primavera tips and tricks

7/30/2019 Primavera Tips and Tricks

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PrimaveraBasics,TipsandTricks

By

Chris

Brace

([email protected])

KnowaboutActivityDateFields

Thefollowingtabledefinesthetypesofactivitydatesavailableinthemoduleandhow

theyareusedtoplanandscheduleyourproject.

DateField Definition

Start

Foranactivitythathasnotstarted,thecurrentstartdateoftheactivity.

Settotheremainingstartdateuntiltheactivityisstarted,thensetto

theactualstartdate.

Finish

Foranactivitythathasnotstarted,thecurrentfinishdateofthe

activity.Settotheactivityplannedfinishdatewhentheactivityisnot

started,theremainingfinishdatewhentheactivityisinprogress,and

theactualfinishdateoncetheactivityiscompleted.

ActualStart Thedateonwhichtheactivityisactuallystarted.

ActualFinish Thedateonwhichtheactivityisactuallyfinished.

EarlyStart

Theearliestpossibledatetheremainingworkfortheactivitycanbegin.

Thisdateiscalculatedbytheprojectschedulerbasedonactivity

relationships,scheduleconstraints,andresourceavailability.TheEarly

StartequalstheRemainingStartunlessyoupreservethescheduled

earlydatesduringleveling.

EarlyFinish

Theearliestpossibledatetheactivitycanfinish.Thisdateiscalculated

bytheprojectschedulerbasedonactivityrelationships,schedule

constraints,andresourceavailability.TheEarlyFinishequalsthe

RemainingFinishunlessyoupreservethescheduledearlydatesduring

leveling.

LateStart

Thelatestpossibledatetheremainingworkfortheactivitymustbegin

withoutdelayingtheprojectfinishdate.Thisdateiscalculatedbythe

projectschedulerbasedonactivityrelationships,scheduleconstraints,

andresourceavailability.TheLateStartequalstheRemainingLateStart

unlessyoupreservethescheduledlatedatesduringleveling.


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LateFinish Thelatestpossibledatetheactivitymustfinishwithoutdelayingthe

projectfinishdate.Thisdateiscalculatedbytheprojectscheduler

basedonactivityrelationships,scheduleconstraints,andresource

availability.TheLateFinishequalstheRemainingLateFinishunlessyou

preservethescheduledlatedatesduringleveling.

PlannedStart

Foranactivitythathasnotstarted,thedatetheactivityisscheduledto

begin.Thisdateissetequaltotheearlystartdatebytheproject

schedulerbutcanbeupdatedmanuallybytheprojectmanager.This

dateisnotchangedbytheprojectscheduleronceyouapplyanActual

Startdate.

PlannedFinish

Foranactivitythathasnotstarted,thedatetheactivityisscheduledto

finish.Thisdateissetequaltotheearlyfinishdatebytheproject

schedulerbutcanbeupdatedmanuallybytheuser.ThisdateisnotchangedbytheprojectscheduleronceyouapplyanActualFinishdate.

Anticipated

Start

Theexpectedstartdateoftheproject,EPSnode,orWBSlevel,used

duringtheplanningphase.Thisdateismanuallyenteredandisnot

affectedbyscheduling.Ananticipatedstartdatecannotbeenteredat

theactivitylevel.

Anticipated

Finish

Theexpectedfinishdateoftheproject,EPSnode,orWBSlevel,used

duringtheplanningphase.Thisdateismanuallyenteredandisnot

affectedbyscheduling.Ananticipatedfinishdatecannotbeenteredat

theactivity

level.

Remaining

EarlyStart

Theearliestpossibledatetheremainingworkfortheactivityis

scheduledtobegin.Thisdateiscalculatedbytheprojectschedulerbut

canbeupdatedmanuallybytheuser.Beforetheactivityisstarted,the

RemainingStartisthesameasthePlannedStart.Oncetheactivityhas

started,theRemainingStartisequaltotheDataDate.Whenthe

activityiscomplete,theRemainingStartisblank.

RemainingEarlyFinish

Theearliestpossibledatetheremainingworkfortheactivityis

scheduledtofinish.Thisdateiscalculatedbytheprojectschedulerbut

canbe

updated

manually

by

the

user.

Before

the

activity

is

started,

the

RemainingFinishisthesameasthePlannedFinish.Whentheactivityis

complete,theRemainingFinishisblank.

Remaining

LateStart

Thelatestpossibledatetheremainingworkfortheactivitymustbegin

withoutdelayingtheprojectfinishdate.Thisdateiscalculatedbythe

projectschedulerbasedonactivityrelationships,scheduleconstraints,

andresourceavailability.Whentheactivityiscomplete,theRemaining

LateStartisblank.


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Remaining

LateFinish

Thelatestpossibledatetheactivitymustfinishwithoutdelayingthe

projectfinishdate.Thisdateiscalculatedbytheprojectscheduler

basedon

activity

relationships,

schedule

constraints,

and

resource

availability.Whentheactivityiscomplete,theRemainingLateFinishis

blank.

Expected

Finish

Thedatetheactivityisexpectedtofinish,accordingtotheprimary

resource.Typically,theprimaryresourceentersthisdateinP6Progress

Reporter.Whenschedulingyourprojects,youmaychoosetousethe

ExpectedFinishdatesornot.

Primary

ConstraintDate

&

Secondary

ConstraintDate

Theconstraintdatefortheactivityisthedateforwhichtheactivity's

constraintapplies.Youcanenteraprimaryandsecondaryconstraint.

Dependingon

the

constraint

type,

this

date

could

be

astart

date

or

afinishdate.Forexample,iftheconstraintisaFinishOnconstraint,the

constraintdateisthedateonwhichtheactivitymustfinish.

Iftheactivitydoesnothaveaconstraint,thisfieldwillbeempty.

NOTE:

AnAappearingaftertheStartorFinishvalueindicatesthatthevalueistheActualStartorActualFinish.

An*appearingaftertheStartorFinishvalueindicatesthatthereisaStartorFinishconstraintonthisactivity.

HowtoassureProjectIntegritywithScheduleLog

PrimaveraP6providesatoolwhichgivesinsighttopossiblescheduleerrors. Oncea

projecthasbeenrecalculated,theScheduleLogisabletodetectthefollowing

potentialissues:

Openendedactivities

Out

of

sequence

activities

ActivitieswithActualStart/Finishdates,beyondtheDataDateBackground:

TheDataDateisthelogicalbackboneofaschedule. Itdoesnthavetoequal

todaybutdoesrepresentthepointthroughwhichyouhaveupdated

informationforyouractivities.

EverythingtotheleftoftheDataDaterepresentswhatshappenedsofar.


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EverythingtotherightoftheDataDaterepresentswhatstillhasyettohappen.

1.) EnableScheduleLogging(onetimeonly)AccesstheScheduledialogbox.

Either:

*PressF9(or)

*ClickTools,Schedule

EnableLogtofileasshownhere:

2.) RecalculatetheScheduleEither:

*PressF9(or)

*Click

Tools,

Schedule

ClickScheduleasshownhere:


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3.) ViewtheLogFile


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4.) InspecttheLogforPotentialProblems

Activitieswithoutpredecessors/Activitieswithoutsuccessors:

Theseactivitieslacklogictiesoneitherside.

Notnecessarilyaproblem,butgoodtousetheseresultstodoublecheckyourschedule

integrity.

Outofsequenceactivities

Wassuccessorsprogressenteredtoosoon?

Ispredecessorsprogress/completionmissing?

ActivitieswithActualDates>DataDate

ActualdateshavebeenenteredinadvanceoftheDatadate okifdatesarewithin

reportingperiod

UnderstandingPercentComplete

Types:

The

activity

percent

complete

type

is

one

of

"Duration",

"Units",

or

"Physical".

ThepercentcompletetypecontrolswhethertheActivity%Completeistiedtothe

Duration%Complete,theUnits%Complete,orthePhysical%Completefortheactivity.

Setthepercentcompletetypeto"Duration"foractivitieswhicharedurationdriven,forexample,administrationtasksandtrainingclasses.

Setthepercentcompletetypeto"Physical"foractivitieswhichareworkproductdriven,forexample,creatingadocumentoraproduct.

Setthepercentcompletetypeto"Units"foractivitieswhichareworkeffortdriven,forexample,providingaconsultingservice.


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Activity%Complete

Fields

Physical%Complete Theactivityphysicalpercentcomplete.Thephysicalpercentcomplete

reflectstheactualprogressmadeontheactivity'sworkproductsso

far.Physicalpercentcompletecanbemanuallyenteredbypeople

familiarwiththestatusoftheactivity'sworkproductsoritcanbe

basedonthecompletionofassignedSteps.Alwaysintherange0to

100.

Duration%Complete Thepercentcompleteoftheactivityduration.Computedas((Planned

Duration RemainDuration)/PlannedDuration)*100.Alwaysinthe

range0to100.Theplanneddurationistakenfromthecurrentplan,

notfromthecurrentbaseline.

Duration%ofPlanned Theactivityactualdurationpercentofplanned.Computedas(Actual

Duration/BL

Duration)

*100.

The

value

can

exceed

100.

The

BL

Durationistheactivity'satcompletedurationfromthecurrent

baseline.

Activity%Complete Theactivitypercentcomplete.ThisvalueistiedtotheactivityDuration

%Complete,Units%Complete,orPhysical%Complete,dependingon

thesettingfortheactivity'sPercentCompleteType,whichisoneof

"Duration","Units",or"Physical".Alwaysintherange0to100.

TheSchedule%Completespecifieshowmuchoftheactivity'sbaseline

durationhasbeencompletedsofar.Computedbasedonwherethe

currentdatadatefallsbetweentheactivity'sbaselinestartandfinish

dates.If

the

data

date

is

earlier

than

the

BL

Start,

the

Schedule

%

Completeis0.IfthedatadateislaterthantheBLFinish,theSchedule

%Completeis100.TheSchedule%Completeindicateshowmuchof

theactivitydurationshouldbecurrentlycompleted,relativetothe

selectedbaseline.

Schedule%Complete

Note:SummarySchedulepercentcompletewhendisplayedonan

organizeband,willALWAYSbecalculatedas(BCWS*100)/BAC,

regardlessofwhatearnedvaluetechniquei.sselectedfortheactivity's

WBS.

Performancepercentcompleteisusedtocomputeearnedvalueand

maybebasedontheActivity%Complete,onthe0/100rule,onthe

50/50rule,etc.,dependingonthetechniqueforcomputingearnedvaluepercentcompletefortheactivity'sWBS.ThePerformance%

Completespecifieswhatpercentageoftheactivity'splannedworth

hasbeenearnedsofar.

Performance%Complete

Note:SummaryPerformancepercentcompletewhendisplayedonan

organizeband,willALWAYSbecalculatedas(BCWP*100)/BAC,

regardlessofwhatearnedvaluetechniqueisselectedfortheactivity's

WBS.


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CostRelated%Complete

Fields

LaborCost%Complete Thepercentcompleteofcostsforalllaborresourcesassignedtothe

activity.Computedas(ActualLaborCost/AtCompleteLaborCost)*

100.Alwaysintherange0to100.

NonLaborCost%

Complete

Thepercentcompleteofcostsforallnonlaborresourcesassignedto

theactivity.Computedas(ActualNonLaborCost/AtCompleteNon

LaborCost)*100.Alwaysintherange0to100.

ExpenseCost%Complete Thepercentcompleteofcostsforallexpensesassociatedwiththe

activity.Computedas(ActualExpenseCost/AtCompleteExpense

Cost)*100.Alwaysintherange0to100.

Cost%Complete Thepercentcompleteofcostsforalllaborresources,nonlabor

resources,andexpensesfortheactivity.Computedas(ActualTotal

Cost/At

Complete

Total

Cost)

*100.

Always

in

the

range

0to

100.

Cost%ofPlanned Theactivityactualcostpercentofplanned.Computedas(ActualTotal

Cost/BLTotalCost)*100,orequivalentlyas(ACWP/BAC)*100.The

valuecanexceed100.Thebaselinetotalcostistheactivity'sat

completecostfromthecurrentbaseline.

UnitRelated% Complete

Fields

Units%Complete Thepercentcompleteofunitsforalllaborandnonlaborresources

assignedtotheactivity.Computedas(ActualUnits/AtCompleteUnits)

*100.Alwaysintherange0to100.

LaborUnits

%

Complete

The

percent

complete

of

units

for

all

labor

resources

for

the

activity.

Computedas(ActualLaborUnits/AtCompleteLaborUnits)*100.

Alwaysintherange0to100.

NonLaborUnits%

Complete

Thepercentcompleteofunitsforallnonlaborresourcesforthe

activity.Computedas(ActualNonLaborUnits/AtCompleteNonLabor

Units)*100.Alwaysintherange0to100.

WBSLevel%Complete

Field

Steps%Complete ThepercentcompleteusingtheWBSMilestonesthatareassignedtoa

WBSlevel.ComputedasActualWeightofCompletedMilestones/Total

Possible

Weight

of

All

Milestones


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UnderstandingValidRelationshipsTo/FromMilestones:

StartMilestonescanhave:

FS,SSpredecessors

SS,SFsuccessors

FinishMilestonescanhave:

SF,FFpredecessors

FS,FFsuccessors

Notes:

Theonlyvalidrelationshipbetween2StartMilestonesisaSSrelationship. Theonlyvalidrelationshipbetween2FinishMilestonesisaFFrelationship. TheonlyvalidrelationshipfromaStarttoaFinishMilestoneisaSFrelationship. TheonlyvalidrelationshipfromaFinishtoaStartMilestoneisaFSrelationship.

UnderstandingCommit&RefreshDB

P6commitsdatawhenthefollowingfunctionsareperformed:

1.Closing

the

application

2.ChooseF ILE, COMMIT DATA (F10)

3.Summarizeprojects

4.AddorDeleteEPSnodesviatheSDK

5.ApplyActuals

6.Schedule

7.Import/Export

8.Deletearesource

9.Deleteaproject

10.ApproveorrejectatimesheetfromTOOLS, T IME APPROVAL

11.

Write

license

information

to

database

12.Changeauserpassword

13.Openaproject

14.Closeaproject

15.Saveaprojectbaseline

16.ChooseTOOLS, CHECK PROJECT INTEGRITY

17.SavealayoutinTrackingView

18.ChooseCalcImpactfromPROJECT , R ISKS

19.AddaresourceandcompletetheNewResourceWizard

20.CreateanewReportusingtheReportWizard


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21.Modifyandsaveanexistingreport

22.ImportorExportareport

23.SelectabaselineprojecttouseandclickOK

24.AssignorModifyauserloginforaResource

25.ChooseF ILE, PROJECT ARCHITECT andsavechanges

26.EditacalendarfromENTERPRISE, CALENDARS

27.ChooseSendAllfromtheNotifydialogueinPROJECT, ISSUES

28.WhennewrowsareaddedbychoosinganyoftheoptionsfromtheEDIT , ASSIGN

menu.OptionsareResource,ResourcebyRole,Role,ActivityCode,Predecessor,and

Successor.

29.DeleteaResourceShiftfromENTERPRISE, RESOURCE SHIFTS

30.ModifyaResourceShiftandclickClose

31.AssignaShiftCalendarontheUnits&PricestabunderENTERPRISE,

RESOURCES

32.ImportdatafromExpeditionunderENTERPRISE, EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS33.Levelingresources

P6commitsdatawhenthefollowingdialogboxesareclosed:

34 . EDIT , ASSIGN , ASSIGN RESOURCES ortheAssignResourcedialoguewhenadding

resourceassignmentstoactivities.

35.PROJECT , BASELINES

36.PROJECT , THRESHOLDS

37.PROJECT , R ISKS

38.PROJECT , ISSUES

39.ENTERPRISE, ENTERPRISE PROJECT STRUCTURE

40.ENTERPRISE, OBS

41.ENTERPRISE, ACTIVITY CODES

42.ENTERPRISE, CALENDARS

43.ENTERPRISE, COST ACCOUNTS

44.ENTERPRISE, FUNDING SOURCES

45.ENTERPRISE, EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS

46.TOOLS , JOB SERVICES

47.TOOLS , REPORTS, BATCH REPORTS

48.ADMIN, USERS

49.ADMIN, SECURITY PROFILES

50.ADMIN, ADMIN PREFERENCES


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P6commitsdatawhentheswitchingbetweenthefollowingwindows:

51.ProjectView

52.ReportsView53.ResourcesView

54.TrackingView

55.WBSView

56.WorkProductsandDocumentsView

P6refreshesdatawhenthefollowingfunctionsareperformed:

1. ChooseF ILE, REFRESH . 2. Open/ChangeLayout3. Whencreatingabaselineandchoosingtocreatethebaselinebysavingacopyof

thecurrentprojectasthebaseline.

4. ChooseTOOLS , CHECK PROJECT INTEGRITY. 5. TheSDKautorefreshesbydefault.UnderstandingFillDown

Insometableformatdisplaycolumns,youcanusetheFillDownfeaturetoquicklyenter

thesametextinsuccessiverows.

Tocopy

text

from

one

row

to

successive

rows

within

acolumn,

select

the

row

containingthetextyouwanttocopyandtherowsyouwanttocopythetextto,then

chooseEdit,FillDown.

1. Clickthecellvaluethatyouwanttousetopopulateothercells.


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2. SelectothercellsinthesamecolumntobechangedtothenewvaluebyusingeitherShiftclickorCtrlclick.

Note:Theoriginalcelltobecopiedmustremainhighlighted.

3. RightclickandchooseFillDown.Allofthehighlightedcellswillbepopulatedwiththefirstselectedvalue(i.e."DesignBuildingAddition").

NOTE:Somefieldscannotbefilleddown.

Forexample: CalculatedfieldssuchasEarnedValue,ActivityID,resourceID.,

CostAccount,CostAccountID,etc.willhavetheFillDownoptiongrayedout.

4. Commitchanges(File,CommitChangesorF10)


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UsingUndo

TheUndo

command

(Edit,

Undo)

allows

you

to

change

information

back

to

its

pre

modifiedvalueintheActivities,Resources,andResourceAssignmentswindows. This

includes: Add,Edit,Deletefunctionsinthosewindows.

Undostoreseachactionperformedinsequence,beginningwiththemostrecentaction

performed.ThereisnotechnicallimitonthenumberofitemsstoredinUndohistory.

Oncethehistoryiscleared,itcannotbeundone.

Useractionsthatcanbeundoneare:

Inserts Edits Deletes(activities,resources,codesetc) Copy\Pastes Cut\Pastes FillDowns Replace(theUndowillonlyundooneeditatatime)Whatcantbeundone:

DeletingaProject ModificationsmadefromaglobalchangeDataonactivitytabsthatcantbeundone:

Expenseassignments WP+Docassignments FeedbacktoResources Steps Notebooktopics Inserts/Modifications/Deletestocodeassignmentsdoneinthetabscannotbe

undone.For

Undo

to

work,

the

codes

must

be

displayed

as

columns,

and

the

usermustmakethechangesinthecolumns.Thisappliestoactivitycode

assignmentsandresourcecodeassignments.

ThefollowingactionswillcleartheUndohistoryintheProjectManagementmodule:

Summarizingdata UpdatingProgress Applyingactuals Refreshingdata


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RenumberingactivityIDsinbaselines Creatingprojects Openingandclosingprojects Exitingtheapplication Importing Changingportfolios OpeningtheProjectPortfolios,UserPreferences,AdminPreferences,andTime

Approvaldialogboxes

OpeningtheOBS,UserDefinedFields,ResourceCodes,ActivityCodes,andProjectCodesdialogboxes

PopupwindowswhichcleartheUndohistorywhenthewindowisopened:

OBS ProjectPortfolios ResourceCodes ProjectCodes ActivityCodes UserDefinedFields AdminPreferences UserPreferences TimeApprovalActions

that

will

not

clear

Undo

history:

ChangingViews Commitcommand,whetheritisselectedinthemenuorthroughpressingF10 Scheduling LevelingNotesaboutUndo:

YoucanonlyundomodificationsintheGeneral,Status,Resources,andRelationships

tabs

of

Activity

Details.

Scheduling,leveling,makinglayoutchanges,andopeninganewlayoutdonotcleartheUndohistory.

YoucanonlyundoactivitycodevalueassignmentsthatwereassignedusingthecolumnsintheActivitieswindow.Codevaluesthatareassignedand/orremoved

fromtheCodestabcannotbeundone.

IfyoudeletearesourceanduseUndotorestoreit,youmustreassigntheresourcetoanypreviousprojectissues,risks,andexpenses.Also,youmust

reassigntheprimaryflagfortherestoredresourcetoitsactivityassignments.