Title: Modelling and scheduling projects using Petri nets

Authors: Yuval Cohen, Ofer Zwikael

Addresses: Management & Economics Department, The Open University of Israel, P.O. Box 808, Raanana 43107, Israel. ' School of Management, Marketing and International Business, College of Business and Economics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

Abstract: This paper addresses the modelling suitability of Petri Nets (PNs) for project planning and control. PNs, while being vastly used for the modelling and analysis of discrete event systems, were scarcely mentioned in the context of project management. This paper familiarises the readers with PNs and illuminates its modelling advantages. Next, the PN suitability for modelling and scheduling a project is discussed. Finally, a new PN type, called the Petri Project Net (PPN), is proposed and it best addresses the special features required by project scheduling problems, including the practical implications for scheduling and resource planning in an uncertain environment.

Keywords: Petri nets; project scheduling; project modelling; project nets; performance modelling; performance evaluation; discrete event system; simulation; project management; project planning; project control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2008.022193

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2008 Vol.1 No.2, pp.221 - 233

Published online: 22 Dec 2008 *

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