We deal here with a scheduling problem GPPCSP (Generalized Parallelism and Preemption Constrained Scheduling Problem) which is an extension of both the well-known Resource Constrained Scheduling Problem and the Scheduling Problem with Disjunctive Constraints. We first propose a reformulation of GPPCSP: according to it, solving GPPCSP means finding a vertex of the Feasible Vertex Subset of an Antichain Polyhedron. Next, we state several theoretical results related to this reformulation process and to structural properties of this specific Feasible Vertex Subset (connectivity, ...). We end by focusing on the preemptive case of GPPCSP and by identifying specific instances of GPPCSP which are such that any vertex of the related Antichain Polyhedron may be projected on its related Feasible Vertex Subset without any deterioration of the makespan. For such an instance, the GPPCSP problem may be solved in a simple way through linear programming.

We consider the problem of scheduling n jobs non-preemptively on m parallel, non-identical processors to minimize a weighted expected cost function of job completion times, where the weights are associated with the jobs. The cost function is assumed to be increasing and concave but otherwise arbitrary. Processing times are IFR with different distributions for different processors. Jobs may be processed on any processor and there are no precedences. We show that the optimal policy orders the jobs in decreasing order of their weights and then uses the individually optimal policy for each job. In other words, processors are offered to jobs in order, and each job considers its own expected cost function for its completion time to decide whether to accept or reject a processor. Therefore, the optimal policy does not depend on the weights of the jobs except through their order. Special cases of our objective function are weighted expected flowtime, weighted discounted expected flowtime, and weighted expected number of tardy jobs.

In the classical sequential assignment problem as introduced by Derman et al. (1972) there are n workers who are to be assigned a finite number of sequentially arriving jobs. If a worker of value p is assigned a job of value x the return is px, where we interpret the return as the probability that the given worker correctly completes the given job. The job value is a random value that is observed upon arrival, and jobs must be assigned or rejected when they arrive. Each worker can only do one job. Derman et al. showed that when the objective is to maximize the expected return, i.e., the expected number of correctly completed jobs, the optimal policy is a simple threshold policy, which does not depend on the worker values. Their result was extended by Albright (1974) to allow job arrivals according to a Poisson process and a single random deadline for job completion (which is equivalent to discounting). Righter (1987) further extended the result to permit workers to have independent random deadlines for job completions. Here we show that when there are independent deadlines a simple threshold policy that is independent of the worker values stochastically maximizes the number of correctly completed jobs, and therefore maximizes the expected number of correctly completed jobs. We also show that there is no policy that stochastically maximizes the number of correctly completed jobs when there is a single deadline. However, when there is single deadline and the objective is to maximize the probability that n jobs are done correctly by n workers, then the optimal policy is determined by a single threshold that is independent of n and of the worker values.