Multi-criteria methods for ranking project activities

Abstract

This paper presents multi-criteria methods for ranking project activities according to several ranking indexes. The methods are based on the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP), on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and on the use of common ranking indexes. This paper reviews ranking indexes of project activities for project management tasks. The ranking of project activities in one project is applicable for focusing the attention of the project manager on important activities. The selection of the appropriate ranking indexes should be done in accordance with managerial purposes: 1) Paying attention to activities throughout the execution phase and in the resources allocation process, in order meet pre-determined qualities, and to deliver the project on time and within budget, i.e., to accomplish the project within the "iron triangle" 2) Setting priorities in order to share the managerial care and control among the activities. The paper proposes to use multi-criteria ranking methods in order to rank the activities in a case where several ranking indexes are selected.

Keywords

• Project Management (PM)
• Ranking Indexes (RI)
• Multi-Criteria Ranking Method(MCRM)
• Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP)
• Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)