introduction to primavera p6 eppm r8.2 v3.6

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For Oracle employees and authorized partners only. Do not distribute to third parties.

© 2011 Oracle Corporation – Proprietary and Confidential

INTRODUCTION TO PRIMAVERA

P6 EPPM RELEASE 8

FOR IMPLEMENTATION

CONSULTANTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Lesson 1: Course Overview ...................................................................................... 13

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 13

Course Logistics .......................................................................................................................... 14

Classroom Management ............................................................................................................ 14

What this Course IS – and ISN’T ................................................................................................. 14

Course Learning Objectives ........................................................................................................ 15

Lesson 2: Introduction to Primavera P6 .................................................................... 19

Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 19

Role / Impact Chart .................................................................................................................... 19

Introduction to Oracle-Primavera P6 ......................................................................................... 20

Project-intensive Industries Require Enterprise Project Portfolio Management (EPPM) ......... 21

Why Oracle-Primavera? ............................................................................................................. 22

Enterprise Project Portfolio Management ................................................................................. 23

Enterprise Project Portfolio Management: Single Corporate System of Record ..................... 24

Lesson 3: Data and Basic Navigation ........................................................................ 26

Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 27


Enterprise and Project-Specific Data ......................................................................................... 27

Enterprise Data .......................................................................................................................... 28

Project-Specific Data .................................................................................................................. 28

Enterprise/Project-Specific Data ................................................................................................ 29

Logging In ................................................................................................................................... 30

Dashboards Page Basics ............................................................................................................. 31

Dashboards Page Navigation ..................................................................................................... 32

Opening an Existing Project ....................................................................................................... 33

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Activities Page............................................................................................................................ 36

Lesson 4: Views ......................................................................................................... 39

Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 39

Role / Impact Chart.................................................................................................................... 39

Activity Views ............................................................................................................................ 40

Activity View List ........................................................................................................................ 44

Activity Network ........................................................................................................................ 45

Activity Table ............................................................................................................................. 46

Calendar View ............................................................................................................................ 47

LAB: Customizing a view ........................................................................................................... 48

Columns ..................................................................................................................................... 49

Activity Details ........................................................................................................................... 51

Saving Views .............................................................................................................................. 53

LAB: Create a New View ........................................................................................................... 54

LESSON REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 55

Lesson 5: Enterprise Project Structure ...................................................................... 56

Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 56


Enterprise Project Structure ...................................................................................................... 57

EPS and Security Issues – Changes to User’s Access or Functionality ....................................... 58

Viewing the EPS ......................................................................................................................... 59

Modify the EPS .......................................................................................................................... 60

Benefits of the EPS .................................................................................................................... 60

EPS Implementation Consulting Note ....................................................................................... 60

LESSON REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 61

Small Group Discussion: ............................................................................................................ 62

Lesson 6: Project Details and Defaults ...................................................................... 65

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Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 65


Project Details and Defaults ....................................................................................................... 66

General Tab ................................................................................................................................ 66

Must Finish By Date ................................................................................................................... 67

Project Planned Start Date ......................................................................................................... 67

Project Codes ............................................................................................................................. 68

Codes Tab ................................................................................................................................... 69

Description Tab .......................................................................................................................... 71

Funding Tab ................................................................................................................................ 72

Issues Tab ................................................................................................................................... 73

Notebook Tab ............................................................................................................................. 74

Fields in the Notebook tab ......................................................................................................... 75

Adding a Notebook Topic ........................................................................................................... 76

Risks Tab ..................................................................................................................................... 77

Instructor Led Training Project Setup View ............................................................................... 78

Saving the Project Setup View ................................................................................................... 81

Project Default Fields ................................................................................................................. 82

Auto-numbering Defaults .......................................................................................................... 83

Activity Type ............................................................................................................................... 84

Duration Type............................................................................................................................. 86

Percent Complete Type .............................................................................................................. 88

Cost Account .............................................................................................................................. 90

Calendar ..................................................................................................................................... 91

Additional Project Level Setting Fields ....................................................................................... 92

LESSON REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 94

Lesson 7: Creating a Project ..................................................................................... 95

Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 95

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EPS Page .................................................................................................................................... 96

Expanding and Collapsing .......................................................................................................... 97

Creating a Project ...................................................................................................................... 98

LAB: Create a Project ................................................................................................................ 99

Lesson 8: Modifying Project Information ................................................................ 103

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 103

Role / Impact Chart.................................................................................................................. 103

Overview .................................................................................................................................. 104

Project ID: Project Plans ......................................................................................................... 104

Course Scenario ....................................................................................................................... 104

LAB: Modifying Project IDs ..................................................................................................... 105

Project Name ........................................................................................................................... 105

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 105

Review LAB .............................................................................................................................. 105

Lesson 9: Creating a Work Breakdown Structure..................................................... 107

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 107


Work Breakdown Structure ..................................................................................................... 108

Viewing WBS Elements ............................................................................................................ 109

Create a WBS ........................................................................................................................... 110

Modifying the WBS .................................................................................................................. 111

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 113

Lesson 10: Adding and Editing Activities ................................................................. 115

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 115


Activities .................................................................................................................................. 116

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Activity Attributes .................................................................................................................... 116

LAB: Set up a Project Defaults ................................................................................................. 117

Activity Type ............................................................................................................................. 118

Adding Activities ...................................................................................................................... 119

Saving Changes ......................................................................................................................... 121

LAB: General Tab ..................................................................................................................... 122

Adding Steps to an Activity ...................................................................................................... 125

Lab: Steps ................................................................................................................................ 126

Notebook Tab ........................................................................................................................... 128

Activity Codes ........................................................................................................................... 129

Assigning Activity Codes to an Activity .................................................................................... 130

LAB: Assigning Activity Codes .................................................................................................. 131

Calendars.................................................................................................................................. 132

Calendar Types ......................................................................................................................... 132

Calendar Assignments And Activities ....................................................................................... 133

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 134

Lesson 11: Creating Relationships .......................................................................... 137

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 137

Role / Impact Chart .................................................................................................................. 137

Network Logic Diagram ............................................................................................................ 138

Precedence Diagramming Method .......................................................................................... 138

Relationship Types ................................................................................................................... 139

Relationships with Lag ............................................................................................................. 139

LAB: Creating Relationships in the Activity Details ................................................................. 140

Assigning Lag ............................................................................................................................ 143

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 144

Lesson 12: Scheduling ............................................................................................ 145

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 145

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Critical Path Method Scheduling ............................................................................................. 146

Critical Path.............................................................................................................................. 146

What is the Data Date ? ........................................................................................................... 147

Viewing the Data Date ............................................................................................................. 148

Forward Pass ........................................................................................................................... 149

Backward Pass ......................................................................................................................... 149

Total Float ................................................................................................................................ 149

Backward Pass with Required Finish ....................................................................................... 150

Circular Relationships (Loops) ................................................................................................. 150

Open Ends ................................................................................................................................ 151

Scheduling a Project ................................................................................................................ 152

Schedule Log ............................................................................................................................ 155

Audit Schedules using Schedule Log........................................................................................ 157

Lab: Review Schedule Log and Correct Errors ......................................................................... 158

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 159

Lesson 13: Assigning Constraints ............................................................................ 161

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 161


Constraints ............................................................................................................................... 162

COMMONLY USED CONSTRAINTS ........................................................................................... 163

Impact of Must Finish By Constraint ....................................................................................... 165

Activity Constraints .................................................................................................................. 167

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 169

Lesson 14: Formatting Schedule Data ..................................................................... 171

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 171


Grouping Data ......................................................................................................................... 172

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Customize Grouping Box .......................................................................................................... 173

LAB: Grouping and Sorting ...................................................................................................... 174

Grouping by Date ..................................................................................................................... 175

Sorting Activities ...................................................................................................................... 176

Filtering Activities ..................................................................................................................... 177

Filters Dialog Box ...................................................................................................................... 178

Applying a Standard Filter ........................................................................................................ 180

Using Multiple Filters ............................................................................................................... 181

Clear all Filters .......................................................................................................................... 182

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 183

Lesson 15: Roles and Resources ............................................................................. 185

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 185


Roles and Resources ................................................................................................................ 186

Roles Dictionary ....................................................................................................................... 187

Roles Dictionary Details ........................................................................................................... 188

Defining Resources ................................................................................................................... 189

The Resources Administration Page ........................................................................................ 190

Resource Details ....................................................................................................................... 191

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 195

Lesson 16: Assigning Roles ..................................................................................... 197

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 197


Assigning Roles to Activities ..................................................................................................... 198

LAB: Assign a role to an activity ............................................................................................... 199

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 202

Lesson 17: Assigning Resources and Costs .............................................................. 203

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Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 203


Steps for Resource Management ............................................................................................ 204

Lab: Assigning Resources by Role ........................................................................................... 205

Assigning Resources ................................................................................................................ 206

Lab: Modifying a Resource Assignment.................................................................................. 207

Designating a Primary Resource .............................................................................................. 208

Planning Costs ......................................................................................................................... 209

Resource Costs ........................................................................................................................ 209

Expense Costs .......................................................................................................................... 210

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 212

Small Group Discussion ........................................................................................................... 213

Lesson 18: Analyzing Resources .............................................................................. 215

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 215


Summarize Project Data .......................................................................................................... 217

Team Usage Page .................................................................................................................... 218

Displaying the Team Usage page ............................................................................................. 219

Formatting the Team Usage Page ........................................................................................... 220

Displaying a Resource’s Allocation .......................................................................................... 222

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 223

Lesson 19: Optimizing the Project Plan ................................................................... 225

Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 225


Analyzing the Project ............................................................................................................... 226

Analyzing Schedule Dates ........................................................................................................ 227

Comparing Finish Date to Must Finish By Date ....................................................................... 228

Focusing on Critical Activities .................................................................................................. 229

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LAB: Compressing the Schedule by Focusing on Critical Path Activities ................................. 230

Shortening the Project ............................................................................................................. 233

Refining Duration Estimates .................................................................................................... 234

Modifying Relationships ........................................................................................................... 235

Modifying Constraints .............................................................................................................. 236

Verifying Project Dates............................................................................................................. 237

Analyzing Resource Allocation ................................................................................................. 238

Lab: Use the Team Usage Page to identify over allocated resources. .................................... 239

Identifying Resource Over allocation ....................................................................................... 240

Identifying Activities causing Over allocation .......................................................................... 241

Correcting Over allocation ....................................................................................................... 242

Lab: Resolve Over Allocation ................................................................................................... 245

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 247

Lesson 20: Baselining the Project Plan .................................................................... 249

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 249


Baselines .................................................................................................................................. 251

Creating a Baseline ................................................................................................................... 253

Assigning a Baseline ................................................................................................................. 255

Viewing Baseline Bars .............................................................................................................. 257

Bars Tab .................................................................................................................................... 258

Displaying Baseline Bars ........................................................................................................... 259

Saving the View ........................................................................................................................ 260

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 261

Small Group Lab ....................................................................................................................... 262

Lesson 21: Project Execution and Control ............................................................... 263

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 263

Updating a Project ................................................................................................................... 264

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Defining a Statusing Period ..................................................................................................... 266

Lab: Statusing a Project .......................................................................................................... 268

Rescheduling the Project ......................................................................................................... 271

View Schedule Impacts ............................................................................................................ 272

Controlling the Project ............................................................................................................ 273

Compressing the Schedule ...................................................................................................... 274

LESSON REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 276

SMALL GROUP SUMMARY LAB ................................................................................................ 278

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Notes

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LESSON 1: COURSE OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This training course provides the Implementation Consultant with basic training on

Primavera P6 EPPM v8.2. The course takes a more streamlined approach at

teaching basic functionality, focusing on the fastest way to do things in Primavera P6

EPPM. In addition, each section of the course will provide an organizational impact

assessment of the functionality, including:

� Which Roles at a Customer would care about this functionality?

� Why would they care?

� Are there any Risks associated with this functionality?

In addition, each lesson will include small workshop exercises that require

Participants to take what has been demonstrated/learned and then apply it to a

business scenario.

The course is also structured on an “easy to difficult” skill building path. Therefore,

it will not be possible to skip any course sessions and expect to be able to pick up

missed content. In addition, since content would have been missed, the skills in

successive chapters are built on previous chapters, which would more than likely

leave the Participant confused when he / she could return.

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COURSE LOGISTICS

This course takes three full days to complete. The Instructor will take one break per

hour. The Instructor will set the start and end times for the breaks, and will start

back from break at the agreed upon time.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

The use of cell phones in the class is prohibited. Texting is not allowed. The reason

for these rules is that there is a lot of content being delivered quickly. If a class

participant is constantly coming in and out of the class from an attention

perspective, they will fall behind and will get lost.

Given that this course is a compression of two courses, time is of the essence. The

Instructor will not have time to go back and re-teach content to participants that

have “checked out” by texting, taking meetings, or answering calls.

WHAT THIS COURSE IS – AND ISN’T

This course is a fundamental overview of Primavera P6 EPPM r8.2 functionality. The

expected outcome is fluent understanding of basic functionality. It isn’t an

opportunity to have the instructor provide free consulting expertise during class

time to solve issues that may have arisen during a Customer engagement.

If Participants bring up consulting issues that are not relevant to the scope of this

class, the issues will be tabled on the white board. If there is time, then the

Instructor may discuss these issues during breaks. However, given that there is a lot

of content packed into three days, Participants may find that these discussions are

limited.

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COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Basics of Oracle-Primavera

� Describe Primavera

� Describe P6

Data, Navigating, and Views

� Describe enterprise and project-specific data

� Log in

� Open an existing project

� Navigate in the Home window and Activities window

� Open an existing view

� Customize a view

� Save a view

Enterprise Project Structure

� Describe the components that comprise the Enterprise Project

Structure

� View the EPS

Creating a Project

� Create a project

� Create a project from template

� Navigate in the Projects window

� View and modify information in Project Details

Creating a Work Breakdown Structure

� Create and edit multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy

Adding Activities

� Describe an activity and its components

� Describe activity types

� Add activities

� Add a Notebook topic to an activity

� Add steps to an activity

� Assign activity codes to activities

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Creating Relationships

� View a network logic diagram

� Differentiate between the four relationship types

� Create relationships between Activities

Scheduling

� Perform a forward and backward pass

� Describe float and its impact on a schedule

� Identify loops and open ends

� Calculate a schedule

� Analyze the scheduling log report

Assigning Constraints

� Apply a Must Finish By date to the Project

� Apply a constraint to an individual activity

� Add notebook topics to constrained activities

� Describe the available constraint types

� Identify schedule Risks associated with assigning activity constraints

Formatting Schedule Data

� Group activities according to a specific criteria

� Sort activities

� Apply a filter

� Create a filter

Roles and Resources

� Describe roles

� Views the roles dictionary

� Describe resources

� Identify the differences between labor, non-labor and material

resources

� View the resource dictionary

Assigning Roles

� Assign roles to an activity

� Assign rates to roles

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Assigning Resources and Costs

� Assign resources by role

� Assign labor, non-labor, and material resources to activities

� Adjust Budgeted Units/Time for a resource

� Assign expenses to activities

Analyzing Resources

� Display the Resource Usage Profile

� Format a profile

� Format the timescale

Optimizing the Project Plan

� Analyze schedule dates

� Shorten a project schedule

� Analyze resource availability

� Remove resource over allocation

� Analyze project costs

Baselining the Project Plan

� Create a baseline plan

� Display baseline bars on the Gantt Chart

� Modify the bars on the Gantt Chart

� Adding a progress line

� Identify Risk and Issues associated with the management of baselines

Project Execution and Control

� Describe several methods for updating the project schedule

� Use Progress Spotlight

� Status activities

� Reschedule the project

� Identify potential usage issues associated with statusing a project and

rescheduling

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Reporting Performance

� Describe reporting methods

� Run a schedule report

� Run Configuration reports

� Create a report using the current layout

� Create a report using Report Wizard

Summarizing Project Data & Running Job Services

� View summarizer details

� Manually summarize data

Notes

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LESSON 2: INTRODUCTION TO PRIMAVERA P6

OBJECTIVES

Provide high level overview of Primavera P6 and its role as an Enterprise Project

Portfolio Management tool

ROLE / IMPACT CHART

Role Functionality / Issue

Implementation

Consultant

Present overview information during Project Kick Off

meetings, and during reinforcement meetings with

Executive Sponsors

Executive

Sponsorship

Create and deliver reinforcing communications to

supporting organizations helping to drive adoption

Customer Core

Project Team

Address organizational resistance issues with

information

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INTRODUCTION TO ORACLE-PRIMAVERA P6

Primavera’s mission has always been to “rid the world of project failure”. Primavera

has been achieving this goal – one project and one company at a time. For 25 years

Primavera has been recognized as a global leader in project portfolio management

and consistently ranked as a leader by industry analysts.

Primavera’s primary focus has been on project-intensive industries, as well as the

project-focused groups in all types of businesses. Primavera solutions support

unique industry-specific business processes within these project-intensive

industries. Customer base is especially strong in engineering and construction,

Utilities, oil & gas, the US military, Federal government agencies and Aerospace and

Defense.

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PROJECT-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES REQUIRE ENTERPRISE

PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (EPPM)

When Primavera started in 1983, project management was the responsibility of

specialists in companies whose businesses were completely dependent on

delivering projects. Over the years, Project and Portfolio Management has evolved

into an enterprise-wide application that drives business success in many industries.

Primavera customers, especially those who rely on effective project management

for competitive advantage and profitability, have asked for complete solutions that

integrate financials with project portfolio management to meet the challenges that

these companies face.

� They want to better manage projects in spite of competing priorities

and limited resources.

� Their customers and project sponsors expect faster project delivery

without sacrificing any scope or quality.

� They need visibility into issues, risks, changes, budgets – everything

essential to controlling a project – so everyone has the information

they need to make the best decisions.

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� And across the board, projects are becoming increasingly more

complex which demands tighter collaboration among all participants,

regardless of where they are in the enterprise.

WHY ORACLE-PRIMAVERA?

Primavera is a natural fit for Oracle with an impressive list of customers across

industries.

With Oracle and Primavera, an organization can ensure that clear goals are

communicated from the top down, and are then reflected in the project priorities. It

requires implementing governance processes and data across the enterprise to be

able to deliver the right projects and programs aligned with business goals and

objectives.

Primavera functionality helps to establish processes for aligning resources with the

high-value projects. The single view of data will enable project teams to move faster

in a concerted, integrated effort to satisfy customers and clients.

Primavera provides the information needed to complete projects on time and

within budget – helping to rid the world of project failure. The single system view of

data provides visibility into project performance issues, thereby giving advanced

warning to stakeholders of Risk and Issues that would contribute to project failure.

Primavera provides access to real-time information to make informed decisions and

mitigate risk. Having a comprehensive single view of data will provide

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measurements on commitments made throughout project teams. The

commitments with measurements hold projects accountable for these

commitments. Measurements and Key Performance Indicators drive completion

and success.

ENTERPRISE PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

To understand Primavera products and services, one must have an understanding of

Enterprise Project Portfolio Management. Primavera provides bottom up data from

a dispersed field and uses its best in class scheduling engine to provide real time

schedule and forecast information on:

� Date of Delivery

� Cost at Completion

� Resource requirements

� Contingency required

� Earned value

Primavera's Enterprise Project Portfolio Management products, together with

Oracle's project financials, human resources, supply chain management, product

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lifecycle management, business intelligence, and infrastructure software are

expected to provide the first, comprehensive Enterprise Project Portfolio

Management solution. This solution will help companies optimize resources and the

supply chain, reduce costs, manage changes, meet delivery dates, and ultimately

make better decisions, all by using real-time data.

The combined offering of Oracle and Primavera allows true end to end Enterprise

Project Portfolio Management.

ENTERPRISE PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT:

SINGLE CORPORATE SYSTEM OF RECORD

Primavera P6 is a recognized leading choice for mission critical Enterprise Project

Portfolio Management solutions and helps more than 5,000 global customers and

over 2.5 million users propose, prioritize, select, plan, manage, and control complex

projects.

Primavera’s products are complementary to Oracle’s leading applications,

middleware, and database offerings. Together, Oracle and Primavera provide the

first, comprehensive Enterprise Project Portfolio Management solution for project-

intensive industries, all from a single, global vendor.

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Oracle is well positioned and committed to support Enterprise Project Portfolio

Management (EPPM) customers. Effective EPPM integrated with financial, human

capital management, product lifecycle management, supply chain applications, and

infrastructure software removes the silos that separate traditional PPM from other

key enterprises, and is critical to accelerating business innovation, enabling efficient

project execution, driving project profitability, and reducing risk for large complex

and capital-intensive projects.

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Notes

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LESSON 3: DATA AND BASIC NAVIGATION

OBJECTIVES

� Describe enterprise and project-specific data

� Log in

� Open an existing project

� Navigate in the Dashboard page and Activities page



� Save a view

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

An implementation consultant needs to have an

understanding of the basics of navigation, as well as

what data is Enterprise and Project Specific in order to

configure the system to satisfy the Customer’s business

requirements.

In addition, having an understanding of Enterprise

(Global) and Project data will help define Security

Profiles.

Customer Core

Project Team

The Core Team / Project Team must have an

understanding of the basics of Enterprise and Project

Specific data in order to state their business

requirements in terms of functionality.

ENTERPRISE AND PROJECT-SPECIFIC DATA

A project in P6 contains enterprise data and project-specific data.

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ENTERPRISE DATA

Enterprise data provides the global structure needed to manage multiple projects. It

is available to all projects across the organization and provides the infrastructure for

centralized project and resource management. Enterprise data is usually defined

and maintained by a system administrator.

Examples of enterprise data:

� Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)

� Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)

� Project codes

� Resource codes

� Admin settings and preferences

� Resources

� Cost accounts

Enterprise data is globally configured data that is generally tightly controlled by

Change Controls Boards with a Change Request process in place. Very few people

will have the security to be able to modify Enterprise data to help ensure the

ongoing integrity of the system.

PROJECT-SPECIFIC DATA

Project-specific data is only available to the project in which it is defined. Project

managers will define project-specific data to further control their projects.

Examples of project-specific data:

� Dates

� Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

� Activities

� Activity relationships

� Baselines

� Expenses

� Risks

� Thresholds and issues

� Work products and documents

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� Project Web site

ENTERPRISE/PROJECT-SPECIFIC DATA

The following types of data are enterprise as well as project-specific:

� Calendars

� Reports

� Activity codes

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LOGGING IN

Type a valid Login Name and Password to log in to Primavera P6. If the Login

Name/Password is not known, contact the system administrator.

NOTE: Passwords are case sensitive.

NOTE: Some Customers may have IT Security requirements that have been defined

within the organization. Options exist for both SSO and LDAP support within P6.

Log in to Primavera

1. Launch your internet browser and access the login page.

2. In the Username field, enter <admin>.

3. In the Password field, enter <admin>.

4. Click on the Login button.

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DASHBOARDS PAGE BASICS

The Dashboards page is the starting point for navigation. It provides quick access to

a series of project and enterprise data.

At the top of the Dashboards page is the Navigation bar, which lists the 4 sections

the user will have access within Primavera, which is controlled by a user’s security

settings. Each section provides specific functionality.

It may be helpful to think of the Navigation bar as specific locations of data within

the application. Instead of a file structure, there is a graphical user interface

showing pages with titles.

FUNCTIONALITY NOTE: The data that appears on the dashboards is controlled by

each dashboard’s filter, and is not impacted by the project that is currently open in

the application.

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DASHBOARDS PAGE NAVIGATION

The table below lists key navigation items in the Home window.

Item Description

(1) Navigation Bar The Navigation bar displays the four sections the

user has access; Dashboards, Portfolios, Projects,

and Resources.

(2) Available Dashboards Dashboards can be created by the administrator

and assigned to users. Users can also create user

specific dashboards.

(3) Filter by Box The filter selected in the box controls the data that

is displayed on the dashboard.

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OPENING AN EXISTING PROJECT

In order to edit project data users will need to open a project. Users can open

individual projects or groups of projects. Opening multiple projects is common on

very large projects when each project in P6 represent a smaller subset of the overall

project. Multiple projects can be opened by select individual projects in the Open

Project box, or selecting an EPS node.

FUNCTIONALITY NOTE: if a user does not have access to the node or the project,

they will not be able to open the projects within the node. This is important to

remember, as it often results in calls to Support organizations.

There are very good reasons for understanding how to use the Open Project

dialogue box. The Open Project dialog box lists all the projects you are authorized

to open.

� Open a single project

� Open a single node

� All projects under the node are opened.

� Open multiple projects under different nodes

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Display the Open Project Box

1. On the Navigation bar, click on the Projects drop down arrow.

2. Click on the link Open Projects.

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Open a Project

1. Select all projects in the Selected Projects section and click on the Left pointed

arrow.

2. Expand the All Initiatives and Engineering & Construction nodes.

3. Scroll down and select the project Nesbid Building Expansion.

4. Click on the Right pointed arrow.

5. Click on the Ok button.

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ACTIVITIES PAGE

The Activities page is used to create, view, and edit activities for open projects. The

table below lists key navigation items in the Activities page.

Item Description

(1) Projects Bar Create and manage projects, request or staff

resources, and update project status

(2) Menu Bar All commands executed by toolbar icons can be

accessed with these three commands: Actions,

Edit, and View

(3) Activity Table and

GANTT Chart

List of Activities in the project plan, and the

associated GANTT

(4) Activity Details Tab Details tabs allow entry of information about a

highlighted activity

(5) Tool Bar Use the Activities tool bar to execute features and

functions on the Activities page.

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Navigate to Activities page

1. On the Projects bar, click on Activities.

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Notes

39



LESSON 4: VIEWS

OBJECTIVES



� Save a view

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Views are one of the most powerful features of

Primavera P6 EPPM. The Implementation Consultant

must be fluent in the creation, modification and use of

views.

Customer Core

Project Team


understanding of the basics of Views, as this will be

foundation data for reporting and data entry solutions.

Views are a very powerful feature of Primavera P6 EPPM. A view is a customizable

display of information, combining all the visual elements that appear on the screen.

In the Projects section, Views are available in the EPS and Activities pages. Views

can also be used to enter data.

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ACTIVITY VIEWS

The Activities page provides options for viewing data. Data can be displayed using

four different options. These options are available under the View menu, and on

the toolbar.

Show on Top

In any view, users may access different information.

1. Verify that you are in the Projects section and on the Activities page.

2. In the View drop down list, select Gantt Chart by WBS.

3. In the View menu, select and view each of the following:

� Gantt Chart

� Table

� Activity Network

� Calendar View

4. Click on View, Gantt Chart.

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Activity Details

When a user selects an activity in the Activities page, the Activity details section will

appear.

1. Select the activity Design Building Addition.

2. Click on each tab in the Activities Details.

42



WBS Details

When a user selects a WBS element in the Activities page, the WBS details section

will appear.

1. Select the WBS element Design and Engineering.

2. Click on each tab in the WBS Details.

43



Hiding Details

To hide the details section, click on the Minimize button.

1. Click on the Minimize Details button.

44



ACTIVITY VIEW LIST

Views can be saved three ways:

� Global – Available to all users. A security privilege is required to create

and edit a Global View.

� Multiple Users – Available to a select list of users.

� User – Available only to the user currently logged in.

Selecting views from the Activity View List

Select different activity views. If prompted to save changes to view, click on No.

1. In the Activity View list, select the view Activity Count.

2. In the Activity View list, select the view Simple Spreadsheet.

3. In the Activity View list, select the view Resources.

4. In the Activity View list, select the view Gantt Chart by WBS.

45



ACTIVITY NETWORK

Use the Activity Network to view the relationships between activities and the logical

flow of the activities in the project. Activity boxes can be grouped by various criteria,

such as WBS.

This display is a great way to quickly see relationships between activities. If there

are activities without relationships, then the project’s logic is broken and should be

repaired before scheduling the project in order to properly calculate the project’s

critical path.

Display the Activity Network

1. Click on View, Activity Network.

2. Click on View, Zoom Out until all five activities in Design and Engineering are

visible on the screen.

46



ACTIVITY TABLE

The Activity Table enables the user to display project data in spreadsheet format.

The user can also modify the columns in the Activity Table to meet their needs.

Display the Activity Table on the entire screen to analyze data solely in tabular

format.

Display the Activity Table

1. Click on View, Table.

47



CALENDAR VIEW

The Calendar View enables the user to display project data in a Calendar format.

Display the Calendar View

1. Click on View, Calendar View.

2. Scroll to November 2011.

48



LAB: CUSTOMIZING A VIEW

Any view can be customized and saved as a new view. Saving views for future use

allows users to quickly retrieve information. The View menu and the Customize

View box are the centralized areas for view customization.

The following is a list of view elements that are customizable:

� Columns

� Activity grouping and sorting

� Filters

� Bars

� Gantt Chart

� Activity Network

BEST PRACTICE: As mentioned previously, any view can be customized and saved as

a new view. There are also a number of predefined views that are available in

Primavera P6. P6 users should explore each of the predefined views for possible use

before starting from scratch to build all new views.

49



COLUMNS

The Columns box enables the user to select columns to display in the Activity Table

and specify the order in which they appear.

� Available Columns section — Lists data items by category.

� Selected Columns section — Lists items currently displayed.

� Single arrows — Move highlighted data items to the other section.

� Up/down arrows — Configure the order of the data items.

� Show first column as – The Activity ID or Activity Name must be the first

column in the Activity Table. Whichever field is not selected in this list

must be added to the Selected Columns list.

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Add a column to the Activity Table and reorder

1. Click on View, Gantt Chart.

2. Click on View, Columns.

3. In the Show the first column as list, select Activity ID.

4. Under Available Options, expand the General group, select Activity Name and

click on the Right pointed arrow.

5. Under Available Options, expand the Dates group, select Start and click on the

Right pointed arrow.

6. Under Selected Options, select Activity Status and Primary Resource and click on

the Left pointed arrow.

7. Use the Up and Down buttons to reorder the fields to match the Screenshot.

8. Click OK.

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ACTIVITY DETAILS

The tabs displayed in Activity Details can be hidden.

BEST PRACTICE: It may be beneficial to create views that have only some of the

available tabs visible for specific functionality.

Customize Activities Details

1. Click on View, Customize Detail Windows.

2. Under Area, select Activities.

3. Clear the checkboxes for Expenses, Feedback, Issues, and Risks.

4. In the Customize Detail Windows box, click on the Save button.

5. In the Customize Detail Windows box, click on the Close button.

52



53



SAVING VIEWS

Views can be Global, Multiple User, or User.

� View, Save — Saves changes to the existing view.

� View, Save As — Prompts the user to save the view with a new name.

Customize Activities Details

1. Click on View, Save View As.

2. In the Save View As box enter <Organized by WBS with Details>.

54



LAB: CREATE A NEW VIEW

Scenario

Customer has an immature project management organization that has not had a lot

of training in Primavera P6 EPPM. Within this organization, there are six new

project managers that will be responsible for updating schedule status.

Procedure

Using current project as sample data, design and build a simple view using the Gantt

Chart by WBS as a template.

Create the prototype, and determine the best way of proving out the usability of

this view.

Save the view in such a way that the original view is not over written.

Be prepared to present the view to the class.

55



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

The Dashboard page is a starting point for navigating in Primavera.

� Use the Navigation bar for quick access to Dashboards, Portfolios,

Projects, and Resources sections.

� A project consists of enterprise and project-specific data.

� View activity data in the Activities page and customize the view.

� Use views to easily display data specific to the user’s needs. The user

can customize views by selecting columns.

� Activity Details, arranged in tabs, displays detailed information for the

activity highlighted.

Discussion Questions

1. True or False: A view can be saved so it can be accessed by only one user.

2. How can an entire node of projects be opened simultaneously?

56



LESSON 5: ENTERPRISE PROJECT STRUCTURE

OBJECTIVES

� Describe the components that comprise the Enterprise Project

Structure

� View the EPS

� Discuss the importance of the EPS

� Identify different ways of setting up the EPS given varying business

requirements

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

The Enterprise Project Structure will more than likely

be the first set of global data to be defined in a typical

implementation. Therefore, the Implementation

Consultant must be able to understand how to define

the EPS with the Customer.

Customer Core

Project Team


understanding of the Enterprise Project Structure, as

they will need to work with the Implementation

Consultant to define it in such as way as to facilitate

the basics of reporting to Management.

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ENTERPRISE PROJECT STRUCTURE

The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) is a hierarchy used to organize projects.

� The EPS is made of roots and nodes.

� Each root in the EPS can be subdivided into many nodes.

� Nodes represent different levels within the structure.

It may be helpful to think of the EPS as the default group and sort, or the standard

filing system for projects.

For example, nodes can represent divisions within the company, departments,

project groups, or site locations.

� All projects must be included in a node.

� Each node can contain an unlimited number of projects

� Projects always represent the lowest level of the hierarchy

� Placement of a project in the hierarchy determines the summary level

in which it is included

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EPS AND SECURITY ISSUES – CHANGES TO USER ’S ACCESS OR

FUNCTIONALITY

Although the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) will not be discussed in this

course, these two notes are very important to remember. They will be recalled

during discussion on OBS and Security Profiles.

NOTE: Depending on which node the project resides, and depending on how users

have been assigned to EPS Nodes and OBS elements will affect if a User will have

access to a project. This is important, as it may result in a call to Support if the user

can’t see a project.

NOTE: Depending on which node the project resides, depending on how users have

been assigned to EPS Nodes and OBS elements, and depending on what Project

Security Profile has been assigned to a User in that EPS Node / OBS element will

determine what a User is able to do in a project. This is important, as it may result

in a call to Support if the user cannot modify data in a specific project plan.

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VIEWING THE EPS

A user can view the Enterprise Project Structure in the Projects section on the EPS

page.

The three fields to enter when adding an EPS node are:

� EPS ID — Identifies the selected EPS node.

� EPS Name — Description of the selected EPS node.

� Responsible Manager — Use this field to select an OBS

(Organizational Breakdown Structure) element to associate with the

selected level of the EPS.

As noted, the OBS will not be discussed in the chapter.

View the EPS

1. On the Navigation bar, click on Projects.

2. Click on the EPS page.

3. Open the view EPS Only View.

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MODIFY THE EPS

This functionality will be taught in the Application Administration course.

BENEFITS OF THE EPS

Each node in the EPS offers the customer the opportunity to roll up data.

Customers can define their EPS by Program, Functional Organization, Location, and

various other types of criteria. There is no one correct way to define the EPS.

The EPS offers many benefits, including the ability to:

� View project priorities, scope, budgets, and resources across the entire

project structure or within a specific node.

� Manage projects separately while retaining the ability to roll up and

summarize data across multiple projects.

� Each node acts as a master project, rolling up all "child" nodes and

projects.

� A node can be opened to view all detailed activity information from

the "child" projects.

� View resource allocation across projects.

� Assign security at any level of the project structure to provide users

with appropriate access to project information. For example, if a user

is assigned to the Construction Node only, then they will only have

access to that node and its children.

EPS IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTING NOTE

Defining the EPS can be a very time consuming process at a customer site. It is

important to communicate to customers that the EPS can be easily modified to

respond to changing business requirements.

In addition, and as this course will show in later chapters, it is possible to group and

sort on any criteria that is defined in the system by using codes. If a Customer

understands that this is possible, and if they understand that customized views can

be created with the grouping and sorting of the data as they desire for specific users

or organizations, the definition of the EPS will no longer seem to be limiting and

finite.

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LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� The EPS is a hierarchy that represents the management and

organization of projects in the company.

� In the EPS, the root is the top level and can be subdivided into nodes.

Each node represents a level in the project structure that can hold

another node or a project. Projects represent the lowest level of the

hierarchy.

� The EPS enables a user to view project data across the entire project

structure or within a specific node.

Review Questions

1. True or False: Five projects are the limit under each node.

2. True or False: A user can open only one project at a time.

3. True or False: Once the EPS is set in Primavera P6 EPPM, it can never be

changed.

62



SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION:

15 minutes for discussion, 30 minutes for presentation

A user will be assigned to a smaller working group, and assigned one of the

following business scenarios. Determine how to best represent the EPS for this

customer using the requirements noted in the assigned business scenario.

Scenario A:

The customer is in the Utilities industry. The customer mentions that in the

planning, design, and building of a new nuclear power plant, that each component

in the end to end program is owned by a distinct organization that owns an

organizational budget. Each organization has budgeted effort for the specific

component within the end to end program. Each organization must also be able to

view roll ups of staffing plans to determine headcount shortfalls and associated

hiring plans.

Scenario B:

The customer is in Information Technology. The customer is an international

customer. Each IT organization is parsed into multiple sub organizations. Each sub

organization is budgeted and managed by location. Resources are also wholly

owned and managed by country. However, global projects require participation by

resources within each country. Global projects must be able to pull data into a

Program view.

Scenario C:

The customer is in the Oil and Gas industry. The customer utilizes master schedules,

with sub schedule components that are owned by sub contractor organizations.

Each sub contractor organization must update their schedules each week in

Primavera, export the project, and send it to the customer for inclusion into the

master schedule. The master schedule is managed as one project; however, the

projects are 10 to 15 years in duration, with global implications.

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Scenario D:

The customer is in Public Sector. The customer is mandated to use government

Earned Value Management processes. The customer’s projects are broken out by

contracted deliverable. Each deliverable must report Earned Value Management

metrics and agreed upon performance metrics. The contracted deliverables are

owned by different departments within the government. The resources for each

project deliverable may be government employees, or may be contractor

organizations.

64



Notes

65



LESSON 6: PROJECT DETAILS AND DEFAULTS

OBJECTIVES

� Navigate throughout Project Details

� Modify Project Details

� Assign Calendars

� Assign Project Status

� Assign Project Codes

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Implementation Consultant must be fully versant in

each of the Project Details tabs, and understand the

implications of making different selections in Project

Details.

Core Project

Team

Core Project Team members must be able to coach

Users in affected organization on the use of Project

Details.

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PROJECT DETAILS AND DEFAULTS

Project Details is located in the bottom layout of the EPS page. It can be used to

define the project properties.

Project Defaults can be defined by displaying the appropriate columns and editing

the data in Project Table, or by clicking on Actions, Set Project Preferences.

GENERAL TAB

The General tab enables a user to view or modify general information about the

selected project. Project ID, Project Name, and Responsible Manager can be set

when you create the project, or a user can change them here.

� Project ID — Short, unique identifier for the project.

� Project Name — Name of the project.

� Project Status — Indicates project status. There are 4 project statuses:

Planned, Active, Inactive, and What If.

� Responsible Manager — Individual or organization selected from the

OBS that is responsible for the project. Users associated with this OBS

node will have access to the project, but what level of access is

dependent on the Project Security Profile.

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MUST FINISH BY DATE

The Must Finish By field is not a mandatory field. A user can assign a project Must

Finish By date at any point in the project life cycle in the General tab in Project

Details.

PROJECT PLANNED START DATE

Project Planned Start date is the current scheduled start date of the project. It

should not be confused with Actual Start, which is applied once the project has

started. Planned Start Dates are used to help create staffing and budget plans, as

well as see projects within a portfolio within the web.

View the Project Planned Start Date

1. On the Navigation bar, click on Projects, then click on the EPS page.

2. Under the Engineering & Construction node, select the project Nesbid Building

Expansion.

3. Click on the General tab.

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PROJECT CODES

Project codes allow users to categorize projects. An unlimited number of project

codes can be defined and their values assigned to projects. Since Project Codes are

defined at the enterprise level, a security privilege is required to create and edit

them, but not to use them.

Project codes can be set up in a tabular format in the EPS page for easy entry and

then saved as a view. Codes can be modified from the tables as well as the Codes

tab. The benefit of using a view rather than the Codes tab is that the User can be

certain that all of the codes have in fact been assigned to each project. It is also

very easy to determine if a required project code is missing and must be assigned.

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CODES TAB

The Codes tab enables users to assign project code values to the selected project.

Project codes allow users to group the projects in the EPS to specific categories,

such as location or division. Project codes also are useful organizing large amounts

of information and distinguishing one project from another. Unlimited hierarchical

project codes are supported.

It is extremely important that all required project codes are added to all projects.

Filters, filters applied to views, and grouping and sorting can all be generated using

codes. If the projects are not coded, then the data for the project is not included in

the reports. If the projects are not coded correctly, then any views that use filters

built on codes will not include those projects.

RISK: If customers are using the Codes tab for assigning project codes, it is very

possible that they will miss a required project code. Implementation Consultants

should clearly document all of the requirement project codes for each project type

to mitigate this risk.

BEST PRACTICE: Always create a project set up view for customers showing all

project codes in columns. By doing this, users can clearly see if there are codes that

have not been assigned to projects. In addition, it is easier to assign all codes in this

fashion in the Project Table.

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Assign a Project Code

1. Verify the project Nesbid Building Expansion is selected.

2. Click on the Codes tab.

3. Click on the Assign button.

4. In the Select Project Code box, expand the code Capacity Analysis and select the

value Required.

5. In the Select Project Code box, click on the Assign button, then click on the Close

button.

71



DESCRIPTION TAB

The Description tab enables users to enter a project description which is viewable

when opening a project.

View the Description tab

1. Click the Description tab.

72



FUNDING TAB

The Funding tab enables users to assigning Funding Sources during Customer

engagement where Project Budgeting, Project Cost Accounting, and possible

integrations with Financial Management Systems are in scope. If programs and

projects have multiple funding sources, creating a Funding Sources Dictionary is

required. Funding Sources are often linked to Cost Accounts by virtue of User

Defined Fields.

View the Funding tab

1. Click the Funding tab.

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ISSUES TAB

The Issues tab enables users to document problems or concerns about the projects.

Priority and responsibility can be associated with issues, allowing for tracking and

reporting.

View the Issues tab

1. Click the Issues tab.

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NOTEBOOK TAB

The Notebook tab enables users to write, view, or edit project notes such as the

project’s purpose, core requirements, or other project-specific details.

Notebook topics are defined as part of the configuration of Primavera. Notebook

topics can be assigned at the EPS level, Project level, WBS level, and Activity level.

The graphic below shows the default notebook topics that are used in the dataset

for this course. The notebook topic name is shown, along with where it can be

assigned.

75



FIELDS IN THE NOTEBOOK TAB

� Notebook Topic — List of topics assigned to the selected

node/project.

� Detail — User-defined description of the selected topic. A user can use

HTML editing features, including formatting text, inserting pictures,

copying, pasting, and adding hyperlinks.

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ADDING A NOTEBOOK TOPIC

Add a Notebook Topic

1. Click the Notebooks tab.

2. Click on the Assign button.

3. In the Select Notebook Topic box, select Scope, and click on the Assign button.

4. In the Select Notebook Topic box, click on the Close button.

Double-click in the Description field for Scope, then click on the Browse button.

5. In the Edit Scope box, enter <To build an office building addition>.

6. In the Edit Scope box, click on Ok.

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RISKS TAB

The Risks tab enables users to document potential risks and the probability that the

risk will occur.

View the Risks tab

1. Click the Risk tab.

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INSTRUCTOR LED TRAINING PROJECT SETUP VIEW

We will now set up a new view which we will use for defining project defaults. We

will use the Budgetary Planning view as a template for our new view.

Open the Budgetary Planning View

1. Open the view Budgetary Planning.


3. In the Customize Columns box, remove all of the fields listed under Selected

Columns.

79



Next we will select the fields we will display. Project level defaults settings will be

located in the Preferences group.

Display Fields

1. For the option Show first column as, select Project ID.

2. For the option Sort by, select Project Name.

3. Under Available Columns, expand the group General, and add Project Name.

4. Under Available Columns, expand the group Preferences, and add the following

fields:

• Activity ID Prefix

• Activity ID Suffix

• Activity Type

• Increment

• Calendar

• Duration Type

• Percent Complete Type

• Cost Account

5. Click on Ok.

80



81



SAVING THE PROJECT SETUP VIEW

We will make some final adjustments and then save the new view.

Saving the Project Setup View

1. Use click and drag to adjust the column widths until all fields are visible.


3. In the Save View As box, enter <Project Setup>.

4. Click on Ok.

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PROJECT DEFAULT FIELDS

Prior to creating activities in a schedule, the project default settings should be

reviewed and adjusted to ensure they are in accordance with the overall project

plan. These settings can be changed during the life of the project, but will not

impact activities which already exist. These settings will only impact new activities.

You can also access these settings by clicking on Actions, Set Project Preferences.

Navigate to Defaults Tab

1. Select the project Nesbid Building Expansion.

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AUTO-NUMBERING DEFAULTS

Three fields determine how new activities will be numbered in a project.

� Activity ID Prefix – Controls the alpha-numerical characters which

appear prior to the Activity ID Suffix.

� Activity ID Suffix – A sequence of numbers which, in combination with

the Activity ID Prefix, will be unique for each activity in a project.

� Increment – Controls the difference between each Activity ID Suffix

when a new activity is created.

USAGE HINT: For the activities in a project that may have the same names as other

projects, it may be useful to add some type of prefix that identifies the project

within the activity. If multiple projects are opened, it will help schedulers

differentiate between activities of multiple projects. For example, if the project is

an Office Building Addition project, Users could set the prefix to BA, and verify the

suffix as 1000 and the increment as 10. When adding activities, the first activity ID

will be numbered BA1000, the second activity ID will be BA1010, etc. For increment,

users must set this setting to either 5 or 10, to allow for spacing between the

Activity ID Suffix to insert new activities later in the process.

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ACTIVITY TYPE

The Activity Type controls how an activity is scheduled in accordance with

relationships, calendar assignments, and resource assignments.

Task Dependent

� The activity's resources are scheduled according to the activity

calendar. In other words, the schedule dates override the individual

resource’s calendar.

Resource Dependent

� The activity's resources are scheduled according to his/her own

calendar. This activity type selection will have a huge impact if the

Customer decides to implement resource leveling. In other words,

the schedule dates are less important than the individual resource’s

calendar.

Level of Effort

� The activity's duration is dependent on its predecessor and successor

activities. Administrative overhead activities are most often assigned

as Level of Effort activities. As predecessor and successor activity

dates shift, so will the dates of the Level of Effort activity. Constraints

cannot be applied to Level of Effort activities.

Start Milestone

� The activity marks the beginning of a major stage in the project. Start

Milestones do not have time-based costs, resource assignments, or

durations.

Finish Milestone

� The activity marks the end of a major stage in the project. Finish

Milestones do not have time-based costs, resource assignments, or

durations.

WBS Summary

� The activity's duration is dependent on the activities assigned to the

same WBS level, select WBS Summary. This activity functions the

same way that a WBS element does. The total duration for the activity

spans the total duration of all other activities. This activity type is used

very often by organizations for the assignment of resources.

85



� The user cannot assign resources that drive activity dates to WBS

summary activities.

� Constraints cannot be applied to WBS Summary activities.

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DURATION TYPE

The Duration Type controls how the resource equation Duration * Units/Time =

Units is recalculated when one of the three fields is changed by the user.

Fixed Units/Time

Choose Fixed Units/Time if the user wants the resource units per time to remain

constant when the activity duration or units change. This type is used when an

activity has fixed resources with fixed productivity output per time period. The user

most often chooses this duration type when the user is using resource dependent

activities.

USAGE HINT: Selecting Fixed Units/Time limits the % allocation for a resource. Note

that this will affect resource dependent activities. If the resource’s % allocation

exceeds the specified limit, then the duration will be increased.

Fixed Duration & Units/Time

Choose Fixed Duration & Units/Time if the user wants the activity duration to

remain constant and the remaining units to change. This type is used when the

activity is to be completed within a fixed time period regardless of the resources

assigned. The user most often chooses this duration type when they are using task

dependent activities.

USAGE HINT: If Duration and Unit/Time are fixed, then the Units must change if the

work is to get done on time. If the user edits the Units, then the Units/Time will be

recalculated.

Scenario:

The user is working on a government contract that specifies that if a specific mission

critical activity does not complete by the agreed upon, contracted date, then a

penalty will be paid by the company. Since this is not a fixed bid contract (fixed

Units), it doesn’t matter to the company who does the work, or how many

resources are assigned to that activity to get that work completed by the contracted

date.

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Fixed Units

Choose Fixed Units if the user wants the activity units (work effort) to remain

constant when the duration or resource units per time change. This type is used

when the total amount of work is fixed, and increasing the resources can decrease

the activity duration. The user most often chooses this duration type when they are

using resource dependent activities.

USAGE HINT: If the user is working on a fixed bid contract and must report actual

against plan, then selecting Fixed Units is the best choice. For example: A

Contractor has 2 weeks to finish plumbing in a house. The total budgeted hours for

that activity are 80 hours. The project’s dates slip due to other contractor work

slips. The contract is renegotiated with the Customer. The plumbing activity now

has 3 weeks to complete. However, the budgeted hours are still only 80 hours.

Selecting Fixed Units means that those 80 hours will be spread over a three week

period instead of a two week period.

Fixed Duration & Units

Choose Fixed Duration & Units if the user wants the activity duration to remain

constant and the units/time to change. This type is used when the activity is to be

completed within a fixed time period and the total amount of work is fixed. The user

most often chooses this duration type when they are using task dependent

activities.

NOTE: The Duration Type field is disabled if the Activity Type is Start Milestone or

Finish Milestone.

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PERCENT COMPLETE TYPE

The Percent Complete Type selected reports project performance data. While all

three types are tracked, this setting controls which of the three will be used as the

Activity Percent Complete.

Physical % Complete

To indicate that the activity's percent complete will be entered by the user for this

activity, select Physical. In this case, Activity % Complete = Physical % Complete.

USAGE NOTE: This percent complete type is generally used by less mature project

management organizations. It is a subjective assessment of how much work has

been completed. The Risk of all activities being 90% complete is significant. This

risk can be mitigated by using Steps, and linking Physical % complete to Steps %

complete. Note that generally speaking, the activities are not fixed bid (units) or

fixed duration.

Duration % Complete

To specify that the activity's percent complete be calculated from the

original/planned and remaining durations, select Duration. In this case, Activity %

Complete = Duration % Complete = (Original or Planned Duration – Remaining

Duration)/Original or Planned Duration.

USAGE NOTE: This percent complete is calculated purely on the amount of time

that has elapsed vs. the amount of time that has been committed for an activity.

This is generally used in activities that have contracted dates with penalties. Or, it is

used by operations driven projects with budgets that must be spread over fixed date

ranges. The Risk with using this percent complete type is that although it clearly

shows how much time has been used, it does not give clear visibility into how much

work has actually been completed.

Units % Complete

To specify that the activity's percent complete be calculated from the actual and

remaining units, select Units. In this case, Activity % Complete = Units % Complete =

(Actual Labor Units + Actual Nonlabor Units)/(Actual Labor Units + Actual Nonlabor

Units +Remaining Labor Units + Remaining Nonlabor Units).

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USAGE NOTE: This percent complete type is calculated on the number of hours that

have been used vs. the total number of budgeted/contracted hours. This is

generally used on fixed bid contracts with fixed budgeted amounts. The Risk with

using the Percent Complete type is that although it clearly shows how much time

has been used, it does not give clear visibility into the amount of work that has been

completed.

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COST ACCOUNT

In many implementations, customers may wish to set up a Cost Account Breakdown

Structure. The Cost accounts are created and maintained under the Enterprise Data

page. A user can specify a project's default cost account. This cost account will be

used for resource assignments to activities and project expenses in the open

project.

The default cost account is only used for new resource assignments to activities and

new project expenses. Changing this setting does not affect existing resource

assignments to activities or existing project expenses.

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CALENDAR

Calendars can be created and assigned to each resource and each activity. These

calendars define the available work hours in each calendar day. A user can also

specify holidays, project-specific work/ non-workdays, and resource vacation days.

Calendar assignments are used for activity scheduling, tracking, and resource

leveling. Whether an activity uses its assigned calendar or the calendar of an

assigned resource depends on the activity type the user specifies.

Three calendar pools are defined:

� Global

The global calendar pool contains calendars that apply to all projects and

resources.

� Resource

The resource calendar pool can be a separate pool of calendars for each

resource.

� Project

The project calendar pool is a separate pool of calendars for each activity in a

project.

A user can assign either resource or global calendars to resources, and they can

assign either global or project calendars to activities.

A user can link resource and project calendars to global calendars. If a user defines a

holiday in a global calendar, that holiday will be applied to all resource and project

calendars that are linked to the modified global calendar.

92



ADDITIONAL PROJECT LEVEL SETTING FIELDS

There are additional fields which can be displayed and modified based on how the

project will be managed. It is recommended that the impact of modifying these

settings be considered since they will have an impact on how project performance is

calculated.

Use the Calculations tab to specify how to calculate cost and resource use when a

user updates activities. This tab is significant, because it will affect Project

Performance reporting. If the Customer is implementing Earned Value, the settings

in this field will affect Earned Value Metrics. The table below describes the Setting

Names.

Setting Name Description

Activity % Complete

from Steps

For physical % complete activities, if this option is

enabled, then the activity % complete will be a

compiled calculation of Steps % complete.

Allow Duplicate

Resource

Assignments

Allows for the same resource to be assigned to an

activity more than once. This option should be

enabled if a resource assignment may change during

the life of the activity.

Allow Negative

Actual Units

Allows for negative actual hours to be entered.

Baseline Option Determines of the Project Baseline or the Primary

Baseline is used for Earned Value analysis.

Drive Activity Dates

by Default

When enabled, this option allows the resource

assignments to control the early finish of the activity.

Fiscal Year Sets the start of the fiscal year.

Link Actual and

Period Actual Units

and Cost

Enable this option to recalculate actual or period

actual units and costs when one of these values is

updated.

93



Link Planned and At

Completion

The units and costs for the Planned and At Completion

fields will be linked for activities that have not started.

Price/Unit The price/unit will be used on activities that do not

have a resource assignment.

Primary Can

Complete Activity

The Primary Resource can mark an activity as

completed in Progress Reporter.

Rate Type The default rate type assigned to all resource

assignments.

Recalculate Units

from Costs

When enabled, this will recalculate the units on the

resource assignments when the user edits the costs.

Resources Can

Assign Themselves

Allows a resource to assign themselves to an activity in

Progress Reporter.

Resource Can

Complete

Assignments

Resource can mark an activity as completed.

Resources Can View

Inactive Projects

Resources can view their assignments in projects with

a status of Inactive.

Resource Status

Activities Using

Establishes that either Remaining Duration or Percent

Complete is used by the resource when statusing an

activity.

WBS Code Separator Which non-alpha-numerical character is used to

separate the different levels in the WBS.

When Activity

Progress is Removed

When actual are removed from an activity, determines

if remaining duration and units should be reset to

planned, or if planned duration and units should be

reset to remaining. This option should ALWAYS be set

to Reset Remaining Duration and Units to Planned.

94



When Updating

Units or Costs

Determines if the actual units should be subtracted

from the at completion units to return a value for

remaining units, or if the actual units should be added

to the remaining units to return a value for the at

completion units.

LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Use columns on the EPS page to define default settings and properties

for the selected project.

Review Questions

1. Click the _________ tab in the EPS page to change the project’s Planned Start

date.

a. General

b. Defaults

c. Dates

d. Settings

2. True or False: A user must specify a date by which the project must finish.

Notes

95



Lesson 7: CREATING A PROJECT

OBJECTIVES

� Create a project

� Navigate in the Projects window

� View and modify information in Project Details

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Implementation Consultants must be able to coach

and mentor Project Teams and Customer’s

Application Administrators on how to create projects.

Customer Core

Project Team


understanding of how to create projects because

they will need to develop processes around

controlling who can create projects, under what

conditions, and what those project plans must have

in common in order to create meaningful

management reports.

96



EPS PAGE

To view high-level information about the project, navigate to the EPS page, which

displays the projects within the EPS that a user can access.

A user can also:

� Open, create, and save project views

� Group projects by the Enterprise Project Structure, project codes, or

other project-related items

� Filter projects

� Modify column data.

Navigate to EPS Page

1. On the Navigation bar, click Projects.

2. Click on the EPS page button.

97



EXPANDING AND COLLAPSING

Expanding and collapsing allows a user to hide detailed data. The benefit is this

enables the user to hide information they do not currently need so they can search

for information.

Expand and Collapse EPS

1. Click on the collapse button on the left of the grouping band Engineering &

Construction.

2. Click on the expand button on the left of the grouping band Engineering &

Construction.

3. Click on View, Collapse All.

4. Click on the expand button on the left of the grouping band All Initiatives.

5. Click on the expand button on the left of the grouping band Engineering &

Construction.

6. Click on View, Expand All.

98



CREATING A PROJECT

Projects can be created in the EPS page. A project can be created using one of the

following methods:

Method Description

Action menu, Add,

Add Project

This method allows the user to create a project

defining the required fields Project ID, Project Name,

Description, EPS, Responsible Manager, Project

Planned Start date, and Must Finish By date. The

user may also define which existing project or project

template to use as a template for the new project. If

creating a project from an existing project or project

template, the user can select which data to include

from the template.

Copy and Paste This method allows the user to select a project and

use copy and paste to create a new project. During

the paste function, the user can select which data to

include from the original project. Once the new

project has been created, the Project Name,

Description, EPS, Responsible Manager, Project

Planned Start date, and Must Finish By date will be

identical to the original project. The user will need to

edits these fields after the new project has been

created.

Import a file This method allows the user to import a project

saved in the XML format. The XML format is

supported by previous versions of Oracle Primavera

and Microsoft Project.

99



LAB: CREATE A PROJECT

Create a Project

1. Confirm the user is on the EPS page.

2. Select the node Engineering & Construction.

3. Click on Actions, Add, Add Project.

4. In the Add Project box, enter MTP in the Project ID field.

5. Enter My Training Project in the Project Name field.

6. Enter February 4, 2013, in the Project Planned Start field.

100



Since the user select the EPS node Engineering & Construction prior to creating the

project, the EPS field was set to that node. The Responsible Manager field was also

set, using the responsible manager as defined on the EPS node.

All of the required fields have been defined. However, if the user would like to use

an existing project as a template for the new project, they can define it at this time.

During this process the user can specific which data in the existing project to include

in the new project.

Since this will be a new project, certain data such as Issues, Funding Sources, and

Summary Data will not be included. The baseline from the original project will also

not be included.

101



Select a Template

1. In the Add Project box, click on the Browse button for the option Copy from

existing project or template.

2. Expand the All Initiatives and Engineering & Construction nodes.

3. Select the project Nesbid Building Expansion, then click on Ok.

4. In the Add Project box, click on the Advanced tab.

5. Verify that the checkmarks for Issues, Funding Sources, Summary Data, and the

baselines are not marked, then click on Create.

102



Notes

103



LESSON 8: MODIFYING PROJECT INFORMATION

OBJECTIVES

� Create and Modify Project IDs

� Understand how Project IDs can be codified to represent project types

and programs

� Create and Modify Project Names

� Understand how Project Names can be standardized to show the

relationship to an overarching program

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Implementation Consultants need to have an

understanding of how to optimize the use of

Project IDs and Project Names. This will help

the Customer to create standards and

guidelines that will facilitate understanding of

the data to specific user audiences.

Customer Core

Project Team


understanding of the best use of Project IDs and

Project Names. This will help communicate to

affected User audiences the meaning of the

data as it is created and maintained over time.

104



OVERVIEW

Modifying the project information can be done in the EPS page in the table or in the

Project Details tabs. For simplicity, this class will utilize Project Setup Views created

earlier to enter data in the Project Table.

PROJECT ID: PROJECT PLANS

Project ID — this is a unique ID in Primavera. Primavera will not allow a duplicate

Project ID. If a user types in a previously used Project ID, a message will pop up

indicating that it is already in use.

COURSE SCENARIO

This course has been written to facilitate understanding of a program view of data.

The EPS has been set up by industry.

105



LAB: MODIFYING PROJECT IDS

You will use the business case scenarios from earlier chapters.

Requirements

1. Rename Project ID

In the project table, double click in each Project ID field and rename it to

something else. That something else should include some reference to the

business case that you have been assigned.

2. Be prepared to show your responses and explain your Project IDs.

PROJECT NAME

The Project Name field does not require a unique name.

In the design of the solution for a customer, the Implementation Consultant should

recommend a set of naming conventions for each project that will make the names

recognizable.

LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� The user can create a project by importing a file, copying an existing

file, or by creating a project from an existing template.

� Once the project is created, use the Projects window to view high-

level information for projects the user can access.

REVIEW LAB

1. Create a new project in the training node for the assigned User/Login.

2. Rename the project: UserName Training Project.

3. Rename the Project ID: UserInitials_TP.

4. Enter a Planned Start date of March 4, 2013.

106



Notes

107



LESSON 9: CREATING A WORK BREAKDOWN

STRUCTURE

OBJECTIVES

� Define a Work Breakdown Structure

� Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

An Implementation Consultant must be an expert at

creating and modifying Work Breakdown Structures to

respond to the myriad of project scenarios that will be

discovered at Customer sites.

Core Project

Team

The Core Team will need to be able to create Work

Breakdown Structures to be able to respond to the

requirements of the organizations affected by a

Primavera implementation.

108



WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical arrangement of the products

and services produced during, and by, a project. It enables a user to divide a project

into meaningful and logical pieces for the purpose of planning and control.

� Each project has a unique WBS hierarchy.

� The root level of the WBS is equal to the Project ID and Project Name.

� Elements within the WBS have a “child/parent” relationship, which

means that they can be rolled up and summarized from the lower

level information.

109



VIEWING WBS ELEMENTS

When a project is created, a root level WBS element is added with the same ID and

name as the project. The WBS can be viewed and defined in the Activities page of

the Projects section.

View the WBS in the Activities Page


2. Click on the Open Projects link.

3. In the Open Projects box, verify that the project My Training Project is the only

project listed under Selected Projects. If other projects are listed, select each

one and click on the left pointed arrow button.

4. Click on Ok.

5. Click on the View, Collapse All.

6. Click on the Expand button the on the My Training Project grouping band.

7. Click on the Expand button the on the Mechanical/Electrical Systems grouping

band.

110



CREATE A WBS

New WBS elements can be added as a child (lower level) or as a sibling (same level)

as the selected WBS element. WBS elements can be added using the Add WBS

buttons or the Action menu. The name of the WBS elements can be entered right in

the Activity table.

Add a WBS element.


2. Click on Action, Add, Add Child WBS.

3. Enter <30% Design> for the new WBS name.

4. Click on Action, Add, Add Child WBS.

5. Enter <65% Design> for the new WBS name.

6. Click on the Save button.

111



MODIFYING THE WBS

The structure of the WBS can be modified. Elements can be outdented to a higher

level, or indented to a lower level. If the user adds a WBS element to the wrong

level or in the wrong order, they can use the indentation keys located in the Edit

menu to adjust the structure of the WBS hierarchy.

Modify a WBS element

1. Select the WBS element 65% Design.

2. Click on Edit, Outdent.


Security can be controlled within Primavera down to the WBS level. A Responsible

Manager can be designated within the WBS.

112



Add a Responsible Manager



3. Double-click in the Responsible Manager field, then click on the Browse button.

4. In the Select Responsible Manager box, expand Enterprise.

5. Select Energy, then click on Ok.

6. When prompted if you would like to assign the Responsible Manager to the

children WBS elements, click on Yes.


8. Select the WBS element 30% Design and view the Responsible Manager field.

9. Use steps 1 to 7 and changed the Responsible Manager back to E&C.

113



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� The Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical arrangement of the

products and services produced during and by a project.

� The highest level of the WBS is the project, and the lowest level

consists of the individual activities required for the deliverables.

� Create the WBS in the Activities page. Use the indentation keys to

form various levels in the WBS.

Review Questions

1. True or False: When a new project is created, the root level of the WBS is

created with the same name as the project.

2. True or False: When a new WBS element is added it can only be added as a child

of the highlighted WBS element.

3. True or False: Indentation keys can be used to adjust the structure of the WBS

hierarchy.

114



Notes

115



LESSON 10: ADDING AND EDITING ACTIVITIES

OBJECTIVES

� Describe an activity and its components

� Describe activity types

� Add activities

� Add a Notebook topic to an activity

� Add steps to an activity

� Assign activity codes to activities

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

An Implementation Consultant must be an expert at

creating and modifying Work Breakdown Structures to

respond to the myriad of project scenarios that will be

discovered at Customer sites.

Core Project

Team

The Core Team will need to be able to create Work

Breakdown Structures to be able to respond to the

requirements of the organizations affected by a

Primavera implementation.

116



ACTIVITIES

Activities are the fundamental work elements of a project. They are the lowest level

of a WBS and the smallest subdivision of work that directly concerns the project

manager.

� Most detailed work unit tracked in a project schedule.

� Contains all information about the work to be performed.

� Also known as a task, item, event, or work package.

ACTIVITY ATTRIBUTES

Use the Activities page to create, view, and modify activities for the selected

project. To add an activity to a project, perform one of the following actions:

� On the Toolbar, click on the Add button.

� In the Action menu, click Add, Add Activity.

� Press Insert on the keyboard.

� Right-click and click Add Activity.

117



LAB: SET UP A PROJECT DEFAULTS

Establish Project Default Settings

1. On the Navigation bar, click on the Projects.


3. Select the project My Training Project.

4. Verify the Project view Project Setup is selected.

5. Verify the following settings and change if necessary.

a. Set the default Activity Type to Task Dependent.

b. Set the Duration Type to Fixed Duration and Units / Time.

c. Set Percent Complete Type to Duration.

d. Set Calendar to Office Building Addition Calendar 1.

6. Click on Save.

118



ACTIVITY TYPE

Start Milestone

This type is typically used to mark the beginning of a phase or to communicate

project deliverables.

� Zero-duration activity.

� Only has a Start date.

� A user can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and

documents.

� A user cannot assign roles.

� A user cannot assign resources except for the primary resource.

Finish Milestone

This type is typically used to mark the end of a phase or to communicate project

deliverables.

� Zero-duration activity.

� Only has a Finish date.

� A user can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and

documents.

� A user cannot assign roles.

� A user cannot assign resources except for the primary resource.

Task Dependent

This type is typically used when the work needs to be accomplished in a given

timeframe, regardless of the assigned resources’ availability.

� The activity’s resources are scheduled to work according to the activity

calendar.

� Duration is determined by the assigned calendar’s workweek.

119



Resource Dependent

This type is typically used when multiple resources assigned to the same activity can

work independently.

� The activity’s resources are scheduled according to the individual

resource’s calendar.

� Duration is determined by the availability of the resources assigned to

work on the activity.

Level of Effort

This type is typically used for ongoing tasks dependent on other activities.

� Duration is determined by its predecessor and successor activities, and

its assigned calendar.

� Examples include clerical work, security guard services, and meetings.

� A user cannot assign constraints.

WBS Summary

This type is used to summarize a WBS level.

� The WBS summary activity comprises a group of activities that share a

common WBS level.

� Dates calculated on a WBS summary activity are based on earliest

start date of the activities in the group and latest finish date of these

activities.

� The WBS summary activity duration is calculated based on its assigned

calendar.

� A user cannot assign constraints to WBS summary activities.

ADDING ACTIVITIES

A user can use the Activity Details tabs to add an activity, and then enter additional

information about the activity. When adding an activity, first select either the WBS

band in which the activity will reside, or select an existing activity in the WBS band.

120



Add activities to the Project Plan

1. Click on the Activities page button.

2. Select a WBS element, 30% Design.

3. Click on Action, Add, Add Activity.

4. On the keyboard, hit the Insert key.

5. On the toolbar, click on the Add Activity button.

6. There should now be 3 activities under the WBS element 30% Design.

7. Use Click+Shift+Click to select all three activities.

8. Click on Edit, Copy.

9. Select the WBS element 65% Design.

10. Click on Edit, Paste.

121



SAVING CHANGES

The Activity ID’s for the new activities will not be defined immediately after they are

created. The user can manually enter Activity ID’s or the user can save their

changes and allow P6 to automatically determine the Activity ID’s based on the

Activity ID project default settings.

Saving the New Activities


2. View the Activity ID’s for the new activities.

122



LAB: GENERAL TAB

Use the General tab or the Activity table columns to modify basic information about

the activity.

Modify Activity Details


2. Select activity EC1870 and enter <Civil Design 30%> in the Activity Name field.

3. Select activity EC1880 and enter <Structural Design 30%> in the Activity Name

field.

4. Select activity EC1890 and enter <Specifications Development 30%> in the

Activity Name field.

5. Select activity EC1900 and enter <Civil Design 65%> in the Activity Name field.

6. Select activity EC1910 and enter <Structural Design 65%> in the Activity Name

field.

7. Select activity EC1920 and enter <Specifications Development 65%> in the

Activity Name field.

8. Click on Action, Add, Add Activity.

9. Select the new activity and enter <Architectural Designs 65%> in the Activity

Name field.


123



124



Modify Activity Details


2. Select activity EC1870 and enter 20 in the Planned Duration field.

3. Select activity EC1880 and enter 20 in the Planned Duration field.


125



ADDING STEPS TO AN ACTIVITY

Activity steps allow users to create a checklist for the activity, and then track the

completion of each step. Steps often provide a list of procedures required to

complete the activity and provide extra guidance to resources assigned to the

activity.

� Assign an unlimited number of steps per activity.

� Steps can be marked completed in P6 and by the primary resource in

timesheets.

� Steps do not have duration estimates or dates.

� Each step can have an additional explanation in the text area on the

right side of the Steps tab.

� User Defined Fields may be created to provide additional information

for Steps.

126



LAB: STEPS

Add Steps to Activities

1. In Activity Details, click the Steps tab.

2. Select activity EC1930.

3. In the Steps tab, click on the Add button.

4. In the Step Name field, enter <Complete>.

5. On the Activities page toolbar, click on Save.

Delete Steps from Activities


2. In the Steps tab, click on the Delete button.


127



Activity step templates enable the definition of common steps for assignment to

multiple activities. If a commonly used step or set of steps have already been

defined for an activity, they can be converted to the steps in a template.

Add Steps from Steps Template

1. In Activity Details, click the Steps tab.


3. Click on the Add from Template button.

4. In the Select Activity Step Template box, select System Design Checklist and click

on Assign.

5. In the Select Activity Step Template box click on the Close button.

6. On the Activities page toolbar, click on Cancel.

7. When prompted to save changes, click on No.

128



NOTEBOOK TAB

Just as in the EPS page, there is a Notebook tab in the Activities page. The Notebook

tab enables users to assign notes to an activity. Notebook topics are typically

instructions or descriptions that further describe the activity according to specific

categories of information. They are added the same way that they were added to

the EPS page. In addition, text and hyperlinks can be inserted into the Description

for each Notebook topic.

BEST PRACTICE: Notebook topics are used to help document status, document use

of constraints, document when a project plan is not executing a pre-defined

methodology exactly.

Add a Notebooks topic and description


2. Click the Notebooks tab.

3. In the Notebooks tab click on the Assign button.

4. In the Select Notebook Topic box, select Recent Accomplishments, then click on

the Assign button.

5. In the Select Notebook Topic box click on the Close button.

6. In the Notebooks tab double-click in the Description box.

7. In the Edit Recent Accomplishments box enter <This is a test of Descriptions in

Notebook Topics/Activities>.

8. In the Edit Recent Accomplishments box click on Ok.


129



ACTIVITY CODES

Just as codes were added at the Project level in the EPS page, Activity codes can be

defined at the Activity level as well. Activity codes enable users to classify and

categorize activities according to organizational and project needs.

Codes of any type can be used in filters, to group and sort data, to view and roll up

activities in the Activity Table, customize views, build reports, and select and

summarize activities.

USAGE HINT: Many customers have governance organizations that require certain

activities in each project plan. The use of Activity Codes would help users to quickly

identify those required activities for audit processes.

Activity codes can be defined in three levels:

Global-level — Available to all activities in the database

� Create an unlimited number of global-level activity codes.

� Organize activities within a project or across the project structure.

EPS-level — Available to all activities within the EPS node and its children

� Create an unlimited number of EPS-level activity codes.

� Organize activities within a project or across a portion of the EPS.

Project-level — Available to activities only in the project in which the code is

created

� Create up to 500 project-level activity codes per project.

� Filter and organize activities based on unique, project-specific

requirements.

130



ASSIGNING ACTIVITY CODES TO AN ACTIVITY

Activity codes may be assigned in the Codes tab, or in an appropriate set up view in

tables.

� Add a column for the activity code in the Activity table.

� Use the Codes tab in Activity Details.

131



LAB: ASSIGNING ACTIVITY CODES

Assign an Activity Code in Codes Tab


2. In Activity Details, click the Codes tab.

3. Click on Assign.

4. In the Select Code Value box, expand Responsibility.

5. Select Andy Mason and click on the Assign button.

6. In the Select Code Value box click on the Close button.


132



CALENDARS

Calendars can be created and assigned to each activity and resource. Calendar

assignments are used to schedule activities and level resources.

� An unlimited number of calendars can be created.

� The Activity Type determines whether the activity calendar or

resource calendar is used during scheduling.

CALENDAR TYPES

There are three calendar types:

Type Description

Global calendar � Contains calendars that can be used by all

projects in the database.

� Available for all resources and activities in the

database.

Resource calendar � Contains a separate pool of calendars for

resources.

Project calendar � Contains a separate pool of calendars for each

project.

� Available for the current project only.

Use the Calendar field in EPS page to change the default calendar assignment for a

project.

133



CALENDAR ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Each activity may have a different calendar. This may be extremely important for

international implementations, where some activities are wholly owned by

resources in a specific country. Remember, each country has a different set of

holidays, different work weeks, etc.

Calendars are assigned at the activity level the same way they are assigned at the

Projects level; by modifying the Calendar column. Since this activity was executed

at the Project level, it will not be repeated for this class.

USAGE NOTE: Calendars assigned to activities will definitely affect dates as projects

are updated, statused, and scheduled. Project Managers and Application

Administrators need to be aware of what could be perceived as peculiar date results

using multiple calendars within the same project. It is not the tool that is at fault. It

is doing exactly what it was told to do. At the project level, project managers and

management will need to determine if the risk of using multiple calendars within

the same project plan is worth what could be resulting confusion during status

reporting.

134



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� There are many ways to add an activity to a project:

� On the toolbar, click on the Add Activity button

� In the Edit menu, click Add Activity

� Press Insert on the keyboard

� Right-click and click Add Activity

� Copy / paste an Activity

� Activity Type controls how an activity’s dates are calculated.

� Use steps to create an activity checklist, and to track step completion.

� Use activity codes to group activities by a common attribute.

� Global-level codes can be assigned to all activities in the database.

� EPS activity codes can be assigned to all activities within the assigned

node

� Project-level activity codes can be assigned to activities in the projects

in which they are created.

135



Review Questions

1. When the activity’s dates are determined by the availability of the

resources assigned to the activity, then the activity type is:

a. Task dependent

b. Resource dependent

c. Milestone

d. Level of effort

2. True or False: The duration of a milestone is dependent on its

predecessor/successor activities.

136



Notes

137



LESSON 11: CREATING RELATIONSHIPS

OBJECTIVES

� View a network logic diagram

� Differentiate between the four relationship types

� Create relationships in the Activity Network

� Create relationships in Activity Details

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

As part of scheduling and possibly compressing a

schedule, an Implementation Consultant needs to be

fully versant in the concept of relationships between

Activities, as well as the result in the schedule of

modifying relationships. Customers rarely have an

understanding of project planning, apart from the

more complicated issue of relationships and

scheduling logic. They will have a lot of questions

regarding relationships and their impacts to project

schedules.

Core Project Team As leaders within their companies, Core Team

members will also need to be fluent with their

knowledge of scheduling and relationships. During

the adoption period, novice project managers will

surface a lot of resistance around constraining dates

rather than allowing scheduling logic and

relationships to forecast dates. Core Team members

will need to be experts in these concepts to be able

to coach and mentor their organizations.

138



NETWORK LOGIC DIAGRAM

A network logic diagram is a logical representation of all the activities in a project

showing their dependency relationships.

PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING METHOD

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) is a technique for creating network logic

diagrams.

� A box or rectangle represents an activity.

� Lines with arrows connect the boxes and represent the logical

relationships between the activities.

Predecessor — Controls the start or finish of another activity.

Successor — Depends on the start or finish of another activity.

� In general, most users will start with either the first activity in the

network and enter each successor, or start with the last activity in the

network and enter each predecessor.

139



RELATIONSHIP TYPES

There are four relationship types. In the following diagrams, activity A represents

the predecessor and activity B represents the successor.

� Finish-to-Start (FS) — When A finishes, B can start.

� Start-to-Start (SS) — When A starts, B can start.

� Finish-to-Finish (FF) — When A finishes, B can finish.

� Start-to-Finish (SF) — When A starts, B can finish.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAG

Lag specifies a user defined offset or delay between an activity and its successor. It

can be added to any type of relationship and have a positive or a negative value,

though the use of negative lag is prohibited on many projects.

Lag is scheduled based on the calendar selected in the General tab in Schedule

Options dialog box.

There are four calendar options for scheduling lag:

� Predecessor activity calendar

� Successor activity calendar

� 24-hour calendar

� Project default calendar

Below are two examples of relationships with lag:

Finish-to-Start with Lag — The Construct Building Foundation activity must be

finished for seven days before the Construct Building Exterior and Structure activity

can start. (FS7 indicates there is a Finish-to-Start relationship with 7 days of lag.)

Start-to-Start with Lag — The Install Interior Belt Conveyors activity can start five

days after the Construct Building Exterior and Structure activity starts. (SS5 indicates

there is a Start-to-Start relationship with 5 days of lag.)

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LAB: CREATING RELATIONSHIPS IN THE ACTIVITY DETAILS

Creating Relationships in Activity Details

1. On the Navigation bar, click on the Projects.


3. Select activity EC1870 and click on the Successors tab.

4. In the Successors tab, click on the Assign button.

5. In the Select Successor Activity box, expand My Training Project, Engineering &

Construction, and 30% Design.

6. In the Select Successor Activity box select activity EC1880 and click on the Assign

button.

When creating relationships using the Predecessor and Successor tabs in Activity

Details, the assignment boxes can remain open while the user navigate to the next

activity.

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Create a Relationship

1. In the Activity table, select activity EC1880.

2. In the Select Successor Activity box select activity EC1890 and click on the Assign

button.


Note: Relationships can also be added in the GANTT Chart.

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The user can use the Relationship Type field to change the relationship.

Change the Relationship Type

1. Close the Select Successor Activity box.

2. In the Successor tab double-click in the Relationship Type field and select Start

to Start.


143



ASSIGNING LAG

In the Predecessor and Successor tabs, lag can be assigned in the Lag field. Lag can

be entered using any period of time, (8 hours or 1 day), but upon hitting the Enter

key, if will be displayed in accordance with the preferences for duration.

Assign lag to a Relationship

1. In the Successor tab click in the Lag field

2. Enter 1 and press Enter.


144



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Use the Predecessor and Successor tabs in Activity details to view,

create, and modify relationships.

� There are four relationship types: Finish-to-Start, Start-to-Start, Finish-

to-Finish, and Start-to-Finish. The default relationship type is Finish-to-

Start.

� Use lag to specify a delay between an activity and its successor.

Review Questions

1. True or False: Four different types of relationships are supported.

2. True or False: Lag is the user-defined offset or delay between an activity and its

successor.

Notes

145



LESSON 12: SCHEDULING

OBJECTIVES

� Perform a forward and backward pass

� Describe float and its impact on a schedule

� Identify loops and open ends

� Calculate a schedule

� Analyze the scheduling log report

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

As noted previously, the Implementation Consultant

needs to be able to go beyond knowledge of the

functionality of scheduling. They need to be able to

use the functionality to identify scheduling issues,

and provide suggestions as to fixes for schedules.

This would include advanced topics included in this

chapter.

Core Project Team

Member

The Core Project Team will need to know as much as

the Implementation Consultant to provide coaching

and mentoring of Users in affected organizations to

drive adoption.

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CRITICAL PATH METHOD SCHEDULING

The Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling technique is utilized to calculate project

schedules. CPM uses activity durations and relationships between activities to

calculate schedule dates. This calculation is done in two passes (forward and

backward) through the activities in a project.

CRITICAL PATH

� The critical path is the series of activities that determines a project's

completion date.

� The duration of the activities on the critical path controls the duration

of the entire project. A delay to any of these activities will delay the

Finish date of the entire project.

� Critical activities are defined by either the total float or the longest

path in the project network.

USAGE NOTE: Critical Path Activities in the GANTT are shown in Red. This can be

confusing to novice project managers as they perceive Red to be BAD. Be prepared

to address this with Customers.

147



WHAT IS THE DATA DATE ?

The Data Date , indicated by the blue line in GANTT chart, is the project start date

during the project planning process. After the project data update process has

initiated, the Data Date is moved to correspond with the deadlines set in that

process. The Data Date is always the starting point for scheduling calculations.

Open the Project Nesbid Building Expansion


2. Click on the Open Projects link.

3. Under Available Projects, expand the All Initiatives and Engineering &

Construction nodes.

4. Scroll down and select the project Nesbid Building Expansion.

5. Click on the Right pointed arrow.

6. Under Selected Projects, select My Training Projects.

7. Click on the Left pointed arrow.

8. Click on the Ok button.

9. Click on the Activities page.

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VIEWING THE DATA DATE

� The Data Date is the date that is utilized as the starting point for

schedule calculations. It is the date used to schedule all remaining

work.

� During the Planning phase the Data Date should match the Project

Start date.

Adjust the Display to view the Data Date

1. Right-click on the timescale and select Year/Month.

2. Click and drag on the vertical split between the Activity Table and Bar Chart until

only the Activity ID and Activity Name fields are visible on the left.

3. In the Bar Chart scroll until the Data Date line is visible on the left.

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FORWARD PASS

The forward pass calculates an activity’s early dates. Early dates are the earliest

times an activity can start and finish once its predecessors have been completed.

The calculation begins with the activities without predecessors.

� Early Start (ES) + Duration — 1 = Early Finish (EF)

BACKWARD PASS

The backward pass calculates an activity’s late dates. Late dates are the latest

times an activity can start and finish without delaying the end date of the project.

The calculation begins with the activities without successors.

For projects without a Must Finish By date, activities without successors are

assigned a Late Finish equal to the latest calculated Early Finish date (25 in the

graphic below).

� Late Finish (LF) — Duration + 1 = Late Start (LS)

TOTAL FLOAT

An activity's Total Float is automatically calculated each time a user schedules the

project. A user cannot edit an activity's float values directly.

The critical path is the series of activities that determines a project's completion

date.

� The amount of time an activity can slip from its Early Dates without

delaying the project.

� The difference between an activity’s late dates and early dates

� Activities with zero Total Float are critical

� Late date — Early date = Total Float (TF)

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BACKWARD PASS WITH REQUIRED FINISH

One of the most common project scenarios is a required finish date for the project.

� Used only during the backward pass

� Required finish date specifies when the project must finish regardless

of the network’s duration and logic

� Late Finish — Duration + 1 = Late Start

CIRCULAR RELATIONSHIPS (LOOPS)

Loops indicate circular logic in an activity path. The schedule will not be calculated

until the loop is eliminated. To eliminate a loop:

� Determine proper logic

� Re-run the schedule

� A dialog box is displayed listing the activities in the loop

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OPEN ENDS

� Open ends are activities without either a predecessor or successor.

No predecessor — Activity uses Data Date as its Early Start.

No successor — Activity uses project finish as its Late Finish.

� Open-ended activities can portray an unrealistic amount of positive

total float.

It is recommended that each project have only two open ends: the first activity and

the last activity.

Given that schedule calculations begin with activities without predecessors in a

Forward Pass, if more than one activity does not have a predecessor then the

schedule dates will be flawed.

Given that backward pass schedule calculations begin with activities without

successors, if more than one activity does not have a successor, then the schedule

dates will be flawed.

Schedules that have more than one activity without a predecessor and more than

one activity without a successor are said to have broken logic.

152



SCHEDULING A PROJECT

When a user schedules a project, activity dates are calculated according to durations

and logic.

Mark the Display scheduling log upon completion checkbox to display scheduling

results.

After a user schedules the project, note the change in the position of activities on

the Gantt chart. Activities are displayed according to their calculated start and finish

dates. Critical activities are displayed in red.

153



Prior to scheduling the project, we will display the columns that will be impacted.

Display Date Columns


2. Under Selected Columns, remove all the fields except Activity Name.

3. Verify that the option Show first column as is set to Activity ID.

4. Under Available Columns, expand the Dates group.

5. Add the Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, and Late Finish columns to the

Selected Columns list.

6. Under Available Columns, expand the Durations group.

7. Add the Total Float Column to the Selected Columns list.

8. Click on Ok.


10. In the Save View As box, enter <Early and Late Dates>, then click on Ok.

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The user can schedule a project by using one of three ways:

� Press the F9 key on the keyboard

� Click on Action, Run, Scheduler

� Click on the Schedule button on the toolbar.

The project is currently scheduled to begin on February 24, 2012. When we

schedule, we need to verify the data date is correct.

Schedule the Project

1. Click on Action, Run, Scheduler.

2. Change the Data Date to February 24, 2012.

3. Mark the checkbox for the option Display schedule log upon completion.

4. Click on the Schedule button.

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SCHEDULE LOG

The Schedule Log displays scheduling results, including:

� Scheduling settings

� Statistics

� Errors

� Warnings

� Scheduling Results

� Exceptions

The schedule log will automatically be displayed after scheduling the project, but

once the log is closed, the user must schedule the project again in order to view it.

The user can save the schedule log before exiting the window. The log can be saved

as a webpage or a text file.

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Saving the Schedule Log

1. If you are using Internet Explorer, in the Schedule Log window click on File, Save

As.

2. In the Save Webpage box, browse to the My Documents folder.

3. In the File name field, enter <Nesbid Schedule Log - <TODAY’S DATE>>.

4. In the Save type as field, select Text File (*.txt).

5. Click on Save.

157



AUDIT SCHEDULES USING SCHEDULE LOG

Project Managers should look for activities without Predecessors and activities

without Successors. There should only be one activity without a Predecessor – the

first activity in the project plan. There should only be one successor – the last

activity in the project plan.

158



LAB: REVIEW SCHEDULE LOG AND CORRECT ERRORS

Reschedule the project and display the schedule log. Review the Warning sections.

As stated in this lesson, there should only be two open ends, but four activities are

listed that do not have a successor.

� EC1380 Foundation Phase Complete

� EC1410 Begin Structural Phase

� EC1590 Close-In Phase Begins

� EC1860 Building Addition Complete

Only one activity, EC1860 Building Addition Complete, should not have successor.

Correct this issue by creating the relationships listed below. Use the Finish to Start

relationship type for all relationships.

Predecessor Successor

EC1380 - Foundation Phase

Complete

EC1390 - Erect Structural Frame

EC1410 Begin Structural Phase EC1420 - Floor Decking

EC1590 Close-In Phase Begins EC1600 - Insulation and Built-up

Roofing

We will take this time to correct two additional errors with the schedule. The

durations of two activities need to be corrected. Locate the two activities listed

below and correct their durations.

Activity Correct

Duration

EC1290 - Fabricate and Deliver Heat Pump and Controls 20 days

EC1310 Fabricate and Deliver Flooring 30 days

There is an incorrect relationship tie with another project. Select activity EC1700

and delete the predecessor relationship with activity EC1840.

159



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� After relationship logic has been defined, schedule the project to

determine when the activities will take place.

� When scheduling using the Critical Path Method, activity Early Start

and Finish dates are calculated during the forward pass, and the Late

Start and Finish dates are calculated during the backward pass.

� The Data Date is used as a starting point when scheduling all

remaining work for the project.

� After scheduling, activities will have a total float that represents the

amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the

project.

� After scheduling, results are display in the Schedule Log.

Review Questions

1. True or False: A schedule’s late dates are calculated during the backward pass.

2. True or False: A schedule can be calculated containing loops.

3. True or False: The critical path is the path of activities through the project that

determines the project end date.

160



Notes

161



LESSON 13: ASSIGNING CONSTRAINTS

OBJECTIVES

� Apply an overall deadline to a project

� Apply a constraint to an individual activity

� Add notebook topics to constrained activities

� Describe the available constraint types

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Customer

Management

Management must understand the risks associated

with adding Constraints to the schedule so that they

can determine if the data that they are seeing in

reports is “real” or “fabricated by constraint.”

Project Scheduler

Project Managers

If a Schedule is constrained, and if that constraint is

not clearly called out, then a Project Scheduler and

Project Manager may assume that their projects are

progressing as planned until the Constrained Date is

not met. If / when that occurs and the project is

rescheduled, then the accurate picture of critical

path will be revealed.

Implementation

Consultants

Consultants should clearly warn Customers about

the use of constraints. If a Consultant has been

asked to review a customer’s configurations to

determine why schedules are not progressing

properly, a good place to begin would be to see if

schedules are constrained. If so, check the number

of constraints that are contained in those schedules.

Application Users may call for support for schedule dates that

are “broken.” As noted in the previous chapter, the

162



Administrators logic may be broken, or the schedule may be

constrained which in effect, breaks the logic.

CONSTRAINTS

Constraints are imposed restrictions used to reflect project requirements that

cannot be built into the logic.

Constraints allow users to build schedule that accurately reflects the real-world

aspects of the project. Constraints provide added control to the project and impose

restrictions on the entire project or an individual activity

� Constraints are user-imposed.

� A maximum of two constraints can be assigned to an activity.

� After applying a constraint, the project must be rescheduled to calculate the

new dates.

BEST PRACTICE: It is strongly recommended that a Notebooks Topic is assigned to

any activity that is constrained. In addition, a Constraint is an Assumption.

Following Risk Management principles, Assumptions are in fact Risks. It is

recommended that any constrained activity has an associated Risk assigned to it.

163



COMMONLY USED CONSTRAINTS

MUST FINISH BY (Project Level)

� Used when an overall project deadline must be met.

� Forces all activities in the project to finish by the date (and time) specified.

� Affects the Total Float of the entire project.

� Can be applied in the General tab in Project Details or in the Must Finish By

column in the Project Table.

Note the current scheduled / calculated Finish date for the project.

This project is currently scheduled to be completed on March 05, 2014. This is the

project’s Early Finish, and represents the earliest date that the project can be

completed based on the relationships, calendars, and durations in the schedule.

The project has a deadline of October 4, 2013. Due to the way the schedule is

currently built, the project will not be scheduled to finish on time.

164



Apply a Must Finish By Constraint




4. Set the Project Planned Start date to 27-Feb-12 08:00 AM.

5. Set the Must Finish By date to 04-Oct-13 05:00 PM.

6. On the EPS toolbar, click on Save.

165



IMPACT OF MUST FINISH BY CONSTRAINT

The next step is to reschedule the project to see the effect of the imposed deadline

on the late dates and the Total Float in the project plan.

As noted previously, the Must Finish By date selected is five months earlier than the

scheduled Finish Date. Therefore, many of the activities contain negative Total

Float.

Identify Negative Float


2. Click and drag the vertical split bar so all dates column and the Total Float

column are visible.

3. Press F9.

4. In the Schedule Project box, clear the check box for the option Display

scheduling log upon completion.

5. Click on Schedule.

6. Review the dates and Total Float columns in the Activity Table.

166



The user can view the impact of the Must Finish by constraint by looking at the

Project grouping at the top of the page. The project has an Early Finish of October

18, 2013 and a Late Finish of October 4, 2013. The different between the two dates

is the negative Total Float, which is 9.4 days

167



ACTIVITY CONSTRAINTS

Start On or After

Use the Start On or After constraint to set the earliest date an activity can begin.

This constraint will delay the Early Start of the assigned activity and all of driving

successors.

� Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint date

� Pushes the early start date to the constraint date

� Affects the early dates of its driving successors.

Finish On or After

Use the Finish On or After constraint to set the earliest date an activity can finish.

This constraint will delay the Early Finish of the assigned activity and all of driving

successors.

� Forces the activity to finish no earlier than the constraint date

� Pushes the early finish date to the constraint date

� Affects the early dates of its driving successors

Finish On or Before

Use the Finish On or Before constraint to set a deadline on the finish date of an

activity.

� Forces the activity to finish no later than the constraint date.

� Pulls the Late Finish date to the constraint date.

� Affects the late dates of its driving predecessors.

Start On or Before

Use the Start On or Before constraint to set a deadline on the start date of an

activity.

� Forces the activity to start no later than the constraint date

� Shifts the Late Start to the constraint date

� Affects the late dates of its predecessors

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� Used to place a deadline on the start of the activity

As Late As Possible

� Delays an activity as late as possible without delaying its successors.

� Shifts early dates as late as possible; also called zero free float constraint.

Start On

� Acts as both an Start On or After and a Start On or Before constraint.

� Will delay the start of an activity if logic schedules the activity to start prior to the

constraint date.

� Will impose a deadline on the start of the activity if logic schedules the start of

the activity after the constraint date, generating negative float.

Finish On

� Acts as both an Finish On or After and a Finish On or Before constraint.

� Will delay the finish of an activity if logic schedules the activity to finish prior to

the constraint date.

� Will impose a deadline on the finish of the activity if logic schedules the finish of

the activity after the constraint date, generating negative float.

Mandatory Start and Finish

� Forces early and late dates to be equal to the constraint date.

� Affects late dates of predecessors and early dates of successors.

� The only constraints that violate network logic.

169



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Assign constraints to activities and projects to reflect real-world restrictions.

� A maximum of two constraints can be assigned to an activity.

� The Must Finish By constraint is used when an overall project deadline must be

met.

� Use the Start On or After constraint to set the earliest date an activity can begin.

Review Questions for Discussion

Identify some justifiable scenarios for constraints. Be prepared to present to the

class.

170



Notes

171



LESSON 14: FORMATTING SCHEDULE DATA

OBJECTIVES

� Group activities according to a specific criteria

� Sort activities

� Apply a filter

� Create a filter

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Very often Customer implementations have large

schedules and multiple user groups that need to

review data in updated schedules. It is critical to be

able to manipulate schedule data to show only that

data that is relevant at any point in time during the

project management life cycle. Grouping and

Sorting, creating filters, and creating views that have

a combination of all will be common place.

Project Schedulers

Project Managers

In large schedules, Project Schedulers and Project

Managers need to immediately see just the high Risk

data / activities. Grouping and Sorting and using

Filters will help manage the data, and manage the

work.

Managers Managers need to understand how Grouping and

Sorting, Filters and Codes work together to be able

to conceptualize data outputs from the system.

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GROUPING DATA

Grouping is a flexible way to organize data into categories that share a common

attribute.

A user can group data to create customized views. A user can also use grouping to

quickly view subtotal data in the group title bands, view summary bars in the Gantt

Chart, and summarize data for reporting purposes.

� Grouping is available in certain pages.

� Activities can be grouped by hierarchical fields such as WBS, activity codes, and

project codes.

� Activities can be grouped by data fields such as dates, costs, Total Float, and

other numeric data.

173



CUSTOMIZE GROUPING BOX

The Customize Grouping box is used to set up the organization of activities on the

screen.

� Select fields to group by — Lists data items used to group the current display.

� To Level —When grouping by a hierarchical data item, this indicates

the number of levels to display. When grouping by a date field, this

indicates the interval by which a user wants to group the selected data

item.

� Band Color – Displays the background color for each group title band

� Text Color — Displays the text color for each group title band.

� Show field title — Mark this to display the name of the field that the layout is

grouped by. The value is also displayed.

� Show field rollups — Choose to display or hide the total values for grouping

bands.

� Hide if empty — Mark to hide the group title bands that do not contain

activities.

� Sort Order — Select the method the grouping data will be sorted.

� ID/Code — Mark the checkbox to display the ID or code value on the grouping

band.

� Name/Description — Mark the checkbox to display the name or description on

the grouping band.

� ID/Code and Name/Description – Mark the checkbox to display both the

ID/Code and the Name/Description.

174



LAB: GROUPING AND SORTING

View the Customize Groupings box

1. Verify that you are on the Activities page.

2. Click on View, Group.

175



GROUPING BY DATE

Grouping a layout by date allows a user to identify activities that are scheduled to

occur within a particular time period.

Group data by Start and save as a new view

1. In the Select fields to group by section, under the Dates category, select Start.

2. In the To Level box, select Month.

3. Click on OK.


5. In the Save View As box enter <Monthly Schedule>.

6. Click on Ok.

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SORTING ACTIVITIES

Sorting determines the sequence in which activities are listed within each grouping

band. Based on the data item a user chooses, they can sort alphabetically,

numerically, or chronologically.

To sort by single criteria, click the data item’s column title.

Click column title to sort data by Early Start

1. In the Activity Table, click on the column title for Early Start.

177



FILTERING ACTIVITIES

A filter is a set of instructions that determines which activities are displayed in a

view. Filters enable users to create customized views by limiting the number of

activities displayed, such as helping to focus on critical activities.

A set of pre-defined Standard filters is provided, as is the ability to create user-

defined filters. Filters are divided into the following groupings:

� Standard

� Available to all users

� 7 pre-defined filters

� Cannot be deleted or modified

� Global

� Available to all users

� A Security Privilege is required to edit or save

� Multiple User

� Available to only the users specified when created

� Can only be deleted by the user who created the filter

� User

� Available to current user for all projects to which he/she has access.

One or more filters may be applied to a view at a time. Multiple criteria for

selection may be used within a single filter. Filter specifications can be saved and

re-applied. Filters can be saved as part of a view.

178



FILTERS DIALOG BOX

� Filters Toolbar – Location for tools to create, edit, delete, cut, copy, and paste

filters. The functions on the Filters Toolbar are disabled when a Standard filter is

selected.

� Clear — Click to clear all filters and to show all activities in the current view.

� Show matches for — When more than one filter is marked, a user must select

one of the following options:

All applied filters — Mark to include the activities that meet the

criteria of each selected filter

Any applied filter — Mark to include the activities that meet the

criteria of at least one of the selected filters

179



View the Filters dialog box

1. Click on View, Filters, Filters.

180



APPLYING A STANDARD FILTER

We will use a filter to display only milestones for a quick high level report.

Use a Filter

1. In the Apply to View column, mark the checkbox next to the filter Milestones

only.

2. Click on Ok.

3. If necessary click and drag the vertical split bar to the left so the bar chart is

visible.


5. In the Save View As box enter <Milestone Report>

6. Click on Ok.

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USING MULTIPLE FILTERS

If a user cannot achieve the goal with a single filter, they can run two filters

simultaneously. We will also need to adjust other view options.

Execute two filters

1. In the View drop down list, select Organized by WBS with Details.


3. In the Apply to View column, mark the checkbox next to the filters Milestones

only and Critical.

4. In the Show matches for box, select all applied filters.

5. Click on Ok.

6. Click on View, Group.

7. In the Customize Groupings box, mark the checkbox for Hide if empty, then click

on Ok.


9. In the Save View As box enter <Critical Milestones>

10. Click on Ok.

182



CLEAR ALL FILTERS

To clear all filters and show all activities, click on the Clear button in the Customize

Filters box.

Clear All Filters


2. Click on the Clear button.

3. Click on Ok.

183



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Use grouping and sorting to organize activities in a view.

� The Group and Sort dialog box provides options to show grand totals and

summaries, and to modify the font and color for each grouping selected. You can

also sort the groups alphabetically, numerically, or chronologically.

� Use filters to customize the layout or to show only activities that satisfy the filter

criteria. Multiple filters can be applied to a layout.

Review Questions

Which of the following is not a true statement about default filters?

a. They are available to all users.

b. They can be deleted.

c. They cannot be modified.

d. There are 7 predefined filters.

True or False: One or more filters may be applied to a view at a time.

184



Notes

185



LESSON 15: ROLES AND RESOURCES

OBJECTIVES

� Describe roles

� Views the roles dictionary

� Describe resources

� Identify the differences between labor, non-labor and material resources

� View the resource dictionary

� Modify the resource dictionary

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Many Customers have a challenge with Resource

Management and Capacity Planning. Planning using

Roles is often a solution that can help Customers

develop appropriate short and long term hiring

plans for mission critical projects, as the demands

for Roles can be forecast over time.

In addition, the use of Rates for Roles and / or

Resources can be very beneficial from a Planning

and Budgeting perspective using either top down or

bottom up estimation processes.

Project Managers Project Managers need to understand the

importance of assigning either Roles or named

Resources to activities in their project plans. Even if

the project plans look good, have great logic and

realistic dates, if the staffing isn’t available for the

project, then the dates are going to slip. The

project’s planned dates and available staffing must

186



be balanced in order for a project to stand a chance

at coming in on time and on budget.

ROLES AND RESOURCES

Before a user begins to manage resources in Primavera, they must understand the

difference between a role and a resource:

� Role — A role is a job title or skill — for example, Software Engineer, Project

Manager, Trainer, and Database Administrator.

� Resource — A resource is an individual (or equipment or material) used to

complete an activity.

The Role dictionary and Resource dictionary are enterprise data; available for use

across all projects. After roles and resources are defined, roles can be associated to

resources, identifying the skill sets of each resource. Each resource also can be

assigned a primary role, which defines the core skill or responsibility in the

organization.

Some organizations use roles as placeholders in activity assignments until specific

resources are assigned to do the work.

187



ROLES DICTIONARY

The Roles dictionary contains five tabs:

� Description tab — A text area for entering a general description about the role.

� Resources tab — Lists the resources that are capable of performing the

responsibilities associated with the role as well as their proficiency.

� Prices tab — There are five available price per unit values. The title of these

values can be defined in the Rates tab in Admin Preferences.

� Limits tab — specify allocation limit(s) for a role. Multiple limits can be

established based on effective date.

� Role Teams – Identified the role teams the role has been assigned to.

View the Roles dialog box

1. On the Navigation bar, click on Resources.

2. Click on the Administration page.

3. Click on the Roles tab.

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ROLES DICTIONARY DETAILS

Description Tab

The Description tab allows the administrator to enter data in a text box. A user can

also enter pictures and html links.

Resource Tab

Click this tab to see any Resources that have been assigned to this Role. In the case

of a new Role, a user would need to assign a Resource to the Role. Functionally, a

user can either assign Roles to Resources, or assign Resource to Roles. In either

case, the link between the Resource and the Role would show up on this tab.

Prices

A user can add up to five price-per- unit rates for each role in the roles dictionary.

When a user assigns a role to an activity during project planning, they can choose

which rate they want to use to calculate cost. Defining rates for specific roles yields

more accurate project cost planning results.

Limits Tab

Use the Limits tab to specify available quantities (limits) for a role. Setting limits

helps a user quickly identify areas of role overload in Resource/Role Usage Profiles.

A user can define an unlimited number of role limits for each role; however, the

effective date must be unique.

By default, role limits are calculated based on the limit defined for each role’s

primary resource. A user can choose to display role limits based on the custom role

limits or based on the calculated primary resources’ limit in their preferences.

Role Teams

A user can group roles in teams which are commonly used together. This enhances

role analysis, as the user can focus solely on the role team in one view.

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DEFINING RESOURCES

A resource is anything used to complete an activity. The Resources Administration

page contains information about all resources within the organization, enabling

centralized resource management. Resources are divided into three categories:

� Labor (people) — Measured in units of time

Recorded in terms of price/unit — for example, $50.00/hour

� Nonlabor (equipment) — Measured in units of time

Recorded in terms of price/unit — for example, $465.00/hour

� Material — Measured in units other than time — for example, $4.50/sf

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THE RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION PAGE

Resources can be organized using a hierarchal structure, but each level of the

Resource structure is itself a resource that can be assigned to an activity.

Display resource data in the Administration page

1. On the Administration page, click on the Resources tab.

2. Expand the resources E&C Resources and Engineering.

3. Select the resource Paul Kim.

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RESOURCE DETAILS

Use Resource Details to add, view, and edit detailed information about the selected

resource.

General Tab

The General tab enables a user to enter general information about the selected

resource including the resource’s ID, name, employee ID, title, e-mail address, office

phone number, unit of measurement, and status.

Resource teams Tab

The Resource Teams tab displays the resource teams a resource has been assigned

to. Resource teams allow the user to group resources which are commonly used

together. This enhances resource analysis, as the user can focus solely on the

resource team in one view.

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Roles Tab

The Roles tab is the location a user can view and assign resources to roles.

Functionally, a user can either assign Roles to Resources, or assign Resource to

Roles. In either case, the link between the Resource and the Role would show up on

this tab.

Codes Tab

The Codes tab enables a user to assign resource code values to further categorize

the selected resource for grouping and organizing.

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Units and Prices Tab

The Units and Prices tab enables a user to set prices and availability according to

time.

� Effective Date — The effective start date for price and availability.

� Max Units/Time — A numeric value or percentage the resource can perform in

a single work period, according to effective date, e.g., 8 h/d (100%) = full-time or

4 h/d (50%) = part-time. Setting this limit allows a user to quickly identify areas

of resource over allocation in resource profiles/spreadsheets.

� Price/Unit — Set the resource’s price for a single work unit, according to the

effective date. Up to five rates can be defined for each resource.

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Settings Tab

The Settings tab enables a user to enter the selected resource’s labor classification,

currency and overtime settings, and profile.

� Calendar — Calendar used to identify resource availability.

� Default Units/Time — Indicates the units/time that will be applied when the

resource is assigned to an activity.

� Overtime Allowed — Mark to indicate the resource can enter overtime hours in

Timesheets, or in the Resources tab in Activity Details.

� Overtime Factor — Indicates the value by which the resource’s standard price

should be multiplied to determine the overtime price.

� Auto Compute Actuals — Mark to automatically calculate the resource’s actual

quantity of work according to the project plan.

� Currency — Indicates the currency associated with the resource’s costs.

� Calculate costs from units — Mark to calculate the cost of an activity based on

the assigned units.

� Timesheet User Login – The username of the resource for Progress Reporter.

� Uses Timesheets – Enables Progress Reporter for the Resource.

� Timesheet Approval Manager – The user who approves the resources

timesheets in Progress Reporter.

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Notes Tab

The Notes is a text area that generic information regarding the resource can be

entered and viewed.

LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� A role is a job title or skill, for example, Trainer or Manager.

� A resource is someone — or something — used to complete an activity.

� Roles can be assigned to resources to aid in resource management. Multiple

roles and a single primary role can be assigned to each resource.

� Resources are divided into three categories: Labor (people); Nonlabor

(equipment); Material (measured in units other than time, e.g., $4.50/ square

foot).

� Roles are defined in the Roles dictionary.

� Resources are defined in the Resources window, where a user can use Resource

Details to view and edit information about resources.

Review Questions

True or False: Up to ten rates can be defined for each role and resource.

True or False: When resources are defined, they are assigned to a specific project

and cannot be shared with other projects.

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Notes

197



LESSON 16: ASSIGNING ROLES

OBJECTIVES

� Assign roles to an activity

� Assign rates on roles

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Many Customers choose not to implement named

Resources in their companies. Working with

Human Resources, they have interfaces that link

back to HR Systems that update the total capacity

for all Job Roles. The planning for these Roles may

either be top down or bottom up. Using Roles

rather than named resources makes it easier to

manage hundreds of resources that may be

working on large programs / projects. Knowing the

total capacity for that Role at any point in time will

quickly surface the need to supplement work force

– short term or long term, identify staffing Risks,

and create contingency plans to meet the demand

for Roles and Skills over time.

Project Managers On very large projects, it is doubtful that project

managers will have time to manage individual

resources down to the activity level. The use of

Roles for planning purposes will significantly

expedite the staffing management process.

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ASSIGNING ROLES TO ACTIVITIES

If a user knows which skill sets are required for each activity, but not the exact

people who will perform the work, they can assign roles to the activities. Role

assignments will act as placeholders, which can be used later to assign the

applicable resource.

To assign a role to an activity, click Add Role in the Resources tab in Activity Details.

Usage: In the Construction industry resources are frequently defined generically,

and roles are not used. For example, many construction companies will define a

resource called Carpenter instead of identifying each individual in the company as a

resource and assign the carpenters to a Carpenter role. In the IT industry resources

are frequently defined for each individual person, and roles are used.

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LAB: ASSIGN A ROLE TO AN ACTIVITY

We will assign a role to an activity in the Assignments tab. We will edit some of the

columns that appear in the Assignments tab.



3. In the view drop down list, select Resources.

4. Use the Customize Columns button in the Assignments tab to display the

columns listed below and to hide all other columns:

� Resource Names

� Role Name

� Planned Duration

� Planned Units/Time

� Planned Units

� Rate Type

� Price/Unit

� Planned Cost

5. Use Click and Drag to sort the columns in the Assignments tab in the order listed

above.


7. In the Save View As box enter Assigning Resources.

8. Click on Ok.

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We will assign the role Design Engineer to the activity Review and Approve Designs

to assist Paul Kim.

1. In the Activity table under the WBS element Design and Engineering, select the

activity Review and Approve Designs

2. Click on the Assign Role and Save button

3. In the Select Role box, expand the E&C Roles and Engineer

4. Select the role Design Engineer and click on Assign

5. In the Select Role box, click on Close

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Rate types are assigned to roles in the Assignments tab in Activity Details. The rate

type determines the price/unit used to calculate costs for the assignment. The

names for each rate type are defined by the system administrator. When a user

selects a rate type, the monetary value is updated automatically in the Price/Unit

column.

Assign Rates on Roles

1. Verify the activity Review and Approve Designs is selected.

2. In the Rate Type column on the Assignments tab, double click the field for the

Design Engineer role.

3. In the Rate Type drop down list, select Internal Rate.

4. In the Assignments tab, click on the Save button.

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LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Role assignments can act as placeholders, which a user can later use to assign

specific resources.

� A user can also assign rates to roles. The rate type determines the price/unit

used to calculate costs for the assignment.

Review Questions

1. Roles can be assigned to which of the following:

a. Resources

b. Activities

c. WBS elements

d. Projects

e. a and b only

2. True or False: A user is limited to five rate types per role.

Notes

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LESSON 17: ASSIGNING RESOURCES AND COSTS

OBJECTIVES

� Assign resources by role

� Assign labor, nonlabor, and material resources to activities

� Adjust Budgeted Units/Time for a resource

� Assign expenses to activities

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

Assigning Costs to Roles, Resources and Expenses is

generally more advanced functionality. Until Project

Inventories are stable, and staffing plans within

Projects are stable, assigning Costs generally causes

a great deal of confusion. It is strongly

recommended that Project Cost Accounting /

Budgeting / Cost Management be put in a roadmap

of projects over time, where incremental

improvement in these processes is planned.

Project Managers Many Project Managers want to get to Earned Value

Metrics as soon as possible. However, unless this is

a very mature project manager that understands the

impacts of scheduling, relationships, duration and

effort, budgeted units over time limits, and

balancing the project plan with staffing plans,

implementing Cost Variance metrics and EVM will

fail quickly.

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STEPS FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Following are the basic steps for resource management:

1. Define resources in the Resources Administration page

� Define resource availability.

� Set up the resource name, description, cost, roles, and attributes that control

the resource’s effect on the schedule.

2. Assign resources in the Activities page:

� Enter the resource name and amount of work planned.

� The cost is calculated based on the resource quantity and price/unit as defined

in the Resources window.

3. Analyze resources and costs in the Team Usage page:

� Use the Resource Usage profile to view resource quantity/cost information

graphically. The profile helps a user analyze when, and to what extent, a

resource is allocated.

� Use the Resource Usage spreadsheet to view resource quantity/cost information

in a tabular format. Like the Resource Usage Profile, the spreadsheet helps a

user analyze resource allocation.

� Use columns to view total costs.

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LAB: ASSIGNING RESOURCES BY ROLE

Resource assignments can be made by replacing a role assignment with a specific

resource. At least one role must be assigned to an activity in order to assign

resources by role.

Or, Resources may be assigned to an activity without assigning a Role. In this

instance, a Role would show up in the Resources tab. It would be the primary role

of the assigned resource.

Assign a resource by role

1. Verify that you are on the Activities page and that activity Review and Approve

Designs is selected.

2. On the Assignments tab, double-click in the blank Resource Name field for the

role Design Engineer.

3. In the Select Resource box, expand E&C Resources and Engineering Department.

4. Select the resource Wendy Resner and click on OK.

5. When prompted to use the Unit/Time and Overtime factor values for the new

resource, click on Ok.

6. When prompted to use the Price/Unit for the new resource, click on Ok.

When assigning resources by role, two confirmation boxes are displayed. These

settings include Price/Time, Units/Time, and Overtime Factor values.

� Click No — Retains the role’s Price/Unit, Units/Time and Overtime Factor values.

� Click Yes — Apply the resource’s Price/Unit, Units/Time and Overtime Factor

values.

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ASSIGNING RESOURCES

When a user assigns a resource to an activity, the following calculation is

performed:

Duration x Units/Time = Units

This formula must remain true. Depending on numerous factors, including the type

of activity or type of resource, a user may need to adjust Duration, Units or

Units/Time when assigning a resource. When a user does modify one of these three

fields, P6 will recalculate the formula based on the Duration Type of the activity.

� Duration – The amount of time the activity will take to be completed.

� Units — The number of units (hours) that a resource is assigned to work on the

activity.

� Units/Time — The number of units (hours) that a resource is scheduled to work

in a specific time period, for example, 8 hours/day.

Typically, a resource is not assigned to work on a level of effort activity full time.

Therefore, the Units/Time is usually adjusted after making a Level of Effort resource

assignment.

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LAB: MODIFYING A RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT

The activity Concrete Foundation Walls requires two laborers to complete the work.

Currently there is only one laborer assigned to the activity. Since 100% represents

one laborer, 200% represents two laborers.

1. In the Activity table under the WBS element Foundation, select the activity

Concrete Foundation Walls.

2. In the Planned Units/Time field in the Assignments tab, enter 200%.

3. Click on the Save button in the Assignments tab.

Since the Duration Type of the activity is Fixed Duration & Units/Time, when the

user changed the Units/Time, P6 recalculated the Units.

18 days * 200% (16 hours/day) = 36d (288 hours)

Currently the value for Units is expressed in days and Units/Time is expressed as a

percentage. These values can be presented differently, in hours for example, by

changing the settings in the user’s preferences.

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DESIGNATING A PRIMARY RESOURCE

The primary resource is the resource that can update the activity’s progress, dates,

remaining duration, percent complete, and steps in the Progress Report application.

Typically, it is the person responsible for coordinating an activity's work. An activity

can have one or no primary resource.

� Only the primary resource can send feedback via Progress Reporter to the

project manager, informing the project manager of the status of an activity.

� A primary resource can be assigned to a milestone activity to allow the

milestone to be updated through Progress Reporter. This assignment is made in

the Assignments tab in Activity Details.

� Only a Labor type resource can be designated as a primary resource

Usage: If an organization is not using the Progress Report application, there is no

functional need to designate a Primary Resource and the field can be ignored.

However, the field can still be used to identify the lead resource on an activity.

Assign a primary resource to the activity

1. Use the Customize Columns button in the Assignments tab to display the

Primary Resource column.

2. Click and Drag the Primary Resource column so appears as the second column

after Resource Name.

3. Mark the checkbox for the Rough Carpenter resource.

4. Click on the Save button in the Assignments tab.

After you save your changes, the checkbox for the Ironworker resource will be

cleared.

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PLANNING COSTS

Costs are planned and managed at the activity level. There are two types of costs:

� Resource — Calculated based on resource assignments

� Expense — Lump sum costs that are manually entered

RESOURCE COSTS

The cost of a resource can be calculated based on the Price/Unit defined in the

Resource dictionary and the Budgeted Units assigned to the activity.

� Planned Cost = Planned Units * Price/Unit

View Budgeted Cost for mgirzdius in activity A1020

1. Use the Customize Columns button in the Assignments tab to remove the

Primary Resource column and Role columns.

2. Adjust the columns widths so that all columns are visible in the Assignments tab.

The ironworker is assigned to work 18 days, or 144 hours. The ironworker’s

price/unit is $55 per hour. The total planned cost for the ironworker is:

144 hours * $55 = $7,920

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EXPENSE COSTS

Expenses are non-resource costs associated with a project. They are typically one-

time expenditures for non-reusable items. Examples of expenses include facilities,

travel, overhead, and training.

Expenses are manually assigned at the activity level. A user can enter a single lump

sum expense or they can enter the number of units and the Price/Unit.

� Expense categories can be assigned to classify the expense.

� Expenses can be accrued at the start, end, or uniformly over the duration of an

activity.

� A unit of measure can be used to label the quantity, for example, each, pounds,

or square feet.

Display and Modify the Expense tab

Before assigning an expense, we will display and modify the Expense tab.

1. Click on View, Customize Details Windows

2. Under Detail Window, mark the checkbox for Expenses

3. Click on Save

4. Click and Drag on the title bar for the Expenses detail window and drop on top

of the Assignments window

5. Use the Customize Columns button in the Expenses tab to display the columns

listed below and to hide all other columns:

a. Expense Item

b. Expense Category

c. Planned Units

d. Rate Type

e. Planned Cost

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We will track the costs for the concrete for the foundation walls as an expense.

Assign an Expense

1. Verify the activity Concrete Foundation Walls is selected.

2. In the Expenses tab, click on the Add button.

3. In the Expense Item column, enter <Concrete>.

4. Double-click in the Expense Category column and select Materials.

5. In the Planned Units field, enter 1.

6. In the Price/Unit field, enter 50,000.00.

7. Click on the Save button on the Activities page toolbar.

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LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Three steps in resource management are defining resources, assigning

resources, and analyzing resources.

� If a role is not designated as a placeholder in an activity, assign a resource

directly from the Resource dictionary.

� When a user assigns a resource to an activity, this calculation is performed:

Duration * Units/Time = Units.

� When a user assigns a resource, they can adjust the Duration, Units/Time or

Units. They can also designate a primary resource.

Review Questions

1. True or False: A maximum of 10 resources can be assigned to an activity.

What type of resource is not measured in units per time?

a. Labor

b. Nonlabor

c. Material

d. None of the above

True or False: Expenses are non-resource costs associated with a project and

assigned to a project’s activities.

True or False: Attributes such as price/unit and expense item can be entered on

the Expenses tab in Activity Details.

213



SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Your Customer has been evaluated by CMMi auditors and has been awarded a Level

4 maturity designation. This organization has been using Primavera for 5 years. You

start your implementation by doing an audience assessment. You look into project

plans within each EPS node and find quickly that project data is bad. Dates don’t

make sense. All activities in plans are constrained. Roles / Resources have not been

assigned. There are no baselines for the projects.

Your Customer Executive Sponsor is pushing hard to take their Project Plans to the

next level by implementing Earned Value Management metrics.

In small groups, discuss how you might discuss your findings with the Executive

Sponsor. What approaches might you take that would allow the Executive Sponsor

to show Earned Value Management success, but not overwhelm those project

managers that are obviously not ready for this level of maturity and discipline?

214



Notes

215



LESSON 18: ANALYZING RESOURCES

OBJECTIVES

� Display the Team Usage page

� Format a profile

� Format the timescale

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

As noted previously, Project Plans must be balanced to

show realistic dates linked to staffing plans in which

assigned resources are not critically over allocated.

This chapter focused on balancing resources manually

without the use of Resource Leveling. Resource

Leveling is very advanced functionality. It assumes

that organizations have thought through the Project

Risk and Prioritization processes so that Leveling

allocates resources to the most critical projects.

Executing the process manually with Customers will

minimize the confusion that will result if Leveling is

used. Remember - activities in project plans that are

resource dependent will have dates that move out

depending on the individual projects’ defined risk and

priority level. If Customers are still grappling with

schedules, scheduling, schedule management and

adoption of standard data update processes, adding

Resource Leveling into that mix will more than likely

lead an implementation into failure.

Project Managers As noted previously, project dates and staffing plans

must be balanced. Dates must be realistic. Part of

216



determining whether or not dates are realistic is

looking at staffing plans, identifying over allocations,

and then resolving those over allocations – preferably

in the planning process before baselining.

217



SUMMARIZE PROJECT DATA

Prior to view resource allocation, project data should be summarized.

Summarize the Project

1. Verify that you are on the Activities page.

2. Click on Actions, Run, Summarize Projects.

218



TEAM USAGE PAGE

The Team Usage page provides a graphical or tabular view of unit/cost distributions

over time. It displays the amount of effort needed from each resource/role on the

project during each time period.

Use the profile to determine how many hours each resource is scheduled to work;

identify over allocated resources; track expenditures per time period; and display a

banana curve to compare early and late dates.

� View unit/cost distributions from a specific project or all projects to which a user

has access.

� View resource or role allocations.

219



DISPLAYING THE TEAM USAGE PAGE

Use the Team Usage page information to determine which resources/roles are over

allocated and which resources/roles are underutilized.

Analyze a resource’s allocation using the Team Usage page

1. Click on the Team Usage page button.

2. In the left pane, expand the resource group under the project name.

220



FORMATTING THE TEAM USAGE PAGE

The Team Usage page can be customized to display data graphical in a histogram or

tabular in a spreadsheet.

� Display — Select to display units or costs.

� Timescale – Set the timescale interval.

� Show Current Project only – Only resource allocation from the current project

will be displayed.

� Show All projects – Resource allocation from the across the entire database will

be displayed.

� Limit – Displays a bar that is based on the Max Units/Time field in the resource

dictionary and the calendar assigned to the resource.

� Allocation Limit – Displays a bar that shows the resource available based on

activities the resource is currently assigned.

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�

Procedure: Set the Timescale to Month/Week

1. In the Timescale drop down list, select Month/Week.

2. Click on the Save link.

222



DISPLAYING A RESOURCE’S ALLOCATION

Select a resource in the left pane to display the resource’s allocation.

Set the Timescale to Month/Week

1. In the left pane, select the resource Paul Kim.

2. In the histogram, scroll to February of 2012.

223



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� The Team Usage page provides a graphical and tabular view of unit/cost

distributions over time. It displays the amount of effort needed from each

resource/role on the project during each time period.

� Use the profile to determine how many hours each resource is scheduled to

work; identify over-allocated or under-allocated resources; track expenditures

per time period; and display a banana curve to compare early and late dates.

� A user can further customize the Team Usage page by using the Customize box.

Review Questions

1. True or False: The Team Usage page allows a user to focus on resource

allocation.

2. True or False: Data in the Team Usage page can be displayed in graphical or

tabular format.

224



Notes

225



LESSON 19: OPTIMIZING THE PROJECT PLAN

OBJECTIVES

� Analyze schedule dates

� Shorten a project schedule

� Analyze resource availability

� Remove resource over allocation

� Analyze project costs

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

This chapter addressed what is commonly referred

to as “crunching” or compressing a schedule. While

it is important to understand how to do this in

Primavera, crunching a schedule is high Risk. It

should always be done within the context of

available staffing.

Project Schedulers,

Project Managers

It is always tempting to use schedule compression

techniques to “make the dates look good.” As

noted, this is high Risk behavior. While the math

may show that the dates are better and are meeting

management requirements, reality of project

execution will quickly show that dates will be

missed, slips will occur, and the projects will not

perform as expected.

226



ANALYZING THE PROJECT

Once a user has created the project plan, verify that it meets the project

stakeholders’ date, resource, and cost requirements. If an inconsistency exists

between the information in the project plan and the project requirements, they will

be able to identify the source of the problem and define a solution:

� Analyze schedule dates — Evaluate the schedule to ensure that milestone dates

and project dates are achieved.

� Analyze resource allocation — Evaluate the resources to ensure that the

resources are not over allocated.

� Analyze cost budget — Evaluate project costs.

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ANALYZING SCHEDULE DATES

The most important date in the schedule is the calculated project Finish date. If the

calculated Finish date of the project is beyond the Must Finish By date, the project

must be shortened. In addition, each deliverable in the project should be scheduled

to finish by the dates imposed by the project stakeholders.

Steps for analysis:

� Compare the calculated Finish to the Must Finish By date.

� Back up the project plan.

� Focus on critical activities.

� Shorten the project.

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COMPARING FINISH DATE TO MUST FINISH BY DATE

A user can quickly determine whether the project will finish on time by viewing the

General tab on the EPS page.

The calculated Finish date is later than the Must Finish By date, indicating that the

project will not finish on time.



3. In Project Details, click the General tab and compare the Must Finish By date to

the Scheduled Finish date.

Will the project as now scheduled finish on time?

Usage Note: The comparison of the Scheduled Finish date and the Must Finish By

date is very important to the success of the project. Reviewing these dates with

Management can help to manage expectations as to when this work is realistically

able to complete.

229



FOCUSING ON CRITICAL ACTIVITIES

To shorten the project, focus on critical activities. These represent the longest

continuous path of activities through a project that determines the project Finish

date. If a user adjusts a critical activity, the project’s Scheduled Finish date is likely to

be affected.

230



LAB: COMPRESSING THE SCHEDULE BY FOCUSING ON

CRITICAL PATH ACTIVITIES


2. Click on Actions, Run, Scheduler.

3. In the Schedule Project box, click on Options.

4. In the Schedule Options box, for the option Define critical activities as, select

Longest Path.


6. Click on Schedule.

Discussion:

What conditions may be present that would suggest that selecting Longest Path may

be preferable to Total Float less than or equal to “x” days?

231



Modify the View and Run the Critical default filter

1. Open the view Basic Gantt Chart.

2. Click on the column header for the Start column.

3. Click and Drag on the vertical split bar so the bar chart is visible.


5. In the Customize Filters box, mark the checkbox for the Critical Activities filter.

6. Click on Ok.


8. Add the columns listed below to the Select Columns section and remove any

columns from Select Columns not listed below. Note: Some columns may

already be listed under Select Columns.

� Activity ID

� Planned Duration

� Start

� Finish

232



� Total Float


10. In the Save View As box enter <Longest Path>.

11. Click on Ok.

233



SHORTENING THE PROJECT

If schedule analysis leads a user to conclude that the Must Finish By date cannot be

met, concentrate efforts on shortening the schedule. Several methods can help a

user accomplish this goal:

� Refine duration estimates:

� Break down long activities.

� Assign additional resources to reduce duration

� Use relationships to overlap activities

� Apply/modify constraints

� Change calendar assignments

� Put critical activities on a longer workweek

� Add exceptions to non-work time in a Project Specific Calendar

Best Practices: Exceptions should never be added to a global calendar, as that would

impact every activity in every project in the database. It would be far easier to

simply change calendar assignments.

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REFINING DURATION ESTIMATES

Begin the analysis by reviewing the activities with the longest duration. In general,

these activities offer the greatest flexibility in altering durations.

It should be noted that this is a best practice for any project plan prior to assigning

Resources / Roles and estimating effort (hours / units) for the activity.

Reduce the duration of an activity

1. Select an activity, EC1100 – Site Preparation.

2. In the Planned Duration column, enter 30.



5. Verify the Data Date is February 27, 2012.

6. Clear the checkbox for the option Display schedule log upon completion.


235



MODIFYING RELATIONSHIPS

If a user needs to further compress the schedule, review relationships between

activities on the critical path.

Modify a Relationship

1. Verify activity, EC1100 – Site Preparation, is selected.

2. Click on the Successors tab.

3. Double-click in the Relationship Type column.

4. Select Finish to Finish.

5. In the Lag column, enter 10.



8. Verify the Data Date is February 27, 2012.


236



MODIFYING CONSTRAINTS

Constraints assigned earlier in the project life cycle may need to be modified based

on the latest information from the project team. If a user modifies a constraint, be

sure to also modify the Notebook topic that was created to document the

constraint.

One should be very judicious in the use of constraints. Constraints disrupt the

scheduling engine. As noted previously, this may make the schedule look green

from a date perspective. However, as constrained activities slip, the impacts on

successor activities are not felt during the scheduling process. A backlog of work

commonly piles up either before or during the constrained activity. When the

constrained activity finally slips, then the downstream impact of that slip shows up

immediately.

This is a very common scenario in Phase / Gate methodologies that have

constrained activities. It is a difficult conversation to have with Steering Committees

who have been seeing a green schedule for weeks, and then are updated in a status

meeting that the project has slipped 3 months over the course of one week.

237



VERIFYING PROJECT DATES

To see if the project will now finish on time, verify that no negative Total Float exists

on any of the activities in the project.

The Total Float for the project equals 2 days and the calculated Scheduled Finish

date is 02-Oct-13. Therefore, the project is scheduled to finish before the Must

Finish By date of 04-Oct-13.

Verifying Project Dates



3. In Project Details, click the General tab and compare the Must Finish By date to

the Scheduled Finish date.

Will the project as now scheduled finish on time?

238



ANALYZING RESOURCE ALLOCATION

The project plan is now scheduled to be completed by the deadline. Before

proceeding, verify that resources are appropriately allocated.

A user can use the Team Usage page to determine which resources are over

allocated or underutilized. A user can then re-assign resources to help even the

workload.

Since we have changed the dates of the activities, we will need to summarize the

project before analyzing resource usage. We will also focus on the current project.

239



LAB: USE THE TEAM USAGE PAGE TO IDENTIFY OVER

ALLOCATED RESOURCES.





5. Click on the Customize link.

6. In the Customize box, select Current Project only.


240



IDENTIFYING RESOURCE OVER ALLOCATION

The Team Usage page allows a user select a resource to identify allocation. Select

each resource and view their profile. Remember the project occurs between

February 2012 and October 2013.

Identify Over-Allocated Resources

1. Select each resource and view their profile.

The resource Paul Kim is over-allocated. The next step is to identify the activities

causing the over-allocation.

241



IDENTIFYING ACTIVITIES CAUSING OVER ALLOCATION

The spreadsheet in the Team Usage page allows a user identify activities that a

resource is assigned to. Paul is over-allocated between the weeks of May 13 and

June 10.

Identifying Activities Causing Over-Allocation

1. Select Spreadsheet.

2. Click on the link for the project Nesbid Building Expansion.

In the Resource Project Activities box, six activities are listed for Paul. Three

activities; EC1050, EC1070 and EC1080, occur over the same period of time, causing

the over-allocation.

242



CORRECTING OVER ALLOCATION

There are several methods to remove the over allocation from a resource:

� Replace the over allocated resource with an available resource.

� Increase the resource’s workweek.

� Increase the hours/day that the resource works.

� Assign additional resources to the activity.

To view allocation from resources not assigned to the project, we will access the

Resource Usage page under the Resources section. There are two people who could

be used in place of Paul, Jeff Young and Wayne Prescott. We will search on their

names.

Identify an alternate resource to work on activities

1. On the Navigation bar, click on Resources.

2. Click on the Analysis page.

3. Click on the Resource Usage tab.

4. In the left pane, click on the Search button.

5. In the search box, enter <Jeff Young>.

6. In the left pane, select Jeff Young.

243



Jeff is not assigned on any activities after December 2011, so he would be available

to replace Paul on one activity.

244



Procedure: Identify an alternate resource to work on activities

1. In the search box, enter <Wayne Prescott>.

2. In the left pane, select Wayne Prescott.

Wayne is also not assigned on any activities, so he would be available to replace

Paul on one activity as well.

245



LAB: RESOLVE OVER ALLOCATION

After discussing our options with Paul, Jeff, and Wayne, you have decided that. Paul

will remain assigned to activity EC1050, Jeff will be assigned on EC1070, and Wayne

will be assigned on EC1080.

Replace the Over-Allocated Resource

1. Click on Activity EC1070.

2. In the Assignments tab, double-click in the Resource Name column.

3. In the Search box in the Select Resource box, enter Jeff Young.

4. Select Jeff Young and click on Assign.

5. Click on Ok to close Message box

6. Click on Activity EC1080.

7. In the Assignments tab double-click in the Resource Name column.

8. In the Search box in the Select Resource box, enter Wayne Prescott.

9. Select Wayne Prescott and click on Assign.

10. Click on Ok to close Message box.

246



11. Use the Team Usage page to check the allocation for Paul Kim, Jeff Young, and

Wayne Prescott.

Review updated allocation




4. Select Paul Kim, Jeff Young, and Wayne Prescott and focus on allocation in May

and June of 2012.

All three resources are showing they are not over-allocated.

247



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Optimizing the project plan is the last step in planning the project. Ensure that

the project plan meets its date, resource, and cost requirements.

� If the calculated Scheduled Finish date of the project is beyond the Must Finish

By date, the project must be shortened. Compare the dates in the General tab in

Project Details.

� A user can use various methods to shorten the project, such as refining

durations, modifying relationships, applying constraints, and focusing on critical

activities.

� Use the Team Usage Histogram or Spreadsheet to review resource allocation.

Review Questions

1. True or False: A user can quickly determine whether the project will finish on

time by reviewing the Status tab in the EPS page.

4. Which of the following is a method for removing resource over allocation?

a. Decrease the resource’s workweek

b. Assign the resource to more activities in that time frame

c. Re-assign work to a different resource

d. All of the above

2. True or False: To be successful at shortening a project, a user must focus on

critical activities.

3. Which of the following are alternatives for compressing the duration of a

project?

a. Use relationships to overlap activities

b. Add resources to reduce durations

c. Review long activities to determine if duration can be refined

d. Change calendar assignments

248



e. All of the above

Notes

249



LESSON 20: BASELINING THE PROJECT PLAN

OBJECTIVES


� Display baseline bars on the Gantt Chart

� Modify the bars on the Gantt Chart

ROLE / IMPACT CHART


Implementation

Consultant

The concept of Baselining, while simple

functionality, is generally difficult to understand.

Project Baselines are snapshots in time of the

agreed upon work – dates, duration, efforts,

resources, and costs.

As project plans are updated throughout the life of

the project, it is expected that there will be

variances. Baselining is a tool to indicate project

performance. It shows project managers where

projects may be headed for trouble, or are in

trouble. The Actual data as compared to the project

plan is that which allows project performance to be

measured.

Baselining should not be attempted until the best

practices of setting up the project plan, reviewing

activities, reviewing durations, reviewing

relationships, assignment of resources, and

estimation of effort / units for those resources over

time is completed.

250



Project Schedulers,

Project Managers,

Managers

Anyone involved in Project Management as well as

Management and Sponsors need to understand that

variances are expected and normal. If all projects

show Plan and Actual to be 100% in alliance, it is

very likely that data is being manipulated to

consistently show project performance as “green.”

While this is tempting to do, it defeats the purpose

of using the tool. Primavera predicts failure.

Predicting failure allows for proactive responses to

address predicted failure and increase the

probability that projects will come in on time and on

budget.

251



BASELINES

A baseline is a copy of a project that a user can compare to the current project in

order to evaluate progress.

BEST PRACTICE: Create a baseline plan before updating a schedule for the first

time.

A baseline provides a target against which a user can track a project’s cost,

schedule, and resource performance.

Baseline functionality in Primavera P6 enables a user to:

� Save an unlimited number of copies of a project for comparisons.

� Designate one copy of a project as the project baseline and one as user baselines for

comparison to the current project.

� Assign a baseline type to categorize the copies of the project. Examples include initial

planning, what-if, or mid-project baselines. Baseline types can help a user

benchmark performance across multiple projects.

Baseline, indicated by black bar, is used to compare schedule performance against

current project, indicated by shaded bars.

252



Because baselines and baseline management are the starting point for all project

performance measurements, one could make an argument that only a governance

organization (PMO) should have the security to create and maintain baselines.

253



CREATING A BASELINE

A user can create a baseline either by:

� Copying the currently opened project.

� Converting another project into a baseline.

When a user creates a baseline, they must select the project to which it is

associated. Baselines can be assigned only to opened projects. All opened projects

are displayed in the Maintain Baselines dialog box.

A baseline had been previously created prior to optimizing the schedule. Since that

baseline is no longer valid, we need to create a new one.

Usage: It should be consider either retaining or deleting the previous baseline.

Some organizations would retain it to keep a record of changes in the schedule.

254



Create a baseline



3. Click on Actions, Define Baselines.

4. Expand the group Nesbid Building Expansion.

5. Click the Add Baseline button.

6. In the Baseline Name column, replace the B2 at the end of the baseline name

and replace it with <Original Baseline>

7. In the Baseline Type column select Initial Baseline Plan.

8. Click on the Save button in the Baseline box.

Usage: It is recommended that the baseline name be unique and information.

Include the purpose of the baseline, (Original, Update) and the date of creation or

the data date. It is also recommended that baselines are never deleted. Old

baselines should be archived.

Verbiage: Many experienced project managers and schedulers, especially in the

construction industry, will only refer to the original baseline as a Baseline.

Subsequent copies of the schedules are referred to as Updates. In the construction

industry there is only one baseline.

255



ASSIGNING A BASELINE

Now that a baseline has been created, it must be assigned as the official baseline to

be used for project performance measurements.

Use the Project Baseline and the User’s Primary Baseline fields in the Baseline box to

assign the baseline for comparison. If no baseline is designated as active, the current

project plan is used as the baseline.

� Project baseline

� Baseline selected by the project manager for the project

� Used for schedule, resource, and cost comparison

� Controlled by the security privilege, Maintain Project Baselines

� User’s Primary Baseline

� User-specific; each user can choose a different copy of the project as

their primary baseline for comparison to the current project

� Used for schedule, resource, and cost comparison

Select the newly created baseline as the project baseline and the primary user

baseline.

256



Select the newly created baseline as the project baseline and primary

user baseline

1. In the Project Baseline select Nesbid Building Expansion – Original Baseline.

2. In the User’s Primary Baseline select Nesbid Building Expansion – Original

Baseline.

3. In the Baseline box, click on the Save button.

4. Click Close.

Usage: It is not necessary to select the same baseline as both the Project Baseline

and the User’s Primary Baseline.

257



VIEWING BASELINE BARS

The Gantt Chart Options box allows a user to modify the type, size, color, and shape

of the bars displayed in the Gantt chart.

� Timescale — Bar is drawn based on the timescale selected, for example, Actual Bar

drawn from Actual Start date to Actual Finish date.

� Filter — Bar is drawn for all activities that match the criteria listed in the filter

displayed.

Open the Gantt Chart Options Box

1. Click on View, Gantt Chart Options.

258



BARS TAB

Up to three bars can be displayed in the Gantt Chart at one time. The user can show

any combination of the following bars:

� Current Bar — Displays a bar based on the Early Dates of the activities.

� Late Bar - Displays a bar based on the Late Dates of the activities.

� Project Baseline Bar – Displays a bar based on the dates of the Project Baseline.

� User’s Primary Baseline Bar – Displays a bar based on the dates of the User’ Primary

Baseline.

� Float Bar - Displays a bar representing the amount of time an activity can be delayed

without impacting the end of the project based on the activity’s Total Float.

� Free Float Bar - . Displays a bar representing the amount of time an activity can be

delayed without impacting the activity’s successors based on the activity’s Free Float.

Current Bar Options

� Show progress — Displays progressed activities with the color Blue

� Show critical – Displays critical activities with the color Red

� Label – Sets the activity data used for the bar label

� Label position – Sets the location of the bar label

� Label font – Sets the font of the bar label

Necking

� Use calendar non-work time — The bar is necked, or reduced in height during

periods when the activity is not scheduled to occur due to calendar non-work time.

(Weekends, Winter shut downs).

� Use activity non-work time — The bar is necked, or reduced in height during periods

when the activity is not scheduled to occur due to suspending the activity.

259



DISPLAYING BASELINE BARS

By displaying baseline bars in the Gantt chart, a user can visually compare the

baseline plan’s schedule dates to the current project plan’s schedule dates.

Open the Gantt Chart Options Box

1. In the Second Bar drop down list, select Project Baseline.

2. Click on Ok.

3. Click and Drag the vertical split bar to the right to clearly see the bar chart.

260



SAVING THE VIEW

With the Baseline Bars displayed, we will save a new view.

Save the New View


2. In the Save View As box enter <Current vs. Baseline>

261



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� A baseline is a copy of a project that can be compared to the current project to

evaluate progress. Create a baseline plan before updating a schedule for the first

time.

� A user can create a baseline by copying the currently opened project or converting

another project into a baseline.

� Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline based on how a user intends to use

it.

� A project baseline is the baseline selected by the project manager for the project and

is controlled by a security privilege. A user’s primary-baseline can be designated by

each user and is used for schedule comparison only.

� The Bars box allows a user to modify the type, size, color, and shape of the baseline

bars displayed in the Gantt Chart.

Review Questions

1. True or False: Only one baseline can be compared to a current schedule at any

given time.

2. A user can use a project baseline to compare:

a. Schedule data

b. Resource data

c. Cost data

d. All of the above

262



SMALL GROUP LAB

1. The Customer wants a customized view. Requirements are:

� Show Primary Baseline- yellow bar

� Show Planned Work –green bar

� Show Actual Work –blue bar

� Show Baseline Finish Date as label in Primary Baseline Bar

2. Be prepared to demonstrate your steps to the class.

Notes

263



LESSON 21: PROJECT EXECUTION AND CONTROL

OBJECTIVES

� Describe several methods for updating the project schedule

� Use Progress Spotlight

� Status activities

� Reschedule the project

264



UPDATING A PROJECT

Once a project has started, a user needs to update actual schedule information and

resource usage at regular intervals. The company will establish a standard update

procedure, including how data is collected and how often it is updated.

How Often?

A user may need to update daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the length of

the project and how frequently a user wants to adjust their forecasts.

How Data is Collected

1. Project managers manually enter the actual date, resource, and cost

information

� Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and cost, and expense

costs.

2. Approve and apply timesheets

� Team members use timesheets to update activities.

� Project managers review and approve timesheets.

� Project managers apply timesheets to the project.

3. Auto compute actuals

� Progress of activities is automatically calculated according to the project plan.

265



General Items to Consider in Creating a Schedule Update

Process


� Identify the new Data Date

� Enter activity progress

� Report resource use and costs to date

� Use Suspend and Resume dates as necessary

� Calculate the schedule – Be sure to verify the new Data Date

� Monitor project progress with reports

� Determine whether project objectives are being met:

� Will the project finish on time?

� Is it within budget?

� Are project resources being used effectively?

Tips for Updating Status

� Use Activity Details tabs or the Activity Table.

� Use Progress Spotlight to identify activities to be updated.

� Use filters and grouping to create a statusing view.

� Use rolling dates for a time period look-ahead.

� Organize in a useful sequence via activity codes, resources, and dates.

266



DEFINING A STATUSING PERIOD

Define the statusing period before beginning to update activities. In general, the

statusing period begins at the current Data Date and ends at the new Data Date. The

length of the statusing period depends on the frequency of the updates. A user

could, for example, create a statusing period that extends one week from the

current Data Date. The end of the statusing period will become the new Data Date

— the date up to which actual performance is measured.

Progress Spotlight

Progress Spotlight creates a visible statusing period between the current Data Date

and the next new Data Date. It also provides a highlighted list of activities that

should have progress during the update period.

Activate the Progress Spotlight

1. Click View, Progress Spotlight.

Progress Spotlight establishes a statusing period of one week from the current

Data Date, based on date interval of the Gantt Chart timescale, which is set to

Week/Month. Click and drag the right edge of the Spotlight to

increase/decrease the statusing period.

267



Entering Actuals

Once a project is underway, a user must enter actual schedule data, resource usage,

and expense costs at regular intervals. A user may need to update daily, weekly, or

monthly, depending on the length of the project and how frequently they want to

adjust their forecasts.

Actual data is different than planned data — actual data is the real time and cost

associated with an activity.

Enter schedule, resource, and cost data in the following order:

Completed Activities

� Actual Start and Actual Finish dates

� Actual Regular Units/Costs

� Actual Cost for expenses

Activities in Progress

� Actual Start date

� Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration

� Actual Regular Units/Costs and Remaining Units/Costs

� Actual and Remaining Costs for expenses if the activity work is temporarily halted,

use Suspend/Resume dates

268



LAB: STATUSING A PROJECT

To update a start milestone, mark the Started checkbox and enter the Actual Start

date. A user does not need to enter data in the Finish field because the activity type

is a Start Milestone, which has zero duration.

Status a Start Milestone activity

1. Select activity, EC1010 – Start Office Building Addition Project.

2. Click the General tab.

3. Mark the Started checkbox.

4. Verify the Actual Start date, 27-Feb-12.

5. Note also that for milestones the Finish checkbox is automatically checked.

269



For a Task type activity that has started, the user would specify either a remaining

duration or percent complete if the activity is still in progress, or an actual finish if

the activity is completed.

Status the LOE, which started and finished on time

1 Select an activity, EC1000 - Design Building Addition.

2. In the General tab, mark the Started checkbox and

3. Verify the Actual Start date, 27-Feb-12.

4. In the Percent Complete field, enter 50%.


Since the Percent Complete is set to Duration, the remaining duration will

automatically recalculate when the user saves changes.

270



Next a user will check the Actual Regular Units for the activity. Note that in this

example, data in the Actual Regular Units field is not automatically recalculated

because in the option Link Percent Complete with Actuals in Project Preferences is

not checked. We will need to update the actual units manually.

Status Actual Regular Units

1. Click the Assignments tab.

2. In the Actual Units column for Paul Kim enter 20.


271



RESCHEDULING THE PROJECT

Now that actuals have been entered, it is time to reschedule the project based on

the new Data Date. Any activities that did not finish on time will delay their

successor activities.

1. Click on Actions, Run, Scheduler.

2. Set the Data Date to 23-Mar-2012.

3. Click Schedule.

272



VIEW SCHEDULE IMPACTS

After the project has been rescheduled, the user will review the schedule for

possible delays. The user will also turn off Progress Spotlight since it is no longer

needed.

� Analyze the activities on the critical path.

� Review the project’s performance to date.

� Develop strategies for getting the project back on track.

� Gain agreement within the project team.

� Implement the revised project plan.

1. Click on View, Progress Spotlight.

273



CONTROLLING THE PROJECT

After rescheduling a project, analyze schedule dates, resource allocation, and the

cost budget.

Analyzing schedule dates

� Analyze the schedule to determine if milestone dates and project dates are being

met.

� Compare the calculated Finish date to the Must Finish By date to see if the project

will be completed on time.

� If the project is behind schedule, analyze critical activities.

� Adjust the project to meet the project Finish date.

Analyzing resource allocation

� After adjusting the project, determine if resources are being used effectively.

Analyzing the cost budget

� After adjusting the project, view At Completion Total Cost to determine if the project

is within budget.

274



COMPRESSING THE SCHEDULE

If the calculated Scheduled Finish date is later than the Must Finish By date, a user

can use several methods to shorten the project:

� Use relationships to overlap activities.

� Add resources to reduce durations.

� Break down long activities.

� Change calendar assignments.

� Put critical activities on a longer workweek.

� Add exceptions to non-worktime.

A user can use the following set of questions to help you determine the most

appropriate way to adjust the schedule.

Can the Finish date of the project sl ip?

� The project may need to be delayed if no other options are available.

� If the delay is approved, adjust the affected milestones.

� If the delay is not approved, find another way to meet the project milestones and

Finish date of the project.

Can the scope of the activity/project decrease?

� In some cases, in order to meet the project milestones and finish date, a user can

decrease the total amount of work that will be accomplished, i.e., decrease the

scope of the project.

� If the scope change is approved, decrease the scope by reducing the total hours

worked on activities. This will change the duration of the activities.

� If the scope change is not approved, explore other ways to meet the project

milestones and Finish date of the project.

275



Were the budgeted hours over or under-estimated?

� A user may have overestimated the number of hours needed to complete activities;

perhaps the scope of work can be accomplished in fewer hours.

� You can decrease the total hours worked on activities, which decreases the duration

of the activities.

Can additional resources be assigned?

� A user can assign another resource to the activity to finish it on time.

� This may be possible if another resource with the necessary skills is available.

� If a resource is available, a user can assign it to make up the hours.

Can the resource work overtime?

� The resource may need to work overtime to complete an activity on time.

� If this is possible, a user can decrease the duration of the activity, then enter the

original remaining hours.

� The hours the resource works each day will increase.

276



LESSON REVIEW

Key Concepts

� Once a project has started, use one of the three options below to update actual

schedule information and resource usage at regular intervals:

� Manually enter actual dates and resource and cost information

� Approve and apply timesheets

� Auto compute actuals

� When updating a project, actuals are recorded for each activity relative to the Data

Date. The Data Date is the date up to which actual performance data is reported, and

the date from which future work is scheduled.

� To status completed activities, update Actual Start and Actual Finish dates, Actual

Regular Units/Costs, and Actual Costs for expenses.

� To status activities in progress, update Actual Start date, Percent Complete and/or

Remaining Duration, Actual Regular Units/Costs and Remaining Units/Costs, and

Actual and Remaining Costs for expenses.

� After actuals are entered, reschedule the project based on the new Data Date.

Activities that did not finish on time will delay successor activities.

� After scheduling, analyze schedule dates, resource allocation, and the cost budget. If

the calculated Finish date is later than the Must Finish By date, try to shorten the

project.

277



Review Questions

1. Arrange the following in the order for updating an activity in progress.

a. Actual Regular Units and Remaining Units

b. Actual Start date

c. Percent Complete/Remaining Duration

d. Actual/Remaining Costs for expenses

Step 1: _________

Step 2: _________

Step 3: _________

Step 4 __________

2 True or False: The Data Date is scheduled at the end of the day.

278



SMALL GROUP SUMMARY LAB

1. Select a project.

2. Copy the project into the E&C Node.

3. Assign a Planned Start date.

4. Open the project

5. Schedule the project

6. Review activities in the project.

7. Validate / modify durations

8. Check logic.

9. Modify relationships as appropriate.

10. Reschedule the project.

11. Add Resources to each Activity.

12. Estimate effort for each Resource on each Activity.


14. Add activities to the project plan.

15. Repair the logic.

16. Validate / modify duration.


18. Add Resources to new Activities.

19. Estimate effort for each Resource on each Activity.


21. Review the Scheduled Finish Date.

22. Add a Must Finish By date to the project schedule.


24. Review the Activities – identify those activities that are on the critical path.

279



25. View the Schedule Log to determine how many activities on are the critical path.

26. Discussion: will this project finish on time.

Considerations:

� How long is the project?

� How many activities are on the critical path?

� Are my resources over allocated?

� Can I swap out resources to remove over allocations?

27. Be prepared to present your project to the class.

introduction to primavera p6 eppm r8.2 v3.6

Documents

enterprise data

oracleprimavera p6

oracle employees

oracle corporation proprietary

confidential introduction

projectintensive industries

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course learning objectives