A Formulation for the Stochastic Multi-Mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem Solved with a Multi-Start Iterated Local Search Metaheuristic

Abstract

This research introduces a stochastic version of the multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem (MRCPSP) and its mathematical model. In addition, an efficient multi-start iterated local search (MS-ILS) algorithm, capable of solving the deterministic MRCPSP, is adapted to deal with the proposed stochastic version of the problem. For its deterministic version, the MRCPSP is an NP-hard optimization problem that has been widely studied. The problem deals with a trade-off between the amount of resources that each project activity requires and its duration. In the case of the proposed stochastic formulation, the execution times of the activities are uncertain. Benchmark instances of projects with 10, 20, 30, and 50 activities from well-known public libraries were adapted to create test instances. The adapted algorithm proved to be capable and efficient for solving the proposed stochastic problem.

Keywords

• stochastic project scheduling
• metaheuristic
• multiple modes
• resource constraints
• iterated local search