Title: Activity- and actor-oriented simulation approach for the management of development projects

Authors: Sven Tackenberg, Sonke Duckwitz, Christopher M. Schlick

Addresses: Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, RWTH Aachen University, D-52062, Aachen, Germany. ' Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, RWTH Aachen University, D-52062, Aachen, Germany. ' Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, RWTH Aachen University, D-52062, Aachen, Germany

Abstract: The complexity of a single project – resulting from the amount of activities to be accounted for as well as the required resources – and the amount of simultaneously running projects within an enterprise are rapidly increasing. In order to stay competitive, those factors relevant for the success of project planning and execution, e.g., the project duration or budget, must be specifically identified and realised. On this basis, we developed an integrative simulation model that connects the advantages of existing activity- and actor-oriented models. The integrative model presented here is a key component of the project engineering approach and enables the automatic creation and prospective benchmarking of complex, detailed project plans. The specific aspects of the new, innovative simulation model were developed in cooperation with enterprises of the chemical industry and were verified in different development projects.

Keywords: project engineering; simulation modelling; project planning; project control; bounded rational behaviour; activity-oriented simulation; actor-oriented simulation; project management; project optimisation; project modelling; development projects; chemical industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAET.2010.035395

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology, 2010 Vol.2 No.4, pp.414 - 435

Published online: 30 Sep 2010 *

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