An estimation of distribution algorithm for resource-constrained project scheduling problem

An estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) is proposed to solve resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP). In the EDA, individual is encoded based on the extended active list, and a probability model of the distribution for each activity in a project and its updating mechanism are proposed. The algorithm determines the initial probability matrix according to an initial set of solutions generated by the regret-based sampling method and priority rule, and decodes the individuals by using serial schedule generation scheme. Meanwhile, a permutation based local search method is incorporated into the algorithm to enhance the exploitation ability so as to further improve the searching quality. Simulation results based on benchmarks and comparisons with some existing algorithms demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed EDA.