Description

CPMLevel is a 16-bit Windows program to perform CPM scheduling and resource leveling based on an enhanced version of the Minimum Moment Method for resource leveling.

The algorithm for the original Minimum Moment Method is described in:

R. B. Harris, Precedence and Arrow Networking Techniques for Construction,

J. Wiley & Sons, NY, NY, 1978.

The enhanced algorithm for the Minimum Moment Method is described in the "CPMLevel Reference Manual" (included with CPMLevel). In addition to the original Minimum Moment Method the enhanced algorithm allows the user to experiment with several different leveling strategies.

The user can observe the effectiveness of the currently-selected leveling strategy by having CPMLevel animate the resource histogram dynamically and show the corresponding "Resource Improvement Coefficient", RIC, while it performs resource leveling. The RIC is similar to the coefficient of variation in statistics and measures the relative smoothness at the top of the current resource histogram. (See figure below.)

Activities can also be dragged back-and-forth manually in the CPMLevel bar-chart and this allows the user to investigate alternative strategies (other than the Minimum Moment Method).

Required Files and Installation Instructions for Windows (32-bit and 16-bit)

• CPML_ZIP.EXE is a "zip" self-extracting archive that contains all CPMLevel files (program, documentation, and examples). Download it to an empty directory on your hard disk. In Windows x86 you can simply run CPML_ZIP.EXE to unpack its contents. You can also unzip it with a program such as WinZip, WinRAR, or 7-zip.
• To run CPMLevel just run the file CPMLevel.exe. No other installation is necessary. You may wish to create a shortcut for easy launching.

Required Files and Installation Instructions for 64-bit Windows, OSX, and Linux

• Because CPMLevel is a 16-bit Windows app it will not run directly under 64-bit Windows unless you use a virtual machine to install a 32-bit version of Windows.
• An easier and free alternative using DOSBox and Windows 3.11 is available below.

How to install and run CPMLevel using DOSBox and Windows 3.11

• Download and install the version of DOSBox for your operating system from:
• http://www.dosbox.com/
• Create a new empty folder in the root directory of your C: drive with the name:
• C:\_DOSBox_C
• (This new empty folder will become the C: drive for DOSBox.)
• Download the zip archive
• CPMLevel_with_DOSBox_and_Windows311.zip
• into the newly created folder
• C:\_DOSBox_C
• Use your favorite utility to unzip the archive
• CPMLevel_with_DOSBox_and_Windows311.zip
• so that its contents are placed directly into the newly created folder
• C:\_DOSBox_C
• and NOT into a subdirectory (or subfolder).
• Note: If this step is done correctly, the following directories will be available:
• C:\_DOSBox_C\Windows
• C:\_DOSBox_C\CPMlevel
• Also, if this step is done correctly the following batch file will be available
• C:\_DOSBox_C\Windows.bat
• Run DOSBox on your computer.
• This will present you with a DOS command line as follows:
• Z:\>
• Type the following commands exactly as shown to
• (a) Mount the newly created folder C:\_DOSBox_C as drive C: in DOSBox
• (b) Start Windows 3.11.
• == Type the following commands into DOSBox ==
• Z:\>mount c C:\_DOSBox_C
• Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\_DOSBox_C
• Z:\>C:
• C:\>windows.bat
• The above commands will start Windows 3.11 inside DOSBox.
• To start CPMlevel, double-click its icon.
• From here on please refer to the documents:
• CPMlevel Reference Manual: referman.pdf
• CPMlevel User Guide: usrguide.pdf