Stochastic Project Networks: Temporal Analysis, Scheduling and Cost Minimization (Lecture Notes in Economics & Mathematical Systems) - Softcover
Synopsis
This book presents the state of the art of temporal analysis and cost minimization of projects, as well as project planning under limited resources where the projects are modelled by GERT networks. These projects are characterized by a stochastic evolution structure and possible feedback. The temporal analysis exploits the fact that Markov renewal processes can be associated with so-called EOR networks (special GERT networks all of whose nodes have exclusive-or entrance). For single-machine min-sum and min-max scheduling problems with EOR precedence constraints, two polynomial algorithms are presented. General min-sum problems are solved by dynamic programming. The cost minimization of projects modeled by EOR networks leads to Markov renewal decision processes and can be reduced to a stochastic dynamic programming problem. Basic concepts from the theory of graphs and networks, Markov renewal processes, deterministic scheduling, and dynamic programming are summarized. This makes the book self-contained.
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Review
From the reviews of the second edition:
"The book deals with so-called temporal project scheduling with schedule-dependent time windows. ... Overall, the book has produced a fairly comprehensive and well-organized treatment of these topics. ... the authors have done a terrific job of binding them–including many of their own contributions–together in a coherent way. ... Their well- grounded choices make the technical details easier to follow. ... As such, the book represents a noteworthy addition to project-scheduling reference list for both academicians and practitioners alike." (J Xue, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 56, 2005)
"The book presents a state of the art in the sub-field of scheduling theory, i.e. the project scheduling under scarce resources written by well known experts in the field. Although several books have been recently published in that area, one can observe a number of features which distinguish this book from the others. ... The book is thoroughly written and the mathematics used is adequate to the needs. It contains also many algorithms described in pseudo-code. Several examples complement nicely their presentation." (Jacek Blazewicz, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1059 (10), 2005)
"The book presents the state of the art of deterministic resource-constrained project scheduling with time windows. ... A thorough structural analysis of the feasible region of project scheduling problems and a classification and detailed investigation of objective functions are performed, which can be exploited for developing efficient exact and heuristic solution methods. New interesting applications of project scheduling to production and operations management as well as investment projects are discussed." (GfPMagazin – online, April, 2005)
"At last a professional book dealing with the exact formulation of project scheduling. When I obtained it I first couldn’t believe that there is really a book with definitions, propositions, proofs, lemmas and theorems about how to schedule activities with the metra potential method. Fortunately, there are also a lot of examples and concrete algorithms that describe simple scheduling tasks as well as schedule-improvement procedures. ... The book is truly scientific, you find e.g. a comprehensive list of references of more than 200 scientific publications." (Dr. Georg Angermeier, www.projektmagazin.de, August, 2004)
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