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Time Is Money

In: Data-Driven Project Management with Python

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  • Mario Vanhoucke

    (University of Ghent, Faculty of Economics and Business)

Abstract

This chapter explores the time/cost trade-off problem in project management from both a theoretical and practical perspective. In Section 2.1, it introduces the fundamentals of time/cost trade-offs using three illustrative project examples, highlighting how project duration and cost are interrelated. Section 2.2 presents a detailed experiment using a Python implementation of an integer programming model, employing a rolling horizon approach to generate the complete time/cost trade-off profile. Section 2.3 illustrates the educational value of the problem through the Project Scheduling Game, demonstrating that perception strongly influences decision-making and emphasizing the importance of data-driven analyses and formal models. Finally, Sect. 2.4 discusses the intrinsic computational difficulty of the time/cost trade-off problem, showing that even powerful optimization models struggle with large instances and that artificial intelligence, despite its capabilities, is unlikely to fully resolve these NP-hard challenges. Together, these sections provide a comprehensive view of the time/cost trade-off problem, bridging theory, computation, and human behavior in project scheduling.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Vanhoucke, 2026. "Time Is Money," Management for Professionals, in: Data-Driven Project Management with Python, chapter 2, pages 13-27, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:mgmchp:978-3-032-24556-4_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24556-4_2
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