115 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
115 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
# Monte Carlo Project Scheduler (mcps)
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Monte Carlo Project Scheduler (mcps) is a command-line tool that runs Monte
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Carlo simulations on project schedules to estimate completion times and effort
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required. It helps project managers and engineers gain a better understanding of
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potential project risks and timelines by providing a probabilistic analysis of
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schedule durations and total work effort.
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## Features
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- **Simulate Project Schedules**: Run multiple simulations to estimate the
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probability distribution of project completion times and total work effort.
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- **Customizable Inputs**: Accepts project schedules in YAML or JSON formats,
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with options to override certain parameters like the number of workers or the
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number of iterations.
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- **Visual Output**: Generates an ASCII-based cumulative distribution function
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(CDF) graph, providing an easy-to-understand visualization of the simulation
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results.
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## Installation
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### Prerequisites
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You'll need to have Rust installed on your system to build the project. You can
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install Rust using `rustup`:
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```bash
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curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
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```
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### Option 1: Install from Crates.io (preferred)
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```bash
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cargo install mcps
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```
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### Option 2: Clone and build the repository locally
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```bash
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git clone https://github.com/swaits/mcps.git
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cd mcps
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cargo build --release
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```
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The binary will be available at `target/release/mcps`.
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## Usage
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Once you have built the tool, you can use it by providing a project schedule
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file in YAML or JSON format.
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### Basic Usage
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```bash
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mcps example.yaml -i 100000 -w 10
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```
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This command runs the Monte Carlo simulation on the [`example.yaml`](./example.yaml) schedule file
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with 100,000 iterations and overrides the number of workers to 10.
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### Command-Line Options
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- `-i, --iterations <iterations>`: Specify the number of iterations to run. Must be at least 100. Default is 50,000.
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- `-w, --workers <num_workers>`: Override the number of workers specified in the schedule file.
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- `-v, --version`: Print version information.
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- `-h, --help`: Print help information.
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### Schedule File Format
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The tool accepts schedule files in YAML or JSON format. Below is an example of the YAML format:
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```yaml
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num_workers: 5 # for the purpose of scheduling simulation
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estimate_confidence: 0.80 # confidence actuals will fall inside estimate bounds
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tasks:
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- id: DesignPhase
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min_time: 1.5 # 1.5 days
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max_time: 3.5 # 3.5 days
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dependencies: []
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- id: ImplementationPhase
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min_time: 2.25 # 2.25 days
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max_time: 4.75 # 4.75 days
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dependencies: [DesignPhase]
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```
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This repo includes examples in [JSON](./example.json) and
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[YAML](./example.yaml).
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### Example Output
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The tool generates an ASCII-based cumulative distribution function (CDF) graph,
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which visually represents the distribution of project durations and effort:
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## Project Details
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### Contributing
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Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute, please fork the
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repository and make changes as you'd like. Pull requests are warmly welcomed.
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### Issues
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If you encounter any issues with the tool, feel free to open an issue on the repository.
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### Acknowledgments
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This tool was developed by Stephen Waits. Contributions and suggestions are
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always welcome!
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### License
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This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the [LICENSE](./LICENSE) file for details.
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