Project portfolio management considering the commitment of agents: A bi-objective model applied to administrative services

Abstract

This article presents a new bi-objective optimization model for project portfolio management. The model formulation selects which projects will be implemented and by whom. The objective functions seek to maximize the economic gains of the project portfolio selected and to maximize the skills development of the agents allocated to these projects, thus promoting the improvement of the team's performance over time. The constraints to the choice and allocation of projects take into account the workload of the agents and the way the distribution of work affects their employment commitment, considering the dimensions of Absorption, Dedication and Strength of the UWES (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), in its reduced form. Experimental results are presented, for a scenario based on the experience of administration offices for the management of research and innovation projects at a higher education institution.

Keywords:

• Project portfolio management
• work engagement
• agent commitment
• multi-objective optimization
• project allocation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

All data are presented in the article and the appendices.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under Grant No. UIDB/05037/2020.