primavera training p6

Course 102

Version 6.0

TopicsIntroduction to Primavera The Project Management Life CycleData, Navigating, and LayoutsEnterprise Project StructureCreating a ProjectCreating a Work Breakdown StructureAdding Activities

continued...

Topics (cont.)

Creating RelationshipsSchedulingAssigning ConstraintsMaintaining the Project Documents LibraryFormatting Schedule DataRoles and ResourcesAssigning Roles

continued...

Topics (cont.)

Assigning Resources and CostsAnalyzing Resources Optimizing the Project PlanBaselining the Project PlanProject Execution and ControlReporting PerformanceProject Web Site

Introduction to Primavera

Lesson 1

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Describe Primavera solutions Describe P6

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Primavera Systems Inc. is the world's leading project and portfolio management software company, providing the software foundation that enables all types of businesses to achieve excellence in managing their portfolios, programs, projects, and resources. It is estimated that projects totaling more than $5 trillion in value have been managed with Primavera products.

Primavera began in 1983 with the launch of PC-based software for engineering and construction. Today Primavera is a diversified software company that provides both desktop and enterprise-class solutions that enable companies to prioritize, plan, manage, and measure the project investments necessary to grow the business and service their customers.

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Introduction to Primavera Le

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Primavera Solutions The graphic below lists Primavera solutions and the

industries served by Primavera. P6 - An enterprise-wide project planning,

management and control solution that enables organizations to meet budget and deadline commitments by managing schedules, resources, and costs across all of their projects and programs. P6 is the solution covered in this course.

ProSight - A portfolio management and analysis solution that enables organizations to deliver maximum value by identifying and prioritizing strategic projects and investments, as well as comply with regulatory imperatives.

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Introduction to Primavera (cont.)Le

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Primavera Solutions Evolve - An enterprise resource management solution

that enables services organizations to improve utilization and profitability by ensuring the right person is assigned to the right project at the right time.

Cost Manager - A solution that reduces the work necessary to track earned value. Graphic representations are automatically generated using the latest project information from a centralized database. Download cost data from your accounting system by using a flexible interface module to ensure a consistent and complete view of project performance. Alternatively, actual cost data may be entered or imported from Primavera.

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Primavera Solutions Contract Manager - This solution, formerly known

as Expedition, enables the tracking of contracts from original estimate to buy-out. Track all project submittals and automate the approval process via workflow management. Comprehensive change management functionality assures that changes are resolved, payments are made, and claims are avoided.

PertMaster - A risk analysis and mitigation solution that enables organizations to overcome project and portfolio uncertainty by modeling risks and analyzing the cost and schedule impacts of mitigation scenarios.

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P6 is used for planning, monitoring, and controlling projects. Project data is stored in a central database and can be accessed via client-server and the Web.

Among P6's capabilities: Enterprise-wide project management, resource

management, and portfolio analysis. Personalized role-based dashboards provide quick

visual indicators of the health and status metrics of projects and programs, and help determine which projects need help to get back on track.

Extensive project reporting, including industry-standard templates and a customization wizard.

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Primavera P6 Le

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Scorecards that contain project scores, schedule performance, cost performance, earned value metrics, milestone dates, WBS summaries, RFI status, and change control documents.

Capacity analysis and resource planning to anticipate resource usage requirements in future projects.

Collaborative workspaces to initiate projects and document workflows; manage and approve documents; and communicate with the project team.

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Primavera P6 (cont.)Le

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Methodology Management An integrated process improvement platform for

delivering best practices, lessons learned, and organizational standards in the form of project templates, work product templates, and estimation metrics.

Create, capture, organize, and improve reusable components for building future project plans.

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Timesheets Enables Web-based timekeeping and

communication. Team members see all supporting information they

need to coordinate and perform their work while communicating directly with the central database.

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The Project Management Life Cycle

Lesson 2

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Review the relationship between Primavera and the Project Management Life Cycle

Identify the five process groups in the Project Management Life Cycle

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Project management is the process of achieving set goals within the constraints of time, budget, and staffing restrictions.

Lessons in your curriculum may cover some or all of the processes in the Project Management Life Cycle, as indicated below:

Each process can be broken down into these steps:

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Project Management Life CycleLe

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Steps in the Initiating process group include: Collect project information. Obtain organizational commitment. Develop the team.

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Initiating Process GroupLe

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Steps in the Planning process group include: Establish project objectives and scope of work. Define the work. Determine the timing. Establish resource requirements/availability. Establish a cost budget. Evaluate, optimize, and create baseline plan.

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Planning Process GroupLe

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Steps in the Executing process group include: Distribute information. Track work in progress and actual costs.

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Executing Process GroupLe

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Steps in the Controlling process group include: Analyze and evaluate the project. Recommend necessary action. Modify the current project with realistic data. Re-forecast the schedule. Communicate project performance to the project

team.

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Controlling Process GroupLe

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Steps in the Closing process group include: Document lessons learned. Determine if project can be used as a methodology. Deliver product to client or stakeholders. Back-up or archive project files.

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Closing Process GroupLe

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Data, Navigating, and Layouts

Lesson 3

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Describe enterprise and project-specific data Log in Open an existing project Navigate in the Home window and Activities

window Open an existing layout Customize a layout Save a layout

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Before logging in to Primavera, it is important to understand that a project consists of a combination of enterprise data and project-specific data.

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Enterprise 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 structure necessary for centralized project and resource management. Enterprise data is usually defined and maintained by a system administrator.

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Enterprise and Project-Specific Data (cont.)

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Enterprise Data Examples of enterprise data:

Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) Project codes Resource codes Admin categories and preferences Resources Cost accounts

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Project-Specific Data Project-specific data is only available to the project

in which it is defined. Project managers define project-specific data to further control their projects.

Dates Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Activities Activity relationships Baselines Expenses Risks Thresholds and issues Work products and documents Project Web site

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Enterprise/Project-Specific Data The following types of data are enterprise as well

as project-specific: Calendars Reports Activity codes

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Type a valid Login Name and Password to log in to Primavera. If you do not know your Login Name/Password, contact your system administrator.

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Logging InLe

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The Home window is the starting point for navigation. It provides quick access to enterprise data and project data.

To the left of the Home window is the Directory bar, which lists the 12 windows within Primavera. Each window provides specific functionality to help you manage projects. Click an item in the Directory bar to access it.

The table below lists key navigation items in the Home window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the screenshot.

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Home WindowLe

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Home WindowLe

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3ItemItem FunctionalityFunctionality

1. Title bar Displays current application and name of open projects.

2. Menu bar Click to perform functions in Primavera.3. Directory bar Click to display Primavera windows.4. Navigation bar Move between open windows, toggle the

Directory bar, and open Help.5. Status bar Displays user's Login Name, data date of

open projects, access mode, and current baseline.

Use the Navigation bar to move back and forward to previously accessed windows; return to the Home window; display and hide the Directory bar; and to access Help for the current window.

The Navigation bar, which is turned on by default, can be toggled on/off in the View menu by clicking Toolbars, Navigation Bar.

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Navigation BarLe

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The Open Project dialog box lists all the projects you have access to open.

All projects under the node are opened. Open multiple projects under different nodes.

Press Control-click to select more than one project.

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Opening an Existing ProjectLe

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Access Modes You have the option to select an access mode

prior to opening a project: Shared - Multiple users can view, input, and change

data. This is the default setting. Read Only - You can view data but cannot input or

change data. Exclusive - The current user is the only user who can

edit data on these projects. Other users can access these projects in Read Only mode.

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Opening an Existing Project (cont.)Le

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Activities Window The Activities window is used to create, view,

and edit activities for open projects. The table below lists key navigation items in the Activities window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the screenshot.

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Opening an Existing Project (cont.)Le

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Activities WindowLe

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1. Toolbar Displays icons that allow you to change look of layout.

2. Activity Table Displays activity information in spreadsheet format.

3. Gantt Chart Provides graphical display of activity progress over time.

4. Command bar Displays options for adding or removing activity data.

5. Layout Options bar

Displays menu of available options for Activities window.

6. Vertical Split bar Drag bar to hide/show more information in each pane.

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Activities Window (cont.)Le

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7. Horizontal Split bar

Hide or show more information in top/bottom layouts.

8. Activity Details View/edit detailed information for selected activity.

A layout is a customizable view of information, combining all the visual elements that appear on the screen. Layouts are available in the Projects, WBS, Activities, Resource Assignments, and Tracking windows.

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LayoutsLe

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Activity Layouts The Activities window provides the option of

viewing data in top/bottom layouts. Choose one of the following to show on top:

Activity Table Gantt Chart Activity Usage Spreadsheet Activity Network

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Activity Layouts Choose one of the following to show on bottom:

Activity Details Activity Table Gantt Chart Activity Usage Spreadsheet Resource Usage Spreadsheet Activity Usage Profile Resource Usage Profile Trace Logic

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Opening an Existing Activity Layout A variety of layouts are available to present activity

data from different perspectives. You can create user-specific layouts and project-specific layouts, or use global layouts provided by your company.

After selecting a layout, you can click either Apply or Open.

Apply - Displays layout but keeps Open Layout dialog box open.

Open - Displays layout and closes Open Layout dialog box.

You will select a different layout and then click Open, which displays the layout and closes the Open Layout dialog box.

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Gantt Chart The Classic WBS Layout displays a Gantt Chart in

the top layout and Activity Details in the bottom layout.

The Gantt Chart is divided into two sections: Activity Table and Bar Area:

Activity Table - Displays activity data in columns. Bar Area - Provides a graphical display of activity

progress over the duration of the project.

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Activity Usage Spreadsheet The Activity Usage Spreadsheet displays unit,

cost, or earned value data by activity over time. Use this type of layout to review per period and rolled up activity resource/cost data.

You can customize the timescale of the Activity Usage Spreadsheet:

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Activity Network Use the Activity Network to view the

relationships between activities and the logical flow of the activities in the project:

Left pane - Displays the WBS hierarchy. Right pane - Shows a graphical display of activities

and their relationships.

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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Activity Table The Activity Table enables you to see project

data in spreadsheet format. You also can modify the columns displayed in the Activity Table to meet your needs.

You can display the Activity Table on the entire screen if you want to analyze data solely in a tabular format.

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Layouts (cont.)Le

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The Activities window can be customized and saved as a layout. Saving layouts for future use allows you to quickly retrieve information.

The Layout Options bar is the centralized menu for layout customization.

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

Bars Columns Timescale Table font and colors Row height Filters Activity grouping and sorting Top/bottom layouts

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Customizing a LayoutLe

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Selecting Columns The Columns dialog box enables you to select

columns to display in the Activity Table and specify the order in which they appear:

Available Options section - Lists data items in groups or in list.

Selected Options section - Lists items you have chosen to display.

Single arrows - Move highlighted data items to the other section.

Double arrows - Move all data items to the other section.

Up/down arrows - Configure the order of the data items. Click Edit Column to edit the selected item's title

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Customizing a Layout (cont.)Le

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Using Hint Help in Columns Dialog Box You can use Hint Help to view a definition for any

data item in the column list.

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Customizing a Layout (cont.)Le

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Activity Details displays detailed information for the activity highlighted in the Activity Table or Activity Network.

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Displaying Activity DetailsLe

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Selecting Details Tabs The tabs displayed in Activity Details can be

customized.

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Displaying Activity Details (cont.)Le

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Layouts can be saved and shared with other users to facilitate project communication. Use the Save Layout dialog box to save a layout in the Activities, WBS, Projects, Assignments, or Tracking windows:

Layout, Save - Saves changes to the existing layout. Layout, Save As - Prompts you to save the layout

with a new name. Current User - Only the user creating the layout will

have access to it in the future. All Users - All licensed users will have access to the

layout (Global). Another User - A specified user will have access to the

layout. Note, however, that the current user will not have access to the layout.

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Saving LayoutsLe

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Project - Apply the layout to any project that is currently open in Primavera. Though project-specific layouts can be applied to multiple projects, you can only select one project at a time in the Layout Save As dialog box. After a project-specific layout is saved, it can be viewed in the Project band in the Open Layout dialog box. Project-specific layout offers two advantages:

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Saving Layouts (cont.)Le

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Close the project when you are finished working with it. You are prompted to verify that you want to close the project.

Closing the project takes you back to the Home window.

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Closing a ProjectLe

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Key Concepts The Home window is a starting point for navigating

in Primavera. Use the Navigation bar for quick access to Help, to

display the Directory bar, and to move forward and backward to previously accessed windows.

Choose to open a project in Read Only, Shared, or Exclusive mode.

A project consists of enterprise and project-specific data.

View activity data in the Activities window and customize the top and bottom layouts.

Use layouts to easily view data specific to your needs. You can customize layouts by selecting columns and by specifying top/bottom layouts.

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Closing a Project (cont.)Le

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Key Concepts Activity Details, arranged in tabs, displays detailed

information for the activity highlighted in the Activity Table or Activity Network.

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Closing a Project (cont.)Le

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Enterprise Project Structure

Lesson 4

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Describe the components that comprise the Enterprise Project Structure

View the EPS

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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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.

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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Enterprise Project StructureLe

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Enterprise Project Structure

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You can use the Enterprise Project Structure dialog box to define the EPS.

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.

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Opening the EPSLe

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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 "member" 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, Tim Harris can view only the Construction node and its children.

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Benefits of the EPSLe

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The EPS is a hierarchy that represents the management and organization of projects in your 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 you to view project data across the entire project structure or within a specific node.

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Key ConceptsLe

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Creating a Project

Lesson 5

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Create a project Navigate in the Projects window View and modify information in Project Details

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A project can be created using a variety of methods:

Create a New Project wizard: Create the project. Create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Add activities. Assign resources and costs.

Project Architect: Create the project from a methodology (template). Review and adjust the WBS. Review and adjust activities. Assign resources and costs.

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Creating a ProjectLe

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Import a file: Import a project using the following file formats: Review and adjust the WBS. Review and adjust activities. Assign resources and costs.

Copy/paste: Select elements of an existing project you want to

copy to a new project.

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Creating a Project (cont.)Le

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The Create a New Project wizard can assist you in creating a project.

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Create a New Project WizardLe

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Entering Project Name The name of the project is Office Building

Addition. You can shorten the name to create the Project ID, BLDG.

Project ID - Type a unique ID in this field. Project Name - Type a new name in this field. (The

Project Name field does not require a unique name.)

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Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)Le

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Entering Project Start and End Dates Use the calendar to select Planned Start and

Must Finish By dates for the project. The Must Finish By field is not mandatory. You

can assign a project Must Finish By date at any point in the project life cycle in the Dates tab in Project Details.

To navigate in the calendar: When you launch the calendar, the current

month/year is displayed. To navigate to a different year, click the Month/Year section in the calendar, and then use arrows to scroll to the desired year.

Click the desired month and date, and then click Select.

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Entering Responsible Manager The Responsible Manager, selected from the

Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS), is the individual responsible for the work.

The OBS is a hierarchical arrangement of an organization's project management structure, either as roles or individuals. The OBS can be configured to represent a detailed organizational breakdown (with employee names) or a more general framework where departments, teams, or types of responsibility are modeled in the structure.

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Selecting Assignment Rate Type Specify the Assignment Rate Type for new

resource assignments. The default rate type determines which price/unit is set on a resource assignment. Values in the Rate Type drop-down list reflect rate types defined in the Rate Types tab in Admin Preferences.

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Running Project Architect Project Architect helps you to create a project

from an existing methodology or project template. You will create the Office Building Addition project anew, without the use of a methodology.

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The project has been created and opened. To view high-level information about the project,

navigate to the Projects window, which displays the projects within the EPS that you can access. You can also:

Open, create, and save project layouts. Group projects by the Enterprise Project Structure,

project codes, or other project-related items. Filter projects. Modify column data.

The table below lists key navigation items in the Projects window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the screenshot.

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Projects WindowLe

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Project Details is located in the bottom layout of the Projects window. It can be used to define the project properties and defaults that are applied to the selected project.

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Project DetailsLe

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General Tab The General tab enables you 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 you can change them here. The remaining fields are set by default.

Fields in the General tab: Project ID - Short, unique identifier for the project. Project Name - Name of the project.

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Project Details (cont.)Le

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Project Details (cont.)

General Tab Status - Indicates project status based on the table

below:

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StatusStatus Indicates project is ...Indicates project is ...

Planned Being analyzed before establishing permanent plan.

Active Currently being worked on.Inactive Completed or on hold.What-if Used as test scenario.

General Tab Responsible Manager - Individual, selected from the

OBS, who is responsible for the project. Risk Level - Indicates the overall risk in performing

the project. You can use the risk level to organize, filter, and report on projects within the project structure. You can enter a value between Very High and Very Low; the default is Medium.

Leveling Priority - User-defined rank of the project against all other projects, based on its importance to the organization. You can enter a value between 1 and 100. The highest rank is 1; the default is 10.

Check-out Status - Indicates whether the project is checked in or checked out.

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General Tab Checked Out By - Displays the user that checked out

the project. Date Checked Out - Indicates the date and time the

user checked out the project. Project Web Site URL - Displays the project's Web

site address.

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Dates Tab The Dates tab enables you to edit date information

for the selected project. The Planned Start and Must Finish By dates can be set when you create the project, or you can change them here.

Fields in the Dates tab: Planned Start - Planned start date of the project. Data Date - Date used as the starting point for schedule

calculations. Must Finish By - Date indicating the desired project end

date. Finish - Non-editable field indicating the latest early finish

date calculated when the project was last scheduled. Actual Start and Actual Finish - Non-editable field

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Dates Tab Anticipated Start and Anticipated Finish - Expected

dates that can be entered while planning the project at a high level.

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Notebook Tab The Notebook tab enables you to write, view, or

edit project notes such as the project's purpose, core requirements, or other project-specific details.

Fields in the Notebook tab: Notebook Topic - List of topics assigned to the

selected node/project. Detail - User-defined description of the selected

topic. You can use HTML editing features, including formatting text, inserting pictures, copying, pasting, and adding hyperlinks.

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Codes Tab The Codes tab enables you to assign project

code values to the selected project. Project codes allow you to group the projects in

the EPS to specific categories, such as location or division.

Unlimited hierarchical project codes are supported. Allows for summarization of large amounts of

information across projects.

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Type Ahead and Search in Dialog Boxes The Search field in dialog boxes throughout

Primavera offers a faster alternative to scrolling through a long list of values:

Search - Type in the Search field and then press Enter to search for a value.

Type ahead - Type in the Search field and, as you type, values that match begin with the letters you have typed are displayed in the dialog box.

Below, you will type ahead to find the project code value Comm-Commercial.

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Defaults Tab The Defaults tab is divided into two sections:

Defaults for New Activities - Indicates the settings that will be used when new activities are added to the project. Note that changing these settings will not affect existing activities.

Auto-numbering Defaults - Sets how new activities will be numbered in your project.

When the Increment Activity ID based on selected activity field is marked, the prefix or suffix of the selected activity is applied to the activity that is being added.

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Defaults Tab For the activities in the Office Building Addition

project, you will 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. This numbering structure relates activities to the project, which is especially helpful when viewing activities from different projects.

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Settings Tab The Settings tab consists of three sections:

Summarized Data - Identifies the date and the level to which the project was last summarized.

Project Settings - Sets the character used to separate WBS levels; identifies the month in which the fiscal year begins; and specifies the baseline used in earned value calculations.

Define Critical Activities - Identifies which activities are displayed as critical, either longest path or a value of Total Float.

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Calculations Tab Use this tab to specify how to calculate cost and

resource use when you update activities. Two fields of note:

Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when Duration % Complete Changes - Mark to calculate actual units and costs as Actual (units or costs) = Budgeted (units or costs) * Duration % Complete

Primavera performs these calculations whenever you update the Duration % complete.

Values you specify override the application's calculated values. If you clear the checkbox, the application does not estimate actuals and the actual fields remain blank unless you specify values.

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Calculations Tab Link Actual and Actual This Period Units and Cost -

Mark this checkbox to recalculate actual or actual this period units and costs when one of these values is updated. This option is selected by default.

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Key Concepts You can create a project with the New Project

wizard, import a file, copy an existing file, or use Project Architect to create a project from an existing template.

Once the project is created, use the Projects window to view high-level information for projects you can access.

Use Project Details tabs in the Projects window to define default settings and properties for the selected project, such as the anticipated start and finish dates.

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Creating a Work Breakdown Structure

Lesson 6

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Define a Work Breakdown Structure Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical arrangement of the products and services produced during, and by, a project. It enables you 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 you can roll up and summarize information from the lower levels.

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Work Breakdown Structure Le

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Work Breakdown Structure

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

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Viewing WBS ElementsLe

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WBS elements added to the root level element are automatically indented to form the second level of the hierarchy.

When you create a new WBS element, it is indented as a "child" of the WBS element that is currently selected.

If you add a WBS element to the wrong level or in the wrong order, you can use the indentation keys located on the Command bar to adjust the structure of the WBS hierarchy.

The "child" WBS inherits attributes from the "parent" WBS. This is illustrated below, when the WBS element you create, Elevator, inherits the responsible manager of its parent, Mechanicals.

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Creating the WBS HierarchyLe

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You can determine the level that WBS elements group to by right-clicking in the WBS window and choosing Collapse To.

Right-click in the WBS window and click Expand All or Collapse All to expand or collapse elements of the WBS.

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Creating the WBS Hierarchy (cont.)Le

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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 Work Breakdown Structure window. Use the indentation keys to form various levels in the WBS.

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Key ConceptsLe

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Adding Activities

Lesson 7

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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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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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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.

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ActivitiesLe

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Activity Components

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Use the Activities window to create, view, and modify activities for the selected project. To add an activity to a project, perform one of the following actions:

In the Command bar, click Add. In the Edit menu, click Add. Press Insert on the keyboard. Right-click and click Add.

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Adding ActivitiesLe

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The New Activity wizard walks you through the process of adding an activity. Once you become familiar with the process, you can disable the wizard in User Preferences and manually add activities to the project.

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The New Activity WizardLe

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While in the Activities window, you can click Add in the Command bar to add new activities. The New Activity wizard appears only when you click Add in the Command bar.

Type a unique Activity ID and Activity Name, for each activity that you add. You will assign the activity to the Design and Engineering WBS element.

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Adding Activities via Activity Wizard

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Assigning Activity Type Activity Type controls how an activity's duration

dates are calculated. Select the Activity Type according to the

activity's function in the project and the calendar that should be used for the activity during scheduling.

Start Milestone Finish Milestone Task Dependent Resource Dependent Level of Effort WBS Summary

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Adding Activities via Activity Wizard (cont.)

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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. You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work

products, and documents. You can assign a primary resource. You cannot assign roles.

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Activity Type: 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. You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work

products, and documents. You can assign a primary resource. You cannot assign roles.

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Activity Type: Task Dependent - This type is typically used

when the work needs to be accomplished in a given time frame, 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.

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Example of how Primavera calculates the duration when activity type is task dependent.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Resource Calendar 1

Resource Calendar 2

Resource Calendar 3

Activity Calendar

Task Dependent XX

2 Day (X) Activity

Less

on 7

Activity Type: 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.

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on 7

2 Day (X) Activity

Example of how Primavera calculates the duration when activity type is resource dependent.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Resource Calendar 1

Resource Calendar 2

Resource Calendar 3

Activity Calendar

Task Dependent XX

Resource Dependent X XX

Less

on 7

Assigning Activity Type 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, a security guard and

meetings. You cannot assign constraints. (Constraints are

discussed in a future lesson).

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Assigning Activity Type 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. The dates calculated on a WBS summary activity are

based on the earliest start date of the activities in the group and the latest finish date of these activities.

The WBS summary activity duration is calculated based on its assigned calendar.

You cannot assign constraints to WBS summary activities.

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Completing the New Activity Wizard You have just added your first activity. You will

not use the wizard to help you create additional activities.

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You 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.

90

Adding an Activity via Activity Details

Less

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General Tab Use the General tab to assign basic information

about the activity, including Activity Type, discussed earlier in this lesson.

91

Adding an Activity via Activity Details (cont.)

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Status Tab Use the Status tab to define the selected

activity's duration, constraint, Start and Finish dates, labor and nonlabor units and costs, and material costs. You can also use the Status tab to view the selected activity's float, actuals, and completion percentages.

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Notebook Tab The Notebook tab enables you to assign notes to

an activity. Notebook topics are typically instructions or descriptions that further describe the activity according to specific categories of information.

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You can use the columns in the Activity Table to add an activity and then enter additional information about it.

94

Adding an Activity via ColumnsLe

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Activity steps allow you create a checklist for the activity, and then track the completion of each step. Often, steps 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 Primavera 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. The Review and Approve Designs activity can be

broken down into two steps.97

Adding Steps to an ActivityLe

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7

Activity step templates enable you to define a group of steps common to multiple activities and then assign the step template to activities.

If a commonly used step or set of steps have already been defined for an activity, you can convert the steps to a template.

99

Step TemplatesLe

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Activity codes enable you to classify and categorize activities according to your organizational and project needs.

You can use activity codes to view and roll up activities in the Activity Table; build reports in the Report wizard or Report Editor; organize a layout by grouping activities into specific categories; and select and summarize activities. Examples of activity codes include Phase, Area, Site, and Division.

100

Activity CodesLe

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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 activity codes per project. Filter and organize activities based on unique, project-

specific requirements.

100

Activity Codes (cont.)Le

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Activity Codes (cont.)

Each activity code (global, EPS, and project) may contain an unlimited number of activity code values, which can be organized in a hierarchy.

100Less

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TypeType Can be assigned toCan be assigned to NumberNumber

Global-level

Activities in all projects Unlimited

EPS-level Activities within EPS in which code was created, and EPS children

Unlimited

Project-level

Activities in project in which code was created

500

Assigning Activity Codes to an Activity Assign activity code values in the Activities

window. Add a column for the activity code in the Activity

Table. Use the Codes tab in Activity Details.

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7

Assigning Activity Codes to Multiple Activities Use the Command bar to assign an activity code

to multiple activities.

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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.

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Calendar AssignmentsLe

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Calendar Types There are three calendar types:

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 separate calendars for each resource. Project calendar

Contains a separate pool of calendars for each project. Available for the current project only.

103

Calendar Assignments (cont.)Le

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Calendar Assignments Use the Select Activity Calendar dialog box to

select the calendar that is used for an activity in the project.

For example, in this project, the default calendar assigned to all activities is theStandard 5 Day Workweek. You will view the available calendars on the Design Building Addition activity.

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Calendar Assignments (cont.)Le

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Creating Relationships

Lesson 8

109

Create a network logic diagram Differentiate between the four relationship types Create relationships in the Activity Network Create relationships in Activity Details

109

Lesson ObjectivesLe

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8

A network logic diagram is a logical representation of all the activities in a project showing their dependency relationships.

110

Network Logic DiagramLe

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8

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. 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.

110

Network Logic Diagram (cont.)Le

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Network Logic Diagram (cont.)

Precedence Diagramming Method

110Less

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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 - When A starts, B can finish.

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Relationship TypesLe

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Lag specifies an 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.

Lag is scheduled based on the calendar selected in the General tab in Schedule Options dialog box. (In the Tools menu, click Schedule, and then click Options to access the Schedule Options dialog box.)

There are four calendar options for scheduling lag: Predecessor activity calendar Successor activity calendar 24-hour calendar Project default calendar

112

Relationships with LagLe

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Below are two examples of relationships with lag:

Finish-to-Start with Lag - The following example shows that 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 following example shows that 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.)

112

Relationships with Lag (cont.)Le

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8

The Activity Network is useful when sequencing activities because it displays the activities graphically as you create relationships.

113

Creating Relationships in the Activity Network

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Creating a Start-to-Start Relationship You can create a relationship between activities

by clicking and dragging your mouse between the two activities.

The left edge of the activity represents the start of the activity.

The right edge of the activity represents the finish of the activity.

114

Creating Relationships in the Activity Network (cont.)

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on 8

You can also use the Relationships tab to create relationships. When creating a relationship in Activity Details, the default relationship type is Finish-to-Start.

Activities in the Assign Successors dialog box can be grouped and sorted in a variety of ways, including by EPS and by List. In the Display Options bar, click Group and Sort By to view options.

115

Creating Relationships in Activity Details

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on 8

Assigning Lag Although the default relationship type is Finish-

to-Start with zero days of lag, you can use the columns on the Relationships tab to make adjustments to the relationship type or to assign lag.

117

Creating Relationships in Activity Details (cont.)

Less

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You can also view/modify relationships in the Activity Table and Gantt Chart.

Activity Table - Displays the Predecessors and Successors columns.

118

Viewing Relationships in Gantt Chart

Less

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Key Concepts Use the Precedence Diagramming Method to create a

network logic diagram to show the relationships between activities. Build the diagram using boxes or rectangles that represent activities, and create logical relationships between the activities, specifying the predecessor and successor activity 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.

You can create relationships in the Activity Network via a graphical display, or in the Relationships tab in Activity Details.

120

Viewing Relationships in Gantt Chart (cont.)

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Scheduling

Lesson 9

121

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

121

Lesson ObjectivesLe

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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 through the activities in a project.

122

Critical Path Method Scheduling Le

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9

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.

122

Critical Path Method Scheduling (cont.)

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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.

123

What is the Data Date?Le

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9

Data Date Line

Data Date

Time

Time

Time

Schedule

Resource

Cost

J AJJMAMF S

ResourceQuantity(person-days)

$

OPNLess

on 9

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)

124

Scheduling Concepts (cont.)Le

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Forward pass

A

C

B

5

15

10

ES

EF

EF

ES

ES EF

55

1010

1111 2525

11

11

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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 (activity C in the graphic below).

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)

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9

A

C

B

5

15

10

ES 1

EF 25

EF 5

ES 11

ES 1 EF 10

LS LF

LFLS

LS LF

Backward pass

25251111

101011

101066

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Total Float The amount of time an activity can slip from its early

Start 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)

An activity's Total Float is automatically calculated each time you schedule the project. You cannot edit an activity's float values directly.

The critical path is the series of activities that determines a project's completion date. Activities B and C are on the critical path in the graphic below.

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Positive float

Zero float (critical)

Negative Float (extremely critical)

Positive float

Negative float

ES EF

LFLS

EFES

EFES

LS

LS

LF

LF

Total Float

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on 9

A

C

B

5

15

10

ES 1

EF 25

EF 5

ES 11

ES 1 EF 10

LS 11 LF 25

LF 10LS 6

LS 1 LF 10

Backward pass

TF =

TF =

TF =

Forward pass

00

00

55

Critical Path

Critical Path

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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

128


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A

C

B

5

15

10

ES 1

EF 25

EF 5

ES 11

ES 1 EF 10

LS LF

LFLS

LS LF

Backward pass

TF =

TF =

TF =

66

55-4-4

5511

-5-5

00

-5-5

2520*20*

Must Finish By: Day 20*

128Less

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Critical Critical ActivitiesActivities

Which activities are critical based on Total Float?

A

C

B

5

15

10

ES 1

EF 25

EF 5

ES 11

ES 1 EF 10

LS LF

LFLS

LS LF

Backward pass

TF =

TF =

TF =

66

55-4-4

5511

-5-5

00

-5-5

2520*20*

Must Finish By: Day 20*

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Longest Path

Longest Path

Which activities are critical based on Longest Path?

Loops indicate circular logic between two activities. Primavera will not calculate a schedule until the

loop is eliminated. A dialog box is displayed listing the activities in the

loop

BA101BA10100

BA103BA10300

BA102BA10200

Circular Relationships (Loops)

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Open Ends Open Ends are activities without 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.

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9

10 70

80 9030 50 6020

40

START

FINISH

NOTE: Primavera recommends that each project have only two open ends, the start milestone activity and the finish milestone activity.

Open Ends cont.

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10 70

80 9030 50 6020

40

START

FINISH

Notice the relationship between activity 30 and 50 is missing, creating two additional open ends.

What will happen when this network is scheduled?

Oops! Open ends.

Open Ends cont.

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When you schedule a project, activity dates are calculated according to durations and logic.

Mark the Log to file checkbox to record scheduling results in a log file (.txt).

After you schedule 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.

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Scheduling a Project Le

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Schedule Log The Schedule Log records scheduling results,

including: Scheduling/leveling settings Statistics Errors Warnings Scheduling/leveling results Exceptions

132

Scheduling a Project (cont.)Le

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An activity may have a relationship from a predecessor that determines its Early Start. This logic tie is called a driving relationship.

A solid relationship line indicates a driving relationship.

A dashed relationship line indicates a non-driving relationship.

BA3040 and BA3050 do not drive the start of BA3070. BA3060 drives the start of BA3070.

133

Driving RelationshipsLe

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After relationship logic has been defined, schedule the project to determine when the activities will take place.

Schedule dates can be calculated based on the critical path, a series of activities that determine a project's completion date.

When scheduling using the Critical Path Method, activity Early Start and Finish dates are calculated during a 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.

139

Key ConceptsLe

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9

Key Concepts After scheduling, results are recorded in a Schedule

Log.

139

Driving Relationships (cont.)Le

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Assigning Constraints

Lesson 10

141

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

141

Lesson ObjectivesLe

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Constraints are imposed restrictions used to reflect project requirements that cannot be built into the logic.

Use constraints to build a schedule that more accurately reflects the real-world aspects of the project, provide added control to the project, and impose a restriction on the entire project or an individual activity

Constraints are user-imposed. Two constraints can be assigned to an activity. After applying a constraint, the project must be

rescheduled to calculate the new dates.

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ConstraintsLe

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Must Finish By Used when an overall project deadline must be met. Forces all activities in the project to finish by the date (and

time) specified. By default, the time associated to the Must Finish By date is

set to 12:00 am. This means that if the project must finish by the end of day on 1-Nov, assign a Must Finish By of 02-Nov.

Affects the total float of the entire project. Must be applied in the Dates tab in Project Details.

The current Early Finish of Building Addition project is 17-Nov-10. You will apply a Must Finish By constraint of 02-Nov-10.

The next step is to reschedule the project to see the effect of the imposed deadline on the late dates and Total Float in the project plan.

143

Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)Le

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10

Used to set the earliest date an activity can begin.

Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint date

Pushes the early start to the constraint date Affects the early dates of its successors

AALFLFLSLS

EFEFESES

BBLFLFLSLS

EFEFESESES *ES *

Start On or After

145Less

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0

Used to set the earliest date an activity can begin.

Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint date

Pushes the early start to the constraint date Affects the early dates of its successors

AALFLFLSLS

EFEFESES

BBLFLFLSLS

EFEFESES

AAEFEFESES * *

BBEFEFESES

Start On or After

145Less

on 1

0

Adding Notebook Topic When a constraint is assigned to an activity, it is

recommended that you add a note to document why the constraint was assigned. You can use the Notebook tab in the Activities window to document these reasons.

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Used to set intermediate completion points 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 predecessors

AALSLS

EFEFESES

BBLFLF LSLS

EFEFESES

LF LF LF * LF *

Finish On or Before

148Less

on 1

0

Used to set intermediate completion points 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 predecessors

Finish On or Before

AALSLS

EFEFESES

BBLFLF LSLS

EFEFESES

LF LF

AALSLS

BBLFLF LSLS LF * LF *

148Less

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0

Start On Forces the activity to start on the constraint date.

Shifts both Early and Late Start dates. Delays an Early Start or accelerates a Late Start. Used to specify dates submitted by contractors or

vendors.

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Start On or Before 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. Used to place a deadline on the start of the activity.

150


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10

Finish On Forces the activity to finish on the constraint date.

Shifts both Early and Late Finish dates. Delays an Early Finish or accelerates a Late Finish. Used to satisfy intermediate project deadlines.

150


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10

Finish On or After Forces the activity to finish no earlier than the

constraint date. Shifts the Early Finish to the constraint date. Affects the early dates of its successors. Used to prevent an activity from finishing too early.

150


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10

As Late As Possible Delays an activity as late as possible without

delaying its successors. Shifts the early dates as late as possible. Also called a zero free float constraint.

150


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10

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. May violate network logic.

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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.

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Maintaining the Project Documents Library

Lesson 11

153

Describe the difference between a work product and a reference document

Create a document record Link the document record to a project document

or work product Assign the project document to an activity or

WBS

153

Lesson ObjectivesLe

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The Work Products and Documents window enables you to maintain general information about project documents, including links to the actual document files. Documents are organized hierarchically to enhance categorization.

You can catalog and track project-related documents and deliverables, and provide standards and guidelines for performing work on an activity.

Store documents on a network file server or Web site. Maintain general information about project documents

such as version, revision date, and author. Create a link to the actual document file.

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Project DocumentsLe

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Documents can be designated as a work product or reference document:

Work product - Includes project or activity deliverables that will be turned over to the end user or customer. Examples: CAD files, testing plans, and blueprints.

Reference document - Includes documents that can be referenced by a project participant to provide standards and guidelines for performing work. Examples: guidelines, policies, procedures, design templates, checklists, and worksheets.

154

Project Documents (cont.)Le

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Documents do not reside in the Primavera database. To access documents via Primavera, a document record must be created in the Work Products and Documents window.

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Creating a Document RecordLe

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Files Tab After you add a document record, you must

establish a link to the document by specifying a file path. There are two kinds of document location references:

Private Location - References can be viewed only by Primavera client/server application users. Examples include invoices, purchase orders, or contracts.

Public Location - References can be viewed by all project participants, including timesheet users. Examples include procedure guidelines or project checklists.

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Creating a Document Record (cont.)Le

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Assigning a Project Document to an Activity Project documents can be assigned to both WBS

elements and activities. For example, during a project's planning phase, you may assign a document to a WBS element. As the details of your project develop, you can assign the same document to activities.

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Viewing Document Details Use the Work Product and Document Details dialog

box to view details about and/or open the selected work product or document. Fields in the dialog box are summarized below:

Title - The name of the selected work product or document.

Author - The name of the person who created the selected work product or document.

Version - The selected work product or document's version number.

Date - The entered Revision Date. Private/Public Location - The selected work product or

document's file name. Launch Private/Public Location - Opens the work product or

document's file in its native application.160


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Viewing Document Details Description - A narrative description of the selected

work product or document.

160


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Key Concepts Documents do not reside in the Primavera database.

To access documents via Primavera, a document record must be created in the Work Products and Documents window.

After adding a document record, specify its private and/or public location. Specifying a public location enables all project participants to view the document.

You can designate a document as a work product or reference document and assign it to an activity or WBS element.

Maintain general information of each project document such as version, revision date, and author.

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Formatting Schedule Data

Lesson 12

163

Group activities according to a specific criteria Sort activities Apply a filter Create a filter

163

Lesson ObjectivesLe

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Grouping is a flexible way to organize data into categories that share a common attribute.

You can group data to create customized layouts. You 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 all windows and most dialog boxes.

Each window or dialog box has its own grouping options. Some windows have customized/pre-defined groups.

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.

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Grouping DataLe

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Group and Sort Dialog Box The Group and Sort dialog box is used to set up the

organization of activities on the screen. Show Group Totals - Choose to display or hide the total

values for grouping bands. If you mark the Show Group Totals checkbox, you have the additional options to Show Grand Totals and Show Summaries Only.

Show Grand Totals - Mark to display a grand total row at the top of the layout.

Show Summaries Only - Mark to hide the activities within each group title band.

Shrink Vertical Grouping Bands - Minimize the width of the vertical grouping bands displayed in the Activity Table. This setting is available in windows that have the Group and Sort by, Customize layout option.

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Grouping Data (cont.)Le

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Group and Sort Dialog Box Group By - Lists data items used to group the

current display. Indent - Available if the selected data item is

hierarchical. To Level - Indicates the number of levels to display

when grouping by a hierarchical data item. Group Interval - Indicates the interval by which you

want to group the selected data item. Font & Color - Displays the font/color for each group

title band. Hide if empty - Mark to hide the group title bands

that do not contain activities.

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Group and Sort Dialog Box Sort Bands Alphabetically - Mark the checkbox to

sort the grouping bands alphabetically rather than their order in their respective hierarchy. This checkbox is disabled for any grouping that is not hierarchical.

Show Title - Mark to display the name of the field that the layout is grouped by; the value is also displayed.

Show ID/Code - Mark the checkbox to display the ID or code value on the grouping band.

Show Name/Description - Mark the checkbox to display the name or description on the grouping band.

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Grouping by Date Grouping a layout by date allows you to identify

activities that are scheduled to occur within a particular time period.

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Collapsing/Expanding Grouped Data Collapse group bands to control the level of

detail you are viewing. This functionality is especially useful if you want to focus on a specific portion of the layout.

In the Activity Table, view summary information for the displayed columns.

In the Gantt Chart, summary bars are displayed to represent the Start/Finish dates in each group band.

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Sorting determines the sequence in which activities are listed within each grouping band. Based on the data item you choose, you can sort alphabetically, numerically, or chronologically.

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Sorting ActivitiesLe

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12

Sorting by a Single Criteria To sort by a single criteria, click the data item's

column title.

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Sorting Activities (cont.)Le

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FILTERFILTERDEPT = DEPT = ADMNADMN

10601020

1030

1010

1070

1100

1040

1080

1120

1110

1090

1140

1000

LegendLegend

PRCH IT SLS ADMN

11201110

FILTERFILTERDEPT = DEPT = ADMNADMN

10601020

1030

1010

1070

1100

1040

1080

1120

1110

1090

1140

1000

Filtering Activities

A series of statements which determine the activities to be displayed on screen.

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A filter is a set of instructions that determines which activities should display on screen.

Filters enable you to create customized layouts by limiting the number of activities displayed - helping you to focus on critical activities, for example.

A set of pre-defined filters is provided, as is the ability to create user-defined filters of your own.

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Filters are divided into the following groupings: Default Global User-defined

One or more filters may be applied to a layout 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 layout.

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Filtering Activities (cont.)Le

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Filters Dialog Box All Activities - Mark to show all activities in the

current layout. Show activities that match - When more than one

filter is marked, you must select one of the following options:

All selected filters - Mark to include the activities that meet the criteria of each selected filter.

Any selected filter - Mark to include the activities that meet the criteria of at least one of the selected filters.

Replace activities shown in current layout - Displays only the activities that meet the criteria of each selected filter.

Highlight activities in current layout which match criteria - Highlights only the activities in the current layout that meet the criteria of each selected filter.

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Applying a Default Filter To view critical activities, you can run the Critical

default filter.

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You can create filters based on a single line of criteria or multiple criteria.

A convenient single-criteria filter to use throughout the life cycle of a project is a lookahead filter. It displays the activities that are scheduled to occur within a given amount of time - for example, the next month.

You will execute the new filter to display all activities scheduled to occur within the next month, and then save the layout as One Month Lookahead.

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Creating a FilterLe

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If you cannot achieve your goal with a single filter, you can run two filters simultaneously.

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Using Multiple FiltersLe

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Applying the All Activities Filter To refresh your screen with all activities, you can

run the All Activities filter.

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Using Multiple Filters (cont.)Le

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Key Concepts Use grouping and sorting to organize activities in a

layout. Grouping is available in all windows and most dialog

boxes. The Group and Sort dialog box provides options to

show grand totals and summaries, and 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 only show activities that satisfy the filter criteria. You can apply multiple filters to a layout.

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Using Multiple Filters (cont.)Le

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Roles and Resources

Lesson 13

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Describe roles Views the roles dictionary Describe resources Identify the differences between labor, nonlabor

and material resources View the resource dictionary

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Before you begin to manage resources in Primavera, you 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.

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Roles and ResourcesLe

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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.

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Roles and Resources (cont.)Le

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The Roles dictionary contains four tabs: General tab - Lists the Role ID and Role Name. The

Responsibilities field lists the skills required to perform 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.

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Defining RolesLe

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Limits Tab Use the Limits tab to specify available quantities

(limits) for a role. Setting limits helps you quickly identify areas of role overload in Resource/Role Usage Profiles. You 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, which may not accurately reflect a role's planned allocation. In the Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences, Resource Analysis tab, you can choose to display role limits based on the custom role limits you define or based on the calculated primary resources' limit.

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Defining Roles (cont.)Le

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A resource is anything used to complete an activity. The Resources window 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. Generally re-used between activities/projects. 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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Defining ResourcesLe

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Use Resource Details to add, view, and edit detailed information about the selected resource.

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Resource DetailsLe

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General Tab The General tab enables you to enter general

information about the selected resource including the resource's ID, name, employee ID, title, e-mail address, office phone number, and status.

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Resource Details (cont.)Le

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Codes Tab The Codes tab enables you to assign resource

code values to further categorize the selected resource for grouping and organizing.

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Details Tab The Details tab enables you to enter the selected

resource's labor classification, currency and overtime settings, and profile.

Labor Classification - Indicates the resource is Labor, Nonlabor or Material.

Unit of Measure - Utilized for material resources. Select to determine what unit the resource utilizes.

Currency - Indicates the currency associated with the resource's costs.

Overtime Allowed - Mark to indicate the resource can enter overtime hours in Timesheets, or in the Resources tab in Activity Details.

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Details Tab Overtime Factor - Indicates the value by which the

resource's standard price should be multiplied to determine the resource's overtime price.

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.

Auto Compute Actuals - Mark to automatically calculate the resource's actual quantity of work according to the project plan.

Calculate costs from units - Mark to calculate the cost of an activity based on the assigned units.

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Units & Prices Tab The Units & Prices tab enables you 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 you to quickly identify areas of resource overallocation in resource profiles/spreadsheets.

Price/Unit - Set the resource's price for a single work unit, according to the effective date.

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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 you can use Resource Details to view and edit information about resources.

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Assigning Roles

Lesson 14

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Assign roles to an activity Assign rates on roles

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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If you know which skill sets are required for each activity - but not the exact people who will perform the work - you can assign roles to the activities. Role assignments will act as placeholders, which you can use later to assign the resources.

To assign a role to an activity, click Add Role in the Resources tab in Activity Details.

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Assigning Roles to ActivitiesLe

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Assign Multiple Roles to an Activity Use Control-click to select and assign multiple

roles to a single activity.

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Assigning Roles to Activities (cont.)Le

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Assigning a Role to Multiple Activities You can assign a single role to multiple activities

by selecting activities in the Activity Table and then clicking Roles in the Command bar.

To select multiple activities: If the activities you want to select are contiguous -

Select the first activity and then Shift-click to select the last activity.

If the activities you want to select are not contiguous - Use Control-click to select individual activities.

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Assigning Roles to Activities (cont.)Le

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Rate types are assigned to roles in the Resources 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 your system administrator in the Rate Types tab of Admin Preferences. When you select a rate type, the monetary value is updated automatically in the Price/Unit column.

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Assigning Rates on RolesLe

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Key Concepts Role assignments can act as a placeholder, which

you can later use to assign a specific resource. You can assign a single role to an activity; multiple

roles to a single activity; or a single role to multiple activities.

You can also assign rates to roles. The rate type determines the price/unit used to calculate costs for the assignment.

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Assigning Rates on Roles (cont.)Le

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Assigning Resources and Costs

Lesson 15

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Assign resources by role Assign labor, nonlabor, and material resources to

activities Adjust Budgeted Units/Time for a resource Assign expenses to activities

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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Following are the basic steps for resource management:

Define resource availability. Set up the resource name, description, cost, roles, and

attributes that control the resource's effect on the schedule.

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. Use the Resource Usage Profile to view resource

quantity/cost information graphically. The profile helps you 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 you analyze resource allocation.

Use columns to view total costs.

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Steps for Resource ManagementLe

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Resource assignments can be made by replacing a role assignment with a specific resource.

At least one role must be assigned to an activity to assign resources by role. When you assign by role, only those resources assigned to the role are displayed in the Assign Resources by Role dialog box.

When assigning resources by role, a confirmation dialog box is displayed if the resource selected to replace the role assignment has different default quantity/cost settings. These settings include Price/Time, Units/Time, and Overtime Factor values.

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Assigning by RoleLe

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In responding to the dialog box: Click No - Apply the role's quantity/cost settings. Click Yes - Apply the resource's quantity/cost

settings.

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Assigning by Role (cont.)Le

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Assigning By Role to Multiple Activities You can select multiple activities to

simultaneously replace their role assignments. You can also assign multiple resources by roles to multiple activities simultaneously.

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Assigning by Role (cont.)Le

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Depending on numerous factors - including the type of activity or type of resource - you may need to adjust Budgeted Units or Units/Time when assigning a resource.

Budgeted Units - The number of units, hours for example, that a resource is assigned to work on the activity.

Units/Time - The number of units (hours) a resource is scheduled to work in a specific time period - for example, 8 hours/day.

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Assigning ResourcesLe

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Assigning Resource to Level of Effort Activity When you assign a resource to an activity, this

calculation is performed: Duration x Units/Time = Units. Typically, a resource is not assigned to work on a level of effort activity full time. Therefore, the Units/Time must be adjusted after making the resource assignment.

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Assigning Resources (cont.)Le

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Assigning a Nonlabor Resource If a role is not designated as a placeholder in an

activity, assign a resource directly from the Resource dictionary. Resources in the dictionary can be used on any activity. An unlimited number of resources can be assigned.

The Search feature can help you quickly search the resource dictionary for a backhoe, a nonlabor resource which is required to work on the Backfill and Compact Walls activity.

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Adjusting Resource's Budgeted Units/Time You can adjust Budgeted Units/Time after

making a resource assignment. In the example below, you will manually type 16h/d in the Budgeted Units/Time column, indicating that two laborers at 8h/d will work on the activity.

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Designating a Primary Resource The primary resource 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 Primavera Timesheets 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 timesheets. This assignment is made on in the General tab in Activity Details.

A primary resource can update steps via Timesheets. If multiple resources are assigned, the first resource

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Assigning a Material Resource Material resources are not measured in units of

time. For example, Polyform is measured in linear feet and concrete is measured in cubic yards. Units of measure are created in Admin Categories. After the unit of measure is created, it is assigned to the material resource in the Resource dictionary.

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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.

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Planning CostsLe

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Resource 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.

Budgeted Cost = Budgeted Units x Price/Unit

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Planning Costs (cont.)Le

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Expense 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. You can enter a single lump sum expense or you 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, square feet.

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Summary Tab Use the Summary tab to display unit, cost, or

date information for the selected activity. Select Display cost at the bottom of the page to

display the itemized and total cost of the selected activity. The activity's costs are broken into:

Labor Cost Nonlabor Cost Material Cost Expenses Total Cost

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Key Concepts Three steps in resource management are defining

resources; assigning resources; and analyzing resources.

Resource assignments can be made by replacing a role assignment with a specific resource. At least one role must be assigned to an activity to assign resources by role.

If a role is not designated as a placeholder in an activity, assign a resource directly from the Resource dictionary.

When you assign a resource to an activity, this calculation is performed: Duration x Units/Time = Units.

When you assign a resource, you can adjust Units/Time or Budgeted Units. You can also designate a primary resource.

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Analyzing Resources

Lesson 16

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Display the Resource Usage Profile Format a profile Format the timescale

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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The Resource Usage Profile, which can be displayed in the Activities window, enables you to view resources/role unit and cost distribution over time. You can specify how data is played in the profile via the Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences:

All Projects

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Resource Analysis SettingsLe

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All closed projects (except what-if projects) - Displays resource/cost usage data for:

All closed projects with a leveling priority - When electing to show remaining values for open versus closed projects, choose this option to include data for all closed projects with a specific leveling priority.

Opened projects only - Focus on resource/cost usage in the projects currently opened.

Time-Distributed Data Display data based on Remaining Early or Forecast

dates. Select the time interval for displaying live resource

allocation: hour, day, week, or month.

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Resource Analysis Settings (cont.)Le

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The Resource Usage Profile provides a graphical 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 overallocated 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 you have access.

View resource or role allocations.

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Resource Usage ProfileLe

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Display separate bars for one or all of the following:

Budgeted units/costs Actual units/costs Remaining Early units/costs Remaining Late units/costs

The Resource Usage Profile timescale matches the timescale for the Gantt Chart.

Format columns, group, sort, and filter resources/roles in the profile.

Can be saved as part of a layout.

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Resource Usage Profile (cont.)Le

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You can use Resource Usage Profile information to determine which resources/roles are overallocated and which resources/roles are underutilized.

The table below lists the sections of the Resource Usage Profile. Note that there are two Display Option bars: one that controls display options for the left pane, and another that controls display options for the right pane.

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Displaying the Resource Usage Profile

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Viewing All Projects or Open Projects Only When you select the User Preferences setting to

All closed projects (except what-if projects), you can toggle the Resource Usage Profile to display either:

all open projects. all closed projects except for what-if projects.

This option is available on the right pane Display Options bar.

Once you have only the open projects displayed, you can filter the top layout by either Time Period or Resource.

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Displaying the Resource Usage Profile (cont.)

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Formatting the Profile The Resource Usage Profile can be modified by

adjusting Data and Graph settings in the Resource Usage Profile Options dialog box.

Data settings: Display - Select to display units or costs. Show Bars/Curves - Mark to display By Date (periodic)

bars and/or Cumulative curves and format their colors. Show Remaining Bars As - Select a solid color to display

early bars and a hatched color to display late bars. Additional Data Options - Mark to display a line

indicating resource limits; resource/role overallocation; resource availability; or resource overtime units.

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Formatting the Profile Graph settings:

Vertical Lines - Choose to display major/minor sight lines based on the timescale interval.

Horizontal Lines - Choose the line style and color. Additional display options:

Show Legend - Display the data item each color represents.

3D Bars - Add a third dimension to the bars. Background Color - Specify the color displayed in the

background of the Resource Usage profile. Calculate Average - Specify the values you want to use

to divide the timescale interval totals.

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Formatting the Timescale You can specify the timescale you want to

display in the Resource Usage Profile and the Gantt Chart.

Timescale Start - Specify the date from which the timescale should start for the profile or Gantt Chart.

Date Interval - Choose the units of the timescale in years, quarters, months, weeks, days, hours, and shifts.

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Formatting the Timescale You can also format the timescale by clicking

and dragging: Place your mouse on the minor date interval on the

timescale. Click and drag to expand or contract the timescale.

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Key Concepts The Resource Usage Profile provides a graphical

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 overallocated resources; track expenditures per time period; and display a "banana curve" to compare early and late dates.

You can specify settings for resource analysis in the Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences.

You can further customize the profile by using the two Display Option bars.

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Optimizing the Project Plan

Lesson 17

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Analyze schedule dates Shorten a project schedule Analyze resource availability Remove resource overallocation Analyze project costs

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Analyzing the Project Once you have 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, you 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 overallocated.

Analyze cost budget - Evaluate project costs.

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Analyzing the Project

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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 your project plan. Focus on critical activities. Shorten the project.

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Analyzing Schedule DatesLe

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Comparing Finish Date to Must Finish By Date You can quickly determine whether the project

will finish on time by viewing the Dates tab in the Projects window.

The Office Building Addition project must be finished by 02-Nov-10 - however, the schedule indicates that the project will not finish until 17-Nov-10. (Note that the project actually must finish by the close of business on 01-Nov-10 as the Must Finish By constraint is at 12:01 am on November 2.)

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Analyzing Schedule Dates (cont.)Le

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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 you adjust a critical activity, the Finish is likely affected.

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Analyzing Schedule Dates (cont.)Le

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If schedule analysis leads you to conclude that the Must Finish By date cannot be met, concentrate your efforts on shortening the schedule. Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:

Refine duration estimates: Break down long activities. Assign additional resources to reduce duration.

Use relationships to overlap activities. Apply/modify constraints.

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Shortening the ProjectLe

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Change calendar assignments: Put critical activities on a longer workweek. Add exceptions to nonworktime.

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Shortening the Project (cont.)Le

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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.

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Modifying Relationships If you need to further compress the schedule,

review relationships between activities on the critical path.

Currently, there is a Finish-to-Start relationship between the Site Preparation and Excavation activities. You determine these activities can be performed at the same time. Therefore, change the relationship to Start-to-Start with 5 days of lag.

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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 you modify a constraint, be sure to also modify the Notebook topic that was created to document the constraint.

A resource is available to work on the Excavation activity. You can now remove the Start On or After constraint from the Excavation activity.

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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 1 day and the calculated Finish date is 29-Oct-10. Therefore, the project is scheduled to finish before the Must Finish By date of 2-Nov-10.

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The project plan is now scheduled to be completed by the deadline. Before proceeding, verify that resources are appropriately allocated.

You can use the Resource Usage Profile to determine which resources are overallocated/underutilized. You can then re-assign resources to help even the workload.

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Analyzing Resource AllocationLe

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Identifying Resource Overallocation The Resource Usage Profile allows you to run a

filter to focus on the activities that are contributing to a resource's overallocation.

Using a filter in the Resource Usage Profile, identify the activities contributing to Oliver Rock's overallocation in January through February 2010.

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Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)Le

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Correcting Overallocation If overallocation is identified, choose a method to

remove the overallocation from the specific resource. Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:

Replace the overallocated resource with an available resource.

Increase the resource's workweek. Increase the hours/day that the resource works. Assign additional resources to the activity.

After analyzing Oliver Rock's overallocation, you have decided to use a different resource for activities BA5010 Review and Approve Brick Samples and BA5020 Prepare and Solicit Bids for Brick Exterior. Waylan Smithers is not allocated to work in this time period, so he can be assigned to the activities.

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Correcting Overallocation Assign Waylan Smithers to work on the two

activities.

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Reviewing Allocation Use the Resource Usage Profile to check

allocation for Oliver Rock, who was removed from the activities, and Waylan Smithers, who was assigned in his place.

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Replacing a Resource Note that this functionality is available only when

assigning a resource directly - it is not available in the Assign Resources by Role dialog box.

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There are many options for analyzing the budget. By displaying cost columns in the Activity Table, you can analyze the budgeted cost of the entire project, as well as each individual activity.

$250,000 has been allocated for the Office Building Addition project. You will display a layout that shows budgeted cost information so you can determine whether the project is within this budget.

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Analyzing the BudgetLe

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Key Concepts Optimizing the project plan is the last step in planning

your project. Ensure that the project plan meets its date, resource, and cost requirements.

If the calculated Finish date of the project is beyond the Must Finish By date, the project must be shortened. Comapare the dates in the Dates tab in Project Details.

You can use various methods to shorten the project, such as refining durations, modifying relationships, applying constraints, and focusing on critical activities.

Use the Resource Usage Profile to ensure resources are not overallocated.

Evaluate costs to ensure that the project can be completed within budget.

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Analyzing the Budget (cont.)Le

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Baselining the Project Plan

Lesson 18

249

Create a baseline plan Display baseline bars on the Gantt Chart Modify the bars on the Gantt Chart

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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A baseline is a copy of a project that you can compare to the current project to evaluate progress. Create a baseline plan before updating a schedule for the first time.

Baselines provide a target against which you can track a project's cost, schedule, and resource performance.

Baseline functionality in Primavera enables you to: Save an unlimited number of baselines per project. Designate one project baseline and up to three user

baselines at a time for comparison to the current project. Assign a baseline type to categorize a baseline. Examples

include initial planning, what-if, or mid-project baselines. Baseline types can help you benchmark performance across multiple projects.

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BaselinesLe

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You can create a baseline either by: Copying the currently opened project. Converting another project into a baseline.

When you create a baseline, you 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.

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Creating a BaselineLe

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Categorizing the Baseline Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline

based on how you to intend to use it. For example, the Initial Plan baseline type can be used for your initial project plan. Another baseline type, Mid-Project Status, can be used after the project is underway. Baseline types are also useful in organizing multiple baselines in the project.

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Creating a Baseline (cont.)Le

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Assigning a Baseline Use the Assign Baselines dialog box to choose a

project baseline and/or user baseline for the project. If no baseline is designated as active, the current project plan is used as the baseline.

Project baseline is the 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 Baseline assignments are user-specific.

Used for schedule comparison only. Each user can choose a different baseline for

comparison to the current project.

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Creating a Baseline (cont.)Le

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The Bars dialog box allows you to modify the type, size, color, row position, 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.

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Viewing Baseline BarsLe

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Bar Style Tab The Bar Style tab enables you to specify the

shape, color, and pattern of the bars and endpoints.

Shape - Shape of the selected bar's start endpoint, the bar itself, and the finish endpoint.

Color - Choose the selected bar's start endpoint color, the color of the bar itself, and the color of the finish endpoint.

Pattern - The fill pattern of the selected bar. Row - Displays the position of the bar on the Gantt

Chart.

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Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)Le

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Displaying Baseline Bars By displaying baseline bars in the Gantt Chart,

you can visually compare the baseline plan's schedule dates to the current project plan's schedule dates.

In addition to bars displayed by default, you can create additional bars based on date fields and filters.

Select a value in the Row field to determine placement of a bar in the Gantt Chart.

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Customizing the Activity Table You can further customize the layout by choosing

display options for the Activity Table. These include the font of the text and the height of the rows, which can be specified in the Table, Font and Row dialog box.

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Saving the Layout If you are pleased with the layout, save it with a

new name.

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Bar Labels Tab Labels can be placed on any of the bars listed in

the dialog box. By adding dates to the bars, you can quickly determine the Start and Finish dates of activities in the Gantt Chart.

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Key Concepts A baseline is a copy of a project that you can

compare to the current project to evaluate progress. Create a baseline plan before updating a schedule for the first time.

You can create a baseline either by copying the currently opened project or converting another project into a baseline.

Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline based on how you to intend 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-baseline can be designated by each user and is used for schedule comparison only.

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Key Concepts The Bars dialog box allows you to modify the type,

size, color, row position, and shape of the baseline bars displayed in the Gantt Chart.

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Project Execution and ControlLesson 19

261

Describe several methods for updating the project schedule

Use Progress Spotlight Status activities Reschedule the project

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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Once a project has started, you need to update actual schedule information and resource usage at regular intervals. Your company will establish a standard update procedure, including how data is collected and how often it is updated.

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Updating a ProjectLe

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How Often? You may need to update daily, weekly, or

monthly, depending on the length of your project and how frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.

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Updating a Project (cont.)Le

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How Data is Collected Project managers manually enter the actual date,

resource, and cost information. Record actual dates and progress, actual resource

usage and cost, and expense costs. Approve and apply timesheets.

Team members use timesheets to update activities. Project managers review and approve timesheets. Project managers apply timesheets to the project.

Auto compute actuals. Progress of activities is automatically calculated

according to the project plan.

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Updating a Project (cont.)Le

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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. By default, the data date is set to the beginning of the day.

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The Data DateLe

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Create a baseline plan. Identify the new data date with the Progress

Spotlight. Enter activity progress. Report resource use and costs to date. Use Suspend and Resume dates as necessary. Apply actuals to the project. Perform target analysis.

Compare the current plan to the target to analyze variances.

Calculate the schedule. Be sure to verify the new data date.

Monitor project progress with reports.

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Updating ProcessLe

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Determine whether project objectives are being met:

Will the project finish on time? Is it within budget? Are project resources being used effectively?

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Updating Process (cont.)Le

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Tips for Statusing 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 layout.

Use rolling dates for a time period look-ahead. Select only activities to be updated. Organize in a useful sequence via activity codes,

resources, and dates.

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Updating Process (cont.)Le

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Define the statusing period before you begin to update activities. In general, the statusing period begins at the current data date and ends at a point in the future. The length of the statusing period depends on the frequency of your updates. You 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.

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Defining a Statusing PeriodLe

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There are two options to define the statusing period in the Gantt Chart:

Activate Progress Spotlight. Drag the data date.

Note that even as you establish a new statusing period, the new data date must still be manually changed in the Schedule dialog box.

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Defining a Statusing Period (cont.)Le

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Progress Spotlight Progress Spotlight creates a visible statusing

period between the current data date and the next status date. It also provides a highlighted list of activities that should have progress during the update period.

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Dragging the Data Date Highlight the activities to be updated by

dragging the status line to the desired date.

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Once a project is underway, you must enter actual schedule data, resource usage, and expense costs at regular intervals. You may need to update daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the length of your project and how frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.

Actual data is different than planned data - actual data is the real time and cost associated with an activity.

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Entering ActualsLe

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Enter schedule, resource, and cost data in the following order:

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Entering Actuals (cont.)Le

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Completed Activities Actual Start and Actual Finish dates Actual Regular Units/Costs Actual Cost for expenses

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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 activity work is temporarily halted, use Suspend/Resume dates.

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To update a start milestone, mark the Started checkbox and enter the Actual Start date. You do not need to enter data in the Finish field because the activity type is a Start Milestone, which has zero duration.

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Statusing MilestonesLe

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Three steps must be performed to update an activity to completion:

Enter Actual Start and Actual Finish dates. Enter Actual Regular Units for resources. Enter Actual Cost for expenses.

Below you will check the Actual Regular Units for the activity. Note that in this example, data in the Actual Regular Units field is automatically completed because Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when duration % complete changes is selected in the Calculations tab in the Projects window for the project.

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Statusing Activities to CompletionLe

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You will now status activity BA1020 - Review and Approve Designs, which was completed during this status period. The activity started on time but finished 1 day late. Resource Paul Kim worked an additional 8 hours on the activity.

When selecting a new date for the Started or Finished field in the Status tab, mark the checkbox first and then select the date.

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Statusing Activities to Completion (cont.)

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Statusing a Mid-Project Milestone A Start Milestone is updated the same way

whether it occurs at the beginning of a project or in mid-project: Mark the Started checkbox and then enter the Actual Start date.

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Statusing Activities to Completion (cont.)

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Five steps must be performed to update an activity in progress:

Enter Actual Start date. Enter Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration. Enter Actual Regular Units and Remaining Units for

resources. Enter Actual Cost and Remaining Cost for expenses.

In the example below, activity BA2010 was started during the status period but is now falling behind schedule. You will reflect this by increasing the Remaining Duration.

Actual Regular Units is the number of units that resource(s) actually worked on the activity. Remaining Units represents the amount of work (units) that is required to complete the activity.

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Statusing Activities in ProgressLe

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The formula for calculating Remaining Units is: Remaining Units = Remaining Duration * Remaining Units/Time.

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Statusing Activities in Progress (cont.)

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When an activity starts but is unexpectedly delayed or stopped for a period of time, you may suspend it.

A suspended activity must have an Actual Start. Use the Status tab to enter Suspend and Resume dates.

Suspend date - The last day that work was conducted on the activity.

Resume date - The first day that work will continue on the activity.

The actual duration excludes suspension time. Use the Notebook tab to document the reason for the

suspension. In the exercise below, the Excavation activity was

started late and then was suspended due to a snowstorm.

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Suspending an ActivityLe

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The Review and Submit Flooring Samples activity has finished 1 day early.

Resource Oliver Rock worked 8 hours less than planned on the activity. Update Actual Units to 56 hours.

The Assemble Brick Samples activity also was completed during this status period.

The Assemble Technical Data for Heat Pump activity was started and finished in this update period.

The Assemble Technical Data for Heat Pump activity has an expense that is running over its budgeted amount. You will update the expenses for the activity to reflect the spending.

In the Expense tab, the field for At Completion Cost ($600.00) is calculated by adding Actual Cost ($600.00) + Remaining Cost ($0.00).

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Statusing Activities to CompletionLe

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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.

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Rescheduling the ProjectLe

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Viewing the Results of Rescheduling Project After the project has been rescheduled, the

successors to the delayed activity, BA2020, have also been delayed.

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 your project team. Implement the revised project plan.

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Rescheduling the Project (cont.)Le

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After scheduling a project, analyze schedule dates, resource allocation, and the cost budget.

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Controlling the ProjectLe

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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 you will complete the project on time. If the project is behind schedule, analyze critical

activities. Adjust the project to meet your project Finish date.

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Controlling the Project (cont.)Le

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Analyzing Resource Allocation After adjusting the project, determine if resources

are being used effectively.

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Analyzing the Cost Budget After adjusting the project, view At Completion Total

Cost to determine if you are within your budget.

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If the calculated Finish date is later than the Must Finish By date, you 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.

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Compressing the ScheduleLe

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You can use the following set of questions to help you decide how to most appropriately adjust the schedule:

Can the Finish date of the project slip? 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, you 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.

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Compressing the Schedule (cont.)Le

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If the scope change is not approved, find another way to meet the project milestones and Finish date of the project.

Were the budgeted hours over- or under-estimated? You may have overestimated the number of hours to

complete activities; 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 an additional resource be assigned? You 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.

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If a resource is available, you 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, you can decrease the duration of

the activity, then enter the original remaining hours. The hours the resource works each day will increase.

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Reporting Performance

Lesson 20

295

Describe reporting methods Run a schedule report Create a resource report with the Report wizard Create a report using the current layout

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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There are many methods to distribute schedule, resource, and cost performance information to the project team, including:

Printed layouts Printed reports from the Report wizard Printed reports from Report Writer Project Web site Timesheets Primavera Web applications

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Methods for Performance Reporting

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The Reports window displays reports for schedule, resource, and cost.

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Reports WindowLe

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You can report schedule performance using a pre-defined schedule report.

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Running an Existing ReportLe

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Run Report Dialog Box Use the Run Report dialog box to compile and

print the selected report. Print Preview - Preview the report before printing it. Directly to Printer - Compile and print the report. HTML File - Compile and save the report as an HTML

file. ASCII Text File - Choose to compile and save the

report as a delimited text file (.txt). Field Delimiter - Select the character used to separate

categories of information that you save in delimited text format (i.e., comma, tab, space).

Text Qualifier - Select the character used to separate categories of data that you save in delimited text format (.txt) if the data contains the field delimiter you specify, such as quote marks (").

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Running an Existing Report (cont.)Le

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Run Report Dialog Box Output file - If you choose HTML File or ASCII Text

File, click to specify the file name and location where you want to save the report.

View file when done - Mark this checkbox to automatically open the report in your default Web browser for an HTML file or your default text viewer for an ASCII text file.

Notes - Use to add a comment to the report. Comment appears directly under the report title.

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Print Preview Print preview allows you to make modifications

to the layout before printing.

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Print Preview Dialog BoxLe

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ItemItem FunctionalityFunctionality

1. Page Setup Define report's header/footer, margins, and orientation.

2. Print Setup Select the default printer, print size, and page orientation.

3. Print Print the displayed report.

4. Publish Print the report in HTML format.

5. Left/Right/Up/Down

Display the previous or next page of the displayed report.

6. Last/First Page Display the first or last page of the displayed report.

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Print Preview Dialog Box (cont.)Le

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ItemItem FunctionalityFunctionality

7. Zoom In/Out Magnify/reduce your view of the displayed report.

8. Help Open Help.

9. Close Close Print Preview and return to the previous window.

Printing Reports Printing reports is an effective way to

communicate project information with resources and other project managers.

The report below displays the Original Duration, Remaining Duration, Percent Complete, Activity Name, Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, Late Finish and Total Float of all the activities in the project.

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The Report wizard enables you to easily create a wide variety of ad hoc reports. The reports can be modified as they are built, or they can be reopened later to be modified.

To create a wizard report: Select a base table and pertinent data fields. Organize the data via grouping, sorting, and filtering

options.

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Report WizardLe

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Create or Modify Report You will use the wizard to create a report that

shows the resource assignments on the project and related Notebook topics.

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Report Wizard (cont.)Le

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Configure Selected Subject Areas Select the columns you would like to use in the

report.

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Adding a Filter to the Report Select the filter you would like to use in the

report.

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Print Preview You can preview the report before printing. To

print, click the Print icon.

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After reviewing your report, you can save it and assign it to a specific report group.

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Saving a ReportLe

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Assigning a Report to a Report Group To easily locate a report, you can assign it to a

report group. A report can be assigned to only one report group.

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Saving a Report (cont.)Le

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The Report wizard can also be used to create reports based on the layout that is currently displayed. Reports can be modified as they are built through the wizard.

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Creating a Report Using the Current Layout

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Key Concepts The Reports window displays reports for schedule,

resource, and cost. You can report schedule performance by choosing

one of the pre-defined schedule reports listed in the Reports window.

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Creating a Report Using the Current Layout (cont.)

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Key Concepts The Report wizard enables you to easily create a

wide variety of ad hoc reports. The reports can be modified as they are built, or they can be reopened later to be modified. To create a wizard report:

Select a base table and pertinent data fields. Organize the data via grouping, sorting, and filtering

options. The Report wizard can also be used to create reports

based on the layout that is currently displayed.

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Creating a Report Using the Current Layout (cont.)

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Project Web Site

Lesson 21

317

Create and launch a project Web site Customize the appearance of a project Web site Publish activity layouts as HTML pages

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Lesson ObjectivesLe

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The project Web site feature is used to publish a project plan as a Web site on an intranet or as a Web site on the Internet. Using a Web browser, the project team and other interested parties can view project documents that contain hypertext links to other pages, enabling them to move between projects and from page to page within a report.

You can browse a project plan at a high level and quickly view more detailed information about specific activities, work products and documents, resources, etc. You can also navigate a project Web site using the project's WBS, resource hierarchy, reference documents outline, activity codes and values, risks, and issues.

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Project Web SiteLe

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Among the Web site features: Customize the Web page design. Create a Web site that contains one or multiple

projects. The project(s) must be opened when publishing.

Control the level of detail published, for example limiting activity information and personal information about resources.

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Project Web Site (cont.)Le

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Control the information included: Activity layouts Tracking layouts Project reports Global data dictionaries

Test a project Web site locally prior to publishing publicly.

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Project Web Site (cont.)Le

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On the General tab in the Projects window, you can create a link to the location of the project Web site.

Use the General tab to set up the information displayed on the Web site:

Web Site Name, Web Site Description, and Last Publish Date is displayed on the Web site splash screen.

Path chosen in the Publish Directory field determines the location of the Web site files.

Scheme determines the fonts, colors, icons, and splash screen that will be used for the Web site.

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Creating a Project Web SiteLe

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You can use the default scheme or create your own scheme by adding graphics, fonts, and colors. Customizable features include background/foreground colors, icons/logos, and text types/fonts.

Use the Main Form tab to customize features on the main form of the Web site.

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Customizing the Project Web SiteLe

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Splash Tab Use the Splash tab to customize features on the

splash screen.

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Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)

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Topics Tab Use the Topics tab to determine the detailed

data to publish to the Web site. If all checkboxes are cleared, only WBS data is published.

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Graphics Tab Use the Graphics tab to select existing activity or

tracking layouts to publish to the project's Web site.

Define activity layouts in the Activities window and tracking layouts in the Tracking window.

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Reports Tab The Reports tab is used to select existing reports

to publish to the project Web site. If you do not want reports to be displayed in a

specific Web site, clear the Include in project Web site checkbox.

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Publishing the Web Site A project Web site cannot be published in a

subdirectory beneath the directory that contains Primavera.

A project Web site cannot be published if the subdirectory contains files other than the Project Web site files.

If the publish subdirectory contains only project Web site files, those files will be deleted and replaced with the updated files.

If the publish subdirectory does not exist, the subdirectory will be created.

Data is static as of the date the site is published. To update the site with the new data, publish the site again.

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Launching the Web Site The Web site can be launched two ways:

Automatically in the default browser if the Automatically launch web site preview after publishing checkbox is marked.

Manually from the General tab in the Projects window.

The URL set for the Web site is also displayed in Primavera Portfolio Analysis and in Timesheets, and can be used to launch the Web site.

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The project Web site is divided into three panes: Upper pane - Contains a navigation toolbar for quick

access to various sections of the Web site. Click the Subtoolbar to view a specific set of data

relating to what is selected from the upper pane. Left pane - Select the data elements to view. Right pane - Navigate through the details for the

element displayed in the left pane. The icons in the upper pane allow you to view

global data dictionaries as well as the activity/tracking layouts and reports you selected to publish.

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Navigating the Project Web SiteLe

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Save activity layouts as HTML files that are not linked to a project Web site you previously created. The layouts represent a static picture of the project.

Timescale begins on the date defined by the selected layout.

Columns displayed are defined by the selected layout.

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Publishing Activity LayoutsLe

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Key Concepts The project Web site feature is used to publish a

project plan as a Web site on an intranet or as a Web site on the Internet. The Web site can include activity layouts, tracking layouts, project reports, and global data dictionaries.

You can use the default scheme or create your own scheme by adding graphics, fonts, and colors.

You can also save activity layouts as HTML files that are not linked to any project Web site you previously created. These layouts represent a static picture of the project.

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Publishing Activity Layouts (cont.)Le

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