Scheduling simulation-based techniques for earned value management on resource-constrained schedules under delayed scenarios

Earned value management (EVM) is widely utilized for project progress monitoring and cost control purposes. However, traditional EVM techniques are intended for ideal scheduling scenarios without considering the effect of activity-level and project-level delays. The EVM fails to account for dynamic changes of project status in terms of project time extension and associated cost overrun, potentially generating misleading project performance tracking indicators. This research proposes a refined EVM approach based on discrete event simulation (scheduling simulation) to tackle complicated resource-constrained scheduling. A case study is used to demonstrate its applications on a resource-constrained schedule under postulated delay scenarios. It is found that this approach is conducive to truthfully reflecting the project performance status given a resource-constrained schedule subject to complicated activity-project delay. Conclusions are drawn by recapitulating the research contributions and addressing the limitations in the end.