on the resource constraints of the instance. In this manuscript we make an exhaustive evaluation of the summary measures for project scheduling. We provide an overview of the most prevalent measures and also introduce some new ones. For our tests we combine different datasets from the literature and generate a new set with diverse characteristics. We evaluate the performance of the summary measures on three dimensions: consistency, instance complexity and algorithm selection. We conclude by providing an overview of which measures are best suited for each of the three investigated dimensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Rob Eynde & Mario Vanhoucke & José Coelho, 2024. "On the summary measures for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 337(2), pages 593-625, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:annopr:v:337:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10479-023-05470-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10479-023-05470-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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