Classification of Human- and Automated Resource Allocation Approaches in Multi-Project Management

Managing a multi-project environment requires a different method than managing a single project. The main challenge of managing a multi-project environment is the allocation of scarce human resources over the projects in execution. As part of a broader research on this topic, the aim of this paper is to identify different multi-project management approaches in a structured way. Based on this literature review consequences can be derived for future research about this topic. In this literature review, the approaches are classified into two dimensions. One dimension classifies how the decision taking is organized, centralized or decentralized. The other dimension classifies how the scheduling problem is approached, relying on human insights or on optimization algorithms. On the bases of the Iron Triangle of Project Management a comparison analysis of the multi-project approaches methods has been here performed. The outcome reveals that the majority of the approaches sets scope as a constraint and minimize lead-time by optimizing the resource allocation with centralized heuristic algorithms. An exception is the relatively new approach Scrum-of-Scrums, which is a people oriented, decentralized decision-taking approach. Scope optimization is the primary objective of Scrum. Comparing the performance of the different approaches is an interesting field for further study, especially the comparison of automated decisions taking with human decision taking.