ABSTRACT
Resource scheduling is not new. Planners and managers have used charts – even blackboards – for well over 100 years in attempts to match the work within their groups or departments to the resources available. The older systems had several weaknesses, including inflexibility to change, inability to handle complex cases and the sheer eye-and mind-straining effort needed to set up and read all but the simplest schedule. The allocation of priorities to different jobs was often subjective and prone to interference or undue influence from the project owners or senior managers able to shout the loudest or intimidate with the most menace.
