Combining contemporaryandtraditionalprojectmanagementtoolsto resolve aprojectschedulingproblem

In thispaperweexamineaconstructionprojectinvolvingthebuildingoflargeconcreteslabsforthree buildingsinanofficeparkcomplex.Therearefinish-to-start(FS)aswellasstart-to-start(SS)andfinish- to-finish (FF)precedencerelationshipsamongtheprojectactivities.Weprepareaninitialproject scheduleusingMicrosoftProjectandmanuallyvalidatetheresultsusingtheprecedencediagramming method(PDM)procedure.Whentheclientinformsusthattheschedulemustbeshortenedwefindthat MicrosoftProjectdoesnothavethecapabilityforresolvingourparticulartime/costtradeoffissues.So we reverttothetraditionalapproachforresolvingtime/costtradeoffsinprojectsanddevelopan originallinearprogrammingformulationforthetime/costtradeoffproblemwhenaprojectismodeled as aprecedencediagram.Bycombiningcontemporary(MicrosoftProject)andtraditional(alinear programmingtime/costtradeoffmodel)projectmanagementtoolsweareabletosuccessfullyresolve the schedulingissuesassociatedwiththeslabconstructionproject.Further,wedemonstratethe anomalouseffectsofstart-to-start(SS)andfinish-to-finish(FF)relationshipsviaourconstruction projectexampleinwhichthesolutiontothetime/costtradeoffproblemrequiresthatcertainactivities be lengthenedinordertoshortentheprojectduration.