Simulating the Critical PathSanDisk had an extra requirement to simulate the resource critical path and determine appropriate project buffers for each major milestone using Monte Carlo simulation. There is no software on the market that can simulate a resource-constrained critical path in Microsoft Project and we custom developed this software to address this need. Having a solid time buffer for each milestone allowed SanDisk to predict a high confidence target date and to control the program by monitoring the rate at which the project buffer was consumed. Figure 5: Simulation of a resource-constrained critical pathProgram Forecast ReportsSanDisk wanted to use buffer charts that depict the consumption of the buffer for their programs. These charts allow them to extrapolate the consumption of the buffer into the future and predict if the program would be delivered on time. An example of a buffer rundown chart used at SanDisk is shown in Figure 6. Figure 6: Buffer Rundown ChartThis buffer chart is produced by the PathsPro add‑in from ProjectPro. As you can see in the chart, this project started late (first red dot is to the right of the first green dot), is consuming its buffer faster than planned (red line is consistently below the green line), and will finish late as a consequence (see red dotted line).
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Dealing with Sharing Resources across Programs
