A Framework for Time-Cost-Quality Optimization in Project Management Problems Using an Exploratory Grid Concept in the Multi-Objective Simulated-Annealing

Alzira Mota (), Paulo Ávila (), Ricardo Albuquerque (), Lino Costa () and João Bastos ()
Additional contact information
Alzira Mota: ISRC Center, Department of Mathematics, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, Porto, 4249-015, Portugal
Paulo Ávila: INESC TEC & CIDEM Center, Department of Mechanical, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, Porto, 4249-015, Portugal
Ricardo Albuquerque: Department of Mechanical Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, Porto, 4249-015, Portugal
Lino Costa: ALGORITMI Center, Department of Production and Systems, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
João Bastos: INESC TEC, Department of Mechanical Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, Porto, 4249-015, Portugal

International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), 2021, vol. 20, issue 04, 1095-1120

Abstract: Time, cost, and quality are the three indispensable factors for the realization and success of a project. In this context, we propose a framework composed of a multi-objective approach and multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM) to solve time-cost-quality trade-off optimization problems. A multi-objective Simulated Annealing (MOSA) algorithm is used to compute an approximation to the Pareto optimal set. The concept of the exploratory grid is introduced in the MOSA to improve its performance. MCDM are used to assist the decision-making process. The Shannon entropy and AHP methods assign weights to criteria. The first methodology is for the inexperienced decision-makers, and the second concedes a personal and flexible weighting of the criteria weights, based on the project manager’s assessment. The TOPSIS and VIKOR methods are considered to rank the solutions. Although they have the same purpose, the rankings achieved are different. A tool is implemented to solve a time-cost-quality trade-off problem on a project activities network. The computational experiments are analyzed and the results with the exploratory grid in Simulated Annealing (SA) are promising. Despite the framework aims to solve multi-objective trade-off optimization problems, supporting the decisions of the project manager, the methodologies used can also be applied in other areas.

Keywords: Project-management; multi-objective simulated-annealing; Shannon entropy; AHP; VIKOR; TOPSIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219622021500322
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:ijitdm:v:20:y:2021:i:04:n:s0219622021500322

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0219622021500322

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM) is currently edited by Yong Shi

More articles in International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().