Implementation of Critical Path Method and Critical Resource Diagramming Using Arena Simulation Software

A relatively new resource management tool, which considers both time and resource requirements, is Critical Resource Diagramming (CRD). CRD is a simple extension to the CPM technique developed for resource management purposes. It is a graphical tool used mainly for resource scheduling.

The purpose of this study is to use the Arena simulation software and CRD to solve problems. This will be accomplished by setting up an example problem in the simulation program, Arena, and the CRD approach will be used as a deterministic and probabilistic problem.

The Arena output results for the deterministic parts of the example were compared to the output that was done by hand and the values obtained were exactly the same. Thus, Arena can be used as an effective and accurate management tool for resource scheduling.

The probabilistic results of the Arena output show that if the user does not know the exact time of the process, that a distribution can be used to give results. All the user would have to know is the approximate process time, what distribution the process times will follow, and the standard deviation of the distribution.

Arena is both easy and a user-friendly simulation software, thus providing a very simple and important tool in the area of project management. In summary, the research reported here has made a significant contribution in enhancing the CPM method and applying the CRD method to a new application