Valuing the Option to Delay in Engineering Management: A Case Study An option to delay can increase a projectu0027s value by providing the flexibility of choosing various decision alternatives after an uncertainty has been revealed. Therefore, options are valuable in settings with high uncertainty and high upfront investments. This paper presents an engineering management decision and determines the corresponding value of the option to delay using a decision analytic approach. The case study and sensitivity analyses show that the option value attains its maximum at the parameter setting that makes the decision maker without the option to delay indifferent between alternatives, indicating the close relationship between the value of perfect information and option value. The insights provide rules of thumb and provide an upper limit to how much should be spent on attaining an option to delay.

An Earned Duration Management Model Integrating Quality Management and Resource Performance Monitoring Project management minimizes the risk that a project deviates from plans. Monitoring and controlling schedule and cost, two of the most critical functions of project management, has been given the most focus in tools such as Earned Duration Management (EDM). Nonetheless, quality and resource management, equally important elements of project management, has not been properly exploited. This paper proposes an extension to the EDM model by incorporating resource performance measurement considering resource capabilities, and how these may be utilized to conduct either quality assurance (QA) or quality control (QC) through rework at any project level to ensure that the projectu0027s quality meet standards. The modelu0027s capabilities were demonstrated through a case study. These considerations provide a more realistic update on project performance. Additionally, deciding between QA or QC, although not mutually exclusive, is dependent on factors, such as effectiveness, additional costs, time, other resources required, and the target quality level.