The Essential Guide to Printing Layouts in Primavera P6 NOVEMBER 19, 2012 BY MARY WILLIAMS 11 COMMENTS Primavera P6 provides the ability to display project schedule information using “Layouts”. Layouts are customizable views of project information and are the primary method for printing Gantt Charts, Profiles, Spreadsheets, and Trace Logic views. Schedules are tough to read and all members of the project team can benefit from an easier way to interpret their schedules. Did you
Transcript
The Essential Guide to Printing Layouts in Primavera P6NOVEMBER 19, 2012 BY MARY WILLIAMS 11 COMMENTS
Primavera P6 provides the ability to display project schedule information using
“Layouts”. Layouts are customizable views of project information and are the
primary method for printing Gantt Charts, Profiles, Spreadsheets, and Trace
Logic views. Schedules are tough to read and all members of the project team
can benefit from an easier way to interpret their schedules. Did you know that
you can customize the display of schedule information by using the Layout
Step 14: The preview displayed below depicts printing the Gantt chart, only
without the Activity Table.
Step 15: The preview below selects to print the Activity Table, displays all
columns on the Activity Table, as well as the Gantt chart.
Step 16: The preview below displays only those Activity Table columns visible
on the layout versus all columns.
Step 17: This preview displays only the Activity Table (ie. No Gantt chart).
Step 18: View the finished product. Use arrows on the toolbar to navigate
through the preview. Use the print setup & print icons to establish printer
options. You can also publish the layout to an HTML file (red arrow identifies
the print preview dialog box options).
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 1 – CREATING A CUSTOM UNIT OF MEASURE
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: February 15, 2012
Prescience Technology’s Primavera Support engineers are adept at getting the most out of Primavera. Each month, they share some tips with our PrescienceAdvantageTM Support clients to help them make the most of their Primavera installation. Starting this month, we will now share an excerpt from the Primavera Support newsletter.
Tip 1: Creating a Custom Unit of MeasureWhile Primavera has a number of pre-defined fields, it’s inevitable that it won’t cater for every single scenario. User-Defined Fields (UDF’s) enable you to add an unlimited number of custom fields and values to the project database. Resource UDFs enable you to create a custom unit of measure, so you can track critical items.
For example, when building a construction schedule, you may need to track how many bolts per hour your trades people can fit. By following the steps below, you can create a custom unit of measure – Bolts per hour.1. Log on to P6 Web2. Click the Administer menu 3. Select Enterprise Data
4. In the Resources (Units of Measure) tab, click Add (the plus symbol, or Insert)
5. In the Unit Abbreviation column, type in the new unit of measure as an abbreviation – for example,BPH
6. In the Unit Name column, type the full name of the new unit of measure – for example Bolts PerHour
7. Click Save (the disk symbol or Ctrl+S.)PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 2 – HOTKEYS: THREE WAYS TO GET MORE TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULING DAY
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: March 9, 2012
Time is always of the essence when it comes to planning and scheduling, but there is a simple way that you can reduce the time spent on schedules and performing common tasks in Primavera P6.
Primavera P6 HotKeys
It’s not rocket science but familiarising yourself with the HotKeys available in both the Client and Web versions of Primavera P6 will make your life easier.
HotKeys are shortcuts using a combination of various keystrokes to perform particular common actions. Three HotKeys that we find particularly useful are:
1. Ctrl+Alt+ Direction Arrows – Traditionally, you would use the Move Arrows function available on the Edit Menu for manipulating the hierarchy when creating and maintaining WBS elements, i.e. in P6 Web when creating sibling or child WBS elements. However, sometimes that option may be missing from the Activitiestoolbar.
2. F9 – How many times each day do you follow the menu to the Schedule function? Using the F9 key will save you time!
3. Ctrl + F – There can be hundreds, if not thousands, of activities within a project, andfinding the right one, scrolling through line by line, can take a long time. But using the Find function means you can enter exactly what you are looking for and be there quickly.
If you have any issues using these Hot Keys or have another issue that you’re having trouble with, don’t hesitate to contact the PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support Team.PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 3 – HINT HELP IS HANDY
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: April 10, 2012
1
An oft-overlooked tool in Primavera P6 Professional and Optional Client is the Hint Help functionality. Unlike some other built-in help systems, this one is simple and quick to use.
Hint Help saves you time because you get all the information you need almost at a glance, without having to keyword search though a huge help system or user guide. Short descriptions are provided for most data column values. The hint explains how the values are calculated or what they represent.
You can turn Hint Help on or off at any time. Once you turn it on, any available hints appear each time you hover over, or select, a field.
We hope you find this feature as helpful as we do. Once again, if you have any problems using Hint Help or have another issue that you’re having trouble with, don’t hesitate to contact the PrescienceAdvantage™ Primavera Support Team.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support A PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 4 – ENSURING ACTUALS ARE REPORTED AGAINST THE RIGHT PERIOD
Have you ever wondered why, no matter what data you enter, your reports just don’t seem right? It may be because in P6, by default, actuals are distributed evenly across the time periods. This means that the reports don’t reflect what has actually happened in a business in a specific time period.As an example, imagine you’re setting up a schedule for a mine, with an activity start date of 1st April, to track the actual amount of coal being produced each month. Let’s say the amount of coal being produced is 30,000 tonnes during April and 40,000 tonnes during May.When reporting, P6 will distribute the total amount of production (70,000 tonnes) evenly across the two months, allocating 35,000 tonnes each to April and May. This means that reports don’t reflect the real result.There is an easy way to ensure actual data is reflected against the right period. You simply need to do what is calledStore Period Performance, so that a report can show both actuals and forecast values.To find out more about how to do this, contact the Prescience Primavera Support team.PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support A PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 5 – MAKE SURE YOU SUMMARIZE REGULARLY
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: June 10, 2012
1
In Primavera P6 Professional, the Summarize function updates a set of Summary Tables in the Primavera P6 database.These Summary Tables provide huge performance benefits for the system because they allow the user to see a list of projects, and some high-level details about them, without loading vast amounts of unnecessary activity and resource detail into the client’s memory. Instead, P6 simply loads a small subset of the project’s high-level data.But there are other benefits. Summarizing will also ensure that the project table is showing the correct values whether or not the project is open. It also has another unexpected benefit: your reports will be correct.
If you don’t summarize after you have made any kind of change, and someone runs a report on your project using the Projects subject area, that report will not reflect your changes. Reports based upon the Projects subject area will only show the correct data if you’ve either summarized it, or the person running the report opens your project. If they don’t, it will be out of date.To find out more about the Summarize function, contact the Prescience Primavera Support team.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 6 – USE THE RIGHT DATE FIELD
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: July 11, 2012
1
With dozens of date field options in both Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM (Web Client) and Primavera P6 Professional, it can be tricky figuring out exactly which one to use at any given time.
Date Fields
Two date fields that often get confused are Planned Start / Finish and Early Start / Finish. For any Activity that has not yet begun, Planned Start represents the date the activity is scheduled to begin. These dates are automatically set equal to the Early Start date by the program (P6) and cannot be updated manually.Once an Actual Start is applied, P6 leaves the Planned Dates unchanged while the Early Dates are recalculated and move as the scheduling Data date changes. Once an Actual Start is applied, the Planned Dates will, usually, no longer equal the Early Dates.To ensure all of the dates align, under the Calculations Tab within the project level, ensure that the setting Link Planned and At Completion for Not-Started Activities, is selected. Otherwise, you might find that the Original Duration could be different from the At Complete Duration for any Activities that have
not yet started, resulting in major differences between Planned Dates and Early Dates.Another Date Field combination which can be confusing is Anticipated Start / Finish Date. These dates are used during the project planning stage, and can be set at the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS), Project, or WBS level. These dates are displayed at EPS level bars and columns when there are no activities. These dates remain as historical records when activities are added.Hopefully this quick overview of some of the most common Date Fields will help to keep your schedule on track. If are uncertain about any other date fields, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 7 – DATA TRANSFER USING EXCEL
Author: Prescience Technology Publish Date: August 14, 2012
Importing to and exporting from Primavera P6 projects using Excel spreadsheets is a necessarily complex process but it can save you time if you are working with hundreds of activities. It’s particularly helpful, but not limited to, tasks like assigning new (or modifying existing) activity names, assigning or modifying activity resources, importing activity codes and entering actuals.
Steps for importing and exporting from ExcelBy following some simple steps, you can ensure that you minimise the amount of rework required when importing and exporting files to and from Excel.
1. Understand the way data is structured – and the levels of data that can be accessed.
2. Know what you can and can’t alter before importing back into P6.3. Get the formatting right – especially for date fields.4. Take time to prepare the data, including the templates.5. Make a copy of your project before importing into the existing one – just in case
6. Activity codes and resource codes should have been assigned (they must exist) in the project dictionary before attempting to import.
7. Activity ID’s should not be changed otherwise they can’t be imported.8. Do not delete or modify the USRDATA worksheet in any way. This contains
some data that is required for importing Excel filesBy following these simple tips, you will ensure a smooth data transfer.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. To find out more about setting up a customised Support Agreement for your site, simply email [email protected] or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 8 – DATA TRANSFER USING XER
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: September 5, 2012
Following on from last month’s post, in this extract from the monthly newsletter we provide to our Support clients, we share some tips on the capabilities and restrictions of what data can be imported and exported from Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM using the XER file format.
Using the XER file format
XER supports all project, resource and role information developed using Primavera P6. It is especially important if you want to make backup copies of a project, or for saving projects and transferring them to another machine that is not connected to your server i.e. a remote laptop.
This format also enables you to export data between different versions of Primavera P6 Professional – from release 5.0 all the way up to the current release 8.2. This is a useful format because the Primavera P6 export feature allows you to export a project to any previous version of P6, you can then send your project to a contractor or user who may have an earlier version of P6.
A few things to keep in mind when you are using the XER format to transfer data:
1. When you import a project that contains relationships to external projects that do not exist in your database, the module will preserve the external activity
dates when you schedule the project if you select the “Ignore Relationships To and From Other Projects” option in the “Schedule Options” dialogue box.
2. When you import an XER project file that contains financial periods, the financial periods in the XER file must exactly match the financial periods in the Financial Periods dictionary. If they do not match, no past period actual data will be imported.
3. No risk data is imported / exported when using XER format.4. The XER format supports all project data, while the XML (Excel) format does
not. Ideally, you should not use the Export wizard to back up your entire database.
By following these simple tips, you will ensure a smooth data transfer any time you use XER.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 9 – EXPORTING LAYOUTS AND FILTERS
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: October 11, 2012
5
In this Tip we share an extract from our update to our Primavera Support clients about how to export and import Layouts and Filters in Primavera P6. This is especially helpful if you want to share Layouts with other users or for example provide your manager with a Layout to refer to your own personal project view.L A Y O U T S A N D F I L T E R S
By default, Layouts and Filters do not export with the XER format. However, they can be manually exported by doing the following:
To export Layouts:
Go to View, Layout, Open, Select the Layout then select ‘Export’.
This will create a .plf file (Primavera Layout File) which can be sent along with the XER file.
Note: More than one Layout can be exported at once. Each one saves individually using the Layout name with a .plf extension.
Filters can be manually exported with the Layouts by copying them to the Layout via the P6 feature ‘Copy As Layout’.
Go to View, Layouts, Open the required Layout. Go to View, Filter By, Customise. Within Filter options create or select required filter and then select ‘Copy as Layout’.
The filter dialogue box will then show that the highlighted filter is now a Layout specific filter, so when the Layout is exported the filter(s) will also be exported.
Export using the Primavera PM XML export format instead of the XER file format. Check the box that says ‘Export all project level Layouts’. The project will have a .zip extension and will contain the Project XML and the
Layouts.
To import Layouts:
Choose View, Layouts, Open. Select Import. Browse to the location of the Primavera Layout File (.plf). Decide whether the Layout should be user specific or global. If yes is selected, it will
be available to all users; if no, it will only be available to the user who imported it.By following these simple tips, you can ensure that you can share your schedules with others, so they can see the same information as you.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 10 – BASELINING IN PRIMAVERA P6
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: November 28, 2012
2
When creating a project schedule, prior to applying any progress to that schedule, it’s necessary to first create a Baseline. This extract from the Primavera Tip we shared with our Support Clients explains why we need a Baseline, and shares a couple of common traps you can fall into when baselining projects.
WHY BASELINE?
Baselines are basically ‘snapshots’ of a project plan against which the project’s schedule (original dates, durations), costs and performance can be
measured. It helps to establish the basis against which you are going to deliver your project and measure its success.
P6 allows you to create many baselines for comparison to the current schedule and gives each user the ability to assign up to three baselines to the current schedule for data comparisons. But it’s important to use this capability with restraint.
What happens if you get it wrong?
If you create an excessive number of baselines, rather than using Reflection Projects to test ‘what-if’ scenarios, you may end up using a great deal of system memory which can cause performance issues.
Another common trap is the Baseline Actual Start date not being reflected on the Baseline Start date in the current project. This is because the Earned Value Calculation (Admin Preferences, Earned Value tab) is set to Budgeted Values. This causes the baseline date to always show the baseline planned values. Instead, if At Completion Values is selected, the baseline dates will use the Baseline Start and Finish dates which then reflect an Actual Start from the baseline.
Users can also find that baseline dates do not match Current Schedule dates for a newly created Baseline. If the Baseline was not Scheduled prior to being stored, it is possible that it will show Dates that do not follow the Relationship logic in that Schedule. So you must Schedule that Baseline Project to ensure that logically correct dates are in the Baseline Project.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 11 – SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE PORTLET
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: February 11, 2013
This extract from the Primavera P6 Tip we shared with our Support Clients explains how to use Dashboards to ensure all the relevant information regarding the status of a project is in one centralised location.
A common pitfall in project management is misinterpreting project information or, in some cases, even just finding information scattered throughout the different parts of the program, within different fields and layouts. Users often also need different information, depending on their role.
Thankfully, the developers of P6 EPPM R8.2 recognised these issues and developed a series of portlets (sections of project information that you can view in a Dashboard). This ensures all the relevant information regarding the status of a project is in one centralised location.
Dashboard views can be customised to each P6 user and can be configured to show only the information critical to the role. There are many different types of views – or portlets – available in the dashboard view of Primavera P6 R8.2. These include:
Schedule performance; Gantt chart; Resource allocation; and Portfolio analysis.
Schedule Performance Portlet
The Schedule Performance portlet calculates and displays data in cost or labour units. It is used to view both current and forecast schedule summary performance information, in either cost or labour units.
Interpreting the informationThe portlet uses a number of key symbols to quickly highlight the data on which you should focus. These visual indicators are based on performance thresholds you define:
Critical: Indicates that a WBS, project, or portfolio requires significant corrective action.
Warning: Indicates that a WBS, project, or portfolio needs attention and is performing below expectations.
Acceptable: Indicates that a WBS, project, or portfolio is performing within an expected range.
Exceptional: Indicates that a WBS, project, or portfolio is exceeding expectations.
Tips to optimise your Dashboard
The Schedule Performance portlet calculates and displays data in cost or labour units based on the option selected on the Global tab in My Preferences.
You can click a project name in the portlet to display the Performance Status page; the page displayed depends on your module access.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 12 – RESOURCE PORTLET
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: April 9, 2013
This extract from the Primavera Tip we shared with our Support Clients explains how to use Resource Portlet Dashboards to determine which resources are over or under allocated and ensure resources are being used effectively.
Dashboards – Resource PortletsThe Resource Allocation portlet in Primavera P6 is another feature that can ensure the overall success of a project. Often companies want to minimize costs by using the least amount of resources required to complete a project. This can cost in the long run because projects cannot be completed on time due to the fact that the resources are over or under worked. Project managers can view the resource portlets and determine which resources are over/under allocated, and level the resources out to make sure that all resources are used in the most efficient and optimum way.
Resource Team Summary Portlet
The Resource Team Summary portlet allows you to view resources, their primary role, and the number of active projects for a team you select. The portlet lists those members of the resource team that you have access to, based on resource security. If you choose to view a resource team that is available only to you, all resources that you have added to the team are listed.
Tips Resource usage data is based on summary data, so it reflects values as of the last
date the summarizer was run for a project. To control the number of items that display in the portlet, click Customize at the top
of the page. Then, specify a number for ‘Maximum number of rows displayed in dashboard portlets’. When the number of items exceeds the maximum, Next and Previous links display.
Clicking on a selected resource takes you to a spreadsheet or histogram view of that resource’s allocation details.
Resource Analysis Chart Portlet
The Resource Analysis Chart allows you to view a variety of chart formats plotting the total (remaining plus actuals) units or costs for a resource, resource team, or resource code you select.
The histograms display resource data summarized by calendar in weekly increments.
Tips The Resource Analysis Chart uses summary data, so it reflects values as of the last
date the summarizer was run for the source projects. In the histogram or area chart, move the mouse over the corresponding area or bar
to display numeric allocation totals for a project or project code. An option setting for each project determines whether this view displays summary
data based on resource assignments at the activity or project/WBS level.PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE T M PR IMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 13 – PRIMAVERA P6 R8.3 IS HERE
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: May 3, 2013
2
We’ve been road-testing the new release of Primavera P6 R8.3 and are very excited about the new features and enhancements to both Primavera P6 EPPM (web client) and Primavera P6 Professional. In this extract from our Primavera Support Clients’ Tips and Tricks newsletter we discuss some of the key features.
Setting a Default Start Page
A great starting point (no pun intended) of Primavera P6 R8.3 provides a setting to specify the default start page when a user logs in, simplifying the user experience and saving time by taking users to the exact page they most
frequently use. This is set via the Content tab of the Details page for a User Interface View or the View tab in My Preferences.
XML Import/Export Enhancements
A user can now exchange XML project files with previous versions of Primavera P6 from R6.2 SP4 onward. Also, all features supported by the P6 Professional XER format – constraining of external relationships during import, inclusion of Price/Unit in resource assignments and importing of Past Period Actuals – are supported in XML format as well.
P6 R8.3 also enables a user to import or export multiple projects simultaneously. When exporting multiple projects, the projects are combined into a single XML file. Thus importing multiple projects requires the projects to be contained in a single XML file.
Granular Control over Data during XML Import
Continuing the Import theme, a new screen in Primavera P6 R8.3’s XML project import process enables a user to view data in the incoming file and adjust it as necessary before importing it into the database. This feature is especially useful to project managers who import third-party schedules that contain unwanted data such as resources, codes, and UDFs. In previous versions of P6, users had to manually scan and then modify the data before importing.
Renaming Columns
My personal favourite is that you can now rename columns in the Web Interface. This feature ensures the application terminology aligns with the organization and enables users to work with column names that are
familiar. Right-click a column header and select Rename Column to launch the Rename Column dialog box. The dialog box displays the column’s default name and provides a New-name field in which you can edit the default name or type in a different name.
New Relationships Detail Window on Activities Page
The last feature we will cover is one that I think most P6 users will quickly appreciate. Primavera P6 R8.3 (Web Client) offers a new Relationships detail window on the Activities page that enables a user to create and manage predecessor and successor relationships within the same window. The window provides the same capabilities as the separate Predecessors and Successors detail windows, and is also still available within the Primavera P6 R8.3 Professional Client.
PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera SupportA PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 14 – PRIMAVERA P6 R8.3 FEATURES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED!
Many of you may have had the fortune of road testing the new Primavera P6 R8.3 update. In this extract from our Primavera Support Clients’ Tips and Tricks newsletter we continue our overview of some further features and welcome enhancements.
Viewing the Hierarchy for Activity, Project, and Resource Codes in Primavera P6 R8.3
To help solve the problem of duplicate codes, P6 R8.3 displays the full hierarchical chain for assigned project, activity, and resource codes in the Codes detail window. Previous releases of P6 displayed only the lowest hierarchical level.
Displaying the full chain in the detail window can provide useful information without requiring a user to navigate to a codes dictionary to view the hierarchy. In addition, a new column in the Codes detail window on the Activities page indicates whether an assigned activity code is an EPS, global, or project-level code.
To access this feature, click the Codes detail window on the EPS or Activities page in the Projects section, or on the Resources tab on the Administration page in the Resources section.
Find and Replace Option
P6 R8.3 enables a user to find and replace text in displayed columns on the EPS, Activities, and Resources Assignments pages, making it easier to change items in the project plan. A Find option was previously available; the Replace option is new. The new option is available via the Edit menu, the Edit toolbar, or the right-click menu.To access this feature click Replace on the Edit or right-click menu or click the icon on the Edit toolbar.
Copy Activity Options
P6 now enables a user to select the data to include when copying and pasting activities on the Activities page. This feature can save significant time and effort by reducing the time to manually add or remove data when
editing or building project schedules. The feature applies to single or multiple activities within a single project or across multiple projects.
On the Activities page, users can copy/paste one or more activities. The Copy Activity Options dialog box displays when you paste the activities. Clear the check boxes for data you do not want to include, and then click OK.
To access this feature, on the Activities page, the Copy Activity Options dialog box displays as part of the copy/paste operation.
Improved Printing from the EPS and Activities PagesMy personal favourite new feature in release 8.3 is the ability for a user to print from the EPS or Activities page and include only the Project or Activity Table with no Gantt chart, offering the flexibility to create a more tabular report.
Previous versions of P6 printed both the table and the Gantt chart (even when the Gantt chart was not displayed on the screen). The same was true for Print Preview (the preview included the Gantt chart whether or not it was displayed on screen). In P6 R8.3 both Print Preview and Print include only what is displayed on the screen.
You can also specify a date range when printing (or previewing) the Gantt chart.
On the Activities page, choose dates or use rolling options to define a date range, eliminating the need to repeatedly open the view to set the time frame.
To access this feature, on the EPS or Activities page in the Projects section, click Page Setup on the Actions menu (or click the Page Setup icon from within Print Preview), and then use the Print Range options on the Sheet tab.PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE T M PR IMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantageTM Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera
assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 15 – USING PRIMAVERA P6 CALENDARS EFFECTIVELY
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: July 31, 2013
3
It surprises me that many people don’t really know how to use a calendar effectively within Primavera P6. When you think about it, no one really teaches you how to use them properly and as a result they’re most likely not being used efficiently. In this extract from our Primavera Support clients’ newsletter we give you an overview of calendars within P6 and provide a few answers on some common questions.
Primavera P6 Calendars
Calendars enable you to define available workdays and work-hours in a day. You can also specify public holidays, recognised holidays, company’s RDOs and project-specific work/non-workdays. You can establish an unlimited number of calendars to accommodate different work patterns.
You can also assign calendars to each resource and activity to determine time constraints in a uniform way. For example, based on its calendar, a resource might not be available; or, if the resource is available, the activity might not fit the calendar requirements. P6 uses your calendar assignments for levelling resources, scheduling, and tracking activities.
The Primavera P6 application supports three types of calendars:
Global Calendar: If a calendar is defined under this category, that calendar can be assigned to any project, activity and resource in the database.Project Calendar: This category of calendars can be assigned to a specific project (and/or its activities). If a calendar is defined under this category then that calendar can be assigned to that specific project (and/or its activities) only. These calendars cannot be assigned to any resource. If we link the project calendar to the global calendar then any change made in the global calendar will be reflected in the project calendar but not vice versa.
Resource Calendar: This category of calendars can be assigned to a specific resource. These types of calendars are used in a special case where the availability of the resources (Material/Machinery/Labour etc.) is critical. These calendars cannot be assigned to a project or its activities. If a resource calendar in P6 is linked with a global calendar then any change made in global calendar will be reflected in the corresponding resource calendar but not vice versa.Changing the P6 Calendar TypeYou can change the type of calendar you created from a resource calendar to a global calendar, a personal calendar to a shared calendar, or a shared calendar to a personal calendar.
1. Within P6 Web, click the Administer menu and select Enterprise Data.2. In the Enterprise Data pane, expand Resources and click Resource Calendars.3. On the Resource Calendars page, click on a personal or shared calendar.
To change a calendar from a resource calendar to a global calendar, on the Resource Calendars toolbar, click Promote to Global Calendar.
To change a personal calendar to a shared calendar, or to change a shared calendar to a personal calendar, on the Resource Calendars toolbar, click Convert to Personal Calendar or Convert to Shared Calendar.
Applying a calendar as the default project calendarA new specific calendar has been created for an existing project. How do you apply this calendar as the default project calendar for this project only?
Within P6 Professional, open the project, but remain in the Projects screen. Click on the Defaults tab and change the default calendar as appropriate. This will set the default activity for new activities, but will not change the calendar for existing activities.
Copying and pasting calendarsIt is not possible to directly copy and paste Calendars in P6, however there is an option to base the calendar on an existing calendar.
When creating a calendar in the P6 client, you can base the calendar on either a resource calendar or a global calendar.
When creating a calendar in P6 web, you can base the calendar on either a resource calendar, global calendar, or project calendar (if both projects are open).Changing the calendar for multiple activities1. Display a column for Calendar.2. Change the first activity’s calendar to the calendar that you require.3. Highlight all the activities making sure that the cell is on the last activity in the
Calendar ID column.4. Choose Edit, Fill Down.
PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE PRIMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantage Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 16 – WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIMAVERA P6 WEB AND P6 PROFESSIONAL?
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: September 30, 2013
1
You’ll often hear the suite of Primavera Project Management software described in a variety of ways like ‘P6 Power Client’, ‘P6 Windows Professional’, ‘P6 PPM’, ‘P6 Standalone’, ‘P6 Web’ or even ‘P6 EPPM’. In this edition we recap on the differences between P6 Professional and P6 Web.PRIMAVERA P6 WEB AND P6 PROFESSIONAL
Over the years, Primavera has been adopted as the recognised standard in numerous industries worldwide to manage complex and capital intensive projects. Oracle Primavera’s project management software has gone through many changes and revision updates. Primavera P6 was expanded from its original Windows platform to offer an additional internet based version which is now referred to as Oracle’s Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management (EPPM).
What is Primavera P6 Professional?
Oracle Primavera P6 Professional Project Management (PPM) is more commonly known as ‘P6 Windows Client’, or it can also be referred to as the ‘Windows Client’, ‘Optional Client’ or even ‘P6 Standalone’. We usually refer to it as ‘P6 Professional’.
P6 Professional was designed to be scalable to manage large-scale, sophisticated projects on an enterprise wide database. It was referred to as the ‘power client’ because it enabled ‘power users’ such as planners, schedulers and project managers to organise, manage and control projects with upwards of 100,000 activities. P6 Professional was the perfect tool for these ‘power users’ to plan, create, schedule, execute and deliver their projects on time and within budget.
One advantage of P6 Professional is that projects can be worked on in ‘exclusive mode’ or can be ‘checked-out’ so that project managers can work on a project independently on their computer. Others will still be able to look at the project in ‘read-only’ mode and won’t be able to make any changes until the project manager checks the project in to merge it back into the database. For example, a project manager can ‘check-out’ a project, go on site in the field where they won’t have access to the company’s network/database, then make updates to the schedule. When the project manager is re-connected to the company’s network/database, they can merge the updated project back into the database.
The P6 Professional client can be purchased separately under the product name ‘Primavera P6 Professional Project Management’.
Or it comes bundled with the Primavera P6 EPPM licence (which includes both P6 Windows and P6 Web as we’ll address shortly).
Features of P6 Professional:
Support of work breakdown structures (WBS), user-defined f ields and codes, cr it ical-path-method (CPM) scheduling, and resource level l ing.
Multiple users can access the same projects concurrently. Issue tracking. Management by threshold. A tracking feature that enables you to perform dynamic cross-project rollups of cost,
schedule, and earned value. Work products and documents that can be assigned to activities and managed
centrally. Time-scaled Logic Diagrams (in particular ‘P6 Visualizer’). Resource and role administration. A report wizard that creates customised reports to extract any data from the P6
EPPM database. Tiled and tabbed window layouts for easy navigation. Configurable menus and toolbars.
Enhanced page breaks on grouping bands. Email reports as attachments. Streamlined installation process.
What is Primavera P6 Web?
Primavera P6 Web is Oracle Primavera’s project management tool with a web browser interface. All you need is internet access and a web browser to plan, schedule and manage projects. This allows project teams to have ‘anytime, anywhere access’ to project information through the flexible web based user interface.P6 Web features not only the planning and scheduling project management aspects that people are familiar with from the P6 Professional Client, it also has highly customisable graphical interface dashboards and portlets that allow users to view both individual projects and a portfolio of projects. P6 Web allows executives to analyse groups of projects (portfolios) for high level planning, such as resource capacity planning, risk, and budgetary planning.
P6 Web is part of a broader product offering from Oracle, called Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management, or EPPM for short.
Primavera P6 EPPM comes pre-bundled as a product suite that includes:
P6 Professional for EPPM. P6 Web. P6 Team Member Application. P6 Progress Reporter. P6 Integration API. P6 EPPM Web Services.
Both P6 Professional and P6 Web access the same enterprise database of projects.
Why is this significant? It means that power users or advanced planners and schedulers can still use P6 Professional for their projects. At the same time, executives, managers and project managers can conduct higher level planning, resourcing, portfolio management, administration and team collaboration all through P6 Web.
Administrative Features of P6 EPPM:
All administrative and most enterprise-level tasks for the P6 Professional Client exist in the P6 EPPM database, and are accessed through P6 Web.
Administrative features relocated from P6 Professional to P6 Web are:
Global Dictionaries, including EPS, OBS, Project Codes, Activity Step Templates, Cost
Accounts, Funding Sources, Risk User Defined Fields. Users. Security Profiles. Admin Preferences. Admin Categories. Currencies. Timesheet Dates. Financial Periods. Time Approval. Job Services – replaced with Scheduled Services. Project Risks – replaced with Risks. Methodology Manager Module – replaced with Project Templates.
PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE PRIMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantage Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 17 – THE ART OF GROUPING, SORTING AND FILTERING
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: October 31, 2013
4
The grouping, sorting and filtering areas of Primavera P6 can be challenging, but with these handy Primavera P6 tips, you will be creating some great views and producing some top reports in no time.
By default some of the criteria for the “Group By” column have a hierarchy that can be reported on, for example items such as Activity Codes and WBS. Adding a second or multiple “Group By” criteria in Group and Sort allows you to group the layout by more than one field.When those criteria are added to the “Group By” column, the “To Level” column may also need to be adjusted. The “To Level” column tells the Project Manager how far down the hierarchy to show groupings. If multiple levels are not used, set the “To Level” to “1” to free up additional “Group By” columns, therefore allowing the entry of more criteria.
Grouping and sorting in Primavera P6
Get used to also clicking the “Sort” tab. This arranges how activities are ordered in a layout by specifying sorting criteria. Sort activities chronologically, alphabetically, numerically, or hierarchically depending on the data items you select. When you use both grouping and sorting to organise your layout, the data are grouped first and then sorted.When you add a hierarchical item to the Group By list, it will display all of the available levels for that item as specified in the Admin Preferences. If you are only using four of those levels, set the “To Level” to “4”. You will then have space for another hierarchical item to be grouped beneath the first item.
If you do not wish to show hierarchy, uncheck “Indent” to allow you to group by additional hierarchical items.
Mixing “AND” and “OR” Options in Primavera P6 Filters
A filter set up in Primavera P6 temporarily limits the projects or activities that appear on screen, according to criteria you establish. Creating a filter where all the conditions are either ‘And’ or ‘Or’ for each row is pretty straightforward. However, if you want to mix them up a little it’s not as obvious in P6 Professional. This quick tip will show you how.
Example: I want to find all milestones in a project that have a date variance that is not equal to zero. In other words, I want to see any milestone that is now sitting on a date other than its baseline date.Because there are two types of milestone in P6 Professional – Start and Finish – it’s often necessary to use the ‘Or’ parameter to include them all. But if you want to include some ‘And’ conditions too, you need to do some extra thinking.
Here’s how the filter for the above scenario should look.
Mixing “and” and “or” filters in Primavera P6
The first two conditions above must both be met (the activity is not completed AND variance is not zero), and either of the second conditions can be met; in this case a start or a finish type milestone will meet the criteria.
To indent the ‘Or’ condition rows under the ‘And’ condition rows, we insert a new row below the last ‘And’ condition and assign the Any of the Following option to it. All subsequent rows will have an ‘Or’ option in the first column until we insert another All of the Following option.Once you get used to this method, you can build very powerful filters. You do need to think these through before attempting to build them. Generally try to start by building all the ‘And’ conditions first, and then put ‘Or’ options below to avoid confusion and unnecessary complexity.
PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE PRIMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantage Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 18 – EARNED VALUE FORMULAS AND CALCULATIONS
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: January 6, 2014
7
Every Scheduler aims for a project to complete within budget and schedule. Primavera P6 has the functionality to measure project performance according to cost and schedule using Earned Value measurement techniques. In this update we provide a brief overview of some of the most common Earned Value formulas and calculations used in Primavera P6.
Earned Value in P6Some benefits of calculating Earned Value in P6 are the ability to caluclate activity percent complete and view in graphical form to predict obstacles early in a project schedule; forecasting project progress more effectively; and developing an early understanding of progress according to budget and schedule to identify problems as they arise.
Actual Cost (ACWP) is the actual total cost incurred on the activity as of the project data date. ACWP is the same as the Actual Total Cost.
ACWP = Actual Labour Cost + Actual Non-Labour Cost + Actual Material Cost + Actual Expense Cost
Budget At Completion (BAC)
This is always the Total cost from the Baseline, calculated using the Baseline Budgeted Values or Baseline At Completion values depending upon the ‘Earned Value Calculation’ setting (Admin, Admin Preferences, Earned Value).
If the ‘Earned Value Calculation’ is set to ‘Budgeted Values with Planned dates’ or ‘Budgeted Values with Current Dates’:
BAC = BL Budgeted Labour Cost + BL Budgeted Non-Labour Cost + BL Budgeted Material Cost + BL Budgeted Expense Cost.If the ‘Earned Value Calculation’ is set to ‘At Completion Values with Current Dates’:
BAC = BL At Completion Labour Cost + BL At Completion Non-Labour Cost + BL At Completion Material Cost + BL At Completion Expense Cost.
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
A CPI greater than 1 means that Earned Value is greater than the actual amount spent. A CPI of less than 1 means that the Earned Value is less than the actual amount spent.
CPI = EV / Actual Cost
Cost Variance (CV)
Cost Variance is the difference between the Earned Value and the actual cost of that activity.
CV = EV – Actual Cost
Earned Value Cost (BCWP or EV)
Earned Value Cost (EV) is the portion of the budgeted total cost of the activity that is actually completed as of the project data date. Also known as the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed for the activity. The method for computing the performance percent complete depends on the Earned Value technique selected for the activity’s WBS.
EV = BAC * Performance % Complete
Estimate At Completion (EAC)
EAC is the estimated cost at completion for the activity.
EAC = Actual Cost + ETC.
Estimate to Complete (ETC)
Estimate to Complete is the estimated cost left to complete on the activity. The calculation can be customized at the WBS level (On the ‘Earned Value’ tab in the WBS view).
It can be computed as either:
ETC = Remaining Total Cost for the activity ETC = PF * (BAC – EV)
Where ‘PF’ is a multiplier to weight the ETC calculation.This can be either ‘1’, ‘1/CPI’ or ‘1/(SPI * CPI)’ or user defined amount.
Planned Value Cost (BCWS or PV)
Planned Value Cost (PV) is the portion of the budgeted total cost of the activity that is scheduled to be completed as of the project data date according to the baseline dates. Also known as the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled for the activity. The Schedule % Complete specifies how much of the activity’s original duration has been completed so far based on the baseline dates.
PV = BAC * Schedule % Complete
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
A SPI greater than 1 means that Earned Value is greater than the Planned Value. A SPI of less than 1 means that the Earned Value is less than the Planned Value.
SPI = EV / PVPRESCIENCEADVANTAGE PRIMAVERA SUPPORT
A PrescienceAdvantage Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 19 – RESOURCE CODES
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: February 3, 2014
Just like Project Codes and Activity Codes, Primavera P6 provides Resource Codes that allow you to organise, group, sort, and filter resources. Resource Codes also allow you to group and sort in the Resource Assignments and Resource Profile views to give you a better understanding of your resources’ allocation. In this update we look at these codes that often go unused in most scheduling methods.
Creating a Resource CodeWe’ll start by showing you how to create a Resource Code in P6 which we will call “Manager” and a Code Value for it called “PM”.1. Click on Administer, Enterprise Data in the menu bar, and choose Resource
Codes.2. Click on the Add Code icon.3. Type the New Resource Code name “Manager”.4. Click on the Add Code Value button, to add PM to the Manager Resource Code
and a description. You may add as many Code Values as you wish.5. Click on Save in the resource code window to save your changes.
Assign Resource Code Values
You can assign code values to resources using the Codes tab in Resource Details or by creating resource code columns in the Resources window and then assigning values in the columns.
To use the Codes tab, click the Display Options bar and choose Details (the box next to the Details command should be marked). Click the Codes tab, then Assign.
To use columns, click the Display Options bar, then choose Columns, Customize, and add one or more resource code columns.
A resource usage profile can also be grouped by Resource Codes. This allows the user to click on, for example, the manager’s name in the profile and see a rollup of all of the limits for the resource under that manager’s name. This view is useful for creating a great capacity planning report. These views can be accessed via the Resource page under Resource Usage or via the Activities page by selecting the Resource Usage Profile tab.
Group and Summarise Using Resource CodesAnother neat tip is to use Resource Codes for grouping and sorting in Resource Assignments. In a Resource Assignment layout, click the “Group and Sort By” tab. Grouping by Resource Codes enables you to quickly see the activities that are assigned to a particular area of responsibility or that are being performed by a specific group throughout your organisation. Click a group band to see a summary or rollup of a particular group.
PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE ® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 20 – RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT SETTINGS
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: March 10, 2014
4
While the majority of users leave Resource Assignments as the default setting, with a little piece of know-how you can use this area to greatly benefit your schedules. In this update we review how to set up Resource Assignments within the user preference calculations.
Resource AssignmentsAccessing the User Preferences within P6 Professional, and then selecting the Calculations tab, allows you to choose your Resource Assignment options.
Adding or removing multiple resource assignments on activities optionsYou can choose to preserve or recalculate units, duration, and units/time. There are two options:
Preserve the Units, Duration, and Units/Time for existing assignments: Select this option for units, durations, and units/time to remain constant when additional resources are assigned to any activity. Regardless of the duration type of an activity, the following equation is always true: Remaining Units = Remaining Duration x Remaining Units/Time
Recalculate the Units, Duration, and Units/Time for existing assignments based on the activity Duration Type: This option calculates a resource assignment’s remaining values based on the activity’s duration type, specified in an activity’s General tab.
Assignment StaffingOptions when assigning a resource to an existing activity assignmentWhen selecting a resource to staff an existing role assignment or replacing a current resource assignment with a different resource, you can choose either to always use the current units/time and overtime factor of the new resource or, to be prompted every time so you can select the units/time and overtime factor you want to apply to the assignment.
The following options are available:
Always use the new resource’s Units/Time and Overtime factor: The manual future period values of the existing resource assignment may be re-spread across future period buckets based on the new resource’s values.
Always use current assignment’s Units/Time and Overtime factor: The unit values for the new resource are spread evenly over future period buckets and the manual future period values for the existing resource assignment are not changed.
Ask me to select each time I assign: Every time you make an assignment, you will be prompted to use the units/time and overtime factor for the new resource or the current assignment.Options when a resource and role share an activity assignmentWhen selecting a resource for an existing role assignment or specifying a role for an existing resource assignment, you can choose to always apply either the resource or role rate (Price/Unit) to the assignment, or you can choose to be prompted every time so you can select which rate to apply.
Note: The assignment Rate Source field indicates whether the resource or role rate is applied to an assignment. The Rate Source, along with the Rate Type, determines the price/unit value used to calculate costs for the assignment.Choose one of the following options:
Always use the resource’s Price/Unit: The manual future period values for the existing role assignment may be re-spread across future period buckets based on the new resource’s values.
Always use the role’s Price/Unit: The manual future period values for the existing resource assignment may be re-spread across future period buckets based on the new role’s values.
Ask me to select each time I assign: Every time you make an assignment, you will be prompted to use the resource’s or role’s price/unit.PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE ® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 21 – EPS, OBS AND RESPONSIBLE MANAGERS
What is a responsible manager that is assigned to a project? You are a program manager reviewing portfolio performance data and you see that many issues are assigned to a “responsible manager”, and need to set an Organization Breakdown Structure to combine with the Enterprise Project Structure. All these questions are very relevant in common scheduling and provide the ability to assign various viewing rights and privileges to managers and planners. In this newsletter we will endeavour to provide clarity on this issue.RESPONISBLE MANAGERS
The Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) is a hierarchical based structure that represents your organization. The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) is also a hierarchical based structure that represents how your projects are organized.
The OBS and EPS are combined together through the responsible manager field on the EPS structure, project folder and Work Break Structure (WBS) level. The Responsible Manager field is the OBS and this determines what users can gain access to the Project. When you create a user, you have to give them Responsible Manager assignments in order for them to access projects.
EPS and OBS need to have a one-to-one relationship. If you give a user a Responsible Manager assignment (OBS) that is not tied to an EPS, Project or WBS level, they will not see any projects when they log into P6 Professional and P6 Web.
PROJECT ACCESS
Project access and security privileges are determined by a combination of Responsible Manager/OBS assignment(s), Project Security profile assignment(s) and where the assignments fall within the EPS structure.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 22 – HOW DOES P6 SUMMARIZE DATA IN THE SUMMARY/GROUPING BANDS?
A common issue that users face when they look at a standard schedule is working out how Oracle Primavera P6 creates the summary/grouping bands. In some cases, it seems as if the figures don’t add up!
Well, in this newsletter we endeavour to describe how Oracle Primavera P6 calculates and displays the summary information for costs and quantities, custom user fields, dates, durations, float, progress, baselines, comparison data, and how the calendars are used to calculate these figures.
Calculations and summary displays as seen above are based on the currently visible activities. It’s important to know that activities removed from the layout by filters are not included in the calculations and summaries.
Note: You must schedule the project at least once before the correct duration value is displayed in the group band. Additionally, when grouped by WBS, you must hide empty grouping bands to display the most accurate value in grouping bands (this behaviour is different from the web, which skips empty WBS bands when rolling up data).Costs and Quantities: Oracle Primavera P6 totals cost and quantity data items, such as budgeted cost and budgeted quantity, by adding the values for each activity in the summary.
User Defined Fields:
Oracle Primavera P6 summarises user defined fields according to their type. For example, items representing start dates show the earliest start date, and items for finish dates show the latest finish dates. A numeric user field is totalled for the summarised activities. A text-based custom user field is never summarised.Dates: If you display early dates, the Oracle Primavera P6 shows the earliest early (or actual) start and the latest early (or actual) finish dates. The same rules apply for late dates and baseline early and late dates.
Durations: Oracle Primavera P6 summarises original and remaining duration values. For activities with no progress, the original and remaining durations are the number of work periods between the earliest start and latest finish dates and the earliest remaining start and latest remaining finish dates
respectively. If the summary activity has an actual start date, Oracle Primavera P6 calculates the original duration from the actual start date to the latest finish date. In this case, Oracle Primavera P6 calculates remaining duration from the earliest remaining early start date to the latest remaining early finish date.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 23 – RENUMBERING ORACLE PRIMAVERA P6 ACTIVITIES
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: September 13, 2014
1
Have you ever been challenged by projects and schedules that change, sometimes significantly, from the way they were initially planned and scheduled?We have seen a lot of projects, and in our collective memory, struggle to remember a single one that was not tested by such changes, at some point in its history. This creates a specific challenge for Primavera users, as making changes to P6 activity IDs after they are already allocated can be a painful and time consuming process. For example, suppose you have activity IDs AB100, AB130, AB150, AB160, and AB180 and you want to change and renumber them to CD500, CD530, CD550, CD560, and CD580 or you may have added scope (additional activities) and want the activity IDs renumbered in a numerical order. Doing this manually one-at-a-time is inefficient and can be prone to errors.
This month we look at the “Renumber IDs” feature in Oracle Primavera P6 and how it can save you time and effort.
You can use the Renumber Activity IDs dialog box (found by selecting > Edit > Renumber Activity IDs.) to specify how to renumber the selected activities in your current project and, if applicable, to renumber the same activity IDs in all applicable baselines for the same project. The selected activities can have the activity IDs renumbered based on values you specify for example.
Increment Activity Based on Selected Activities: Select to increment activity IDs using the increment value you specify.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 24 – IMPROVING P6 READABILITY
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: September 26, 2014
Last month we looked at the ‘Renumber of Oracle Primavera P6 Activity ID’s’ feature in Oracle Primavera P6 (P6) and how it can save you time and effort. We are continuing that theme, this month, with another simple feature that will save you time and effort; Line Numbering.
In helping to make your scheduling days easier, we will also answer another question often asked of our support team, “How can I magnify the column headers in P6?” The most effective solution is to change the font or font size. Read on to discover a couple of different ways to edit fonts and font sizes in both P6 Windows Client and P6 Web.
TOP TIP #1: LINE NUMBERING
This feature is currently available for P6 release 8.2 onwards and only within P6 Windows Client. Reviewing and discussing schedules with colleagues during a meeting or presentation can be made easier and more effective by adding the Line Numbers to a layout. Line Numbers can be particularly useful if Activity ID’s are not in numerical order or are long and complex.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 25 – PRINTING ACTIVITY LAYOUTS
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: October 31, 2014
Last month we looked at ‘Improving P6 Readability’ and tips to improve the visual aspects of your P6 Layout. This time we will focus on how to ensure that what you see on the P6 layout screen will be reflected in your print output.The ability to provide easily understandable print outs from Oracle Primavera P6 (P6) is mandatory for most P6 users, especially for reporting and information sharing. Many Project Managers will request a one page print out of a segment of a project to be used in either meetings or to be provided to stakeholders.
An important part of setting any Activity Layout that you might use for reporting is to make sure that the print settings are correctly set and saved as part of the layout. You can modify the Activities layout screen using Filters, Group and Sort or by manipulating the Page Setup options to tailor the information printed.
Top Tip #1: Scale to Page Width
To see your filtered layout of a segment of a project on one sheet just follow these steps.
How To:
Step 1: In the toolbar ribbon click on the ‘Print Preview’ This will launch the ‘Print Preview’ screen.
Step 2: In the ‘Print Preview’ screen click on the ‘Page Setup’ icon (top left).
Step 3: Click on the ‘Paper size’ and set A3 then click ‘Apply’.
Step 4: In the ‘Scaling’ menu select ‘Fit timescale to’ and select ‘1’, then click ‘Apply’.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 26 – UPDATING AND SAVING A BASELINE
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: December 10, 2014
Last month we looked at ‘Printing Activity Layouts’ and tips to assist with the tailoring of the information printed. This month we cover updating a baseline, and after saving a baseline, being able to see the baseline bar against current project bars if your activity layout setting is right.
Project planners can view project performance very quickly and easily against the original baseline by reviewing graphical Gantt chart that shows baseline and current project bars.
Baselines are a complete copy of an original schedule that does not change even when the current schedule is updated. We can use these unchanging schedules as a benchmark to note changes to later schedules after updates and modification have been made.
This is why we have the Update Baseline Function.
Top Tip #1: Updating the Baseline
Once progress has been applied to the schedule and an appropriate Baseline Schedule from the past is available; one can update an existing Baseline Schedule. Proper use of the ‘Update Baseline Utility’ gives you the ability to effectively and efficiently evaluate the impact of progress versus non-progress revisions between schedule updates.
How To:
‘Updating the Baseline’ is available in P6 client V.5 and later.
Step 1: In the Menu bar, click on the ‘Project’ tab, select ‘Maintain Baselines’ and choose the baseline that will be updated. Click on ‘Update’ tab.
Step 2: When the ‘Update Baseline’ screen appears, select the options required, and click on the run ‘Update’ tab to perform the update.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 27 – DISPLAYING VARIANCE TO APPROVED BASELINES
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: December 31, 2014
Last month we discussed ‘Updating and saving a baseline’, and then being able to compare the baseline bar against Current Project Bars by using Activity Layout settings.This month we conclude our topic on baselines with a brief discussion on how to display variances between a project and any baselines assigned to that project within Oracle Primavera P6.
Top Tip #1: Reporting on Project Variance
Variance reporting in Oracle Primavera P6 requires that the project has a baseline and it is assigned as either a Project Baseline or a Primary Baseline.
Baselines are assigned using the Assign Baselines… menu option under the Project Menu.The menu allows a baseline to be as signed as a Project Baseline and up to three existing user baselines which are known as Primary, Secondary or Tertiary baseline.
With a baseline in place it is possible to report any activity that has moved away from its baseline date in the current project schedule.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
PRIMAVERA P6 TIPS AND TRICKS: TIP 26 – UNDERSTANDING SCHEDULING OPTIONS
Author: Angelo Bucon Publish Date: February 2, 2015
Last month we discussed Displaying Variance to Approved Baselines, and then being able to compare the Baseline Bar against current project bars by using Activity Layout settings.This month, we move into looking at some Scheduling Techniques such as Scheduling Options available in Oracle Primavera P6 and the first option we will look at this month is the Retained Logic compared to Progress Override.
Top Tip #1: Using Progress Override to schedule work out of sequence
We all know that project execution does not always go as planned. Sometimes it is necessary to start work before preceding activities are completed, for example, installation of a piece of equipment which follows the completion of painting of minor carpentry. Perhaps the resources planned to do the work are not available on the ‘Planned date’, however can complete the work earlier.
The Progress Override within Primavera P6’s setting allows the Scheduling engine to schedule work out of sequence by ignoring the logic and taking into account the Start and Finish Dates set by the user.To access the Progress Override setting, first click on Schedule button (or press F9) and then the Options tab in the Schedule Window.
Primavera P6 provides three options for scheduling progressed activities…
Retained LogicThis is the normal scheduling setting and the Primavera P6 scheduling engine does not calculate Remaining Duration until all preceding Activities are complete.
Progress Override The Progress Override option is used where the Network Logic needs to be ignored, as discussed above.
Actual DatesThe Primavera P6 scheduling engine uses the Actual Dates to calculate early and late dates.
…FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE JOIN PRESCIENCEADVANTAGE® PRIMAVERA SUPPORTA PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support agreement is flexible, scalable and value driven. It offers functional and technical Oracle Primavera assistance, delivered remotely or on-site, if needed. Find out more about setting up a Support Agreement for your site, or call us on 1300 086 816.
Want more Primavera tips and tricks?
Buy a PrescienceAdvantage® Primavera Support package today and we’ll send you regular tips to help you get more from Primavera. Find out more.
![Project Management by Primavera P6 (18.8) Using Primavera 6 …BROCHURE].pdf · 2020. 6. 27. · Primavera P6 (18.8) Training Program The “Primavera P6” Program has been designed](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/6110484bb049e20c612b7b1a/project-management-by-primavera-p6-188-using-primavera-6-brochurepdf-2020.jpg)
