Dynamic Software Project Scheduling Problem with PSO and Dynamic Strategies Based on Memory

Abstract

The Software Project Scheduling Problem (SPSP) aims to allocate employees to tasks in the development of a software project, such that the cost and duration, two conflicting goals, are minimized. The dynamic model of SPSP, called DSPSP, considers that some unpredictable events may occur during the project life cycle, like the arrival of new tasks, which implies on schedule updating along the project. In the context of Search-Based Software Engineering, this work proposes the use of dynamic optimization strategies, based on memory, together with the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to solve the DSPSP. The results suggest that the addition of these dynamic strategies improves the quality of the solutions in comparison with the application of the PSO algorithm only.