A Multiagent Evolutionary Algorithm for the Resource-Constrained Project Portfolio Selection and Scheduling Problem

A multiagent evolutionary algorithm is proposed to solve the resource-constrained project portfolio selection and scheduling problem. The proposed algorithm has a dual level structure. In the upper level a set of agents make decisions to select appropriate project portfolios. Each agent selects its project portfolio independently. The neighborhood competition operator and self-learning operator are designed to improve the agent’s energy, that is, the portfolio profit. In the lower level the selected projects are scheduled simultaneously and completion times are computed to estimate the expected portfolio profit. A priority rule-based heuristic is used by each agent to solve the multiproject scheduling problem. A set of instances were generated systematically from the widely used Patterson set. Computational experiments confirmed that the proposed evolutionary algorithm is effective for the resource-constrained project portfolio selection and scheduling problem

Project portfolio selection problems: a review of models, uncertainty approaches, solution techniques, and case studies

Project portfolio selection has been the focus of many scholars in the last two decades. The number of studies on the strategic process has significantly increased over the past decade. Despite this increasing trend, previous studies have not been yet critically evaluated. This paper, therefore, aims to presents a comprehensive review of project portfolio selection and optimization studies focusing on the evaluation criteria, selection approach, solution approach, uncertainty modeling, and applications. This study reviews more than 140 papers on project portfolio selection research topic to identify the gaps and to present future trends. The findings show that not only the financial criteria but also social and environmental aspects of project portfolios have been focused by researchers in project portfolio selection in recent years. In addition, meta-heuristics and heuristics approach to finding the solution of mathematical models have been the critical research by scholars. Expert systems, artificial intelligence, and big data science have not been considered in project portfolio selection in the previous studies. In future, researchers can investigate the role of sustainability, resiliency, foreign investment, and exchange rates in project portfolio selection studies, and they can focus on artificial intelligence environments using big data and fuzzy stochastic optimization techniques

Proposição de um Modelo Matemático Baseado em Programação Linear para Priorização e Seleção de Portfólio de Projetos.

A escassez de recursos somada à alta competitividade entre as empresas faz com que companhias busquem alocar seus recursos em projetos que tragam os melhores resultados conforme seus objetivos estratégicos. É neste contexto que surge a gestão de portfólio de projetos, onde fazer o projeto certo é tão importante quanto conduzir e executar corretamente cada projeto. Nem sempre projetos resultam em ganhos financeiros, porém todos consomem recursos e buscam resultados. Atualmente, há uma grande variedade de modelos para gestão de portfólio de projetos disseminados dentro das organizações. Os modelos qualitativos geralmente proporcionam elevados níveis de imprecisão, já os quantitativos podem apresentar formulações matemáticas complexas. Entre essas concepções tem-se uma lacuna na literatura para a proposição de modelos que unifiquem a precisão dos quantitativos com a alta aplicabilidade dos qualitativos. Sendo assim, esta dissertação tem como objetivo apresentar um novo modelo para priorização e seleção de portfólio de projetos, baseando-se em Programação Linear e na atribuição de pesos aos projetos por parte dos gestores, considerando-se assim julgamentos e pontos de vista. Para tanto, optou-se pela modelagem como metodologia de pesquisa. O modelo foi aplicado a um órgão de uma instituição pública, a fim de verificar e validar os resultados, atestando-se assim a eficiência do modelo. Com base nos resultados, constatou-se que o modelo proposto possui benefícios de ambas abordagens típicas, qualitativa e quantitativa, e é capaz de prover os tomadores de decisão com respostas satisfatórias

Contributions to IT project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education

Diese kumulative Dissertation beschreibt und diskutiert 12 wissenschaftliche Artikel, die einen Beitrag zur Forschung in den Themenbereichen Informationstechnik (IT) Projektportfoliomanagement und individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten an Universitäten umfasst. Dafür wurden Modelle und Rahmenwerke entwickelt, die wesentliche IT Projektportfoliomanagement Phasen und Aktivitäten beschreiben, eine objektive IT Projektevaluation ermöglichen und Reifegrade von IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozessen bestimmen. Außerdem wurde ein Optimierungsmodell zur Auswahl und Planung des IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozesses aufgestellt und in einem Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem-Prototypen integriert. Bestehende IT Projektportfoliomanagement Tools, sowie Anforderungen und unternehmerische Vorteile für IT Projektmanager wurden jeweils in Taxonomien klassifiziert, Muster erkannt und Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede aufgezeigt. Zusätzlich wurden kritische Erfolgsfaktoren, Herausforderungen und Anforderungen für individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten identifiziert, analysiert und diskutiert. In mehreren Iterationen wurde basierend darauf ein Prototyp entwickelt, evaluiert, modifiziert und allgemeine Leitlinien für das Design, die Entwicklung und den Betrieb eines individuellen, digitalen Studienassistenten abgeleitet. Die Forschungsarbeiten ermöglichen IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozesse effizienter und werteorientiert zu gestalten und subjektive Einflüsse zu minimieren sowie Hochschulen bei dem Design, der Entwicklung und dem Betrieb von individuellen, digitalen Studienassistenten zu unterstützen. Basierend auf Limitationen wird eine Forschungsagenda aufgestellt, die 13 weitere Forschungsmöglichkeiten im Themenbereich IT Projektportfoliomanagement und individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten aufzeigt und als Grundlage für weitere Forschung in diesen Themenfeldern dient.This cumulative dissertation outlines and discusses 12 scientific publications that contribute to the knowledge of Information Technology (IT) project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education. The papers developed models and frameworks that describe crucial IT project portfolio management phases and activities, enable an objective IT project evaluation, and define IT project portfolio management maturity levels. In addition, they deduced an optimization model for IT project portfolio management evaluation, selection, and scheduling decisions and implemented it in a decision support system prototype. Developed taxonomies and archetypes classify existing IT project portfolio management tools as well as requirements and corporate benefits of IT project manager positions to identify patterns, similarities, and differences. Further, critical success factors, challenges, and requirements for an individual digital study assistant were identified, analyzed, and discussed. Based on these and during several iterations, an individual digital study assistant prototype was developed, evaluated, adapted, and guidelines derived. The articles contribute knowledge on how to design more efficient and value-driven IT project portfolio management processes to minimize subjective influences. Also, they provide knowledge to support higher education institutions in the design, development, and operation of individual digital study assistants. Based on existing limitations, a further research agenda is deduced, including 13 further research directions for IT project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education institutions. They serve as a basis for further researchers in these fields of topics

Avaliação e gestão do portefólio de projetos

Tese de doutoramento - Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Industrial e SistemasDespite all the differences on markets, cultural environment, and organisational objectives, some changes are modifying the way business occurs, turning competitive advantages difficult to accomplish. In a global marketplace scenario, changes are constant and with variable amplitude. Organisations need to be alert to all movements to anticipate, counter-answer and re-align themselves with the new market conditions. The organisational urge for using and applying new tools, methods and techniques to help them in these matters is tremendous. The market competitive pressing, the reduction of error margins and the need to do things perfectly at the first shot are creating an increase demand of solutions that can resolve those problems, achieving the best performance possible with the minimum risk and cost. However, there is no consensus about the type of methods or techniques that automatically improves any organisation, despite their own problems or status, restrictions and competitive advantages, strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, project management tries to see the organisation as a whole, and systematically challenge the difficulties encountered with new re-thinking processes in order to increase the organisational performance. A Multistage Decision Model was developed based of the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) phases. New techniques such as the Market Attractiveness Indexes and the Project Alignment Index, combined with some well-known approaches adapted towards the integration of the Project Portfolio Management namely: the Project Portfolio Selection using DEA, the Portfolio Scheduling using Priority Rules and the Earned Value Management for Monitoring and Control. A Project learning process was, also, introduced to enhance the PPM performance and to promote the Organizational knowledge, as well as some insights into Maturity and Sustainability by the development of a conceptual Hybrid Maturity Model. Thus, a project portfolio management and evaluation framework was proposed which gathers relevant concepts and tools from different areas, such as Organizational Strategy, Organizational Learning, Project Portfolio Management and Organizational Maturity, reputed fundamental for acquiring and developing competitive advantages, and, therefore, for increasing the organization’s overall performance.Apesar de todas as diferenças verificadas nos mercados, no ambiente cultural e nos objetivos organizacionais, algumas mudanças estão a modificar a forma como os negócios se processam, dificultando consideravelmente a capacidade de desenvolver novas vantagens competitivas. No mercado global, as mudanças são constantes e com amplitude variável. As organizações têm de estar em alerta constante de forma a antecipar as movimentações, desenvolver uma contra resposta e realinhar-se, convenientemente, com as novas condições de mercado. O desejo da organização para a utilizar e aplicar de novas ferramentas, métodos e técnicas é enorme. O pressing competitivo do mercado, a redução das margens de erro e a necessidade de fazer as coisas bem à primeira, está a criar uma procura crescente por soluções que potenciem o desempenho organizacional com o menor risco e custo possíveis. No entanto, não há consenso sobre qual o tipo de métodos ou técnicas que melhoram, de forma automática, as organizações, apesar dos seus problemas ou condições, restrições e vantagens competitivas, pontos fortes e fracos. A gestão de projetos vislumbra a organização como um todo e desafia, sistematicamente, as dificuldades encontradas a fim de aumentar o desempenho organizacional. Um modelo de decisão Multifases foi modelado e novas técnicas foram desenvolvidas como os Índices de Atratividade do Mercado, o Índice de Alinhamento do Projeto, combinadas com algumas abordagens bem conhecidas adaptadas para a integração da Gestão do Portefólio de Projetos (GPP), nomeadamente: a seleção do Portefólio de Projetos usando DEA, a Afetação de recursos ao Portefólio usando uma heurística de regras de prioridade e o Earned Value Management para a monitorização e controlo. A aprendizagem de projeto foi, igualmente, considerada para melhorar o desempenho da GPP e promover o conhecimento organizacional, bem como algumas abordagens sobre maturidade e sustentabilidade através do desenvolvimento do modelo híbrido de maturidade. Assim, o modelo de avaliação e gestão do portefólio de projetos proposto reúne conceitos e ferramentas para a estratégia organizacional, a aprendizagem organizacional, a GPP e maturidade organizacional, fundamentais para a aquisição e desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas e, por conseguinte, para o aumento do desempenho geral da organização.Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia (F.C.T.) bolsa de Doutoramento (SFRH/BD/31014/2006