In this paper, we address a new problem in the context of project payment scheduling when project activities are allowed to be crashed with the purpose of maximizing the contractors net present value (NPV). We assume that the contractor is paid at some pre-specified points of time according to the volume of work performed. Upon completion of activities, the cost of their execution is paid. Two different approaches are used to determine the volume of work performed at so called review points. In the first approach, only completed activities are considered. In the second approach, any portions of the activities that are executed are considered. To increase the volume of work performed at the review points, the contractor may decide to crash some activities and as such possibly increases his NPV. As activity crashing costs the contractor money, a compromise needs to be made. Two mathematical models are developed to study each approach and hence help the contractor to make the best decision. These models offer a means of investigating whether it is advisable to crash some activities and are therefore of practical importance. It is shown that the contractor may increase his NPV, even when he pays for the activity crashing costs. The performance of the mathematical models is illustrated using a numerical example.

Project portfolio management consists of repetitive cycles of project evaluation، selection and execution. Project portfolio selection is the main part of project portfolio management. Organization identifies and prioritizes projects that are mostly aligned with stated strategic goals while considering real-world restrictions and considerations that are related to scheduling and resource allocation. In this paper، a new comprehensive model for the project portfolio selection problem over a planning horizon with multiple periods by maximizing profit is developed in which simultaneous selection، scheduling and resource allocation of projects are considered. The model incorporates project interdependency and strategies of project divisibility، reinvestment، external investment and resourcing in different ways at the same time in choosing the best execution schedule for the projects in real-life applications. In addition، resource and budget constraints، cardinality restriction، precedence relationship and scheduling، setup and resource costs are included in the model. Numerical examples under eight scenarios are presented to highlight the characteristics of the proposed model.

Many Information Systems (IS) projects experience serious problems that prevent them from meeting schedule, budget, and functionality targets. Managers often escalate their commitment to such projects, plowing ahead with them instead of hitting the pause button to address issues, a process known as project escalation. Due to the increasing pressure to develop systems and bring products to market faster, making decisions that involve time are more important than ever. While time has been studied in the IS domain, the effect of emphasizing time in a project’s name on IS project escalation decisions is not known. In this study, we explore whether a project name that explicitly refers to time can influence escalation decisions, and we examine the underlying mechanism through which that occurs. Sixty-two practitioners participated in a 2x1 factorial design experiment in which the project name was manipulated, but all other project information was identical. We theorize that emphasizing time in the project name can cause selective perception, drawing attention towards the schedule of the project and away from other aspects. Such selective perception can increase the likelihood of escalation of commitment to the schedule of the project when facing quality issues that require deviating from this schedule. We hypothesize that this effect of selective perception on escalation can be both direct and indirect. The results from the experiment support our research model.