Survey of scheduling research involving due date determination decisions

The authors attempt to present in this paper a critical review of a particular segment of scheduling research in which the due date assignment decision is of primary interest. The literature is classified into the static and dynamic job shop situations. The static job shop is analyzed from two different perspectives: the due date is constrained to be greater than or equal to makespan, and the optimal due date and optimal sequence are to be determined when the method of assigning due dates is specified. The literature on dynamic job shops is also reviewed under two broad categories. First, the authors discuss all the literature concerned with comparative and investigative studies to identify the most desirable due date assignment method. Second, they discuss the literature dealing with determination of optimal due dates. The authors note that computer simulation and analytical methods are two common approaches for the second type of problems. They observe that while the static single-machine problem with constant or common due dates has been well researched, very little or no work has been done on the dynamic multi-machine problem with sophisticated due date assignment methods. Finally, the authors identify and suggest some worthwhile areas for future research.