Project evaluation using cost-time investment simulation

Abstract

Project success includes time, budget, quality, customer satisfaction etc. We are always confronted with time and money in the first place. Activity schedules must consider the available resources to be completed in the right sequence and in time. Companies must maintain competitive cost-time profiles. Execution periods of non-critical project activities have a considerable influence to the amount of locked-up capital. In the paper we have simulated some cases with varied execution periods of non-critical project activities within the slack, and measured cost-time investment. For the visualisation of project cost accumulation we have applied cost-time profile; we have used Cost Time Profiler software. The results show that the differences are significant, bringing a potential for project optimization.