Optimal due date assignment in project scheduling

In this paper we introduce the concept of due date assignment in the project scheduling literature. Despite the fact that due date assignment problems belongs to the core of the machine scheduling literature, no attempts have been made to tackle this problem in a project scheduling environment. However, of obvious practical importance, an optimal assignment of due dates is of primary interest to the project manager. In a recent research paper on project scheduling with due dates, the problem has been restricted to considering projects with pre-assigned due dates. In reality, due dates are the results of negotiations, rather than simply dictated by the client of the project. In this paper we consider this negotiation process and take a contractor's point of view who faces the problem of assigning due dates to a particular project, based on the negotiation arguments of the client. We show that the problem under study can be solved by means of the combination of different ideas from the operations research community. Keywords: Project Management, Due date assignment, Weighted earliness-tardiness costs, Due dates