APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICAL MATRIX TO INTEGRATE PROJECT

SCHEDULE AND COST

By Hyun-Soo Lee,1 Member, ASCE, and Kyoo Jin Yi2

ABSTRACT: This research is a numerical approach to the integration of the time and cost data sets for con-
struction projects, which addresses the conflicts between them. Mathematical matrices are introduced to show
the interrelationships between the time and cost data sets and their effect on each other, and to solve the conflict
due to the differences between work breakdown structure and cost breakdown structure. Several matrices of
time and cost data sets of construction projects are defined. The interrelationships among the matrices are
investigated and several time- and cost-related matrix equations are presented. Based on the equations, this
research develops a project planning and control algorithm that estimates the expected project cost and duration
and evaluates the project economy using the matrix equations derived here. The matrix application is imple-
mented through a spreadsheet program in which the matrices are automatically connected with each other. A
case study involving a housing project is performed to verify the capability and utility of this computerized
matrix application in integrating project time and cost.

INTRODUCTION quantity of work required for each building element, etc. A

The successful performance of a project is so largely related
to time and cost factors that a proper understanding of time
and cost is highly important, and sometimes, critical in both
the planning and control phases. Among the sets of data, which
are associated with a construction project, cost estimates are
related to cost and schedules are related to time. Because time
and cost are closely related, it can be assumed that a close
relationship exists between cost estimate and schedule. How-
ever, it is not easy to numerically evaluate the extent to which
these parameters affect each other because of differences in
their breakdown structures. If the time and cost data sets of
projects can be stored in the form of mathematical variables,
such as matrices or vectors, it might be possible to derive
several mathematical equations that show time and cost rela-
tionships.
The purpose of this research is to organize cost and schedule
data sets for a project in matrix forms and to develop matrix
equations that make the interrelationship among the matrices
clear and that can be used to generate various forms of infor-
mation. As opposed to other studies that have been aimed at
integrating time and cost data, this study does not create any
new project breakdown structures. Instead, it allocates the
breakdown structures to columns and rows of matrices. The
matrices are divided into several groups such as cost, quantity,
etc. Data such as cost, quantity, etc., are assigned to the cells
in matrices according to the related items on columns and
rows. In doing so, it is possible to determine items of a break-
down structure and the extent to which they are related to
items of another breakdown structure, and also to enhance our
understanding of the interrelationship between different project
breakdown structures. Despite this advantage, the construction
of every matrix is tedious and difficult. For this reason, this
research presents several matrix equations for the generation
of various forms of matrices from four or five base matrices.
Using these equations, it is possible to obtain information,
such as the cost to be invested at each time span and the
1
Asst. Prof., Dept. of Arch., Seoul Nat. Univ., Seoul, South Korea,
151-742.
2
Post Doc. Res., Dept. of Arch., Seoul Nat. Univ., Seoul, South Korea,
151-742.
Note. Discussion open until March 1, 2000. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of
Journals. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and
possible publication on March 3, 1998. This paper is part of the Journal
of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 125, No. 5, Sep-
tember/October, 1999. 䉷ASCE, ISSN 0733-9634/99/0005-0339–0346/
$8.00 ⫹ $.50 per page. Paper No. 17824.
JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999 / 339
computer application to a housing project at Puchon in South
Korea is added at the end of this research to demonstrate how
the matrices work.
CURRENT STATE OF THE ART
Many attempts have been made to improve the function of
construction planning and control. The integration of time and
cost constitutes an attractive issue in project scheduling. A tra-
ditional approach to solve the time and cost problems in sched-
uling is to assign a time and cost curve to each activity of a
project (Harris 1978). Teicholz (1987) proposed a mapping
mechanism between cost breakdown structure (CBS) and work
breakdown structure (WBS) to integrate the differences in the
level of detail. The concept of this model is that a cost account
has specific percentages that should be allocated to a given
task. Hendrickson and Au (1989) proposed a 2D matrix of
activities and cost accounts. Kim (1995) applied an object-
oriented programming to integrate, not only time and cost data,
but design data as well.
While the need for integrating schedule and cost control is
readily apparent, their models concentrated on the integration
itself, thus they did not clearly show the dynamic relationships
between the sets of data to one another. Because the relation-
ships between cost and schedule data are not mutually exclu-
sive, it will be helpful for cost and schedule integration to
consider them together with the effects of other data sets. Both
percent allocation and 2D matrix concepts are partially
adopted in this study. The study extends Hendrickson’s matrix
of activities and cost concept to other construction data in-
cluding dimensions, quantities, unit costs, and schedule. The
percent allocation concept is adapted in this study to schedule
matrices, such as work progress ratios allocated to time spans.
TIME AND COST DATA SETS OF CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS
Various sets of data are required for the planning and control
of a construction project. Some sets of cost and time data can
be numerically represented, and thus, can be analyzed,
whereas others cannot. For instance, physical size or quanti-
ties, such as area, length, weight, and volume can easily be
represented in numerical form, whereas it is not easy to nu-
merically represent and analyze such data as the manager’s
ability, worker’s attitudes, work conditions, quality of material,
etc. One represents quantity-related data, while the other is
quality-related. Time and cost in a construction project are
influenced not only by the quantities of work to be performed
TABLE 1. Project Breakdowns for Housing Project in Puchon 2. Matrices are divided into the following basic three types:
(Summarized Form) • Quantity matrix Q: This matrix is used as the basis of
Work㛭packages (w ) building㛭eleMent (m) cost㛭Accounts (a) cost estimates and is composed of physical dimen-
(1) (2) (3) sions, such as length, height, area, weight, number, etc.
Formwork Foundation Material
• Unit cost matrix U and cost matrix C: These matrices
Reinforcing㛭Steel 1st㛭Fl.㛭Structural Equipment are composed of financial items. Unit cost is the cost
Cast㛭in㛭Place㛭Concrete 2nd㛭Fl.㛭Structural Labor per unit dimension, and unit cost times quantity equals
Brick㛭Masonry 3rd㛭Fl.㛭Structural Overhead the cost.
Waterproofing 4th㛭Fl.㛭Structural • Progress ratio matrix R: Each cell of this matrix is the
Windows/Doors 5th㛭Fl.㛭Structural ratio of work progress to each row so that the sum of
Glazing Core㛭Structural
Ondol㛭Flooring Roofs
each row should be 1.
Metal㛭Mesh㛭Lathing 1st㛭Fl.㛭Interior 3. Each row and column of a matrix should be one of the
Cement㛭Mortar㛭Coatin 2nd㛭Fl.㛭Interior following items:
Ceramic㛭Tiling 3rd㛭Fl.㛭Interior • Work package (abbreviated as Work): w
In㛭Situ㛭Terrazzo 4th㛭Fl.㛭Interior • Building Element (abbreviated as eleMent): m
Decorative㛭Papers 5th㛭Fl.㛭Interior • Cost account (abbreviated as Account): a
Painting Core㛭Interior
Architectural㛭Woodwor Exterior
• Time span: t
Kitchen㛭Fittings 4. The designation of each matrix should be based on the
General㛭Fixtures following rule: ‘‘{column} by {row} {matrix type}.’’
For instance, Cw⫻a, the matrix that shows the cost of each
work package per each cost account, should be called
but also by the qualities of resources to be invested into the ‘‘work by account cost.’’ When the column and row are
project. Because the purpose of this research is to present a identical, it can be called ‘‘{column or row} {matrix
numerical approach of integrating time and cost data, quality- type}.’’ For instance, Uw⫻w is ‘‘work unit cost.’’
related data are not considered here and will be discussed later. 5. Each cell in a matrix can have its own unit according to
its function. The units of cost matrices are currency,
PROJECT BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES while progress ratio matrices are dimensionless. Multi-
plication between two matrices is limited by their units.
One of the key features of schedule and cost control is the For instance, multiplication between quantity matrices
utilization of a project breakdown structure (Moder 1983). A and unit cost matrices is allowed, but that between quan-
project breakdown structure is usually composed of three com- tity matrices and cost matrices is not, as shown in (1)
ponents: (1) Work items; (2) levels; and (3) work packages
(Popescu and Charoenngam 1995). To estimate the quantities Q ⭈ U (Allowed), Q ⭈ C (Not Allowed) (1)
of resources for input into a construction project, one of the
most common approaches is to divide the physical structures Base Matrices
into several building elements (e.g., beams, slabs, columns, The dimensions of a structure’s building elements, such as
etc.). This represents the first level of work items. To make height, length, area, etc., are the basic data for quantity takeoff.
the cost estimates of the project, another level of work items However, further sets of data should be known to make cost
is required. At this level of breakdown, work items are defined estimates. The unit costs of resources as well as the relation-
according to cost accounts (e.g., concrete, rebars, forms, etc.). ships between the building elements and the cost accounts con-
This is the so-called CBS. Schedule control requires a more stitute such sets of data. Other sets of data, such as work prog-
detailed breakdown structure called the WBS. WBS is com- ress ratio per each time span (e.g., weeks, months), need to
posed of work packages (e.g., concrete pouring, concrete fin- be prepared to create a schedule. These sets of data are the
ishing, curing, etc.). These differences in level and items are bases of project cost and schedule, and can be prepared in
some of the major reasons why time and cost cannot be in- matrix forms as follows.
tegrated in the control process. Table 1 shows an example of

冋 册
three breakdown structures that are used in this research. Work by Element Quantity
q11 q12 ⭈⭈⭈ q1m
DEVELOPING TIME AND COST MATRIX EQUATIONS q21 q22 ⭈⭈⭈ q2m
Qw⫻m = (2)
Matrix Denotation ⭈⭈⭈
qw1 qw2 ⭈⭈⭈ qwm
This research defines the forms of matrices as shown in Fig. This matrix shows how much work should be done at which
1. The matrices are represented based on the following rules: building element. The matrix is a quantity takeoff represented
in a matrix form. The matrix is composed of columns of work
1. Let v and h be the dimension of column and row of a packages and rows of building elements. The cells contain the
matrix, respectively, and the dimension of the matrix is dimension of elements according to its relation with each work
then v ⫻ h, and can be indicated as Mv⫻h (refer to Fig. package. For instance, an arbitrary cell qij of the matrix Qw⫻m
1). represents the work quantity of the work package i at building
element j, where i = 1, . . . , w, j = 1, . . . , m, and w and m are
the numbers of work packages and building elements, respec-
tively. The units of this matrix are units of work amount, such
as lengths, volumes, weights, etc.

冋 册
Work by Account Unit Cost
u11 u12 ⭈⭈⭈ u1a
u21 u22 ⭈⭈⭈ u2a
Uw⫻a = (3)
⭈⭈⭈
FIG. 1. Matrix Configuration uw1 uw2 ⭈⭈⭈ uwa

340 / JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999

This matrix is a unit cost list of work packages represented in Uw⫻w ← Uw⫻1 (8)
a matrix form. The matrix is composed of columns of work
packages and rows of cost accounts, and shows the unit costs Cw⫻m = Uw⫻w ⭈ Qw⫻m (9)
of the work packages per each cost account. The cell uij of the
matrix represents the unit cost of the work package i per the Element Cost
cost account j, where i = 1, . . . , w, j = 1, . . . , a, and w and Transposing the work by element cost multiplied by a unit
a are the numbers of work packages and cost accounts, re- vector gives element cost as shown in (10). Each cell of this
spectively. The unit of this matrix is currency, such as dollar column vector represents the cost of each building element.
($), won (W), etc. The column vector can be converted to a symmetric matrix as
shown in (11)

冋 册
Element by Time Progress Ratio
Cm⫻1 = CTw⫻m ⭈ Iw⫻1 (10)
r11 r12 ⭈⭈⭈ r1t
r21 r22 ⭈⭈⭈ r2t Cm⫻m ← Cm⫻1 (11)
Rm⫻t = (4)
⭈⭈⭈
rm1 rm2 ⭈⭈⭈ rmt Work by Account Cost

This matrix is a schedule that shows which element should be
built when and the time required. Each cell of the matrix rep-
resents the work progress ratio to each row item. That is, the
sum of each row should be 1. Each column and row item
designates building elements and time spans (e.g., weeks,
months), respectively. The cell rij shows the work progress
ratio of the element i during the time span j. If there is no
work progress during the time span j, then rij = 0. The sum of
each row should be 1. In mathematical expression
From (6), it is possible to get the column vector work quan-
tity, which can be converted to a symmetric matrix as shown
in (12). This matrix multiplied by work by account unit cost
gives work by account cost as shown in (13). This matrix
shows the costs of work packages per each cost account
Qw⫻w ← Qw⫻1 (12)
Cw⫻a = Qw⫻w ⭈ Uw⫻a (13)

冘
t
rij = 1 or Rm⫻t ⭈ It⫻1 = Im⫻1 (5)
j=1
where I = unit vector; i = 1, . . . , m; j = 1, . . . , t; and m and
t = numbers of elements and time spans. For instance, if a
building element named A is planned to be built from months
5 to 9 and 16% of work progress is expected from months 5
to 8, and the remaining 35% would be expected on month 9,
then r15, r16, r17, r18 = 0.16 and r19 = 0.36. The remaining cells
of the building element A are 0.
Matrix Applications
With the base matrices, it is possible to obtain as much
information as required in project management. The following
are the examples.
Work Quantity
Work by element quantity multiplied by unit vector makes
work quantity Qw⫻1 as shown in (6). This is a column vector
that shows the quantity of work to be done at each work pack-
age. The unit of this matrix is the unit of corresponding work
packages, such as volumes, lengths, weights, etc.
Work Cost
The work by account cost multiplied by a unit vector gives
a column vector work cost as shown in (14). This column
vector shows the cost per each work package
Cw⫻1 = Cw⫻a ⭈ Ia⫻1 (14)
INTEGRATING TIME AND COST WITH MATRIX
EQUATIONS
This research shows how the matrices are applied to time
and cost integration. Further applications related to schedule
and cost control, such as profit considerations in calculating
expected value and monetary loss due to interest rates are to
be discussed as well.
Progress Ratio and Cost Scheduling
Work by Time Quantity
The work by element quantity multiplied by work by time
ratio gives work by time quantity, as shown in (15). This ma-
trix shows the quantity of work that is required for each time
span

Qw⫻1 = Qw⫻m ⭈ Im⫻1 (6) Qw⫻t = Qw⫻m ⭈ Rm⫻t (15)

Work Unit Cost Work by Time Cost

Similar to (6), work by account unit cost multiplied by unit
vector gives work unit cost Qw⫻1 as shown in (7), where the
dimension of the unit vector is the number of cost accounts.
This column vector shows the unit cost per each work pack-
age. The unit of this matrix is currency
Uw⫻1 = Uw⫻a ⭈ Ia⫻1 (7)
Work by Element Cost
Work by element cost multiplied by element by time ratio
gives work by time cost, as shown in (16). It is also possible
to obtain the same matrix by multiplying work by work unit
cost by work by time quantity as shown in (17). This matrix
is composed of the cost of each work package to be invested
at each time span
Cw⫻t = Cw⫻m ⭈ Rm⫻t (16)
Cw⫻t = Uw⫻w ⭈ Qw⫻t (17)

The column vector work unit cost Uw⫻1 can be converted to Element by Time Cost
the symmetric matrix Uw⫻w. Work unit cost multiplied by work
by element quantity to give work by element cost as shown Element by element cost multiplied by element by time ratio
in (9) gives the element by time cost as shown in (18). This matrix
JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999 / 341
shows the cost that should be invested to each building ele-
冉冘 冊
n

ment at each time span P(1) (2) (n)

m⫻m, Pm⫻m, . . . , Pm⫻m P(k)
m⫻m = Im⫻m (19)
k=1

Cm⫻t = Cm⫻m ⭈ Rm⫻t (18) Using the probability matrices, the expected value of account
by time cost is calculated by (20)

冉冘 冊
Probability Considerations n

E(Cw⫻t) = Cw⫻m ⭈ P km⫻m ⭈ Rkm⫻t (20)

The progress ratio matrix Rm⫻t is a matrix-shaped schedule
that represents the work progress ratio of each building ele-
ment at each time span. If the total work quantity of a building
element k is 1, the work progresses as rk1, rk2, . . . , rkt, where
k is an arbitrary integer between 1 and m, and rk1, rk2, . . . , rkt
are cells of the matrix Rm⫻t. For example, rk1 is the amount of
work required for element k at time span 1, rk2 is at time span
2, etc. Let the probability that work at a building element k
will progress at the rate of rk1, rk2, . . . , rkt be pk, to give the
probability matrix Pm⫻m for Rm⫻t.
If a project has more than one possible alternative schedule,
such as R(1) (2) (n)
w⫻t, Rw⫻t, . . . , Rw⫻t, where n is the number of alter-
natives, the probability of each schedule can be represented as
shown in (19)
k=1
Project Economy Evaluation
The matrices described above are the units of mathematical
representation of a construction project. These matrices can be
applied to project planning and control in a number of ways.
This research presents an application procedure to find the
optimum interest values and schedule from the known unit
costs and quantities of the project.
Net Future Value and Interest Value
Net future values (NFV) can be obtained by multiplying
a net present value (NPV) by the compound interest factor

FIG. 2. Example of Matrix Application Procedure

342 / JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999

 TABLE 2. Cell Formulas for Spreadsheet Application
Range names Cells Cell formulas Units Equation reference Figure reference
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Range(‘‘Qwm’’) Qwm!C3:Q19 — Quantity (2) Fig. 3
Range(‘‘Uwa’’) Uwa!C3:F19 — Currency/Quantity (3) Fig. 4
Range(‘‘Rmt㛭1’’) Rmt㛭1!C3:T17 — — (4) Fig. 5
Range(‘‘Rmt㛭2’’) Rmt㛭2!C3:T17 — — (4) Fig. 6
Range(‘‘Ett’’) Ett!C3:T20 — — (24) Fig. 7
Range(‘‘Qw1’’) Qww!C3:C19 {=MMULT(Qwm,Im1)} Quantity (6) —
Range(‘‘Qww’’) Qww!E3:U19 {=Qw1*Iww} Quantity (12) —
Range(‘‘Uw1’’) Uww!C3:C19 {=MMULT(Uwa,Ia1)} Currency/Quantity (7) Fig. 8
Range(‘‘Uww’’) Uww!E3:U19 {=Uw1*Iww} Currency/Quantity (8) —
Range(‘‘Cwm’’) Cwm!C3:Q19 {=MMULT(Uww,Qwm)/1000} Currency (9) Fig. 9
Range(‘‘Cm1’’) Cmm!C3:C17 {=MMULT(TRANSPOSE(Cwm),Iw1) Currency (10) Fig. 10
Range(‘‘Cwa’’) Cwa!C3:F19 {=MMULT(Qww,Uwa)/1000} Currency (13) Fig. 11
Range(‘‘Cw1’’) Cww!C3:C19 {=MMULT(Cwa,Ia1)} Currency (14) —
Range(‘‘Qwt㛭1’’) Qwt!C3:T19 {=MMULT(Qws,Rst㛭1)} Quantity (15) —
Range(‘‘Cwt㛭1’’) Cwt(1)!C3:T19 {=MMULT(Cws,Rst㛭1)} Currency (16) Fig. 12
Range(‘‘Cwt㛭2’’) Cwt(2)!C3:T19 {=MMULT(Cws,Rst㛭2)} Currency (16) Fig. 13
Range(‘‘Cmt㛭1’’) Cmt!C3:T17 {=MMULT(Css,Rst㛭1)} Currency (18) —
Range(‘‘Vwt㛭1’’) Vwt(1)!C3:T19 {=MMULT(Cwt㛭1,Ett)} Currency (25) Fig. 14
Range(‘‘Vwt㛭1’’) Vwt(2)!C3:T19 {=MMULT(Cwt㛭1,Ett)} Currency (25) Fig. 15

(F 兩P, e, t), where e is the interest rate and t is the number of where Vw⫻t = matrix that is composed of interest values dis-
time spans tributed over the cost account per each time span.
The interest value at each time span is calculated as
NFV = NPV(1 ⫹ e)t = NPV(F 兩P, e, t) (21)
V1⫻t = I1⫻w ⭈ Vw⫻t (26)
If the time span for the total duration of a project is t, and
if the investment for time span j is Cj, then the total net future and the total interest value is
value of the project cost is
V = I1⫻w ⭈ Vw⫻t ⭈ It⫻1 (27)
NFVTotal = C1(1 ⫹ e)t ⫹ C2(1 ⫹ e)t⫺1 ⫹ ⭈ ⭈ ⭈

冘 Indirect Cost Considerations

t

⫹ Ct⫺1(1 ⫹ e)2 ⫹ Ct(1 ⫹ e)1 = Cj (1 ⫹ e)t⫺j⫹1

j=1 (22) The unit direct cost Uw⫻w is normally proportional to those
quantities, but there are indirect costs, such as project over-
Therefore, the interest value V is calculated as (Li 1996)

冘 冘 冘
t t t

V= Cj (1 ⫹ e)t⫺j⫹1 ⫺ Cj = Cj {(1 ⫹ e)t⫺j⫹1 ⫺ 1}

j=1 j=1 j=1

(23)
This is the actual investment change over time due to the in-
terest rate. To transform this equation into matrix form, let Et⫻t

冋 册
be the compound interest matrix as
(1 ⫹ e)t 0 ⭈⭈⭈ 0
0 (1 ⫹ e)t⫺1 ⭈⭈⭈ 0
Et⫻t = (24)
⭈⭈⭈
0 0 ⭈⭈⭈ (1 ⫹ e)
then
Vw⫻t = Cw⫻t ⭈ Et⫻t ⫺ Cw⫻t = Cw⫻t ⭈ (Et⫻t ⫺ It⫻t) (25)

FIG. 4. Work by Account Unit Cost Matrix Uw ⴛa

FIG. 3. Work by Element Quantity Matrix Qw ⴛm FIG. 5. Element by Time Progress Ratio Matrix—Plan 1 R(1)
mⴛt

JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999 / 343

heads of home-office expenditures, which are usually propor- V = V1⫻t ⭈ It⫻1 (30)
tional to time. Let Vb⫻1 be the unit indirect cost matrix, where
b is the column of time-proportional cost items of the project, Project Planning and Control
then the total indirect cost can be calculated by the following
equation: If the unit costs and quantities are fixed, several alternatives
exist that may save the project cost by minimizing: (1) the
C I
b⫻t =UI
b⫻1 ⭈ I1⫻t (28) expected value of account by time cost E(Ca⫻t) or expected
Therefore, the interest value at the time span t is calculated as value of work by time cost E(Cw⫻t); (2) the duration or the
indirect cost; and (3) the interest value.
V1⫻t = I1⫻w ⭈ Cw⫻t ⭈ (Et⫻t ⫺ It⫻t) ⫹ I1⫻b ⭈ CIb⫻t ⭈ (Et⫻t ⫺ It⫻t) The project schedule Rm⫻t can lead to the minimized ex-
pected values of Cm⫻t or Cw⫻t. In some cases, if resources are
= (I1⫻w ⭈ Cw⫻t ⫹ I1⫻b ⭈ Cb⫻t
I
) ⭈ (Et⫻t ⫺ It⫻t) (29) not constrained and no changes in critical path are expected,
one way to minimize the interest values is to reduce project
and the total interest value is
duration and to start all of the activities at their latest start
times. Fig. 2 shows one of the possible procedures of matrix
application to project planning and control.

FIG. 6. Element by Time Progress Ratio Matrix—Plan 2 R(2)

mⴛt

FIG. 9. Work by Element Cost Matrix Cw ⴛm = Uw ⴛw ⭈ Qw ⴛm

FIG. 7. Time Interest Rate Vector Et , Interest Rate = 12% per

Year FIG. 10. Element Cost Vector Cmⴛ1 = CTw ⴛm ⭈ Iw ⴛ1

FIG. 8. Work Unit Cost Vector Uw ⴛ1 = Uw ⴛa ⭈ Iaⴛ1 FIG. 11. Work by Account Cost Matrix Cw ⴛa = Qw ⴛw ⭈ Uw ⴛa

344 / JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999

 w ⴛt = Cw ⴛm ⭈ Rmⴛt or Cw ⴛt = Uw ⴛw ⭈ Qw ⴛt
Work by Time Cost Matrix—Plan 1 C(1) (1) (1) (1)
FIG. 12.

w ⴛt = Cw ⴛm ⭈ Rmⴛt or Cw ⴛt = Uw ⴛw ⭈ Qw ⴛt
Work by Time Cost Matrix—Plan 2 C(2) (2) (2) (2)
FIG. 13.

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
This research demonstrates matrix applications using the
MS-Excel software for a 5-story housing project in Puchon,
South Korea, according to the flow shown in Fig. 2. Indirect
costs and probability considerations are excluded here for con-
venience. Project breakdown structures of the project are sum-
marized in Table 1 and some cell formulas for the spreadsheets
are listed in Table 2. An abstracted project breakdown structure
and matrices are presented here to reduce complexity. Each
matrix is assigned to each worksheet of a workbook so that
all of the matrices are included in one workbook. Because all
of the worksheets are linked to one another, a slight change
in the data of a matrix affects the remaining matrices. There-
fore, it is possible to dynamically compare how each set of
data is affecting the other sets of data.
Figs. 3–7 show base matrices. The work by element quan- FIG. 14. Work by Time Interest Value Matrix—Plan 1 V(1)
w ⴛt =

tity matrix in Fig. 3 can be generated from quantity estimates, w ⴛt ⭈ Etⴛt

and the work by account unit cost matrix in Fig. 4 can be
generated from the unit cost list of the project. The element
by time progress ratio matrix in Fig. 5 is a bar chart numeri-
cally represented in a spreadsheet. These matrices can be eas-
ily constructed because typical cost or schedule software data
developed in the Windows 95 environment can be largely con-
verted into a spreadsheet format. Two alternatives of the prog-
ress ratio matrix (R(1) (2)
m⫻t and Rm⫻t) are prepared for the project
as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively, for the purpose of
comparing the effect of cost variances with different schedules
within a project. In this project the structural works are more
influential to the critical paths and some of the internal finish
works would be expected to have longer floats. Four internal
finish works in Fig. 6 are scheduled later than those in Fig. 5.
JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999 / 345
C(1)
Using the unit vectors and the base matrices, seven matrices
of cost and quantity are generated in various forms as shown
in Figs. 8–11. The quantity and cost matrices are interacted
with the two different progress ratio matrices to show the ef-
fect of cost variances with different schedules as shown in
Figs. 12–15. Because some of the internal finish works in
R(2) (1)
m⫻t are scheduled later than in the case of Rm⫻t, it is expected
that the sum of the interest values will be smaller in R(2)m⫻t than
in R(1)
m⫻t if critical paths are not changed. Figs. 14 and 15 show
how much different the results are between the two schedule
matrices. The sum of interest values are about 2.4 million
won (W) and 1.3 million won (W) in Figs. 14 and 15,
respectively. Because spreadsheets enable the users to change
 Typical cost and schedule programs contain a variety of
useful functions in scheduling and cost control, but they re-
quire the input of abundant data during the control process.
The matrix application presented in this research requires only
three or four base matrices for input, which is easily obtained
from other sources. Users can obtain 12 additional data sets
with less effort and can save the memories of computers.
The matrix operations and procedures presented in this re-
search are capable of enhancing the understanding of the re-
lationship among various data sets of construction projects and
can be utilized as an aid for cost planning and project economy
evaluation.

APPENDIX I. REFERENCES
Harris, R. B. (1978). Precedence and arrow networking techniques for
FIG. 15. Work by Time Interest Value Matrix—Plan 2 V(2)
w ⴛt = construction. Wiley, New York.
w ⴛt ⭈ Etⴛt
C(2) Hendrickson, C., and Au, T. (1989). Project management for construction.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Kim, J. J. (1995). ‘‘A study on the integration of design/cost/schedule
the cell values easily, the users can generate various alterna- information (I).’’ J. Arch. Inst. of Korea, 11(2), 163–171.
tives of Rm⫻t to determine the optimum level of investment. Li, S. (1996). ‘‘New approach for optimization of overall construction
schedule.’’ J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 122(1), 7–13.
CONCLUSIONS Moder, J. J., et al. (1983). Project management with CPM, PERT and
precedence diagramming Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York.
In a unique project, various sets of data for the project, Popescu, C. M., and Charoenngam, C. (1995). Project planning, sched-
including time and cost, are interrelated with each other during uling, and control in construction. Wiley, New York.
Teicholz, P. M. (1987). ‘‘Current needs for cost control systems.’’ Project
the construction process. A conflict exists in integrating the controls: Needs and solutions, C. W. Ibbs and D. B. Ashley, eds.,
time and cost data due to the differences between WBS and ASCE, New York, 47–57.
CBS. This research introduced mathematical matrices and pre-
sented several applications and methodologies that use the ma- APPENDIX II. NOTATION
trices in project planning and control.
The following symbols are used in this paper:
Among the various data sets that are required for the plan-
ning and control of a construction project, the cost- time-re- a = cost account;
lated data sets of the projects are normally composed in matrix b = number of time-proportional cost items;
forms. Assuming that most matrices are closely related to one Cm⫻t = element by time cost;
another, the relationship of each matrix is represented as a Cm⫻w = element by work cost;
series of matrix operations so that they can be easily applied Cw⫻a = work by account cost;
to project planning and control. By representing each data set Cw⫻t = work by time cost;
of the project in matrix form, this research defined three types Cw⫻w = work cost;
of base matrices and presented several types of application Et⫻t = compound interest;
matrices composed of quantities and costs. e = interest rate;
A series of matrix operations is developed to show the in- (F 兩P, e, n) = compound interest factor;
terrelationship between the matrices. As an application of the I = unit matrix;
matrix operations to the project planning and control, a project i, j = positive integer indices;
economy evaluation procedure was presented. The matrix ap- Mv⫻h = v ⫻ h matrix;
plication is implemented through a spreadsheet program in m = building element;
which the matrices are automatically connected with each Pm⫻t = probability of Rm⫻t;
other. Qw⫻m = work package by element quantity;
Qw⫻w = work quantity (symmetric matrix form);
A case study was performed on a 5-story housing project to
Qw⫻1 = work quantity (column vector form);
verify the capability and utility of the computerized matrix Rm⫻t = element by time ratio;
application in integrating project time and cost. The result rij = ith row jth column of progress ratio matrix;
showed that the matrices effectively estimated and distributed t = time span;
the costs and interest values over different items. The linked Ua⫻w = account by work unit cost;
matrices displayed dynamically how each data set of the proj- UIb⫻1 = unit indirect cost;
ect affects the other sets of data. For example, the work by Uw⫻w = work unit cost;
time cost matrix shows the cost of work packages at each time uii = ith row jth column of unit cost matrix;
span as well as the change in cost when the schedule is V = interest value;
changed. This approach may be one of the best ways to show Vw⫻t = work by time interest value; and
the interrelationship between time and cost. w = work package.

346 / JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999