Time-Cost-Quality Trade-off in a CPM1 Network Using Fuzzy Logic and Genetic Algorithm

In recent years the complexity of projects, competitive business environment and organization resource constraints has resulted in attention to project management in achieving project objectives. Consequently employers looking to increase quality, reduce execution time and costs that are the main objective of the projects. It is therefore essential project managers with appropriate resource allocation and decision making process in order to meet the above objectives.Since most previous work has been done in terms of certainty and unrealistic conditions, there is a serious split in the decisions made by the project managers in the field of project management knowledge. Thus, one of the most prominent features of this study is to consider the conditions of uncertainty which is closer to the real world. In the present study, a fuzzy mathematical model is suggested for a network of activities which each includes several modes of execution in order to select the best mode among the possible modes and trade-off their criteria that will result to achieve the aforesaid purposes. To do this, a None-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) was designed to solve the suggested model. Then, a case study was conducted on the oil industry and the performance of the suggested model and the algorithm was examined. Furthermore, the level of attention paid by the project manager to the qualitative comments of the experts is shown using Fuzzy Alpha-cut Method. Testing the validity of such computational results indicates that when α=1, then the answers are oriented mostly toward the project contractual conditions which are the same conditions as expected by project manager. The more we are approaching from certainty conditions toward α=0 and indeed the uncertainty conditions, the worse conditions the answers resulted by solving the algorithm will have in terms of time, cost and quality. It is due to the fact that the project manager is taking the uncertainty conditions and risks into consideration by paying attention to the experts’ comments that will threat and worsen the general situation of the project.