Oracle Primavera FAQsGeneral What is Primavera, exactly?Primavera is not just a single product, but is now a brand name covering a suite of products focused exclusively on helping project-intensive businesses manage their entire project portfolio lifecycle, including projects of all sizes. It is estimated that projects totalling more than US$6 trillion in value have been managed with Primavera products. Companies turn to Primavera project portfolio management solutions to help them make better portfolio management decisions, evaluate the risks and rewards associated with projects, and determine whether there are sufficient resources with the right skills to accomplish the work. These best-in-class solutions provide the project execution and control capabilities needed to successfully deliver projects on time, within budget and with the intended quality and design.Portfolio and Programme Management What is Portfolio Management?Portfolio management is a term used by project management professionals to describe methods for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics. The fundamental objective is to determine the optimal mix and sequencing of proposed projects to best achieve the organisation's overall goals - typically expressed in terms of hard economic measures, business strategy goals, or technical strategy goals - while honouring constraints imposed by management or external real-world factors.Typical attributes of projects being analyzed include each project's total expected cost, consumption of scarce resources (human or otherwise), expected timeline and schedule of investment, the expected nature, magnitude and timing of benefits to be realised, and relationship or inter-dependencies with other projects in the portfolio. What is Programme Management?According to the Project Management Institute "a programme is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. Programmes may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the discrete projects in the programme... Some projects within a programme can deliver useful incremental benefits to the organisation before the programme itself has completed."Bearing this in mind it can be seen that programme mananagement necessarily operates at a level above individual projects and is focused on coordinating and prioritising of resources across projects, managing links between the projects and minimising the overall costs and risks of the programme. Which Primavera products offer this functionality?Both P6 PPM and P6 EPPM provide the ability to group projects together into "portfolios", but this is simply a mechanism for simplifying access to specific groups of projects. In either product a portfolio can be defined to contain projects within a specific programme, and reports can be produced for the portfolio/programme as a whole.There are some basic portfolio analysis functions in P6 EPPM, with dashboard reports that can be configured to display and compare key project data, but for a comprehensive portfolio management solution that you should consider Primavera Portfolio Management. This product (formerly ProSight, acquired by Primavera Inc. in 2006) can operate standalone, but comes with a direct interface to P6 EPPM that allows exchange of data in both directions.Project Management Is Primavera P6 the same as Oracle Projects?No. Oracle Projects is part of the Oracle E-Business Suite. ThePrimavera Gatewaycan be used with a suitable "provider" (connector) to integrate P6 and EBS.Integrating Oracle Projects with Primavera P6 provides a comprehensive Enterprise Project Portfolio Management solution and performs the following features: Brings together complex scheduling and industry-specific PPM processes with project financial management, skills and inventory management, and other enterprise solutions Provides end-to-end visibility and control for improved decision making, coordination, and collaboration Provides consolidated view of enterprise and project portfolio for an accurate, up-to-date view of project, resources, and financial performance Creates coherent and complete solution for Enterprise PPM with ERP, database, middleware, and analytics What's the difference between P3E, P5 and P6?They are basically different versions of the same product. When the replacement for P3 was first released it was known as Primavera Project Planner Enterprise, which was soon shortened to P3E. There was a v3.5 and a v4.0 of this product, before the name changed to P5 and then P6 in line with the version number. When Oracle acquired Primavera Inc. in 2008 "P6" became a brand name rather than a product version and so the next version (although sometimes referred to as P7) was officially named P6 v7. The latest products have followed normal Oracle practice in being "releases" rather than "versions", and were called P6 R8.0 through R8.3. The latest software is P6 R8.3.2. What's the difference between P6 and Primavera Contractor?Primavera Contractor is Primavera's entry level project management product, designed to allow contractors to exchange planning data with clients using P6 EPPM or PPM for their project management. It offers a similar level of functionality to Microsoft Project but can generate the .xer files typically required for bid submissions on major engineering and construction projects. More information on Primavera Contractor is availablehere. You may also find thisfeature comparison chartuseful. What are the differences between P6 EPPM and P6 PPM?The most obvious difference is the architecture. P6 PPM is a traditional client/server Windows application that runs on a PC (physical or virtual) and stores its data in a relational database (Oracle or SQL Server). P6 EPPM is a 3 tier web application whose client runs in a web browser. The middle tier runs on a web application server (WebLogic or WebSphere) and communicates with the database. Since R8.1 all administrative tasks are managed via the web interface, although a Windows "optional client" is also available to allow users without web access to work with the software. In R8.2 this desktop client is identical for both PPM and EPPM, but when connected to an EPPM database none of the administrative functions are available.There are also major differences between the reporting capabilities of the two versions. P6 PPM continues to run the traditional reports found in earlier versions of the product, while P6 EPPM also uses Oracle's BI Publisher to create web based reports that are viewed via dashboards in the browser. It also provides connectivity to other reporting tools - see the Reporting and Business Intelligence section below for more on this.The final major difference is connectivity. P6 EPPM ships with a Java API that allows the development of custom interfaces to other products, and a Web Services interface layered on top of the API. The product is also designed to integrate with Oracle's Business Process Management toolset. In contrast, P6 PPM only offers the SDK, a desktop interface that exposes the underlying database as an ODBC data source. (Note: As of R8.3, P6 Professional ships with a Java API as well)You may find thisfeature comparison chartuseful. Can you configure P6 PPM as a multiuser system?Although the most common use for P6 PPM is as a "standalone" installation (see below) on a laptop or single PC, it is perfectly possible to configure it so that multiple networked PCs access a single server based database. If you do not require the web based dashboards and integration capabilities of P6 EPPM this may well be your most suitable configuration. Which project management product is right for me?There is no easy answer to this, as a lot depends on your current IT landscape and precisely how you wish to make use of your planning tool. If you wish to integrate P6 seamlessly with other applications then it is likely that PPM will not be able to deliver what you require due to the withdrawal of the API in R8.1. We will happily advise on the pros and cons of deploying either version in your environment. What is a "standalone" copy of P6?This typically refers to a copy of P6 where the database and client application are running on the same machine - often a laptop. Prior to the acquisition of Primavera Inc. by Oracle, this was a standard option in the installer which performed a hands-off installation of a database server (originally Borland Interbase, then SQL Server Express) on to the machine in question as part of the process. With the release of P6 v7 the database was changed to Oracle XE and then at P6 R8.0 the standalone option was withdrawn. It now exists again - from P6 R8.1 PPM onwards, you are able to select a standalone installation that uses Oracle 10g XE as the back end.The advantage of this type of installation is that you do not have to have previously installed a database on the machine, as one is provided free of charge. There are restrictions associated with Oracle XE though - it is limited to 4GB of data, will only use up to 1GB of any available memory, and will only execute on 1 CPU core. If any of these are likely to cause problems you should use a full copy of Oracle or SQL Server to store your data. Note that that P6 R8.xwill not workwith SQL Server Express unless you are upgrading an existing standalone system based on an earlier version of P6. Can I still purchase P3 and/or SureTrak?Unfortunately not - they were withdrawn from sale at the end of 2010. The nearest equivalents from the current product range are Contractor or P6 PPM.Business Intelligence and Reporting What reports come with Primavera P6?Primavera P6 PPM ships with a library of text reports which can be scheduled to run as a batch. You can also develop custom reports and print out graphics such as Gantt Charts or resource histograms from the appropriate view.While Primavera P6 EPPM still allows you to run traditional batch reports, it also offers an additional library of reports designed to operate within Oracle BI Publisher via a Restricted Usage Licence (RUL) for BI Publisher. These can be triggered on demand from within the web client or scheduled to run periodically, with their results available for view within the web client. If you want to make any changes to these reports then you will have to purchase a Full Usage Licence (FUL) of BI Publisher to allow you to develop your own reports. What is the Primavera Reporting Database?There is a large amount of data displayed within P6 that is calculated on the fly and not stored in the project management database (PPMDB or EPPMDB). As a result Oracle introduced the concept of a reporting database external to the project management database. This is optimised for reporting purposes and contains fields storing calculated values. In versions prior to R8.1 the creation and updating of the reporting database required an administrator to set up several additional databases and configure standalone scripts to carry out the ETL (extract, transform, load) operations. From P6 EPPM R8.1 the reporting database schema forms part of the standard EPPMDB database, and the scheduled publishing of data is administered from within the product.Once the publishing of data to the reporting database has been configured, any external reporting tool (e.g. PCF's QEI Management Reporting or Crystal Reports) can be used to extract data from it. What is Primavera Analytics?Primavera Analytics is an add-on product for Primavera P6 EPPM which consists of a star schema data warehouse and a set of prebuilt reports and queries that run within Oracle Business Intelligence products. The data warehouse is fed from the EPPM reporting database and can be also connected to other BI applications.Risk Analysis What's the difference between Primavera Risk Analysis and PertMaster?They are both the same product. PertMaster was acquired by Primavera Inc. in 2006 and is now sold as Primavera Risk Analysis. Does Primavera P6 contain any risk analysis functionality?As of P6 EPPM R8.3, the answer is no, although you can use P6 to develop a risk register and associated risk scores which can be transferred between P6 and Primavera Risk Analysis.Contract Management What does Primavera Contract Management do?This product has always had a confusing name, as the one thing it does not do is manage contracts. It is actually a system designed for teams managing construction projects (contracts) which enables them to collaborate, track issues and costs, monitor contractor performance and manage documents.The current version is a web application built on top of Oracle's WebLogic application server and Business Intelligence Publisher reporting tool. It can be linked to external document management systems, and can exchange cost and schedule data with Primavera P6 EPPM and JD Edwards.Implementation, Interfacing and Integration Can P6 be interfaced to an ERP system?Absolutely, this is very common. ThePrimavera Gatewayships with a connector for SAP as standard, and connectors for other ERP systems are also available. Can P6 be interfaced to an Asset Management system?This is a fairly common requirement and thePrimavera Gatewaycan be used to deliver this integration. Connectors are available for common Asset Management Systems like MAXIMO. I need to develop a bespoke interface to P6 - what options do I have?If you only require a desktop solution then you can use the SDK, which exposes a proportion of the data within the project management database (including calculated fields) as an ODBC Data Source. You can then write code in any environment that supports communication via ODBC to exchange data with P6. The SDK is available for both PPM and EPPM systems.More complex integrations are possible using the API. This is a set of Java classes that expose the business logic and objects and makes them available for inclusion in any Java application. From v6 to R8.0 the API was available for all installations; as of R8.1 the API was limited to EPPM only. This decision was reversed at R8.3 and is once again available for both variants of P6. EPPM systems.It is also possible to make use of theWeb Servicesinterface to P6; this is layered on top of the API and provides interoperability with any other applications that make use of Web Services. For example, the Oracle Business Process Management suite can be used in combination with event-driven messages from P6 to develop standard business processes for project approval, initiation and update.Note that use of the SDK incurs no extra licencing costs, while the API and Web Services require additional licences. What professional services can PCF offer?In addition to the supply of the product range, we also offer a wide range of professional services to ensure that your Primavera implementation goes smoothly and that you rapidly gain real business benefits. For more information on our services, please lookhere.Product Licencing, Upgrading and Support How does Oracle's product licencing compare to Primavera's original scheme?Primavera operated a technical solution to licencing, whereas Oracle operates a commercial solution.Primavera had either Named or Concurrent users, whereas Oracle only has "Application Users" (see below).Primavera issued a licence code (linked to the Serial Number of a particular copy of the software) that controlled the number and type of licences allocated to each module within the product. By contrast Oracle issues a CSI Number associated with a particular installation of their software. The permitted number of users is governed solely by the number of licences purchased - there is nothing technically in place to prevent any company from deploying more licences than they have purchased. However the Oracle Licence and Services Agreement (OLSA) includes a clause stating that the client accepts that Oracle has a right to visit the client's site(s) at any time to audit licence usage, and that the client agrees to pay the licence costs associated with any unpurchased deployed copies found, plus penalty charges and backdated support fees. What is an "application user"?The Oracle licencing model is actually fairly simple. The Oracle Master Agreement (OMA) states:"Application User: is defined as an individual authorized by you to use the applicable licenced application programs which are installed on a single server or on multiple servers regardless of whether the individual is actively using the programs at any given time."which is a drawn out way of saying you have a licence for a user to use the application regardless of environment.In practical terms this has the following consequences: A single licence permits a user to use a copy of the software on multiple machines (for example a server and a laptop) provided that the various copies are not accessed by that user at the same time. If the laptop is also used by a different user to the server then this requires two licences. Use of any component within a licenced application counts as full use of that application, so for example an environment where two people only accessed P6 EPPM via the Web while another only used the desktop Optional Client would require three EPPM licences. This differs from the old Primavera scheme where individual modules/components were licenced separately You cannot make use of generic users like "user1" or "planner", since a login has to correspond to a real individual.

How do I import project from ms project to Primavera p6? First, you need to have your designated file in MPX or XML format when exporting from MS Project; Click on file import, select "Microsoft Project" and the format from the drop menu, then locate the file to start importing; follow the import wizard steps until the program starts importing.If you have MPP file, which is outdated after MS Project2007, you need to just import it in MS Project then export using XML which P6 can read.

Primavera 6 Exam 1Z0-535

Q1:What are the difference between free float, total float and what is different between Float and Slack?This is very common question in a primavera interview, Float and slack are the two different words for the same meaning.Q2:What is a constraint in primavera?Constrains in primavera is to fix the early or late start or finish date of an activity as per following options:1) Project Must Finish by2) Mandatory Start / Mandatory Finish3) Start / Finish On or After4) Start / Finish On or Before5) Start / Finish On6) Expected Finish

Q3:How can you define the Critical Path in primavera?The sequence of activities which describe the longest path from the data date to the end of the project. In a schedule without any constraints, this will be all activities with zero total float.(if you have constrains which force negative float, simply filtering on total float equal to or less than zero can bring up activities which are not on the critical path)Q4:What is WBS?WBS means Work Breakdown Structure. it represents a hierarchical breakdown of a Project into elements and deliverables.Q5:What is an open end activity in primavera?The open end activity is the activity that does not have any successor. Normally open end activity is not accepted in schedule because the total float will be calculate from the end of the project and these entire activities late dates gather at the end of the project and can not be prepare a logical late start plan.Q6:What is the difference between Retained Logic & Override Logic in progress update?If a project is generally running according to plan and activities are not progressed out of sequence then there will be virtually no difference between the two methods. BIG differences come when activities are progressed out of sequence.I believe in retained logic. Invariably that will produce the longest critical path but if activities have been progressed out of sequence, there could be some resulting illogical dependencies remaining, in particular resulting from dependencies with durations.Progress override invariably produces a shorter critical path and again there could be some illogical lack of dependencies resulting from activities having been progressed out of sequence.Q7:How do u measure & compare the progress using primavera?This is one of the Hard primavera Interview Questions, try to explain without confusion.Progress is measured primarily against the baseline. If the baseline has been loaded with cost and/or resources, earned value management can be used for this purpose. If not, progress is measured as variance to baseline dates.Budget at Completion (BAC)Planned Value (PV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Planned % CompleteEarned Value (EV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Actual% CompleteActual Cost (AC) = No formula What youve actually spent on the projectSchedule Performance Index (SPl) =Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)Schedule Variance (SV) =Earned Value (EV) Planned Value (PV)Cost Performance Index (CPI) =Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC)To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) =(Budget at Completion (BAC) Earned Value (EV) ) / (Budget at Completion (BAC) -Actual Cost (AC) )Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) -Actual Cost (AC)For more information see this article:EVM earned value managementQ8:What is resource allocation and resource leveling?Resource allocation is assigning resources to activities,determine the amount of labor, equipment and money required for any activity.Resource leveling is Resource requirements of all scheduled activities are compared to the maximum quantity available at the time of leveling.An activity is delayed if too few resources are available at any time during the activitys duration.The maximum quantity for a resource is determined through the Max units/time for a particular resource in the Resources Tab.Q9:What is an S Curve and how to create S Curve in primavera?An S-curve is a graph showing cumulative cost or value (measured in terms of money or manhours) against time. On a typical project, these graphs follow an S shape, hence the name. Typical data to be plotted on an S-Curve includes:Actual Cost (ACWP)Planned Value (BCWS) Early datesPlanned Value (BCWS) Late datesEarned Value (BCWP)Forecast Value Early datesForecast value Late datesForecast Cost Early datesForecast cost Late dates

Q10:What are the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera?This is one of the tricky Primavera Interview questions.Mile stone & flags both are events rather then activities. Some client likes to use flags rather than mile stone due the following differences.1- With the use of flags the logic of main event can be easily tracked as these can not be created without predecessor as stand alone allocating the constraint.Where as mile stone can.2- Flags can not update manually as Primavera automatically update the status where as milestone can be update manually.3- Flags can not be constraint only driven by predecessor where as milestone can.

3 Primavera Tips &Tricks - Convert to .pdf FormatProblem: The customer, vendor, contractor client need to view in .pdf format hence they dont have Primavera software to view.Solution:First you need to download fromwww.download.comtype PrimoPDF and download itinto your machine.

2. Open the page you want it to be saved as a pdf and click on the Print Preview button, at the Toolbar.

3. It also available in any directory window you open even in the reports you will find a Print Setup

4. Select printer as PrimoPDF and Click Ok.

5. Now go to the Print icon and type Printer name also as PrimoPDF. Click OK

6. This Dialog box will appear automatically. In the ellipsis icon, select a directory where you want to save the file in., e.g. Desktop.After you have done this, click CreatePDF.Now look at your Desktop, the document is saved a s a PDF format.

Exporting Projectscredit to :http://www.ims-web.comProblem: The customer, vendor or contractor has an older version of Primavera or another project management tool, and needs to view a schedule.Solution: Export the project. Open the desired project to be exported Go toFile>Export Choose the format including desired program and version. For Primavera PM/MM and Primavera Contractor, there are now several options for versions. For Microsoft Project, select the file type Export type should beProject ClickNext(These fields will show you the file to be exported) ClickNext Do not try to save the file to your C drive or any other local drive on your computer. Try saving to a network drive (in this example, the file is saved to the M: drive) ClickFinish

Function Keys In both the P5/P6 client and web applications, the following function keys work:F1Context-Sensitive Help

F2Toggles between Edit and Browse modes when the focus is in Description Panes in Details Tabs for Notebooks, Steps, WPs and Docs and the Notes to Resources pane on the Feedback Detail Tab

F3Find Next (works after using )

F5Refresh (from server)

F7Spell check when in Edit mode on the above-mentioned Panes and Tabs and in a given column currently in focus in tables

F9Schedule

Shift+F9Schedules with Leveled Resources

F10Commit Changes (to server)

P6Hierarchies When creating hierarchies in P6 (for example, WBS), as an alternative to using the mouse, Ctrl + arrows will promote, demote and move elements up and down.Bring Your External Website Into Primavera Web When customizing a portlet on a dashboard in the Primavera Web Access program, in order to bring up an external websiteor URL, one tip needs to be known in case you must troubleshoot or if you are experiencing problems with the page loading.For example: Your personal or project workspace dashboard has a link to the weather or a link to your company website. If the page delays in loading or has difficulty and freezes, you will need to know this tip.If Primavera or other dashboards are working, then likely the external website is having difficulty loading, not that Primavera is having trouble.DO NOT exit the web browseryou will remain logged in to the Primavera tool and not be allowed to log in for 30 minutes or until your admin changes your password.Instead, type 1=TRUE at the end of your URL in the URL field of the site and hit return.Example:http://servername:8080/myprimavera/login_cmt/1=trueThis restarts the page in safe mode and ignores external websites temporarily. Next time you logon and the external website is working, you should not experience the problem. Now you are logged on without the use of that external site. You can do all other work in Primavera until the external site is working again.Copy/Paste Role of Resources The following may already be known by all of you, but its still a pretty slick trick.Ever wish you could just copy / paste roles or resources from one activity to another (or several others)? Heres an alternative.Thats it! Its still not quite as easy as Ctrl-C Ctrl-V would be, but its a decent workaround.Project Management Hot Keys Problem: What are the keyboard shortcuts in Project Management?Fix: Shortcut KeysTOOLBAR MENUSSHORTCUTFILE MENUSHORTCUT

File MenuAlt+FNew ProjectCtrl+N

Edit MenuAlt+EOpen ProjectCtrl+O

View MenuAlt+VPrintCtrl+P

Tools MenuAlt+TExitAlt+F4

Help MenuAlt+HCommitF10

RefreshF5

EDIT MENUSHORTCUTINSERT MENUSHORTCUT

Cut ActivityCtrl+XNew ActivityIns

Paste ActivityCtrl+V

Delete ActivityDel

FindCtrl+F

HELP MENUSHORTCUTTOOLS MENUSHORTCUT

Contents and IndexF1Schedule NowF9

Automatically Calculate Percent Complete Often managers are uncomfortable with the guesstimate given for percent complete. The Primavera steps feature becomes very useful when they are weighted to drive the percent complete in a way that is less subjective and more quantifiable. Generally, steps are a way to track deliverables or any sub-activity without adding activities and complexity to your schedule. Any group of steps that is often repeated (a typical document workflow for example) can be made into a step template for use on all such activities, too.To have each step automatically drive physical percent complete for the activity:1. Open the columns within the step tab by right-clicking on the last column and selecting Customize Column Headings. Then select the Step Weight and Step Weight Percent columns and move them into the view by clicking the right arrow button on the middle frame. Click OK. The new columns appear on the steps tab.2. Now, define each step by importance or weight it carries toward overall completion of the activity. The cumulative physical percent complete is automatically calculated if the setting on the calculations tab at the project level is checked to Activities with steps drive percent complete. You may want to ensure the Physical Percent Complete column is viewable in the activity table or that this activity is set in the general tab to the Physical Percent Complete Activity Type. If you do not weigh them, then each step carries equal weight, so if you have ten steps then each one counts 10 % of the total physical percent complete.Two examples: IT and ConstructionTest 2000 Code Testing ActivityWeightPercent Complete After Step is Completed

Step One: Unit Test One55

Step Two: Unit Test Two510

Step Three: Unit Test Three515

Step Four: Unit Test Four520

Step Five: Integration Testing of One and Two1030

Step Six: Integration Testing, Add Three1040

Step Seven: Integration Testing, Add Four1050

Step Eight: System Test1565

Step Nine: Functionality Test2590

Step Ten: Move to Production10100

CON2000 Pre-Bid Cycle Activity for Carpentry Vendor SelectionWeightPercent Complete After Step is Completed

Step One: Bid Statement of Work (SOW)Drafted55

Step Two: Vendor Selection Criteria Agreed Upon510

Step Three: SOW Reviewed515

Step Four: SOW Approved520

Step Five: Solicitation of Bids525

Step Six: Bid Close, Vendor Selected3055

Step Seven: Vendor Notified560

Step Eight: Contract Drafted1575

Step Nine: Contract Revisions2095

Step Ten: Contract Approved5100

Using Filters with Activity Views In my adventures here in Indianapolis, I just came upon a feature in Primavera Web of which you need to be aware. There are two standard filters for Activities Views, that are actually configurable:1. Activities finishing within specified days2. Activities occurring within specified daysIf you use either of these filters, you can specify a number of days (calendar days) that you wish to use.Instead of using a custom filter to create a lookahead report, you can just use the activities occurring within specified days filter.This is a viable workaround to the issue regarding only being able to filter on specific dates when using custom filters.The primary issue is that these filters are dynamic, and use the system date, rather than a data date.OBS and EPS Things to Keep in Mind When Creating It 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 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 see projects.Your EPS and your 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 the Primavera Client application or the Web Application.Rate Source Override Since v5.0, I have been under the impression that a resource was limited to 5 rate types in Primavera. Today, I was informed of a field available in the Resource tab that allows a user to select a Rate Source. The values in the rate source field are Role, Resource and Override. Override allows the user to plug in the custom rate for the resource at the activity assignment level.We therefore are no longer limited to what was essentially 10 rates (5 role, 5 resource) for a resource assignment.Wish I could go back to several demos and change my answer ;-)Run a Quick Pertmaster Risk Analysis Conducting a detailed and thorough schedule or cost risk analysis can be a data intensive and time consuming effort. Proper conduct of the assessment process requires input from multiple responsible project team members. Though this process is necessary to provide a credible analysis there is one way to get a quick initial thumbnail sketch for any given project plan.From the Pertmaster menu, select Risk, Duration Quick Risk, then specify whether you want to include All tasks in the plan, All filtered tasks, or Selected tasks only; then specify a Distribution function and standard percentages for the Minimum, Likely and Maximum durations. Click OK and youre all set to run the risk analysis. Repeat the same steps for resource costs.

Using Resource Codes Just like Project Codes and Activity Codes, Primavera provides you resource codes that allow you to organize, group, sort and filter your resource dictionary. The resource codes also allow you to group and sort in the Resource Assignments and Resource Profile views.Create a Resource Code1. In Primavera, create a resource code called a Manager by doing the following:1. Click on Enterprise in the menu bar, and choose Resource Codes.2. Click on Modify.3. Click on Add.4. Type Manager as the new resource code name.5. Click Close.6. At the top, you will see Manager in the drop down.7. Click on the Add button, to add names to the manager resource code.8. After adding all of the names, click on Close in the resource code window.2. Click on Customize and place the Manager resource code as the first option to group by.3. Your resource dictionary is now grouped by the code.4. To go back to how the resource dictionary was originally grouped, click the Display Option bar again and choose Group and Sort, default.A resource profile can also be grouped by the Manager resource code. This allows the user to click on the managers name in the profile and see a rollup of all of the limits for the resource under that managers name. This view makes for a great capacity planning report. To group by the Manager resource code that was created above in the resource profile, follow the instructions below:1. Open a project.2. Click on the Activities button in the Directory bar.3. Turn on the resource profile in the bottom layout.4. In the resource list on the left side of the resource profile, choose the Directory Bar.5. Click on the Select View and then choose Resource.6. Click on the Group and Sort By.7. Choose the Manager resource code as the first option to group by.8. Click on OK.9. In the resource list, you should now see your resources grouped by the Manager name.10. Click on the Manager name in the list and you will see the rollup information displayed in the Profile view on the right of the screen.Clean Up Your Primavera Reports When adding header and footer information to your custom printing layouts or notes fields, Primavera adds a double-space when you hit Enter for another line by default. You can get a single space by holding down the Right Shift key while hitting Enter to minimize the space you need and make the reports look more professional.How to Determine Resources Needed for a Project When using P6 for managing resources, users often want to be able to see the number of people a project will require to complete. This can be achieved by using the Resource Allocation capabilities of P6.Start by building your project schedule with the required roles to do the work. Next, turn on the Resource Profile in the bottom layout view. Then go to the Role Profile options by clicking on the Display Option bar in the Resource Profile view. Click on the Graph Tab and go to the bottom of the window and click in the check box next to Calculate Average. In the Divide Intervals Total by section, type in the number 40 (this represents a typical work week amount of 40 hours per week). In the Unit of Measure field type in FTE (Full Time Equivalents) or People or whatever you want the unit of measure to be.Click OK on the Window and your resource profile will now tell you the number of people needed.Exporting Expense Detail in P6 Because you can export Expense information from the schedule to Excel, you can easily add, revise or delete this information. It can then be imported back into Primavera.The catch to this is that any column that has a column header that contains an asterisk (*) from the export is Read-Only and you cannot modify these fields. One of these columns is the Unit / Price column, which is one that may need revision. The Trick is that the values in the Actual Cost column will populate the Unit / Price values when they are imported back to the Expenses in Primavera. Just place the Unit / Price value in the Actual Cost field of the spreadsheet. Once imported, the Actual Cost field from the import will also populate the Unit / Price field and Budgeted Cost will result from the product of Budgeted Units x Unit / Price. Zero ($0) out or re-import the true Actual Cost values in Primavera and youre done!Response

hello guys, i am a newbie to Primavera & hence to project management, I know litle about primavera, never worked profesionally in it, but can define WBS, activities, relations, constraints, scheduling, cost, roles & resources definition, and nothing moreWell, in couple of days i will be interviewed for a planning engineer job, can you people help me in this case? what type of typical question are common in interview of planning engineers?waiting anxiously for your reply. u may reply me atihtxam@gmail.comRegards, ihtshamfarestplanner, onAugust 12, 2008 at 6:50 pmsaid:Here is my tips:1) Get familiarize with Planning Tools i.e Microsoft Project, Primavera etc. It will help you to explain how you are going to start your work. The most popular question is:1. What is CRITICAL PATH METHOD?2. Relationship between successor & predecessor3. Different between financial & physical curve4. WBS concept and implementation on Primavera5. Calculation for the physical progress2) Prepare your Planning Sheet; which is comprises with site productivity. You can organize as your construction library. As Planner, Planning Sheet is our basis to justify duration for each activity we assign in Primavera or MS Project.3) Get to know with correct sequence of work. No matter either you are in construction industry or M&E system, extensive knowledge in correct work sequence is an essential skill to develop.