Solution algorithms for the project selection and scheduling problem with resource constraints and time dependent returns

This paper considers the problem of resource constrained project selection and scheduling with a limited planning horizon and time-dependent return. The objective is to select a set of projects that maximise the present worth of profit. We first mathematically formulate the problem and compare the model with the adaptation of an available model for a similar problem. To solve the problem, we employ five novel metaheuristics based on genetic and iterated greedy algorithms. We propose a novel effective constructive heuristic to produce initial solution for the algorithm and a novel crossover operator. A comprehensive experiment is established with small and large sized instances to compare and evaluate the performance of the proposed model and algorithms. All the results show the effectiveness of the model and algorithms. Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.