Introduction
The purpose of this course is to provide a method for planning, scheduling and controlling projects using Primavera P6 Version 8 within an established Enterprise Project database or a blank database up to an intermediate Ievel.
This course covers the following topics:
• Understand the steps required to create a project plan and monitor a project's progress • Understand the Primavera P6 environment
• Create a project and set up the preferences • Define calendars
• Creating a Work Breakdown Structure and adding activities • Format the display
• Add logic and constraints
• Use Filters, Group, Sort and Layouts • Print reports
• Record and track progress of an un-resourced schedule • User and Administration Preferences and Scheduling Options • Create and assign roles and resources
• Resource optimization including leveling • Update a project containing resources
• Other methods of organizing data and Global Change
Project Management Overview
Project and Project Management
What is a Project?
A Project is A TEMPORARY ENDEAVOR undertaken to create A UNIQUE PRODUCT, SERVICE or
RESULT!. (Project Management Institute). Also it is PROGRESSIVELY ELABORATED
Project Management is the “application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities
to meet the project requirements”. Project Planning Constrains
The components that are normally measured and controlled using planning and scheduling software:
Project Management Processes
Project management processes are grouped into five categories known as Project Management Process Groups (or Process Groups):
Initiating Process Group: Those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an
existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.
Planning Process Group: Those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the
objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.
Executing Process Group: Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project
management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group: Those processes required to track, review, and regulate
the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.
Closing Process Group: Those processes performed to finalize all activities across all Process Groups
Understanding Oracle Primavera P6 software
Primavera P6 Objectives
Oracle Primavera software products are designed to support the project management needs of organizations that manage large numbers of projects at one time.
Large businesses typically have hundreds or even thousands of projects underway at one time to create the new products and services that build their future. These projects cross normal business hierarchies and chains of command, making Project Portfolio Management (PPM) an organization-wide challenge. The pressure to complete projects on time, within budget, and maintain a competitive edge, is driving corporations to develop and implement PPM processes. They are moving away from a traditional functional structure to a multi-project organization that must achieve clear, often urgent goals, using limited, shared resources. They need the fastest business payback from those projects to realize potential revenue and increase shareholder equity.
What is Oracle Primavera P6?
Oracle Primavera P6 is an integrated project portfolio management (PPM) solution consisting of role-specific tools to satisfy each team member’s needs, responsibilities, and skills. The P6 suite uses a standard Windows interface, client/server architecture, Web-enabled technology, and a stand-alone (Oracle XE) or network-based (Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server) database.
The Oracle Primavera P6 suite includes the following software components: Project Management (PM)
The Project Management module enables users to track and analyze performance. It is a multiuser, multi-project system with scheduling and resource control capabilities supporting multi-tiered project hierarchies, resource scheduling with a focus on roles and skills, recording of actual data, customizable views, and user-definable data.
Methodology Management (MM)
The Methodology Management module is a system for authoring and storing methodologies, or project plan templates, in a central location.
Progress Reporter
Progress Reporter is a Web-based inter-project communication and timekeeping system. As a team-level tool for project participants, Progress Reporter helps team members focus on the work at hand with a simple cross-project to-do list of their upcoming assignments. It also provides views of project changes and timecards for manager approval.
P6 Web Access
P6 Web Access provides browser-based access to project, portfolio, and resource data across your entire organization.
P6 Web Services
P6 Web Services uses open standards including XML, SOAP, and WSDL to seamlessly integrate P6 project management functionality into other applications. Using P6 Web Services, organizations can share P6 project management data between applications independent of operating system or programming language.
P6 Integration API
The P6 Integration API (Application Programming Interface) is a Java-based API and server that enable developers to create client code that can directly and seamlessly access Primavera’s project management database.
There are four modes or Levels in which planning and scheduling software may be used. Course Levels Techniques and skills
LEVEL 1 Planning Without Resources
LEVEL 2 Tracking Without Resources
LEVEL 3 Planning With Resources
Level 1: Planning without Resources
Lesson 1: Configuration and Interface
Logging into the P6 Client
Let's start with logging into the system. If you have installed the windows client, you may already have a shortcut icon to it on your machine. If not, go to Start | Oracle |Primavera Professional.
You should see a screen as shown in the following screenshot. If you have an account, enter your login name and password in the displayed boxes:
If you do not already have a connection set up, click on the Database ellipse button near the bottom of the screen to add and edit database connections.
Database alias: This is a name for your own use to identify the connection. It can be anything. It is
helpful to make the alias descriptive enough to remind you to which system it connects.
A good practice is to identify the name of the server and the database that the alias represents. Driver type: There are three options:
Oracle
Microsoft SQL Server/SQL Express
Primavera Compression Server
The next screen asks you to specify oracle connection string.
These are the credentials of a database account set up specifically for the P6 client application. By default this is named “privuser” and its password is “privuser”, but the specific name may be different, so check with your system administrator.
Click Next to validate the connection. If the validation succeeds, then click Finish. You will now see the new database alias in the Edit Database Connections screen.
Choose the database, press Select.
When you log into P6 the first time, you should be presented with a screen similar to the following screenshot:
At the very top is the set of application menus that are standard to most Windows applications, such as File, Edit, View, and Help, plus a few that are specific to P6: Project, Enterprise, and Tools.
The main screen also contains toolbars across the top, left, and right-hand sides. These toolbars contain icons which provide quick ways to access parts of the program. They are highly customizable.
Floating toolbar: This toolbar will remain on top of the screen while you work on the main screen, and
can be moved around as desired.
The central portion of the screen is filled with a set of screens which appear as tabs as you open up different modules. These are the main screens for working on projects.
Projects generally shows all projects available to the user. If a particular Portfolio is selected, then only those projects within the portfolio will be shown.
Resources shows global and project resources available.
Reports show the reports that are available within the Windows client. Tracking lets you compare project properties in a 3-pane window. Activities are the main screen for managing project activities.
WBS is the main screen for managing project Work Breakdown Structure. Resource Assignments is the main screen for managing resources.
WP & Docs is for managing Work Products and Documents. Project Expenses is for creating and managing project expenses. Project Thresholds sets the threshold for triggering issues. Project Issues lets you manage and track project issues.
Risks (not available in the Optional Client) are used to manage project risks.
Opening a Project
Open projects from the project table in the projects window or the open project dialog box. The open project dialog box shows all projects you are authorized to open.
Open a single project by Right click and then select open project,
Select project and click on button
Select project and press Ctrl+O Gantt chart Layout
The default layout is "Classic WBS" layout which displays a Gantt chart in the top layout and activity details in the bottom layout.
Lesson 2: Organizing your Projects with EPS and OBS
In this lesson we will go through the basic elements of project structure: • Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
• Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)
Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
It is a global hierarchy that represents the managers responsible for the projects in your organization. The OBS usually reflects the management structure of your organization, from top-level personnel down through all levels.
The OBS assignment shows up on each EPS, project, and WBS in a field called Responsible Manager that indicates who has access to this project.
In Professional, choose Enterprise > OBS to bring up the OBS management screen.
There are three tabs at the bottom of the OBS screen:
General Tab displays the OBS Name and Description for the selected responsible manager (OBS
element). The description is a rich-text description of the OBS element.
The Users Tab shows which users are assigned to the OBS node. When users are assigned, they
are also assigned a specific Project Security profile which determines their access within the EPS, Project, or WBS element associated with the OBS node.
Responsibility Tab is where users are assigned to specific elements in P6. An OBS element (and
hence its users) may be associated with an EPS node. In that case the security level is passed down to all projects within that EPS node.
An OBS can be associated with a specific project, or even with WBS elements within a project.
Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)
Your database of projects is arranged in a hierarchy called the enterprise project structure (EPS).
The EPS can be subdivided into as many levels or nodes as needed to parallel work at your organization. Nodes at the highest, or root, level might represent divisions within your company, project phases, site locations, or other major groupings that meet the needs of your organization.
Projects always represent the lowest level of the hierarchy. Every project must be included in an EPS node.
In Professional, choose Enterprise > Enterprise Project Structure to bring up the EPS management screen.
The first two are straightforward. EPS ID is a unique identifier, a convenient and short way to describe the element, whereas the EPS name is a more verbose description. Responsible Manager shows what OBS element has rights over that particular EPS node.
Note that the OBS elements shown have the same name as their EPS nodes.
In the upper left-hand corner of the main EPS screen is a dropdown called Display: EPS. This can be used to alter how the EPS is displayed.
By default the EPS screen is shown in table view, which lists the EPS elements in a tree. You can also choose Chart View to see a chart-centric display of the EPS.
The Chart View shows the EPS as you might display it on a wall chart.
Now that we have seen how to manage the EPS, let us examine what EPS does. Every project in P6 must exist within a single EPS node. One of the standard project layouts in P6 shows all projects within the EPS structure. This is a common way of displaying projects.
Lesson 3: Create a Project
By the end of this lesson, the reader should feel comfortable with:
Creating a new project using the New Project Wizard
Setting project properties
Structuring the WBS of the project
Importing projects into P6
Creating a new project using the New
Start a new project by choosing the File > New from the main menu. You may also press Ctrl + N, or press the following icon:
The first choice to make is where to assign the project in the Enterprise Project Structure. Clicking on the ellipses button will bring up a screen that allows you to choose an EPS node under which to assign the project.
Next, provide a project ID and name. Choosing a good project ID is important, as this will simplify updates, reporting, and managing backup and restore files.
The next screen lets you enter the Project Planned Start date and optionally, the date by which the
Note: that we highly discourage entering a project finish date. After all, a foundational strength of P6
is its ability to calculate the finish date!)
Next, choose the Responsible Manager for the project. This is the OBS element that will own the project.
The next screen lets you choose the default billing rate to use for roles and resources assigned to activities.
At last, the final wizard screen lets you press Finish to complete your project.
Setting project properties
Project properties are set by going to the Project screen, choosing the project, and choosing Project Details.
By default, not all of the tabs are shown in this screenshot. To add and remove tabs from the project details screen, right-click anywhere in the Details tab and choose Customize Project Details.
The General tab lets you set certain high-level information about the project. While the Project ID,
Project Name, and Responsible Manager were entered in the wizard screens, they may be changed here as well.
Project Status can be set to one of four values:
Planned: Progress Reporter users cannot access the activities Active: Progress Reporter users can access activities
Inactive: Progress Reporter cannot access activities
What-if: Progress Reporter users cannot access activities, and
The Responsible Manager was also set in the new project wizard and it is the OBS element responsible for the project.
Project Leveling Priority can range from 1 (highest) to 100 (lowest). When multiple projects are
scheduled, this determines the order in which projects are considered when leveling resources across projects.
Check Out Status shows whether a project is checked in or out and Checked Out By shows who has
checked out the project. The Date Checked Out shows when that user checked out the project. Check out is very helpful. It allows one user to lock the project for their exclusive use for a period of time. For example, a scheduler may want to ensure that no one is changing anything about the project while the schedule status update is being performed. It is important to always check a project back in after exclusive use is no longer needed.
Notebooks Tab allows you to enter information about a project. The Notebook tab lets you enter a
number of notebook topics, each with its own notebook entry. The notebook topics are set through the menu item Admin > Admin Categories.
Notebooks exist not only for Projects, but also can be added to any EPS, WBS, or activity.
Budget Log Tab Use the Budget Log to enter project budget information. Note that budgets can also
be entered at the WBS and EPS level. The budget information is not shared among the EPS, Project, and WBS. Instead, they are treated as independent values. You may enter the original budget manually.
Spending Plan Tab enters monthly amounts into the Spending Plan tab. This allows you to set the
expected cash outlay for the project. The months shown begin three months before the project start and extend to four years after the project start date. Unfortunately, there is no way to extend the spending plan beyond these four years for longer-term projects.
Budget Summary Tab summarizes the information from the Budget tab and the Spending Plan tab. It
is display only.
Dates Tab shows what is a schedule without dates? The Dates tab shows you high-level dates for your
project.
Project Planned Start was entered when the project was created, and can be changed in this tab. If
the project has activities, then this date is based on them. If the project as no activities but does have an Anticipated Start, then that value is used.
Anticipated Start and Anticipated Finish are dates entered by the user as their best guess about the
project schedule. These dates are completely free of constraints, and can serve as a helpful reality check on the dates that arise from the scheduling algorithm.
Funding Tab which is your project may have funding sources that you wish to track. In the Funding tab
you can choose funding sources and assign amounts and percentages. The list of funding sources is defined through the menu item Enterprise > Funding Sources.
Codes Tab (project level) which are project codes allow for grouping, sorting, and filtering projects.
They are used extensively and allow you to organize your project in many ways, particularly for reporting and when performing portfolio analysis.
The Defaults tab lets you set a variety of activity-level defaults that help you to manage your projects
Resources tab also lets you define default settings for resources.
Settings tab covers a variety of project settings.
Last Summarized On shows the last time that the project data was summarized. Summary data is
used for reporting and project analysis.
Summarize to WBS Level indicates the level at which the project is summarized. As summarization
can be a slow process, and as summaries are not necessarily needed at every level, you can set the summarization value so that the level of summary is right for the specific project.
WBS separator is the symbol to use when showing WBS names in the tree. For example, if you have
WBS elements A, B, and C, each as successive children under the other, then by default, they will be displayed as A.B.C.
.
Fiscal year start month can be set as well to match your company's or your client's fiscal year.
The Baseline for earned value calculations can be set to use the calculated project baseline or user's
How a project Defines Critical Activities can be set as either those activities that are on the longest path to complete the project, or those activities whose total float is less than the specified amount.
The Calculations tab lets you set default behaviors for activities and resources in the project.
Project Codes
One key to manage a portfolio of projects is to have meaningful project codes. To edit project codes, go to Enterprise > Project Codes.
The project codes themselves can be modified by pressing the Modify button that brings up the following screen:
Lesson 4: Structuring the WBS of the project
Work Breakdown Structure overview
A hierarchical arrangement of the project produced from the decomposition of project scope which is a technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.
Decomposition of the total project work into work packages generally involves the following activities:
Identifying and analyzing the deliverables and related work;
Structuring and organizing the WBS;
Decomposing the upper WBS levels into lower level detailed components;
Developing and assigning identification codes to the WBS components; and
Within a project, activities can be grouped, filtered, planned, and organized by Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
WBS elements representing milestones can be added as well to enable simplified reporting and tracking.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in P6
In P6, WBS elements are created within a project. First, open the project and then choose Projects >
WBS or click on the double boxes toolbar icon
WBS tool bar:
There are also a number of helpful shortcuts:
Insert: adds a new WBS element.
Ctrl + Up Arrow: moves an element up.
Ctrl + Down Arrow: moves element down.
Ctrl + Right Arrow: moves under the adjacent element.
To see the WBS details, open up the WBS screen, right-click, and choose WBS Details. This will bring up a tabbed window as shown in this screenshot. If you do not see all of the tabs, right-click on the top of the Tab window and choose Customize WBS Details.
The General tab shows high-level details about the selected WBS element. WBS Code and WBS
Name can be edited here.
Status can be set to Active, Inactive, Planned and What-if. Responsible Manager is the OBS element responsible for this WBS item, and governs which users have which security access to the activities in this WBS item.
Anticipated Start is set during the planning stage, and does not figure into scheduling once activities are created. Anticipated Finish is set during the planning stage, and does not figure into scheduling once activities are created.
Notebooks Tab for WBS behaves the same as notebooks for Projects, as described previously. WBS Milestones Tab at the WBS level allow you to set a list of items to be completed at the
WBS level. These are merely milestones, and do not have dates or resources, or in any way affect the schedule.
WBS Milestone is a description of the milestone.
Weight sets the relative value of the milestone with respect to all others and is used to calculate percentage completed as a weighted sum. To make the weights easier to understand, use percentage values that total to 100.0 percent.
Earned Value Tab is a large topic and will explain in details in Earned Value section. So in this
section we will briefly review the EVM settings available for the Project WBS.
WPs & Docs Tab (Work Products and Documents) allows you to provide documentation for the
project. Examples include material safety data sheets, punch lists, specifications, project manager notes and reports, product guides, and more.
To add a document, choose Assign, and select the appropriate document. You may also specify whether the document is a work product, such as an engineering design.
Before you can assign WPs and Docs, you must create them at the project level.
Let's take a quick trip out of the WBS settings to see how that is done. On the left-hand toolbar, click on the icon to open up the WPs & Docs window
Budget Summary Tab and Spending Plan Tab are the same as the project details section but in
Lesson 5: Calendar
Calendar overview
Resources by definition are constrained. A person works only so many hours per day. A person also has a defined set of non-work times such as weekends and holidays. Likewise, equipment may be available only at certain times. In this section, we mentioned that a resource can be associated with a calendar.
Let us now discuss the definition and use of calendars. Calendars describe the time available for project work.
A calendar can be defined at three levels:
A resource calendar is designed to work for a specific resource. Furthermore, calendars can be
assigned to activities and to the resources assigned to that activity.
Global calendars are available to all activities and resources.
Project calendars can only be used within a specific project, and can be assigned to activities
within the project.
A project can also have a default calendar, which may be either a project calendar or a global calendar.
Resource calendars can be assigned to resources. If a resource calendar is shared with more than one
resource, it is called a shared calendar. Calendar in P6
A screen like the one shown in the previous screenshot appears. Use the buttons at the top to show global, resource, or project calendars.
Add button brings up a screen to add a new calendar. We will cover this further on.
Delete button will delete a calendar. If the calendar is being used anywhere, then you will be
prompted either to select a replacement calendar or to replace it with the default global calendar.
Modify button lets you modify the calendar, as discussed further on.
Used by button will show which items are using the selected calendar. This is very helpful to
view before attempting to delete a calendar.
To Global button allows you to copy a specific calendar to the global calendar list. To Shared Button allows you to copy a personal resource calendar to a shared calendar. To Personal Button allows you to copy a shared calendar to a specific resource calendar? Modifying calendars
No matter what kind of calendar you are using, the screen for editing a calendar is always the same, as shown in the previous screenshot. You set up the normal hours of work for each day of the work week by choosing the button titled Workweek.
At the top of the screen are two main choices of how you want to assign hours on a daily basis: Total
work hours/day and Detailed work hours/day.
If you choose Total work hours/day, then for each day you simply assign the number of hours available for work.
In the following screenshot, we choose Sat the 5th and set it to be a non-work day with zero hours.
The following screenshot shows a standard work week with hours worked:
When you choose Detailed work hours/day, things become more fine-grained. The small section called Work hours/day which changes to show all hours available in a day, broken into 30-minute increments. You can set any 30-minute interval as available or unavailable for work by double-clicking on it. By doing this, you can, for example, set lunch hours or other break periods in your calendar.
On the main calendar screen you can also set a day to be a working day by selecting the date and double-clicking it, or by pressing the Work button.
Likewise, you can make a workday a non-work day by double-clicking or pressing the Nonwork
Hours per time period can be set by pressing the Time Periods button. This tells P6 how to translate among the various time units. This setting affects the calculations for durations for all components using this calendar.
When new activities are added to a project, the calendar used is the default calendar for the project. Calendars in P6 work like umbrellas: imagine overlapping umbrellas and the lowest level is resource calendars. Above that at the next layer is an activity calendar, then a project calendar, and finally a global calendar. They all combine to calculate dates in P6 for the scheduled project.
Lesson 6: Adding Activities and Relationships
Activities Overviews
An activity is the basic unit of a schedule. It produced from decomposition of WBS (Work package). It is defined as a specific thing which must be accomplished in order to complete a project deliverable. Within a project, activities are organized within WBS elements, as shown in the screenshot. An activity has a number of fundamental properties:
Duration: The length of time the activity will last. In certain cases, this may be zero. Start Date: The time calculated for the activity to begin.
Finish Date: The time calculated for the activity to be completed.
Relationships: Activities must relate to one another in some logical way. If an activity does not
relate to any others, then you must question whether it is an actual activity for the project. Only by logically connecting activities can you truly schedule a project.
The logic is used to calculate dates, otherwise the default dates will be shown as they relate to the Data—more on this later.
Milestone Activity which is an important checkpoint of your project is tracked as milestones. Some of
them could be listed in your contract as requirements of successful completion and some could just be significant points in the project that you want to keep track of.
Sequence Activities
It is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM): Activity-on-node (AON)
The precedence diagramming method (PDM) is a technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed. Activity-on-node (AON) is one method of representing a precedence diagram. This is the method used by most project management software packages.
PDM includes four types of dependencies or logical relationships. A predecessor activity is an activity that logically comes before a dependent activity in a schedule. A successor activity is a dependent activity that logically comes after another activity in a schedule. These relationships are defined below and are illustrated in below figure:
Leads and Lags:
A lead is the amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity. For example, on a project to construct a new office building, the landscaping could be scheduled to start two weeks prior to the scheduled punch list completion. This would be shown as a finish-to-start with a two-week lead as shown in Figure below. Lead is often represented as a negative value for lag in scheduling software.
Project Schedule Network Diagrams:
It is a graphical representation of the logical relationships, also referred to as dependencies, among the project schedule activities. A project schedule network diagram is produced manually or by using project management software.
New Activity Defaults
After creating a new project and before adding activities it is important to set the defaults such as the Activity ID Numbers and Calendars.
By setting them correctly before adding activities you will save a significant amount of time because you will not have to change a number of attributes against all activities at a later date.
These defaults are set in the Defaults tab of the Project Details form:
Duration Type
None of the Duration Type options affects how the schedule calculates until one or more resource is assigned to an Activity. The following options are available:
Fixed Units
Fixed Duration and Units/Time
Fixed Units/Time
Fixed Duration & Units
lf you do not plan to add resources to Activities, then you do not need to assign a Duration Type and it may be left as the default. This topic will be covered in detail in the Assigning Roles and Resources Expenses lessons.
Percent Complete Type
It should be understood if it is intended to be used to update (status or progress) the schedule. In Primavera this option may be set for each activity individually and the default for new activities is set in the Percent Complete Type drop down box. Primavera has many Activity Percent Complete fields that may be displayed in columns and we will discuss four of them now:
Activity % Complete which may be linked to one only of the three following % Complete fields
and is always linked to the % Complete displayed in the bars:
Physical % Complete which is independent of activity resources and durations, Duration %Complete which is lined to activities durations, and
Default % Complete
There are three percent complete options; each new activity is assigned the project default Percent Complete Type and then this may be edited for each activity as required.
The Default% Complete Type for each new activity in each project is assigned in the Defaults tab of the Details form in the Project Window:
Percent Complete Types
Physical % Complete - This field enables the user to enter the percent complete of an activity
and this value is independent of the activity durations.
Duration % Complete- This field is calculated from the proportion of the Original Duration and
the Remaining Duration and they are linked. A change to one value will change the other. When the Remaining Duration is set to greater than the Original Duration this percent complete is always zero.
Units % Complete - This is where the percent complete is calculated from the resources Actual
and Remaining Units, a change to one value will change the other and when more than one resources is assigned then all the Actual Units for all resources will be changed proportionally. This will be covered further in the Updating Resources chapter.
Activity % Complete
The field this is linked with is determined by the % Complete Type assigned to an activity in the
Activity Types and Milestones
An Activity types may be assigned one the following Activity Types using the drop down box in the
Activity form then General Tab:
Task type Description
Task Dependent - These Activity Types have duration and will only calculate the duration using
the assigned calendar even when one or more resources are assigned to an activity.
Resource Dependent - These Activity Types have duration and will calculate the duration only
using the calendar assigned to the activity when NO resources are assigned to the activity. These activities acknowledge Resource Calendars when resources are assigned.
Level of Effort - lt spans from the start or finish of one or more predecessor activities to the
start or finish of one or more activities successor activities which are linked by relationships.
Start Milestone - A Start Milestone has a start date and no finish date and is scheduled at the
start of a time period and may not be assigned Resources.
Finish Milestone - A Finish Milestone has a finish date, no start date and is scheduled at the end
of a time period and may not be assigned Resources.
Where WBS Summary spans all activities with the same WBS code.
Cost Account - This drop down box is used to select the default Cost Account for all new Resources
and Expenses and is blank by default.
Calendar - This topic was covered in detail in the Calendars chapter. This drop down box is used to
select the default calendar for an activity. A Default Project Calendar is assigned to each project from the Global or Project calendar Iist.
The Auto-numbering Defaults decide how new activities are numbered. The first activity added to a
Default Activity Duration
The default activity duration for newly created activities is specified in the Admin> Admin Preferences in General tab Activity Duration cell.
Create New Activities in Primavera P6
In P6, WBS elements are created within a project. First, open the project and then choose Projects >
Activities or click on the double boxes toolbar icon
Enter Activity Name then press Next button. Press on Select WBS Ellipses Button to select WBS.
Assign resource (in this level, we don’t need to add any resources). So press Next button.
Activity Information- Bottom Layout
The Bottom Layout has a number of tabs where information about the highlighted activity may be viewed and edited. (These are not in any specific order as the tabs may be reordered on the screen.)
General Tab This form displays the: Activity ID and Activity Description
Project and Responsible Manager, these may not be edited here.
lt also displays activity attributes including some which were set as defaults in the Project Window: • Activity Type, Duration Type, % Complete Type, Activity Calendar, WBS, and Primary Resource.
Status Tab This is where the following data is displayed/edited: The Durations,
The Status, where Actual Dates and% Complete may be entered,
Where Constraints are entered and
By selecting from the drop down box the Labor and Non-labor Units or Costs and Material Costs may be displayed.
NOTE: lt is possible to assign resource Units in the Status tab without a resource being assigned to the
activity and the rate will be taken from the Project Properties Calculations tab.
Summary Tab This form displays summary information about the activity. It has three buttons that
select which data will be displayed: • Units, or Costs, or Dates Resources
Resources Tab This is where resources and roles may be assigned to activities and assignment
information displayed.
Expenses Tab This is where Expenses may be added and edited here. These are intended for one off
costs that do not require a resource to be created.
NOTE: These are often used for material costs on construction and maintenance projects to prevent clogging up the Resource Window
Notebook Tab this is form where you can add Notes about activities may be made here by adding a
Notebook Topic and then adding notes about the topic.
Steps Tab This function enables an activity to be broken down into increments titled Steps that may
Feedback Tab This is where comments made in the timesheet module may be viewer.
WP's&Docs Tab This is where files that have been listed in the Work Products and Documents
Window may be associated with activities and then opened from this form.
Codes Tab Project Codes may be created and activities associated with these codes with this form. Relationships & Predecessors & Successors Tabs These are where the activity's predecessors and
successors are added, edited and deleted. They will explain in next section. Assigning Activities to a WBS Node
Activities are assigned to a WBS Node from the Activities Window. They may be assigned using the following methods:
A new activity will inherit the WBS Node that is highlighted when an activity is created.
A new activity will inherit the WBS Node of a selected existing activity when the project is organized by WBS Nodes and an activity is created.
Select the activity and click the WBS box in the General tab in the lower window. This will open the Select WBS form.
Assigning Calendars to Activities
Activities often require a different calendar from the default Project Calendar that is assigned in the Project Information form. Primavera enables each activity to be assigned a unique calendar. An Activity Calendar may be assigned by the General tab of the Bottom Layout or by displaying the Calendar column.
Assigning a Calendar Using a Column
You may also display the Calendar column and edit the activity calendar from this column.
The process of displaying From View> Column > Customize or from Column icon. Edit Calendar value, then select activities which you want to assign calendar. Go to Edit > Fill Down to assign a new calendar to multiple selected activities (follow up below figures).
Formatting Columns
Selecting the Columns to be displayed: The columns are formatted through the Columns form which
may be opened by:
• Select View> Columns or • Click on the button, or
• Right-click to open a menu and select Columns.
The Column form may be resized by dragging the edges.
The available columns are displayed in the right window and may be listed under Categories or as a single List.
To select how the column titles are displayed, click the Available Options drop down box and then select Group and Sort By to choose either List or Categories, as per the picture above.
The columns to be displayed are listed in the right Selected Options window and are copied from the Available Options to and from Selected Options using the and buttons. The
button sets the columns back to the default column display. Copying Activities in Primavera P6
Activities may be copied from another project when both projects are open at the same time or copied from within the same project using the normal Windows commands, Copy and Paste, by using the menu commands Edit, Copy and Edit, Paste or Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.
Creating Activity Codes and Values
Activity codes represent broad categories of information, such as design, quality control, or location. For each code, you can define specific values that further describe that category.
Create global activity codes
Choose Enterprise> Activity Codes. Choose Global, and then click Modify.
Click Add, and then type the name of the global activity code. Specify the maximum number of characters for the activity code’s values.
Create EPS-level activity codes
Choose EPS, and then click Modify. Click Add to select the EPS to which you want to apply the activity code.
Next, type the name of the EPS activity code. Specify the maximum number of characters for the activity code’s values.
Create project-level activity codes
Choose Project, and then click Modify. Click Add, and then type the name of the project activity
code. Specify the maximum number of characters for the activity code’s values.
Grouping and Summarizing by Codes
Use global, EPS, and project activity codes to group activities and projects in Activity Table, Gantt Chart, and Activity Network layouts. Grouping helps you to focus on specific activities. The following example shows activities grouped by the global activity codes Location and Project Manager.
Group and Sorting by activity code
In the Activities window, click the Layout Options bar, and then choose Group and Sort. Or from menu View > Group and Sort.
Under Group By, click the first available line, then select the project, EPS, or global activity code by which you want to group.
Display Options
Show Group Totals is a new function in Primavera Version 6.0 which when unchecked hides the summary data in the bands, which prevents the truncating of Band titles.
Show Grand Totals This displays a Summary band for the project and adds up all the costs and hours
for a project, displays the earliest and latest dates and a summary duration for the whole project. This feature is very useful when the project is not organized by WBS and therefore has no project total line, or when multiple projects have been opened to calculate all the projects' values.
Show Summaries Only hides all the activities and displays only the WBS or Codes that have been used
to summarize the activities:
Shrink vertical grouping bands is new to Primavera Version 6.0 and narrows the Vertical Bands on the
left of the screen. This is useful in projects with a number of Ievels in the WBS as this provides more usable screen space and paper width for printing.
The Group By box has several options:
Group By and lndent when a hierarchical code such as a WBS and the indent is selected, the
subsequent bands are completed by the software and there are no other banding options available. The WBS is then displayed hierarchically:
When a hierarchical code such as a WBS is selected and the lndent is NOT selected on a line then the subsequent bands are NOT completed by the software and other bands may be selected. The WBS is not displayed hierarchically.
The To Level option decides how many Ievels of the hierarchical code structure such as the WBS will
be displayed. All activities are displayed under the lowest Ievel of WBS, as chosen from the To Level dropdown box. This option enables other banding below the select Ievel which is not permitted with the All option.
Group Interval This option is available with some fields such as Total Float, where the interval may be
typed in, and Date fields, where a drop down box enables the selection of the time interval used to group activities:
Font and Color Double-click these boxes to open the Edit Font and Color form to change the font and
color of each band.
Group By Options
Sort Banding Alphabetically When a hierarchical code is selected; the bands are sorted by the
Code Value. lf this box is checked, the bands will be sorted alphabetically by the Code Description.
Hide if empty Check this box is used to hide bands that:
Have not been assigned an activity, or
When activities have been filtered out and only the bands remain.
This function is useful when you have filtered on a couple of activities and the screen is filled with blank bands. This will remove all the blank bands.
Show Title, Show ID I Code and Show Name I Description
These options format the display of the band title. lt is not possible to uncheck all the options as there then would not be a title in the band. The options change depending on the data displayed in the band:
Establishing Relationships
View relationships in the Gantt chart
To assign relationships in the Gantt chart, make sure relationships are displayed onscreen. Click the
Layout Options bar, and then choose Bars. Click Options in the Bars dialog box.
Click the General tab in the Bar Chart Options dialog box and mark the Show Relationships checkbox, then click OK.
The Trace Logic layout
It enables you to examine a path while still viewing the entire project. Click the Layout Options bar and choose Show on Bottom, Trace Logic.
In the Gantt Chart or Activity Network upper layout, select the activity from which you want to begin tracing logic.
To move through the chain of activities, click a predecessor or successor of the selected activity. To modify the number of predecessor/successor levels, click the Layout Options bar and choose Track
Logic Options.
Create relationships in the Gantt Chart or Activity Network
Click on Activity Network button . Then Drag the mouse between any two activities that you want to connect. Point to the left or right of the predecessor activity and drag the mouse to the left or right of the successor activity. The mouse pointer changes to a as you define relationships.
To modify or delete a relationship, double-click the relationship line.
Assign relationships using Activity Details
In the Activities window, select the activity to which you want to add a predecessor or successor relationship.
Display Activity Details by clicking the Layout Options bar and choosing Show on Bottom, Activity
Details, then click the Relationships tab. Click Assign in either the Predecessors or Successors section.
Select the predecessor or successor activity you want to assign, click the Assign button, then click the
Close button. click the Relationship Type field, and then select a relationship type.
Double-click the Lag field, and then type the relationship’s lag time value.
You can also use the Predecessors or Successors tabs in Activity Details to assign relationships. The
Relationships tab combines the predecessor and successor information in a single tab. The data
stored in the Relationships tab is synchronized with the information in the Predecessors and Successors tabs.
Lesson 7: Format Time scale
Moving and Rescaling the Time scale
To display hidden parts of the schedule the timescale may be grabbed and moved by placing the cursor in the top half of the Timescale, the cursor will turn into (Hand shape) a right-click and drag left or right.
The timescale may be rescaled, therefore increasing or decreasing the length of the bars and displaying more or less of the schedule by placing the cursor in the bottom half of the Timescale, the cursor will turn into (Lens Shape) right-click, and drag left to make the bars shorter and right to make the bars longer.
When there are no bars in view when you are viewing a time ahead or behind the activity dates you may double-click in the Gantt Chart area to bring them back into view.
Format Time scale Command
The Time scale form provides a number of options for the display of the timescale, which is located above the Bar Chart. To open the Time scale form:
• Click on the button, or • Select View > Timescale or
The options available in the Time scale form are: Time scale Format
Two Lines
Three lines
Font and Color
The button opens the Edit Font and Color form which enables the time scale and column headers font and color to be changed.
By clicking on the button all changes will be reversed.
Date Interval sets the timescale and has the options in the picture to the right:
The Week/Day 1 displays the Days like this:
The Week/Day 2 displays the Days like this:
Shift Calendar breaks the day into time intervals to suit the shift intervals when the Day/Shift
Date Format
Calendar displays a normal calendar.
Fiscal Year displays the fiscal year in the year line. The Fiscal Year Start Month is set in the
Settings tab of the Project Details form in the Projects Window.
Week of the Year displays the week of the year starting from "1" for the first week in January
and is often termed Manufacturing Week.
Ordinal Dates displays the timescale to be counted by the unit selected in the Date lnterval.
This is useful for displaying a schedule when the start of the project is unknown. Ordinal dates display the time scale by counting in the selected units starting from a user definable start date.
Lesson 8: Formatting the Bars
The bars in the Gantt Chart may be formatted to suit your requirements for display. Primavera does not have the option to format individual bars but is able to assign a filter to a bar style so that a style is applied to activities that meet a filter definition.
Formatting Activity Bars
To format all the bars you must open the Bar form:
Select View> Bars or,
Click on the button, or
Right-click in the bars area and select Bars from the menu.
The following notes are the main points for using this function. Detailed information is available in the help facility by searching for "Bar styles dialog box."
Each bar listed in the table may be displayed on the bar chart by checking the box in the Display column.
New bars may be added by clicking on the button and deleted by clicking on the button.
The and buttons are used to move the bars up or down the Iist and therefore determine which bar is drawn on top of the next.
Formatting Bars issues
There are a number of issues with the Primavera standard bar formatting that need to be understood so the user may display the activity bars logically:
lt is recommended that you use the Primavera default bar display options displaying the Actual Work (this bar is displayed from the Start date to the Data Date), Remaining Work and Critical Remaining Work bars (these bars are displayed from the Data Date to the Finish date with the appropriate filter) because the Early bar will not display actual progress as in other software packages.
When a Baseline Bar is displayed then the Planned Dates are displayed as the Baseline Bar so ensure you have a Baseline set before displaying a Baseline Bar.
The relationships are displayed on the Baseline Bar when the Baseline Bar is listed in the Bars form above other bars. To prevent this the Baseline Bars should be moved below all other bars in the Baseline form.
Displaying a Baseline Bar does not display the Baseline Milestones and the Baseline Milestones have to be displayed separately.
The Total Float Bar is called the Float Bar in the Bars form.
The default total Float Bar displays a float bar on completed activities, but the Total Float field will not display a value. To prevent this happening you should edit the total Float Bar Filter in the
Bars form so it is only displayed for and Not Started and ln Progress activities.
Bar Style Tab
The appearance of each bar is edited in the lower half of the form. The bar's start, middle, and end points may have their color, shape, pattern, etc., formatted.
The bars may be placed on one of three rows numbered from 1 to 3, from top to bottom one bar above the other. lf multiple bars are placed on the same row, the bar at the top of the Iist will be drawn first and the ones lower down the Iist will be drawn over the top.
Bar Settings Tab > Grouping Band Settings
This sets the style for summary bars only, which may be displayed when the WBS Node is summarized and not summarized.
This would not normally be used when a Summary Bar has been defined as the result two summary bars.
Show bar when collapsed option displays the detailed bars on a single line when the BS Node has been summarized; see the two pictures following:
Before summarizing:
After summarizing:
When formatting the Bar Style for Milestones it is important to take note of the checked boxes and Filter format. lf the box Show bar for grouping bands is checked, Milestones will appear at the ends of Summary Bars and not in line with the actual activities they belong too. The filter in this case will read Summary and not Milestone.
Bar Necking displays a thinner bar during times of inactivity such as weekends and holidays and
applies only to Current Bar setting column in the Bars form.
Calendar non-work time necks the bar based on the activity's calendar.
Activity non-work intervals necks the bar when Out of Sequence Progress options of Actual
Dates or Retained Logic causes a break in the work. See the Advanced Scheduling Options paragraph.
There is no Resource Bar available and Primavera will not neck on the resource calendar so when an activity is Resource Dependent and the resource is on a different calendar to the activity then the bar may neck when the resource is working or not necked when the resource is not working.
Bar Labels Tab
This tab enables the placement of text with a bar, above, below, to the left and to the right. The following pictures show how the start and finish dates are formatted and displayed on the bar chart:
Select the Position and Label from the drop down boxes in the Bar Labels tab.
Bar Chart Options Form
The Bar Chart Options form is displayed by clicking on the button from the Bars form or by selecting View > Bar Chart Options:
The General tab has a variety of options for formatting the bar chart which are mainly
self-explanatory.
Show Relationships shows the relationships between activities.
Show Legend Displays a legend on the bar chart in the Activities view, see the following
picture:
The default size of the box displaying a Notebook topic may be set in the Bar Chart Options form,
General tab, which is displayed by clicking on the button from the Bars form.
The Collapsed Bar tab is to format the bars when a WBS band has been collapsed and displays a
summarized bar.
The Data Date tab is for formatting the Data Date, its style, color and size. Progress Line Display on the Gantt Chart
A progress line displays how far ahead or behind activities are in relation to the Baseline. Either the Project Baseline or the Primary User Baseline may be used and there are four options:
Difference between the Baseline Start Date and Activity Start Date,
Difference between the Baseline Finish Date and Activity Finish Date,
Connecting the progress points based on the Activity% Complete,
Connecting the progress points based on the Activity Remaining Duration. Selecting View > Progress Line to hide or display the Progress Line.
Note: lf you use either of the options of Percent Complete or Remaining Duration then you must
display the appropriate Baseline Bar that has been selected as the Baseline to use for calculating Progress Line.
Lesson 9: Filters
Understanding Filters
Primavera has an ability to display activities that meet specific criteria. You may want to see only the incomplete Activities, or the work scheduled for the next couple of months or weeks, or the Activities that are in-progress.
Primavera defaults to displaying all activities. There are a number of pre-defined filters available that you may use or edit. You may also create one or more of your own.
A filter may be applied to display or to highlight only those activities that meet a criteria. There are four types of filters:
Default filters which are supplied with the system and may not be edited or deleted but may be
copied and then edited or modified and are often used in conjunction with the display of bars.
Global filters which are made available to anyone working in the database, and
User-Defined filters which are defined by a user and available only to that user unless it is made
into a Global filter.
Layout filters which make the filter only available when the current Iayout is applied.
Applying a Filter
To apply, edit, create or delete a filter open the Filter form by the following:
Click on the button, or
Select View > Filters or
Applying a Single Filter
A single filter is applied by:
Checking the Select check box beside one filter, and
Clicking on the button to apply the filter and not close the form. lf the result is
Undesirable another option may be selected, or
Clicking to apply the filter and close the form.
When applying the selected filter(s):
Only activities that comply to the filter criteria will be displayed when the Replace activities
shown in the current Iayout button is checked.
These activities will be highlighted in the Select Activity color when the Highlight activities in
current Iayout which match criteria button is checked.
Applying a Combination Filter
A combination filter has two or more filters selected and has two options under Show activities that match:
All selected filters where an activity to be displayed or highlighted has to match the criteria of ALL the filters, or
Any selected filters where an activity to be displayed or highlighted has to match the criteria of ONLY ONE filter.
Creating a New Filter
Filters may be created from the Filters form by:
• Clicking on the button to open the Filter form and creating a new filter, or
• Copy an existing filter using the and buttons and then editing the new
filter.
Modifying a Filter
There are a large number of options available to create a filter and from the following examples you should be able to experiment and add your own filters.
To modify an existing filter, select it from the Filters form and click the button. One Parameter Filter
The following example is a filter to display incomplete activities:
Parameter is used to select any of the available database fields, Select one of the options from the ls drop down box.
The parameter selected in the ls box determines if it is required to use only the Value or Value and High Value.
Value and High Value are used with only the is within range of and is not within range of
options.
The following example is a filter to display in-progress activities using the is within range of and Value and High Value options:
Two Parameter Filter
The following example is a filter to display incomplete activities on the critical path:
The drop down box under Parameter has two options:
(All of the following). This is used when an activity must meet all of the parameters selected below.
(Any of the following). This is used when an activity must meet any of the parameters selected below.
ln the case of a filter that is to display the lncomplete Critical Activities it must be set to All and not Any, otherwise all of the lncomplete and all of the Critical activities will be displayed.
The Value options on the second line are now Yes or No. The options for Value change with the data selected in the Parameter box.
Multiple Parameter Filter
The following example is a filter to display incomplete activities on the critical path with resources PEH and SEH:
Level 2: Scheduling and Updates (Without Resources)
Lesson 1: Develop Project Schedule
Critical Path Method (CPM)
It is the sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible project duration. Use the critical path method to avoid big problems.
A delay in any one of the critical path activities will cause the entire project to be delayed. For example:
The Float (Slack) for any activity is the amount of time that it can slip before it causes your project to
be delayed. The goal is to find the float for any activity. Which is float tells you how much extra time you have.
For Example:
The float for any activity on the critical path is ZERO!
Activity Early Start and Early Finish Dates
When you find the Early start and Early finish for each task, you know exactly how much freedom you have to move the start dates for those activities around without causing problems.
Early Start is the earliest time that an activity can start. Early Finish is the earliest time that an activity can finish.
Critical Path = Start – C – E – End = 19 Days Float path (Start – A – D – End) = 19 – 17 = 2 Days
Activity Late Start and Late Finish Dates
Figuring out the late start and late finish will help you see how much “play” you have in your schedule. An activity with a large late start or late finish means you have more options.
Late Start is the latest time that an activity can start. Late Finish is the latest time that an activity can finish. Forward Pass and Backward Pass
To help understand the calculation of late and early dates, float and critical path, we will now manually work through an example. The boxes below represent activities.
The forward pass calculates the early dates: EF = ES + DUR- 1
Start the calculation from the first activity and work forward in time.
The backward pass calculates the late dates: LS = LF- DUR + 1
