Optimal segmentation of projects – schedule and cost considerations

In certain types of projects, the same sequence of activities is performed throughout the various physical parts of the project (e.g., road construction). By dividing the project into segments and working in parallel, the duration of the project can be reduced, with a resulting increase in direct costs. In this paper we consider the problem of finding the optimal number of segments that minimizes total project cost, for linear cost and duration functions. We begin by formulating and solving a mathematical programming model for homogeneous projects, and, by using the concept of work contents, we extend the solution to non-homogeneous projects.