Level 1 – Planning Without Resources

This is the simplest mode of planning.

2.4.1 Creating Projects

To create a project in a Primavera database, you will need the following information:

• An EPS Node, OBS Node in the database to assign the project,

• Project ID (a code assigned to the project) and the Project Name,

• The Project Start Date (and perhaps the Finish Date), and

• The Rate Type. Primavera has five rates per resource and this option enables you to select a rate as the default resources rate.

It would also be useful to know other information such as:

• Client name, and

• Project information such as location, project number and stakeholders.

2.4.2 Defining the Calendars

Before you start entering activities into your schedule, it is advisable to set up the calendars. These are used to model the working time for each activity in the project. For example, a 6-day calendar is created for those activities that will be worked for 6 days a week. The calendar should include any public holidays and any other exceptions to available working days, such as planned days off.

Primavera has three types of calendars:

• Global–which may be assigned to activities and resources in any project,

• Project–these are project-specific calendars assigned to activities, and

• Resource–that are assigned to resources.

Project and Resource calendars may be linked to Global calendars, enabling any changes to holidays made to a Global calendar to be inherited by the associated Project and Resource calendars.

2.4.3 Defining the Project Breakdown Structures

A project breakdown structure (PBS) is a way of categorizing the activities of a project into numerous codes that relate to the project. The codes act as tags or attributes of each activity.

During or after the activities are added to the schedule, they are assigned their PBSs so that they may be grouped, summarized, and filtered in or out of the display.

Primavera has two principal methods of assigning a PBS to your project:

• The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) function, which is comparable to the P3 and SureTrak WBS functions.

• The Activity Code function that operates in a way similar to P3 and SureTrak.

Before creating a project, you should design your PBSs by asking the following questions:

• Which phases are involved in the project (e.g., Design, Procure, Install and Test)?

• Which disciplines are participating (e.g., Civil, Mechanical and Electrical)?

• Which departments are involved in the project (e.g., Sales, Procurement and Installation)?

• What work is expected to be contracted out and which contractors are to be used?

• How many sites or areas are there in the project?

Use the responses to these and other similar questions to create the PBSs.

2.4.4 Adding Activities

Activities must be defined before they are entered into the schedule. It is important that you carefully consider the following factors:

• What is the scope of the activity? (What is included and excluded?)

• How long is the activity going to take?

• Who is going to perform it?

• What are the deliverables or output for each activity?

The project estimate is usually a good place to start looking for a breakdown of the project into activities, resources, and costs. It may even provide an indication of how long the work will take.

Activities may have variable durations depending on the number of resources assigned. You may find that one activity that takes 4 days using 4 workers may take 2 days using 8 workers or 8 days using 2 workers.

Usually project reports are issued on a regular basis such as every week or every month. It is recommended that, if possible, an activity should not span more than two reporting periods. That way the activities should only be In-Progress for one report. Of course, it is not practical to do this on long duration activities, such as procurement and delivery activities, that may span many reporting periods.

Good practice recommends that you have a measurable finish point for each group of activities. These may be identified in the schedule by Milestones and are designated with zero duration. You may issue documentation to officially highlight the end of one activity and the start of another, thereby adding clarity to the schedule. Examples of typical documents that may be issued for clarity are:

• Issue of a drawing package

• Completion of a specification

• Placing of an order

• Receipt of materials (delivery logs or tickets or dockets)

• Completed testing certificates for equipment or systems 2.4.5 Adding the Logic Links

The logic is added to the schedule to provide the order in which the activities must be undertaken. The logic is designated by indicating the predecessors to, or the successors from, each activity. There are two methods that software uses to sequence activities:

• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM), and

• Arrow Diagramming Method(ADM).

Most current project planning and scheduling software, including Primavera, uses PDM. You can create a PDM diagram using the Network Diagram function.

There are several types of dependencies that may be used:

1. Mandatory dependencies, also known as Hard Logic or Primary Logic, are relationships between activities that may not be broken. For example, a hole has to be dug before it is filled with concrete, or a computer delivered before software is loaded.

2. Discretionary dependencies, also known as Sequencing Logic or Soft