A Petri Net Based Algorithm for the Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (rcpsp): a Real Life Application in the Animation and Videogame Industry

This paper presents a real life Petri Net-based prototype for project management in the Animation and Videogame (A&V) industry in Colombia. Such a Petri Net prototype is a module embedded in a larger computer application aimed for integrated and collaborative management of A&V projects. This project management application also includes modules for modeling, resource planning, scheduling and execution. The modeling of the project activities is accomplished via extensions of Timed Petri Nets. The resource planning and scheduling module uses a new algorithm adapted from previous work. In order to test the validity of both the modeling and scheduling methodologies, examples of real projects were taken and validated with the managers of several companies. The performance of the algorithm was tested with instances from the literature. The results show the validity of the Petri Net modeling and optimization approach.