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Maximizing the net present value of a project under uncertainty

Wolfram Wiesemann, Daniel Kuhn and Berç Rustem

European Journal of Operational Research, 2010, vol. 202, issue 2, 356-367

Abstract: We address the maximization of a project's expected net present value when the activity durations and cash flows are described by a discrete set of alternative scenarios with associated occurrence probabilities. In this setting, the choice of scenario-independent activity start times frequently leads to infeasible schedules or severe losses in revenues. We suggest to determine an optimal target processing time policy for the project activities instead. Such a policy prescribes an activity to be started as early as possible in the realized scenario, but never before its (scenario-independent) target processing time. We formulate the resulting model as a global optimization problem and present a branch-and-bound algorithm for its solution. Extensive numerical results illustrate the suitability of the proposed policy class and the runtime behavior of the algorithm.

Keywords: Project; scheduling; Net; present; value; Optimization; under; uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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European Journal of Operational Research is currently edited by Roman Slowinski, Jesus Artalejo, Jean-Charles. Billaut, Robert Dyson and Lorenzo Peccati

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