Application of Project Management Tools and Techniques In A Multi-Project Environment

To be successful in today’s competitive markets, companies must develop new products or services and be efficient. They also face challenges related to cost overrun, deadlines, faster deliveries, continuously in-creasing quality, innovation, and customer satisfac-tion. Project management can help companies deal with these issues. When developing several projects simultaneously, a multi-project environment requires resources to be shared. Different scheduling options can lead to dif-ferent outcomes. Shared resource allocation needs to take in consideration the priorities of the different projects, the impact of the alternative scenarios, the risks, and the overall multi-project benefits. This paper addresses the application of different tools and techniques for multi-project resource man-agement, considering the case study of a manufacturer of production machines from the metalworking indus-try. First, a schedule was developed using the Prece-dence Diagram method and Critical Path Method. Af-terwards, a resource pool was created. Finally, a what-if analysis was conducted to evaluate five scenarios with different outcomes. Microsoft Project was used as support software. The methodology allowed for the continuous im-provement of the solution with constant evaluation from the company’s side in an iterative application process. The results highlight the importance of using these tools and technique to support the company in the decision-making process for the most valuable scenario of resource allocation, taking their impacts in consideration. This information is crucial in the ini-tial planning but also in replanning. This application also reinforces MS Project as a very complete and flex-ible tool which is nonetheless lacking a few features specific to these operations.