Activity nets: A guided tour through some recent developments

A review is presented of the developments in activity net research that occurred in the years 1987-1994. The available project planning and control software for the PC is discussed. Some issues of representation - activity-on-node versus activity-on-arc are addressed, and some subtle concerns that may escape the unwary are presented. The issue of complexity is addressed, first from the general concern of management that seeks minimal execution time in response to its queries, then from the technical point of view of algorithmic procedures. Other issues discussed include generalized precedence relations, the important questions related to limited resources and, under the rubric of financial considerations: 1. the bidding problem, 2. the net present value problem, and 3. the optimal project compression problem. References of the papers discussed are provided.