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Applying fuzzy multi-objective linear programming to a project management decision with nonlinear fuzzy membership functions

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Abstract

This paper investigates a multi-objective project management problem where the goals of the decision maker are fuzzy. Prior research on this topic has considered linear membership functions to model uncertain project goals. Linear membership functions, however, are not much flexible to model uncertain information of projects in many situations, and therefore, fuzzy models with linear membership functions are not suitable to be applied in many practical situations. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to apply nonlinear membership functions in order to develop a better representation of fuzzy project planning in practice. This approach supports managers in examining different solution strategies and in planning projects more realistically. In doing so, a fuzzy mathematical project planning model with exponential fuzzy goals is developed first which takes account of (a) the time between events, (b) the crashing time for activities, and (c) the available budget. Following, a weighted max–min model is applied for solving the multi-objective project management problem. The performance of the developed solution procedure is compared with the literature that applied linear membership functions to this problem, and it is shown that the model developed in this paper outperforms the existing solution.

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Acknowledgements

The second and third authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from University of Malaya under the grant RP018a-13aet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

    Ehsan Ehsani

  2. Center for Product Design and Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Nima Kazemi & Ezutah Udoncy Olugu

  3. Institute of Production and Supply Chain Management, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstr.1, 64289, Darmstadt, Germany

    Eric H. Grosse

  4. Department of Business and Industrial Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Ignaz-Schön-Straße 11, 97421, Schweinfurt, Germany

    Kurt Schwindl

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  1. Ehsan Ehsani
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  2. Nima Kazemi
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  3. Ezutah Udoncy Olugu
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  4. Eric H. Grosse
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  5. Kurt Schwindl
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ehsan Ehsani or Nima Kazemi.

Appendix

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Table 4 A review of the papers which applied FST in PM
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Ehsani, E., Kazemi, N., Olugu, E.U. et al. Applying fuzzy multi-objective linear programming to a project management decision with nonlinear fuzzy membership functions. Neural Comput & Applic 28, 2193–2206 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-015-2160-0

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