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Primavera P6 Training Guide

This training manual provides an introduction to project management concepts like projects, programs, and portfolios. It then introduces Primavera P6 Professional software for project management. Key topics covered include the five project management process groups, navigating Primavera, and understanding the difference between enterprise and project-specific data. The manual also covers how to log in to Primavera, open projects, and work in the different window tabs.

Uploaded by

Noman Awan
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© © All Rights Reserved
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
464 views208 pages

Primavera P6 Training Guide

This training manual provides an introduction to project management concepts like projects, programs, and portfolios. It then introduces Primavera P6 Professional software for project management. Key topics covered include the five project management process groups, navigating Primavera, and understanding the difference between enterprise and project-specific data. The manual also covers how to log in to Primavera, open projects, and work in the different window tabs.

Uploaded by

Noman Awan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TRAINING MANUAL FOR

PRIMAVERA P6 PROFESSIONAL V8.1

Basic & Advanced Course


TRAINING MANUAL FOR PRIMAVERA P6 PROFESSIONAL V8.1
Basic & Advanced Course

1 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT


What is a Project?
A Project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
• Temporary
• Unique Products, Services, or Results
• Progressive elaboration
Developing in steps; and
Continuing by increments
Project scope will be broadly described early in the project and made more explicit and detailed as
the project team develops a better and more complete understanding of the objectives and
deliverables

What is a Program?
A Program is a group of related Projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and
control not available from managing them individually. Programs may also include some elements
of related work outside the scope of the discrete projects in the program. A Project may or may not
be a part of program but a program will always have projects.

What is a Portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to
facilitate the effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives. Organizations
manage their portfolios based on specific goals. Senior Management team takes the responsibility
for portfolio management

What is Project Management?


Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project. Meeting or
exceeding stakeholder needs and expectations invariably involves balancing competing demands
among:
• Scope, time, cost, and quality.
• Stakeholders with differing needs and expectations.
• Identified requirements (needs) and unidentified requirements (expectations).

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Project Management Process Groups:


Project Management is accomplished through the application and integration of PM processes of
initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the
person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives
Project Processes
Projects are composed of processes. A process is "a series of actions bringing about a result".
Project management processes are concerned with describing and organizing the work of the
project.
Project management processes can be organized into five groups of one or more processes each:
 Initiating processes: recognizing that a project or phase should begin and committing to do so.
 Planning processes: devising and maintaining a workable scheme to accomplish the business
need that the project was undertaken to address.
 Executing processes: coordinating people and other resources to carry out the plan.
 Controlling processes: ensuring that project objectives are met by monitoring and measuring
progress and taking corrective action when necessary.
 Closing processes: formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly
end.

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2 INTRODUCTION TO PRIMAVERA
Primavera provides multi-project, multi-user tools for enterprise-wide project management, providing
comprehensive information on all projects in the enterprise, from executive-level summaries to
detailed work assignments for each team member.

P6 Professional

In the past, P6 Professional was required for projects exceeding 15,000 activities. In P6 R8, the
default limit is 5,000 activities per activity view, but administrators can increase the limit to 100,000
activities. Therefore, P6 Professional is now required for organizations that need to display in
excess of 100,000 activities at a time.

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3 DATA, NAVIGATING & LAYOUTS


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

Enterprise Data
Enterprise data provides the global structure needed to manage multiple projects. It is available to
all projects across the organization and provides the structure necessary for centralized project and
resource management. Enterprise data is usually defined and maintained by a system
administrator.
Examples of enterprise data:

 Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)

 Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)

 Project codes

 Resource codes

 Admin categories and preferences

 Resources

 Cost accounts

Enterprise Data
Project
Structure OBS

Resource
codes
Admin
categories &
preferences

Project
codes
Roles Cost Resources
accounts

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Project-Specific Data
Project-specific data is only available to the project in which it is defined. Project managers define
project-specific data to further control their projects.

 Dates

 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

 Activities

 Activity relationships

 Baselines

 Expenses

 Risks

 Thresholds and issues

 Work products and documents

 Project Web site

Thresholds &
Project-Specific
Activities Data
AS EF
Baseline/Target
AS EF
E EF

Dates Work Products &


Documents
WBS

Expenses
Risks Project Web Site

Enterprise/Project-Specific Data
The following types of data are enterprise as well as project-specific:
 Calendars
 Reports
 Activity codes

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Enterprise/Project-
Specific Data

200

Activity
Calendars Codes

Reports

Logging In
Type a valid Login Name and Password to log in to Primavera. If you do not know your Login
Name/Password, contact your system administrator.
Steps
1. Click Start, Programs, Primavera, Project Management
2. Type a Login Name <admin> and Password <admin>.
3. Click OK.

Home Window

Opening an Existing Project


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

 Open a single project, indicated by


 Open a single node, indicated by
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- All projects under the node are opened.


 Open multiple projects under different nodes.
- Press Control-click to select more than one project.

Steps:
1. In the File menu, click Open
2. Select a sample project from Toolbar – Project
3. Select the project in the Project window, Right click – Open.

Access Modes
You have the option to select an access mode prior to opening a project:
 Shared — Multiple users can view, input, and change data. This is the default setting,
 Read only — you can view data but cannot input or change data.
 Exclusive — the current user is the only user who can edit data on these projects. Other users
can access these projects in Read Only mode

Activities Window
The Activities window is used to create, view, and edit activities for open projects. The table below
lists key navigation items in the Activities window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the
screenshot.

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Tabbed Windows
The project opens in the Activities window. Open windows are indicated by tabs near the top of the
screen, with the active tab indicated by bold black text and by an Active Tab Title bar directly above
the tabs. A tab is displayed only when a window is opened.

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Open additional windows.


1. On the Enterprise menu, click Resources.
Note that the Resources tab is displayed at the top of the screen. It is the new active tab,
indicated by bold tab text and by the blue Active Tab Title bar.
2. On the Tools menu, click Reports, Reports.
Note that the Reports tab is displayed as the active tab.

Click on the appropriate tab to navigate between windows. You also can drag-and-drop the tabs to
arrange the windows as you choose. The X at the right end of the Active Tab Title bar is the close
button for the active tab. When only one window is open, no tab is displayed.

Navigate among the open windows and then close them.


1. Click on each tab to navigate from one window to another.
2. Click the Projects tab and, holding the mouse button down; drag the tab to the right end of the
row of tabs.

3. Click the Activities tab and drag it to the right end of the tabs.

4. Click the Resources tab, and then click the X on the end of the Active Tab Title bar to close the
Resources window.

5. Click the X on the Active Tab Title bar to close the Reports and Activities windows.

Note that although only the Projects window is open and no tabs are displayed, the Active
Tab Title bar still indicates the active window.

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Tab Groups

Window tabs can be separated into tab groups, with each tab group in its own window. Use this
feature to compare related information in different windows without having to switch between tabs.
For example, you might want to check rates and availability in the Resources window while making
resource assignments in the Activity window.

Create tab groups.


1. On the Enterprise menu, click Resources.
2. On the Project menu, click Activities.
3. On the View menu, click Tab Groups, New Vertical Tab Group.
Note that the screen is divided into two vertical tab groups: The left group contains the
Resources and Projects tabbed windows and the right group contains the Activities window.
4. In the left tab group, click the Resources tab to display the Resources window.
5. In the right tab group, click the Resources tab in Activity Details to view resource assignments.
6. On the View menu, click Tab Groups, Merge all Tab Groups.

Toolbars and Menus

P6 Professional uses menus and toolbars to navigate between windows and to execute functions
within the application.

Menus – File, Edit, View, Project, Enterprise, Tools, and Help – are located at the top of the screen.

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Toolbars – Located at the top and both sides of the screen. Toolbar commands are represented by
icons.

Application functions can be executed either by menu or toolbar – it is a matter of personal


preference which you use. You can display or hide toolbars, change their location, and choose
which icons each toolbar contains, enabling you to configure P6 Professional to your own job
requirements and working preferences.

This training course will generally reference the applicable menu command, not the toolbar icon.

View menu commands and toolbar icons.


1. Confirm that you are in the Activities window. (Check the Active Tab Title bar near the top of the
screen. To display the Activities window, click the Activities tab or on the Project menu, click
Activities.)
2. Click the Project menu and view its commands.
Note that a number of its icons are reproduced on the Project toolbar on the left side of the
screen.
3. Click the Enterprise menu and view its commands.
Note that a number of its icons are reproduced on the Enterprise toolbar just above the
Project toolbar.
4. Click several other menus, view their commands, and try to locate their respective icons on one of
the toolbars.

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Commonly Used Toolbars

There are 17 toolbars available in P6 Professional. Several of the most commonly used toolbars are
pictured in the table below.

Viewing Toolbars

To see a full list of the available toolbars, as well which toolbars are currently displayed, click
Toolbars on the View menu or right-click on a blank space in the toolbar area along the top or sides
of the screen. A check mark indicates that a toolbar is displayed.

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View available toolbars.


1. Right-click on a blank space in the toolbar area along the top or sides of the screen (or on the
View menu, click Toolbars).

Customizing Toolbar Location

The toolbars on your screen are the default toolbars following P6 Professional installation. As you
become more familiar with the application and the procedures required to do your work, you can
customize toolbars for your own personal use.

Display/hide and reposition a toolbar.


1. On the toolbar list, select Project to remove the check mark and hide the Project toolbar.
2. Right-click a blank space in the border area and select Project to display the Project toolbar
again.
3. Click the gray bar on the left end of one of the toolbars along the top of the screen and.
A four-directional arrow is displayed.
4. While pressing the mouse button, drag the toolbar to an empty area of the border on the left of
the screen.
5. Drag the toolbar you just moved back to its original position at the top of the screen.

Customizing Toolbar Icons

You can further customize the toolbars by choosing which icons each displays. Hide icons you
seldom use and make the ones you use most often easier to find.

Customize toolbar icons.

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1. On the Display toolbar (rightmost of the toolbars across the top of the screen), click , and then

Click Add or Remove Buttons to view all the icons available for that toolbar.

Compare the icons in the list and the icons on the toolbar.

2. Watch the toolbar as you select and de-select different icons.

3. After making several changes to the toolbar icons, click Reset Toolbar, and then click OK.

Customizing Menu Commands

Just as you can customize toolbar icons, you also can customize menu commands. Menu
commands can be moved from one menu to another, rearranged on the same menu, or deleted.
Open the Customize dialog box to put menus into edit mode, allowing you to make changes. Click
Reset in the dialog box to return to the default commands.

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View options for customizing menus.


1. On the View menu, click Toolbars, Customize.
The menus on the toolbar are now in edit mode.
2. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab to view commands for each menu.
3. On the File menu, at the top of the screen, click Page Setup and, holding down the mouse button,
drag the command to the bottom of the menu.
4. On the Edit menu, at the top of the screen, click Spell Check; and drag the command to the Tools
menu heading (which expands the Tools menu) and then drag it to just below Job Status on the
Tools menu.
5. In the Customize dialog box, click the Toolbars tab, and then click Reset.
6. At the prompt, click OK, and then click Close.

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

Activity Layouts
The Activities window provides the option of viewing data in top/bottom layouts.
 Choose one of the following to show on top
- Activity Table
- Gantt chart
- Activity Usage Spreadsheet
- Activity Network
 Choose one of the following to show on bottom
- Activity Details
- Activity Table
- Gantt Chart
- Activity Usage Spreadsheet
- Resource Usage Spreadsheet
- Activity Usage Profile
- Resource Usage Profile
- Trace Logic

Opening an Existing Activity Layout


A variety of layouts are available to present activity data from different perspectives. You can create
user-specific layouts and project-specific layouts, or use global layouts provided by your company.
After selecting a layout, you can click either Apply or Open.
 Apply - Displays layout but keeps Open Layout dialog box open.
 Open - Displays layout and closes Open Layout dialog box.
Steps:
1. In the Layout: Options bar, click Layout, Open.
2. If you make modifications to the current layout, you are prompted to save those changes.
In most cases, choose No.
3. When prompted to save changes to the layout, click No
4. Select a layout from sample layouts
5. Click Apply
6. You will select a different layout and then click Open, which displays the layout and
closes the Open Layout dialog box.
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7. Select any layout. (Classic WBS Layout)


8. Click Open.

Gantt chart
The Classic WBS Layout displays a Gantt chart in the top layout and Activity Details in the bottom
layout. The Gantt chart is divided into two sections: Activity Table and Bar Area:
 Activity Table — Displays activity data in columns.
 Bar Area — Provides a graphical display of activity progress over the duration of the project.

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Activity Usage Spreadsheet


The Activity Usage Spreadsheet displays unit, cost, or earned value data by activity over time. Use
this type of layout to review per period and rolled up activity resource/cost data.
You can customize the timescale of the Activity Usage Spreadsheet:
 Move the timescale to focus on a specific time period — Point in
Timescale until cursor displays Hand icon, and then slide cursor left or right.
 Expand the timescale to widen/narrow width of columns — Point in
Minor date interval until the cursor displays Zoom icon, and then slide cursor left or right

Steps:
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Top, Activity Usage Spreadsheet
2. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Bottom, No Bottom Layout
3. Expand the timescale.
4. Move the timescale to working time period.

Activity Network
Use the Activity Network to view the relationships between activities and the logical flow of the
activities in the project. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Top, Activity Network.
 Left pane — Displays the WBS hierarchy.
 Right pane — Shows a graphical display of activities and their relationships.

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Trace Logic

Activity Table
The Activity Table enables you to see project data in spreadsheet format. You also can modify the
columns displayed in the Activity Table to meet your needs. You can display the Activity Table on

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the entire screen if you want to analyze data solely in a tabular format. In the Layout Options bar,
click Show on Top, Activity Table

Customizing a Layout
The Activities window can be customized and saved as a layout. Saving layouts for future use
allows you to quickly retrieve information.
 The Layout Options bar is the centralized menu for layout customization,
 The following is a list of layout elements that are customizable:
- Bars
- Columns
- Timescale
- Table font and colors
- Row height
- Filters
- Activity grouping and sorting
- Top/bottom layouts

Selecting Columns
The Columns dialog box enables you to select columns to display in the Activity Table and specify
the order in which they appear
 Available Options section — Lists data items in groups or in list.
 Selected Options section — Lists items you have chosen to display.
 Single arrows — Move highlighted data items to the other section.
 Double arrows — Move all data items to the other section.
 Up/down arrows — configure the order of the data items.
Click Edit Column to edit the selected item's title and choose its alignment in the display.

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Steps:
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Columns.
2. In the Available Options bar, click Group and Sort By List
3. Select a data item to display in the Activity Table.
4. Click Right arrow to move the selected data item into the Selected Options
5. Use the navigation arrows to configure the order of the data items as seen
in the screenshot above.
6. Click Apply.

Using Hint Help in Columns Dialog Box


You can use Hint Help to view a definition for any data item in the column list. To move Hint Help,

Click and drag to desired location.


Steps:
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Hint Help.
2. Click a column heading, Budgeted Labor Cost
3. In the Layout Options bar, click Hint Help to disable the onscreen help dialog box.
4. Click OK

Displaying Activity Details


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

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Steps:
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Bottom, Activity Details.
The tabs displayed in Activity Details can be customized by selecting columns using
available options.
2. Click Right arrow to move the selected data item into the Display Tabs section.
3. Click OK.
Saving Layouts
Layouts can be saved and shared with other users to facilitate project communication. Use the Save
Layout dialog box, to save a layout in the Activities, WBS, Projects, Assignments, or Tracking
windows.
 Layout, Save — Saves changes to the existing layout.
 Layout, Save As — Prompts you to save the layout with a new name.
Current User - Only the user creating the layout will have access to it in the future.
All Users - All licensed users will have access to the layout (Global).
Another User - A specified user will have access to the layout. Note, however, that the
current user will not have access to the layout.
Project -Apply the layout to any project that is currently open in Primavera.
Though project-specific layouts can be applied to multiple projects, you can only select one
project at a time in the Layout Save As dialog box. After a project-specific layout is saved, it
can be viewed in the Project band in the Open Layout dialog box. Project-specific layout
offers two advantages:
- Exported with the project when it is exported.
- Enhanced organization of multi-user layouts.
Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Save As.
2. Type a Layout Name.
3. Verify Current User is selected in the Available to drop-down list.
4. Click Save.

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Activity Usage Profile

Exercise:
1. Create a Layout in the WBS window with columns WBS Code, WBS Name, Responsible
Manager, and Original Budget. Save as - Creating WBS, Available to – All Users.

2. Create a Layout in the WBS window with columns WBS Code, WBS Name. Select Gantt chat
view. Save as – Gantt chart WBS, Available to – Current User. Similarly try using Chart view.

3. Create a Layout in the Activities window with Activity table columns Activity ID, Activity name,
Original Duration, Early Start, and Early Finish.
- Enable Gantt chart view & Activity details in the toolbar.
- Under Activity details include the fields as shown below for each Tab.
- Save as – Typical Details, Available to: All Users

Resources Tab
Actual Remaining At
Resource Budgeted Cost Remaining Budgeted Actual
Curve Regular Units / completion
ID Name Units Account Units Cost Cost
Units Time Units
Relationships Tab – Predecessors/Successors
Activity ID Activity Name Relationship type Lag
Expenses Tab
At Auto
Expense Expense Budgeted Accural Cost Actual Remaining
completion compute
item Category Cost Type Account Cost Cost
cost actuals
Steps Tab
Step Name Step Weight Step Weight Percent Completed

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Closing a Project
Close the project when you are finished working with it. You are prompted to verify that you want to
close the project. Closing the project takes you back to the Home window.
Steps
1. In the File menu, click Close All.
2. When prompted, click Yes.

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4 ENTERPRISE PROJECT STRUCTURE

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Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)


The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) is a hierarchy used to organize projects.
 The EPS is made of roots and nodes.
- Each root in the EPS can be subdivided into many nodes.
- Nodes represent different levels within the structure.
For example, nodes can represent divisions within your company, departments, project
groups, or site locations.
 All projects must be included in a node.
- Each node can contain an unlimited number of projects.
- Projects always represent the lowest level of the hierarchy.
- Placement of a project in the hierarchy determines the summary level in which it is included.

Benefits of the EPS


The EPS offers many benefits, including the ability to:
 View project priorities, scope, budgets, and resources across the entire project structure or
within a specific node.
 Manage projects separately while retaining the ability to roll up and summarize data across
multiple projects.
- Each node acts as a master project, rolling up all "child" nodes and projects.
- A node can be opened to view all detailed activity information from the "member" projects.
 View resource allocation across projects.
 Assign security at any level of the project structure to provide users with appropriate access to
project information.

Opening the EPS


You can use the Enterprise Project Structure dialog box to define the EPS.
The three fields to enter when adding an EPS node are:
EPS ID —Identifies the selected EPS node.
EPS Name — Description of the selected EPS node.
Responsible Manager — Use this field to select an OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure)
element to associate with the selected level of the EPS.

Create an EPS Structure:


EPS can be created up to 50 levels. Maximum character length for an EPS ID is 20 and for EPS
Descriptions are 100.
Steps:
1. To create EPS activate Enterprise / Enterprise Project Structure menu.
2. Create EPS node by clicking on "Add" option in the EPS window.
3. Click on the "Arrow" buttons to indent Left / Right or to shift Up / Down.

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Exercise:

Create an EPS Structure as per the details given below.

EPS ID EPS NAME LEVEL

NC NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION 1
MP MANUFACTURING PLANT PROJECTS 2

PP PROCESS PLANT PROJECTS 2

BP BUILDING PROJECTS 2

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5 ORGANISATIONAL BREAKDOW N STRUCTURE (OBS)


Represents the management responsible at the EPS/Project/WBS. Each manager in the OBS is
associated with his / her area of the EPS, either by EPS node or by project, and the WBS of the
particular level of hierarchy. There can be only one "Root OBS" element. Always match the levels of
OBS with that of EPS/PROJECTS/WBS.
User access and privileges to the EPS/Project/WBS nodes are implemented through OBS. OBS can
be created up to 25 levels. Maximum character length for an OBS element is 100.
Steps:
1. To create OBS activate Enterprise/OBS menu.
2. To add an OBS element click on "Add" option in the OBS window.
Exercise:
Create an OBS Structure as per the details given below.
Sr.No. OBS Description Level EPS
1 MD / C E O Level 1 NC
2 GM – Manufacturing Plant Projects Level 2 MP
3 Project Manager - ACC Level 3 -
4 Engineering Manager Level 4 -
5 Procurement Manager Level 4 -
6 Construction Manager Level 4 -
7 Commissioning Manager Level 4 -
8 GM - Process Plant Projects Level 2 PP
9 GM – Building Projects Level 2 BP

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6 CODES & VALUES


A code is a user-defined attribute that is shared by a group of projects, activities, or resources.
These codes enable you to group, filter, sort, and report on large amounts of information. Each type
of code is used to group specific data in the database.

Project Codes
Project codes classify and categorize projects according to your organizational needs.
 Project codes are global, which means they are available to all projects in the database.
 Filter and organize projects based on your organization's requirements.
 Organize projects across the Enterprise Project Structure.

Activity Codes
Activity codes enable you to classify and categorize activities according to your organizational and
project needs.
Activity codes can be defined in three levels:
 Global-Level — Available to all activities in the database.
 EPS-level — Available to all activities within the EPS node and its children.
 Project-level — Available to activities only in the project in which the code is created.

Resource Codes
Resource codes classify and categorize resources according to your organizational needs.
 Resource codes are global, which means they are available to all resources in the database.
 Filter and organize resources based on your organization's requirements.
Steps
1. To create project codes activate Enterprise/Project Codes menu.
2. Click on the "Modify" button to add Project Codes in the "Project Code Definition" window
and close it after adding the project codes
3. Select the Project Code from the drop-down box and add the Code Values under each code.
4. Add the Project Codes and their values as given in the exercise table.
5. Open "Projects" view from toolbars to assign the Project Code Values to any project.
Note:
• Maximum character length for any Project Code is 40.
• Maximum character length for any Project Code Value is 20 and Value Description is 100.
• Project Code Values can be created up to 25 levels under each Project Code.

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Exercise:

Create Project codes & its values as per the details given below.
Project Code Value Description
TKY Turnkey Project
EPC EPC Project
PROJECT TYPE CON Consultancy Project
BOO Build-Own-Operate
BOOT Build-Own-Operate -Transfer
DXB DUBAI
SHJ SHARJAH
ABU ABU DHABI
PROJECT LOCATION
OMN OMAN
QTR QATAR
IRN IRAN

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7 GLOBAL & PROJECT CALENDARS


You can create and assign calendars to each resource and each activity. These calendars define
the available work hours in each calendar day. You can also specify national holidays, your
organization's holidays, project-specific work/non-work days, and resource vacation days. Calendar
assignments are used for activity scheduling, tracking, and resource levelling. Whether an activity
uses its assigned calendar or the calendar of an assigned resource depends on the activity type you
specify.
Three calendar pools are defined: Global, Resource, and Project. The global calendar pool contains
calendars that apply to all projects. The project calendar pool is a separate pool of calendars for
each project. The resource calendar pool can be a separate pool of calendars for each resource.
You can assign either resource or global calendars to resources, and you can assign either global
or project calendars to activities.
You can link resource and project calendars to global calendars. Then, if you make changes to a
global calendar, your changes apply to all resource and project calendars that are linked to the
modified global calendar.

Steps:
1. To create project calendar activate Enterprise / Calendar menu.
2. To create project specific calendars opt for Project.
3. Click on ADD and select one of the Global Calendars as the template for the new Project
Calendar.
4. Select the working days by clicking on WORKWEEK and identify the Work and non-work
days.
5. Click OK to confirm the entries.
6. To assign the calendar to the activities, open activities window view from the tool bars.
7. Activate activity detail form from the tool bars and click on General tab.
8. Select the activity and assign the relevant activity calendar.
Exercise:
Create the calendars as per the details given below.
Calendar Name Type Work Week Holidays
HO Calendar Global 5 Day 26 January, 15th August & 2 nd October
th

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Site Calendar EPS 6 Day 26th January, 15th August & 2 nd October

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8 CREATING A PROJECT

A project can be created using a variety of methods:

 Create a New Project wizard:


- Create the project.
- Create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- Add activities.
- Assign resources and costs.
 Import a file:
- Import a project using the following file formats:
- Primavera projects (XER).
- All Microsoft Project-related extensions (MPP, MDB, MPD and MPT).
- Third-party projects (MPX).
- Primavera Project Planner projects (P3).
- Review and adjust the WBS.
- Review and adjust activities.
- Assign resources and costs.
 Copy/paste:
- Select elements of an existing project you want to copy to a new project

ADDING A PROJECT (Without Using Project Architect)

To create a project go to File - New menu.


Exercise:

Create a Project as per the details given below.


EPS node Manufacturing Plant Projects
Project ID ACC
Project name ACC - DUBAI
start date 1st Jan 2010
Assign responsible OBS Project Manager - ACC
Project Code Project Type = EPC Projects & Location = DUBAI
Default Calendar HO Calendar
Default Duration Type Fixed Duration & Units / Time
Default % Complete Type Physical

Note:
Unlimited projects can be created under any EPS node. Maximum character length for any Project
ID is 20 and for Project Name are 100.

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Entering Project Start and End Dates


Use the calendar to select Planned Start and Must Finish By dates for the project.
The Must Finish field is not mandatory. You can assign a project Must Finish By date at any point in
the project life cycle in the Dates tab in Project Details.
To navigate in the calendar:
 When you launch the calendar, the current month/year is displayed. To navigate to a different
year, click the Month/Year section in the calendar, and then use arrows to scroll to the desired
year.
 Click the desired month and date, and then click Select.

Entering Responsible Manager


The Responsible Manager, selected from the Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS), is the
individual responsible for the work.
The OBS is a hierarchical arrangement of an organization's project management structure, either as
roles or individuals. The OBS can be configured to represent a detailed organizational breakdown
(with employee names) or a more general framework where departments, teams, or types of
responsibility are modelled in the structure.

Selecting Assignment Rate Type


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

Projects Window
The project has been created and opened.
To view high-level information about the project, navigate to the Projects window, which displays the
projects within the EPS that you can access. You can also:
 Open, create, and save project layouts.
 Group projects by the Enterprise Project Structure, project codes, or other project-related items.
 Filter projects.
 Modify column data.

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Projects Window

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

General Tab
The General tab enables you to view or modify general information about the selected project.
Project ID, Project Name, and Responsible Manager can be set when you create the project, or you
can change them here. The remaining fields are set by default.

Fields in the General tab:


 Project ID — Short, unique identifier for the project.
 Project Name — Name of the project.
 Status — Indicates project status based on the table below:

Status Indicates project is...

Planned Being analyzed before establishing permanent plan.


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

 Responsible Manager — Individual, selected from the OBS, who is responsible for the project.
 Risk Level — Indicates the overall risk in performing the project. You can use the risk level to
organize, filter, and report on projects within the project structure. You can enter a value
between Very High and Very Low, the default is Medium.
 Leveling Priority — User-defined rank of the project against all other projects, based on its
importance to the organization. You can enter a value between 1 and 100. The highest rank is 1
the default is 10.
 Check-out Status — Indicates whether the project is checked in or checked out.
 Checked Out By — Displays the user that checked out the project.
 Date Checked Out — Indicates the date and time the user checked out the project.

Dates Tab
The Dates tab enables you to edit date information for the selected project. The Planned Start and
Must Finish By dates can be set when you create the project, or you can change them here.

Fields in the Dates tab:


 Planned Start — Planned start date of the project.
 Data Date — Date used as the starting point for schedule calculations.
 Must Finish By — Date indicating the desired project end date.
 Finish — Non-editable field indicating the latest early finish date calculated when the project was
last scheduled.
 Actual Start and Actual Finish — Non-editable field indicating the actual start and finish dates of
the project.
 Anticipated Start and Anticipated Finish — Expected dates that can be entered while planning
the project at a high level.

Notebook Tab
The Notebook tab enables you to write, view, or edit project notes such as the project's purpose,
core requirements, or other project-specific details.

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Fields in the Notebook tab:


 Notebook Topic — List of topics assigned to the selected node/project.
 Detail — User-defined description of the selected topic. You can use HTML editing features,
including formatting text, inserting pictures, copying, pasting, and adding hyperlinks.

Codes Tab
The Codes tab enables you to assign project code values to the selected project. Project codes
allow you to group the projects in the EPS to specific categories, such as location or division.
 Unlimited hierarchical project codes are supported.
 Allows for summarization of large amounts of information across projects

Type Ahead and Search in Dialog Boxes


The Search field in dialog boxes throughout Primavera offers a faster alternative to scrolling through
a long list of values:
 Search — Type in the Search field and then press Enter to search for a value.
 Type ahead — Type in the Search field and, as you type, values that match begin with the
letters you have typed are displayed in the dialog box.

Defaults Tab
The Defaults tab is divided into two sections:
 Defaults for New Activities — Indicates the settings that will be used when new activities are
added to the project. Note that changing these settings will not affect existing activities.
 Auto-numbering Defaults — Sets how new activities will be numbered in your project.
- When the Increment Activity ID based on selected activity field is marked, the prefix or suffix
of the selected activity is applied to the activity that is being added.

Settings Tab
The Settings tab consists of three sections:
 Summarized Data — Identifies the date and the level to which the project was last summarized.
 Project Settings — Sets the character used to separate WBS levels; identifies the month in
which the fiscal year begins; and specifies the baseline used in earned value calculations.
 Define Critical Activities — Identifies which activities are displayed as critical, either longest path
or a value of Total Float.

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Calculations Tab
Use this tab to specify how to calculate cost and resource use when you update activities. Two
fields of note:
 Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when Duration % Complete Changes — Mark to calculate
actual units and costs as Actual (units or costs) = Budgeted (units or costs) * Duration %
Complete
- Primavera performs these calculations whenever you update the Duration % complete.
- Values you specify override the application's calculated values. If you clear the checkbox, the
application does not estimate actual and the actual fields remain blank unless you specify
values.
 Link Actual and Actual This Period Units and Cost — Mark this checkbox to recalculate actual or
actual this period units and costs when one of these values is updated. This option is selected by
default.

Uncheck - Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when Duration % Complete Changes

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9 CREATING A WORK BREAKDOW N STRUCTURE (WBS)


The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical arrangement of the products and services
produced during, and by, a project. It enables you to divide a project into meaningful and logical
pieces for the purpose of planning and control.
 Each project has a unique WBS hierarchy.
- The root level of the WBS is equal to the Project ID and Project Name.
 Elements within the WBS have a “Child/parent” relationship, which means that you can roll up
and summarize. Information from the lower levels.

Project A/
Root / Level 1 WBS

Level 2
WBS.1 WBS.2 WBS.3

Level 3
WBS.1.1 WBS.1.2 WBS.1.3

Benefits of WBS:
 The WBS provides clear vision of project
 Define all the work of the project and only the work of project, thereby clarifying the project
scope
 Provides the framework for all deliverables across the project life cycle
 Reflects the input from all team members to ensure buy-in and builds team.
 It Provides support for focusing communication with stakeholders and aid in clearly identifying
accountability to a level of detail necessary for effectively managing and controlling the project.
 The Work Breakdown is foundation for estimating time and cost, and resources
 Provides the framework for project control and performance monitoring
When a project is created, a root level WBS element is added with the same ID and name as the
project.
Steps:
1. In the Projects window, select a project, ACC - DUBAI
2. Right-click with your mouse on project ACC - DUBAI, and then click Open Project.
3. In the Toolbar, click WBS.
4. In the Side Toolbar, click Add.
WBS elements added to the root level element are automatically indented to form the
second level of the hierarchy.
5. In the WBS Code/Name column, type as per below mentioned table.

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WBS Code WBS Name Level OBS


ACC ACC - DUBAI 1 Project Manager-ACC
ACC.1 ENGINEERING 2 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.1 GENERAL 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.2 ARCHITECTURE 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.3 CIVIL 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.4 EQUIPMENT 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.5 PIPING 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.6 ELECTRICAL 3 Engineering Manager
ACC. 1.7 INSTRUMENTATION 3 Engineering Manager
ACC.2 PROCUREMENT 2 Procurement Manager
ACC. 3 CONSTRUCTION 2 Construction Manager
ACC. 3.1 GENERAL 3 Construction Manager
ACC.3.2 CIVIL 3 Construction Manager
ACC.3.3 MECHANICAL 3 Construction Manager
ACC.3.3.1 EQUIPMENT 4 Construction Manager
ACC.3.3.2 PIPING 4 Construction Manager
ACC. 3.4 ELECTRICAL 3 Construction Manager
ACC. 3.5 INSTRUMENTATION 3 Construction Manager
ACC.4 COMMISSIONING 2 Commissioning Manager

When you create a new WBS element, it is indented as a "child" of the WBS element that
is currently selected.
If you add a WBS element to the wrong level or in the wrong order, you can use the
indentation keys located on the Side Toolbar to adjust the structure of the WBS
hierarchy.
6. Select a responsible manager in the Responsible Manager field in the General tab in
WBS Details
The "child" WBS inherits attributes from the "parent" WBS. This is illustrated below, when
the WBS element you create, Elevator, inherits the responsible manager of its parent,
Mechanicals
You can determine the level that WBS elements group to by right-clicking in the WBS
window and choosing Collapse To.
Right-click in the WBS window and click Expand All or Collapse All to expand or collapse
elements of the WBS.

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10 BUDGET & ESTABLISHING SPENDING PLAN


A project budget consists of the total estimated effort (or quantities) necessary and the cash flow
required to complete a project. At the outset of the project lifecycle, the scope and budget
requirements are usually determined. With-top-clown budgeting, you can track the total spending
plan and access the variance between the total and the current budget.
To perform top-down budgeting you must:
 Set high level budget estimates at each EPS node. You can do this in the planning stage.
 Distribute the budgets to the projects in each node. Values are not rolled up, and distributed
values do not have to equal the budget of a higher-level EPS node
 Compare monthly totals for the EPS nodes with those of all projects in the node

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With spending plans in place, you can compare the monthly totals for the EPS Node with those of all
projects in the node, to ensure monthly spending does not exceed your original budget estimate.

The process of top-down budgeting is ongoing through the project life cycle. To manage
adjustments, you can create log records to keep trade-of changes to the original budget in the
project planning stage or after the-project has begun while retaining the original amounts.
First, enter the Total budgeted amount for each EPS node's on the Budget Log tab.
Second, enter the applicable portion of the total budgeted amount to each project in the EPS node's
branch on the Budget Log tab.
Third, apportion anticipated original budgets for each level of the project's WBS on the Budget Log
tab.
You can set up a funding sources dictionary containing any non-profit, government-allocated, or
other funding sources. Then, you can assign funding at the project or EPS level.

Funding Sources
You can set up a dictionary containing non profit organizations, government agencies, or any other
funding sources. The funding sources you establish are global and can be applied to any EPS or
project. You can apply unlimited- funding sources to each EPS and project level.

Assigning Funding Sources


Both the Amount and Fund Share fields are user-defined.
 There are no calculations or validation checks on these fields.
 Funds do not roll up to the parent
Steps to create Funding Sources:
1. In the Enterprise menu, click Funding Sources
2. Add Funding Sources, Banks & Bonds.
3. Add Unix Bank & Seasonal Bonds, Under Banks & Bonds. Like as shown below.

4. Click Close.
5. Select a project, ACC-DUBAI.
6. Click the Funding tab.
7. Click Add.
8. Select a Funding Source, Unix Bank & Seasonal Bonds.
9. Close the Funding Source dialog box.
10. In the Amount column, type <Dhs 25,000,000>for Each.
11. In the Fund Share column, type <50%> for Each.

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Steps to enter Original Budget for WBS:

1. Activate "Projects" view from HOME and select "ACC - DUBAI" project and assign original
budget as Dhs.50,000,000.
The Current Budget and Proposed Budget are set equal to the- Original Budget when no
items are in the Budget Change Log.
2. Activate "WBS" view from HOME and select respective WBS and assign original budget as
listed in the table below.
WBS Code WBS Name Original Budget
ACC ACC - DUBAI Dhs.50,000,000
ACC.1 ENGINEERING Dhs.600,000
ACC. 1.1 GENERAL Dhs.50,000
ACC.1.2 ARCHITECTURE Dhs. 100,000
ACC. 1.3 CIVIL Dhs.50,000
ACC. 1.4 EQUIPMENT Dhs. 100,000
ACC. 1.5 PIPING Dhs. 100,000
ACC. 1.6 ELECTRICAL Dhs. 100,000
ACC. 1.7 INSTRUMENTATION Dhs. 100,000
ACC.2 PROCUREMENT Dhs.34,400,000
ACC. 3 CONSTRUCTION Dhs. 14,000,000
ACC. 3.1 GENERAL Dhs. 1,000,000
ACC. 3.2 CIVIL Dhs.2,250,000
ACC.3.3 MECHANICAL Dhs.7,000,000
ACC.3.3.1 EQUIPMENT Dhs.4,000,000
ACC.3.3.2 PIPING Dhs.3,000,000
ACC.3.4 ELECTRICAL Dhs.2,000,000
ACC. 3.5 INSTRUMENTATION Dhs. 1,750,000
ACC.4 COMMISSIONING Dhs. 1,000,000

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Tracking Budget Changes


Budget Change Log
 Enables you-to track modifications that affect the budget.
• Document budget changes as they occur.
• Use changes to calculate the latest budgeted amounts for the project.
 Provides a clear indication of the who, what, when, where, and how behind the changes.
 Used in the project planning stage or after the project has started.-
Log Status
 Budget Change Logs can have a status of:
Pending - included in Proposed Budget, not included in Current Budget
Approved- included in Proposed Budget and Current Budget
Not Approved- not included in any budget
Change Calculations
 The following equations hold true for the Budget log.
Original Budget = Original Budget entered
Current Budget = Original Budget + Approved budget changes
Proposed Budget = Original Budget + Approved budget changes + Pending budget changes

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Steps to add Budget Log:


1. In WBS Window
2. Select a WBS, ACC.4 Commissioning
3. In Budget Log Tab, Add a new log dated (31-1-14), for an amount of Dhs.500000 with
Status as Approved.
4. Again, Add a new log dated (15-2-14), for an amount of Dhs.50000 with Status as
Pending.

Establishing a Spending Plan

Spending Plan Tab


 Allocate monthly spending of budgeted funds at three levels:
• EPS node
• Project
• WBS element
 Spending Plan column is used to allocate anticipated spending per month.
 Spending Plan Tally column is the' roll-up of the child, spending plans to the parent element.
 Undistributed Current Variance column allows you to track the amount of budgeted money left to
allocate to children.
• Undistributed Current Variance = Spending Plan - Spending Plan Tally
Spending-Plan Overview
Records monthly spending of budgeted funds, tracks the current and undistributed variance
amounts, and rolls up the monthly spending plan of each child in a branch to the parent element.
 Once the initial total budgets are entered, start allocating anticipated monthly spending amounts
per project.
 Tallies the amounts for the child projects so you can keep track of the total spending plan and
assess the variance between this total and the current Budget
 Monthly budgets can be defined at the EPS, Project, or WB.S level.

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Benefit Plan Overview


As you near the completion of the project, you can better determine profitability and enter the
amount benefiting your organization.
 The benefit amount, or return on investment (ROI), is a gauge used to determine whether a
project of this type should be undertaken in the future.
 The Benefit Plan Tally is the roll-up of the child Benefit Plans.
• Benefit Variance = Benefit Plan Tally - Benefit Plan

Budget Summary Calculations

The following equations populate the fields on the Budget Summary tab.
Budget
 Current Budget = Original Budget + Approved Budget Log changes • (Budget Log tab)
 Unallocated Budget = Current Budget - Distributed Current Budget
 Distributed Current Budget = Sum of Current Budget values from one level lower
Current Variance
 Current Budget - Total Spending Plan
Spending Plan
 Total Spending Plan = Sum of the monthly Spending Plan (Spending Plan tab)
 Undistributed Current-Variance = Total Spending Plan - Total Spending Plan Tally
 Total Spending Plan Tally = Sum of the monthly Spending tally (Spending Plan tab)
Benefit Plan
 Total Benefit Plan = Sum of the monthly Benefit Plan (Spending Plan tab)
 Total Benefit Plan Tally = Sum of the monthly Benefit Plan Tally (Spending Plan tab)

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11 ACTIVITY CODES & VALUES


Activity codes enable you to classify and categorize activities according to your organizational and
project needs.
You can use activity codes to view and roll up activities in the Activity Table; build reports in the
Report wizard or Report Editor; organize a layout by grouping activities into specific categories; and
select and summarize activities. Examples of activity codes include Phase, Area, Site, and Division.
Activity codes can be defined in three levels:
 Global-Level — Available to all activities in the database.
- Create an unlimited number of global-level activity codes.
- Organize activities within a project or across the project structure.
 EPS-level — Available to all activities within the EPS node and its children.
- Create an unlimited number of EPS-level activity codes.
- Organize activities within a project or across a portion of the EPS.
 Project-level — Available to activities only in the project in which the code is created.
- Create up to 500 activity codes per project.
- Filter and organize activities based on unique, project-specific requirements.
Each activity code (global, EPS, and project) may contain an unlimited number of activity code
values, which can be organized in a hierarchy.

Type Can be assigned to Number


Global-level Activities in all projects Unlimited
EPS-level Activities within EPS in which code was created, Unlimited
and EPS children
Project-level Activities in project in which code was created 500

Note:
• Activity Code Values can be created up to 25 levels under each Activity Code.
• Maximum character length for any Activity Code is 40.
• Maximum character length for any Activity Code Value is 20 and Value Description is 100.

Steps
1. To create Activity codes activate Enterprise/Activity Codes menu.
2. Click on the "Modify" button to add Activity Codes in the " Activity Code Definition" window
and close it after adding the Activity codes
3. Select the Activity Code from the drop-down box and add the Code Values under each code.
4. Add the Activity Codes and their values as given in the table below.
5. Open "Activity" view from Toolbar Bar to assign the Activity Code Values to any Activity.

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Exercise:

Create Activity codes and its values as per the details given below.
Activity Code Code Value Description
COM Common
FGS Finished Good Store
AREA
MPH Main Production Hall
RMS Raw Material Store
UB Utility Building
TM Tim
JK Jack
SM Sam
RESPONSIBILITY
KN Kevin
PT Peter
PL Paul
GG George
DXB Dubai
TASK LOCATION SHJ Sharjah
ABU Abu Dhabi

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12 ADDING ACTIVITIES
Activities are the fundamental work elements of a project. They are the lowest level of a WBS and
the smallest subdivision of work that directly concerns the project manager.
 Most detailed work unit tracked in a project schedule.
 Contains all information about the work to be performed.
 Also known as a task, item, event, or work package.

Activity Components:

OBS & Activity ID &


WBS Description
Expenses
Activity Type

Roles &
Resource
Assignm ents
Duration

Constraints

Dates
Activity

Steps
Calendar
Assignm ent

Notebook/
Feedback Duration &
Percent
Com plete
Types
Relationships Activity
WPs & Docs Codes

Adding Activities
Use the Activities window to create, view, and modify activities for the selected project. To add an
activity to a project, perform one of the following actions:
 In the Side Toolbar, click Add.
 In the Edit menu, click Add.
 Press Insert on the keyboard.
 Right-click and click Add.

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Steps
1. Open a project, ACC-DUBAI.
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window. (Or in the Toolbar, click Activities).
3. In the Edit menu, click User Preferences.
4. Click the Assistance tab.
5. Mark the Use New Activity Wizard checkbox.
6. Click Close
Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
While in the Activities window, you can click Add in the Side Toolbar to add new activities. The New
Activity wizard appears only when you click Add in the Side Toolbar.
Steps
1. In the Side Toolbar, click Add.
Type a unique Activity ID and Activity Name, for each activity that you add. You will
assign the activity to the Engineering - General WBS element.
2. Type Activity ID, Activity Name
3. Click Next
4. Select the WBS
5. Click Next.
Assigning Activity Type
Activity Type controls how an activity's dates are calculated.
Select the Activity Type according to the activity's function in the project and the calendar that
should be used for the activity during scheduling.
 Start Milestone — This type is typically used to mark the beginning of a phase or to communicate project
deliverables.
- Zero-duration activity.
- Only has a Start date.
- You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and documents.
- You can assign a primary resource.
- You cannot assign roles.

 Finish Milestone — This type is typically used to mark the end of a phase or to communicate
project deliverables.
- Zero-duration activity.
- Only has a Finish date.
- You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and documents.
- You can assign a primary resource.
- You cannot assign roles.

 Task Dependent — This type is typically used when the work needs to be accomplished in a
given timeframe, regardless of the assigned resources' availability.
- The activity's resources are scheduled to work according to the activity calendar.
- Duration is determined by the assigned calendar's workweek.

 Resource Dependent — This type is typically used when multiple resources assigned to the
same activity can work independently.
- The activity's resources are scheduled according to the individual resource's calendar.
- Duration is determined by the availability of the resources assigned to work on the activity.

 Level of Effort — This type is typically used for ongoing tasks dependent on other activities.
- Duration is determined by its predecessor and successor activities, and its assigned
calendar.
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- Examples include clerical work, a security guard, and meetings.


- You cannot assign constraints.

 WBS Summary — This type is used to summarize a WBS level.


- The WBS summary activity comprises a group of activities that share a common WBS level.
- Dates calculated on a WBS summary activity are based on earliest start date of the activities
in the group and latest finish date of these activities.
- The WBS summary activity duration is calculated based on its assigned calendar.
- You cannot assign constraints to WBS summary activities.
Steps
1. In the Activity Type drop-down list, select Start Milestone.
2. Click Next:
You will not add dependent activities or relationships at this time.
3. Verify No, continue is selected, and then click Next.
4. Verify No, thanks is selected, and then click Next.
Completing the New Activity Wizard
You have just added your first activity. You will not use the wizard to help you create additional
activities.
1. Mark the Do not show this wizard again checkbox.
2. When prompted, click OK.
3. Click Finish.
Adding an Activity via Activity Details
You can use the Activity Details tabs to add an activity, and then enter additional information about
the activity. When adding an activity, first select either the WBS band in which the activity will reside,
or select an existing activity in the WBS band
1. Select a WBS element.
2. In the Edit menu, click Add, or right-click and then click Add.
General Tab
Use the General tab to assign basic information about the activity, including Activity Type, discussed
earlier in this lesson.
1. In the General tab, enter the Activity ID.
2. In the Activity field, type Activity Name, and then press Enter.
3. In the Activity Type drop-down list, verify Task Dependent
Status Tab
Use the Status tab to define the selected activity's duration, constraint, Start and Finish dates, labor
and nonlabor units and costs, and material costs. You can also use the Status tab to view the
selected activity's float, actuals, and completion percentages.
1. In Activity Details, click the Status tab.
2. In the Original Duration field, type the value and then press Enter
Notebook Tab
The Notebook tab enables you to assign notes to an activity. Notebook topics are typically
instructions or descriptions that further describe the activity according to specific categories of
information.
1. Click the Notebook tab
2. In the Notebook Topic section, click Add
3. Select a Notebook topic, Anticipated Problems
4. Close the Assign Notebook Topic dialog box.
5. Type a description in the Anticipated Problems-section

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Adding an Activity via Columns


You can use the columns in the Activity Table to add an activity and then enter additional
information about it.
1. In the Activity Table, select a WBS band
2. Press Insert on your keyboard.
3. Enter the Activity ID
4. In the Activity Name column, type Activity Name
5. In the Activity Type column, verify Task Dependent
6. In the Original Duration column, type the value
7. Press Enter on your keyboard.
Note that the bar for the entered activity increased in length after you entered the value in the
Original Duration column.
1. In the Activity Table, select a WBS band
2. Right-click in the Activity Table, and then click Add.
3. Enter the Activity ID
4. In the Activity Name column, type Activity Name
5. In the Activity Type column, verify Task Dependent
Enter the following activities in the respective WBS using any of the methods described:
Activity ID Activity Name Original
Duration
ACC - DUBAI
ENGINEERING
GENERAL
EGGEN00 Award of Contract 0
EGGEN01 Kick off meeting 1
EGGEN02 Basic Engineering 10
EGGEN03 Plot Plan 10
ARCHITECTURE
EGARC01 Main Production Hall Architecture 44
EGARC02 Raw Material Store Architecture 33
EGARC03 Finished Good Store Architecture 22
EGARC04 Utility Buildings Architecture 50
CIVIL
EGCIV01 Main Production Hall Civil Design 44
EGCIV02 Raw Material Store Civil Design 33
EGCIV03 Finished Good Store Civil Design 22
EGCIV04 Utility Building Civil Design 66
EQUIPMENT
EGEQP01 Main Production Hall Equipment Layout 30
EGEQP02 Utility Building Equipment Layout 30
EGEQP03 Main Production Hall Equipment Design 22
EGEQP04 Utility Building Equipment Design 22
EGEQP05 Raw Material Store Sleeper Design 15
EGEQP06 Finished Good Store Rack Design 15
PIPING
EGPIP01 Piping Layout - Main Production Hall 22
EGPIP02 Piping Layout - Utility Building 22
ELECTRICAL
EGELE01 Single Line Diagrams 66

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EGELE02 Electrical Equipment Specs 44


INSTRUMENTATION
EGINS01 Single Line Diagram 44
EGINS02 Instrument Specs 22
PROCUREMENT
PREQP01 Supply of main production hall equipment 22
PREQP02 Supply of utility building equipment 22
PRPIP01 Supply of Pipes, Fittings & Valves - MPH 22
PRPIP02 Supply of Pipes, Fittings & Valves - UB 22
PRELE01 Supply of Electrical Equipment & Cables 30
PRINS01 Supply of Instruments & Cables 30
CONSTRUCTION
GENERAL
CNGEN01 Mobilization of site 30
CIVIL
CNCIV01 Civil Work Main Production Hall 80
CNCIV02 Civil Work Raw Material Store 40
CNCIV03 Civil Work Finished Good Store 50
CNCIV04 Civil Work Utility Building 90
MECHANICAL
CNMEC05 Fabrication & Erection of Racks 20
CNMEC06 Painting 200
EQUIPMENT
CNMEC01 Main Production Hall Equipment Erection 40
CNMEC02 Utility Building Equipment Erection 35
PIPING
CNMEC03 Piping Fabrication & Erection - MPH 60
CNMEC04 Piping Fabrication & Erection - UB 80
ELECTRICAL
CNELE01 Electrical Equipment & Cable Installation 130
INSTRUMENTATION
CNINS01 Instrument Equipment & Cable Installation 130
COMMISSIONING
CMCOM01 Receipt of raw material for commissioning 15
CMCOM02 Pre-commissioning of MPH equipment 30
CMCOM03 Pre-commissioning of UB equipment 20
CMCOM04 MPH equipment trial run 20
CMCOM05 UB equipment trial run 15
CMCOM06 Final Commissioning 30

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Assigning Activity Codes / Calendar to an Activity


Assign activity code values in the Activities window.
 Add a column for the activity code in the Activity Table.
 Use the Codes tab in Activity Details.
Assigning Activity Codes to Multiple Activities
Use the Side Toolbar to assign an activity code to multiple activities.
Steps
1. Select an activity, EGELE-01
2. Press Control-click to select another activity, EGELE-02
3. In the Menu bar, click Activity Codes from the Enterprise menu.
4. In Activity Code: Area, select an activity code value, COM
5. Close the dialog box.
6. Click in the Gantt Chart to unselect the activities, and then select activities EGELE-01,
02 to verify that the activity code value was assigned.

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Calendar Assignments
Use the Select Activity Calendar dialog box to select the calendar that is used for an activity in the
project.
For example, in this project, the default calendar assigned to all activities is the HO You will view the
available calendars on the activity.
Steps
1. Select an activity, EGGEN-03 – Plot Plan.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Click in the Activity Calendar field
4. To view the available global calendars, Select HO and then close the dialog box.
Assign the activity codes and calendars as per below mentioned table:
Task
WBS Activity ID Calendar AREA RESPONSIBILITY
location
ACC.1.1 EGGEN00 HO COM DXB SM
ACC.1.1 EGGEN01 HO COM DXB SM
ACC.1.1 EGGEN02 HO COM SHJ SM
ACC.1.1 EGGEN03 HO COM SHJ SM
ACC.1.2 EGARC01 HO MPH SHJ KN
ACC.1.2 EGARC02 HO RMS SHJ KN
ACC.1.2 EGARC03 HO FGS SHJ KN
ACC.1.2 EGARC04 HO UB SHJ KN
ACC.1.3 EGCIV01 HO MPH SHJ KN
ACC.1.3 EGCIV02 HO RMS SHJ KN
ACC.1.3 EGCIV03 HO FGS SHJ KN
ACC.1.3 EGCIV04 HO UB SHJ KN
ACC.1.4 EGEQP01 HO MPH SHJ PL
ACC.1.4 EGEQP02 HO UB SHJ PL
ACC.1.4 EGEQP03 HO MPH SHJ PL
ACC.1.4 EGEQP04 HO UB SHJ PL
ACC.1.4 EGEQP05 HO RMS SHJ PL
ACC.1.4 EGEQP06 HO FGS SHJ PL
ACC.1.5 EGPIP01 HO MPH SHJ PL
ACC.1.5 EGPIP02 HO UB SHJ PL
ACC.1.6 EGELE01 HO COM SHJ GG
ACC.1.6 EGELE02 HO COM SHJ GG
ACC.1.7 EGINS01 HO COM SHJ GG
ACC.1.7 EGINS02 HO COM SHJ GG
ACC.2 PREQP01 HO MPH DXB PL
ACC.2 PREQP02 HO UB DXB PL
ACC.2 PRPIP01 HO MPH DXB PL
ACC.2 PRPIP02 HO UB DXB PL
ACC.2 PRELE01 HO COM DXB GG
ACC.2 PRINS01 HO COM DXB GG
ACC.3.1 CNGEN01 SITE COM ABU JK
ACC.3.2 CNCIV01 SITE MPH ABU JK
ACC.3.2 CNCIV02 SITE RMS ABU JK

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ACC.3.2 CNCIV03 SITE FGS ABU JK


ACC.3.2 CNCIV04 SITE UB ABU JK
ACC.3.3.1 CNMEC01 SITE MPH ABU PT
ACC.3.3.1 CNMEC02 SITE UB ABU PT
ACC.3.3.2 CNMEC03 SITE MPH ABU PT
ACC.3.3.2 CNMEC04 SITE UB ABU PT
ACC.3.3 CNMEC05 SITE FGS ABU PT
ACC.3.3 CNMEC06 SITE COM ABU PT
ACC.3.4 CNELE01 SITE COM ABU GG
ACC.3.5 CNINS01 SITE COM ABU GG
ACC.4 CMCOM01 SITE COM ABU TM
ACC.4 CMCOM02 SITE MPH ABU TM
ACC.4 CMCOM03 SITE UB ABU TM
ACC.4 CMCOM04 SITE MPH ABU TM
ACC.4 CMCOM05 SITE UB ABU TM
ACC.4 CMCOM06 SITE COM ABU TM

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Adding Steps to an Activity


Activity steps allow you create a checklist for the activity, and then track the completion of each
step. Often, steps provide a list of procedures required to complete the activity and provide extra
guidance to resources assigned to the activity,
 Assign an unlimited number of steps per activity.
 Steps can be marked completed in Primavera and by the primary resource in timesheets.
 Steps do not have duration estimates or dates.
 Each step can have an additional explanation in the text area on the right side of the Steps tab.
Steps
1. Select an activity, EGGEN-03 – Plot Plan.
2. In Activity Details, click the Steps tab.
3. Click Add.
4. Type a name for the step <Start>.
5. Type a step description <Start>
6. Step Weight <10>
7. Type a name for the step <IDC>.
8. Type a step description <Inter Disciplinary Check>
9. Step Weight <20>
10. Click Add to add a second step.
11. Type a name for the step <IFC>.
12. Type the step description <Issued for Comments>
13. Step Weight <25>
14. Click Add to add a third step.
15. Type a name for the step <IFA>.
16. Type the step description <Issued for Approval>
17. Step Weight <30>
18. Click Add to add a fourth step.
19. Type a name for the step <AFC>.
20. Type the step description <Approved for Construction>
21. Step Weight <15>

Step Templates
Activity step templates enable you to define a group of steps common to multiple activities and then
assign the step template to activities.
If a commonly used step or set of steps have already been defined for an activity, you can convert
the steps to a template.
Steps
1. Shift-click to select all steps in the Steps tab.
2. Right-click in the steps, and then click Create Template.
3. Type a Step Template Name <Design Review>.
4. Click OK.
5. Assign the Template to all the Activities under Engineering WBS.
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13 CREATING RELATIONSHIPS
Network Logic Diagram
A network logic diagram is a logical representation of all the activities in a project showing their
dependency relationships.
Precedence Diagramming Method
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) is a technique for creating network logic diagrams.
 A box or rectangle represents an activity.
 Lines with arrows connect the boxes and represent the logical relationships between the
activities.
- Predecessor — Controls the start or finish of another activity.
- Successor — Depends on the start or finish of another activity.
 Start with either the first activity in the network and enter each successor, or start with the last
activity in the network and enter each predecessor.
Activity
E

Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity


A B C D G

Predecessor Successor to Activity


to Activity B Activity B
F
Relationship Types
There are four relationship types. In the following diagrams, activity A represents the predecessor
and activity B represents the successor.

 Finish-to-Start (FS) — When A finishes, B can start.

A B
First Activity Second Activity

 Start-to-Start (SS) — When A starts, B can start.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

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 Finish-to-Finish (FF) — When A finishes, B can finish.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

 Start-to-Finish — When A starts, B can finish.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

Relationships with Lag


Lag specifies an offset or delay between an activity and its successor. It can be added to any type of
relationship and have a positive or a negative value.
Lag is scheduled based on the calendar selected in the General tab in Schedule Options dialog box.
(In the Tools menu, click Schedule, and then click Options to access the Schedule Options dialog
box.)
There are four calendar options for scheduling lag:
 Predecessor activity calendar
 Successor activity calendar
 24-hour calendar
 Project default calendar
Below are two examples of relationships with lag:
 Finish-to-Start with Lag — The following example shows that the Construct Building Foundation
activity must be finished for seven days before the Construct Building Exterior and Structure activity can
start. (FS7 indicates there is a finish-to-start relationship with 7 days of lag.)

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A B
FS 7d
Construct Building Construct Building
Foundation Exterior and

 Start-to-Start with Lag — The following example shows that the Install Interior Belt Conveyors
activity can start five days after the Construct Building Exterior and Structure activity starts. (SS5
indicates there is a start-to-start relationship with 5 days of lag.)

Construct Building
Exterior and Structure

SS 5d

Install Interior Belt


Conveyors

Creating Relationships in the Activity Network


The Activity Network is useful when sequencing activities because it displays the activities
graphically as you create relationships.
Steps:
1. Open a project.
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window (or in the Toolbar bar, click Activities)
3. In the Layout Options bar, Select Activity Network from show on top
4. Select a WBS Code
5. Click zoom icon in the toolbar.
6. Select an activity
7. In Activity Details, click the Relationships tab.
Creating a Start-to-Start Relationship
You can create a relationship between activities by clicking and dragging your mouse between the
two activities.
 The left edge of the activity represents the start of the activity.
 The right edge of the activity represents the finish of the activity.
Steps
1. To create a SS relationship, place the mouse pointer to the left edge of an activity.
The relationship arrow appears to be pointing downwards
2. Click and drag the mouse to the left edge of a successor activity.
Creating Relationships in Activity Details
You can also use the Relationships tab to create relationships. When creating a relationship in
Activity Details, the default relationship type is Finish-to-Start.

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Activities in the Assign Successors dialog box can be grouped and sorted in a variety of ways,
including by EPS and by List. In the Display Options bar, click Group and Sort By to view options.
Steps
1. Select an activity
2. In the Successors pane within the Relationships tab, click Assign.
3. Select an activity, from the list, and then click to assign the selection.
4. Close the Assign Successors dialog box.
Using the GoTo Feature
Click goto on the Relationships tab to change the selection in the Activity Table to the activity
highlighted in the successor or predecessor pane.
Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Top, Gantt Chart
2. Select an activity in the Successor pane in the Relationships tab
3. Click Goto option
4. Note that the activity is now selected in the Activity Table.
Assigning Lag
Although the default relationship type is Finish-to-Start with zero days of lag, you can use the
columns on the Relationships tab to make adjustments to the relationship type or to assign lag.
Steps
1. In the Successors pane, click in the Lag field.
2. Type the number of days of lag
3. Press Enter
Viewing Relationships in Gantt Chart
You can also view/modify relationships in the Activity Table and Gantt Chart.
 Activity Table — Displays the Predecessors and Successors columns.
 Gantt Chart — Click the Relationship Lines icon on the Toolbar to toggle relationship lines on
and off.
Note that even though relationships were added, the activities did not move from the project start
date. When the project is scheduled, the activities will be placed in the Gantt Chart according to the
relationships.

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Exercise: Create the relationship for the entered activities as per the below mentioned table – Use
any for the methods explained above:
Activity Successor Relationship Lag
EGGEN00 EGGEN01 FS 0
EGGEN01 CNGEN01 FS 0
EGGEN02 FS 0
EGGEN02 EGGEN03 FS -5
EGGEN03 EGARC01 FS 0
EGARC02 FS 0
EGARC03 FS 0
EGARC04 FS 0
EGARC01 EGCIV01 FS 0
EGEQP01 FS 5
EGARC02 EGCIV02 FS 0
EGARC03 EGCIV03 FS 0
EGARC04 EGCIV04 FS 0
EGEQP02 FS 0
EGCIV01 CNCIV01 FS 0
EGEQP01 FF 0
EGCIV02 CNCIV02 FS 0
EGEQP05 FF 0
EGCIV03 CNCIV03 FS 0
EGEQP06 FF 5
EGCIV04 CNCIV04 FS 0
EGEQP02 FS 0
EGEQP01 EGELE01 FF 10
EGEQP03 SS 15
EGEQP02 EGELE01 FF 10
EGEQP04 SS 15
EGEQP03 PREQP01 FS 0
EGPIP01 FS 0
EGEQP04 PREQP02 FS 0
EGPIP02 FS 0

EGEQP05 CNCIV02 FF 20
EGEQP06 CNMEC05 FS 0
EGPIP01 PRPIP01 FS 0
EGPIP02 PRPIP02 FS 0
EGELE01 EGELE02 SS 30
EGINS01 FF 0
EGELE02 PRELE01 FS -15
EGINS01 EGINS02 SS 30
EGINS02 PRINS01 FS -15
PREQP01 CNMEC01 FS 0
PREQP02 CNMEC02 FS 0
PRPIP01 CNMEC03 FS 0
PRPIP02 CNMEC04 FS 0
PRELE01 CNELE01 FS 0
PRINS01 CNINS01 FS 0

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Activity Successor Relationship Lag


CNCIV01 FS 0
CNGEN01 CNCIV02 FS 0
CNCIV03 FS 0
CNCIV04 FS 0
CNCIV01 CNMEC01 FS -15
CNCIV02 CMCOM01 FS 200
CNCIV03 CNMEC05 FS -10
CNCIV04 CNMEC02 FS -15
CNMEC01 CNMEC03 FF 20
CNMEC06 FF 5
CNMEC02 CNMEC04 FF 30
CNMEC06 FF 5
CNMEC03 CNMEC06 FF 5
CNMEC04 CNMEC06 FF 5
CNMEC05 CNMEC06 FS 0
CNMEC06 CNELE01 FF -5
CNINS01 FF -5
CNELE01 CMCOM02 FS 0
CMCOM03 FS 0
CNINS01 CMCOM02 FS 0
CMCOM03 FS 0
CMCOM02 CMCOM04 FS 0
CMCOM03 CMCOM05 FS 0
CMCOM04 CMCOM06 FS 0
CMCOM05 CMCOM06 FS 0
CMCOM06 CMCOM01 SF -5

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14 SCHEDULING

Critical Path Method Scheduling


The Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling technique is utilized to calculate project schedules.
CPM uses activity durations and relationships between activities to calculate schedule dates. This
calculation is done in two passes through the activities in a project.

Critical Path
 The critical path is the series of activities that determines a project's completion date.
 The duration of the activities on the critical path controls the duration of the entire project. A
delay to any of these activities will delay the Finish date of the entire project.
 Critical activities are defined by either the total float or the longest path in the project network.
What is the Data Date?
 The data date is the date that is utilized as the starting point for schedule calculations. It is the
date used to schedule all remaining work.
 During the Planning phase the data date should match the project start date.

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Data Date

J F M A M J J A S
Schedule

Time

Resource

Resource
Quantity
(person-
days)

Time

Cost

Time

Scheduling Concepts
Forward Pass
 The forward pass calculates an activity's early dates.
 Early dates are the earliest times an activity can start and finish once its predecessors have
been completed.
 The calculation begins with the activities without predecessors.
 Early Start (ES) + Duration — 1 = Early Finish (EF)

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Backward Pass
 The backward pass calculates an activity's late dates.
 Late dates are the latest times an activity can start and finish without delaying the end date of
the project.
 The calculation begins with the activities without successors (activity E in the graphic below).
 For projects without a Must Finish By date, activities without successors are assigned a Late
Finish equal to the latest calculated Early Finish date.
 Late Finish (LF) — Duration + 1 = Late Start (LS)

Total Float
 The amount of time an activity can slip from its early Start without delaying the project.
 The difference between an activity's Late dates and early dates.
 Activities with zero Total Float are critical.
 Late date — Early date = Total Float (TF)

LS LF

Positive float

ES EF

Positive float
LS LF
Zero float
(critical)
ES EF

LS LF
Negative Float
(extremely
critical) ES EF
Negative float

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An activity's Total Float is automatically calculated each time you schedule the project. You cannot
edit an activity's float values directly.
The critical path is the series of activities that determines a project's completion date. Activities A, B,
C and E are on the critical path in the graphic below.

Backward Pass with Required Finish


One of the most common project scenarios is a required finish date for the project.
 Used only during the backward pass.
 Required finish date specifies when the project must finish regardless of the network's duration
and logic.
 Late Finish — Duration + 1 = Late Start

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Circular Relationships (Loops)


 Loops indicate circular logic in an activity path.
 The schedule will not be calculated until the loop is eliminated. To eliminate a loop:
- Determine proper logic.
- Re-run the schedule.

SA1000 SA1010 SA1020

Open Ends
 Activities without a predecessor or successor.
- No predecessor - activity uses data date as its early start
- No successor - activity uses project finish as its late finish
 Open ended activities can portray an unrealistic amount of positive total float.

FINIS
1 7 H

STAR
T

2 3 5 6 8 9

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NOTE: Primavera recommends that each project have only two open ends, the first milestone
activity and the last milestone activity.
Scheduling a Project
When you schedule a project, activity dates are calculated according to durations and logic.
Mark the Log to file checkbox to record scheduling results in a log file (.txt).
After you schedule the project, note the change in the position of activities on the Gantt Chart.
Activities are displayed according to their calculated start and finish dates. Critical activities are
displayed in red.
Steps
1. Open a project, ACC-DUBAI.
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window. (Or in the Toolbar, click Activities.)
3. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
4. Verify the date in the Current Data Date field, Project Start Date.
5. Mark a checkbox, Log to File.
6. Click Schedule.
Schedule-Log
The Schedule Log records scheduling results, including:
 Scheduling/leveling settings
 Statistics
 Errors
 Warnings
 Scheduling/leveling results
 Exceptions
Steps
1. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
2. Click View Log,
3. In the File menu in Notepad, click Exit.
4. Click Cancel to exit the Schedule dialog box.

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Driving Relationships
An activity may have a relationship from a predecessor that determines its Early Start. This logic tie
is called a driving relationship.
 A solid relationship line indicates a driving relationship.
 A dashed relationship line indicates a non-driving relationship.

A
5
ES 1 EF 5

C
15
ES 11 EF 25

B
10

ES 1 EF 10

Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, select Activity Network.
2. Select a WBS element, ACC.3.3 Mechanical.
3. Notice the continuous line (Driving Relation) & Dotted line (Non-Driving Relation)

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15 CONSTRAINTS
Constraints are imposed restrictions used to reflect project requirements that cannot be built into the
logic. Use constraints to build a schedule that more accurately reflects the real-world aspects of the
project, provide added control to the project, and impose a restriction on the entire project or an
individual activity
 Constraints are user-imposed.
 Two constraints can be assigned to an activity.
 After applying a constraint, the project must be rescheduled to calculate the new dates.
Must Finish By
 Used when an overall project deadline must be met.
 Forces all activities in the project to finish by the date (and time) specified.
- By default, the time associated to the Must Finish By date is set to 12:00 am. This means that if
the project must finish by the end of day on 23-Jan, assign a Must Finish By of 24-Jan.
 Affects the total float of the entire project.
 Must be applied in the Dates tab in Project Details.

Start On or After
Use the Start On or After constraint to set the earliest date an activity can begin.
 Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint date.
 Pushes the early start date to the constraint date.
 Affects the early dates of its successors.
LS LF LS LF LS LF LS LF

A B A A B B
ES * EF ES EF ES ESEF
* EF ES ESEF EF

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Adding Notebook Topic


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

Finish On or After
 Forces the activity to finish no earlier than the constraint date.
- Shifts the Early Finish to the constraint date.
- Affects the early dates of its successors.
- Used to prevent an activity from finishing too early.
Start On or Before
 Forces the activity to start no later than the constraint date,
- Shifts the Late Start to the constraint date.
- Affects the late dates of its predecessors.
- Used to place a deadline on the start of the activity.

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Finish On or Before
Use the Finish On or Before constraint to set Intermediate completion points in the project,
 Forces the activity to finish no later than the constraint date.
 Pulls the Late Finish date to the constraint date.
 Affects the late dates of its predecessors.
Start On
 Forces the activity to start on the constraint date.
- Shifts both Early and Late Start dates.
- Delays an Early Start or accelerates a Late Start.
- Used to specify dates submitted by contractors or vendors.

Finish On
 Forces the activity to finish on the constraint date.
- Shifts both Early and Late Finish dates.
- Delays an Early Finish or accelerates a Late Finish.
- Used to satisfy intermediate project deadlines.

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As Late As Possible
 Delays an activity as late as possible without delaying its successors.
- Shifts the early dates as late as possible.
- Also called a zero free float constraint.

Mandatory Start and Finish


 Forces early and late dates to be equal to the constraint date.
- Affects late dates of predecessors and early dates of successors.
- May violate network logic.

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16 MAINTAINING THE PROJECT DOCUMENTS LIBRARY


Project Documents
The Work Products and Documents window enables you to maintain general information about
project documents, including links to the actual document files. Documents are organized
hierarchically to enhance categorization.
You can catalog and track project-related documents and deliverables, and provide standards and
guidelines for performing work on an activity.
 Store documents on a network file server or Web site.
 Maintain general information about project documents such as version, revision date, and
author.
 Create a link to the actual document file.
Documents can be designated as a work product or reference document:
 Work product — Includes project or activity deliverables that will be turned over to the end user or
customer. Examples: CAD files, testing plans, and blueprints.
 Reference document — Includes documents that can be referenced by a project participant to
provide standards and guidelines for performing work. Examples: guidelines, policies,
procedures, .design templates, checklists, and worksheets.

Creating a Document Record


Documents do not reside in the Primavera database. To access documents via Primavera, a
document record must be created in the Work Products and Documents window.
Steps
1. Open a project
2. In the Toolbar, click WPs & Docs.
3. In the Side Toolbar, click Add.
4. In the Title field in the General tab, type a title <Training Manual>, and then press Enter.
5. Give a Reference No.
6. Select a document category, Training.
7. In the Revision Date field, Select a date, ll-Jan-13.

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Files Tab
After you add a document record, you must establish a link to the document by specifying a file
path. There are two kinds of document location references;
 Private Location — References can be viewed only by P6 Professional users. Examples include
invoices, purchase orders, or contracts.
 Public Location — References can be viewed by all project participants, including timesheet
users. Examples include procedure guidelines or project checklists.
Steps
1. Click the Files tab.
2. In the Public Location field, click
3. Browse to a file location, select file from the Select File Name dialog box.
4. In the Select File Name dialog box, click Open.
5. Click Launch to view the document.

Assigning a Project Document to an Activity


Project documents can be assigned to both WBS elements and activities. For example, during a
project's planning phase, you may assign a document to a WBS element. As the details of your
project develop, you can assign the same document to activities.
Steps
1. Click the Assignments tab,
2. Click Assign Activity.
3. Select an activity
4. Assign the document to the activity.
5. Close the Assign Activities dialog box.
6. In the Toolbar, click Activities.
7. Click the WPs & Docs tab.
8. Verify that the Training Manual document has been assigned to activity.
Viewing Document Details
Use the Work Product and Document Details dialog box to view details about and/or open the
selected work product or document. Fields in the dialog box are summarized below:
 Title — The name of the selected work product or document.
 Author — The name of the person who created the selected work product or document.
 Version — The selected work product or document's version number.
 Date — The entered Revision Date.
 Private/Public Location — The selected work product or document's file name.
 Launch Private/Public Location — Opens the work product or document's file in its native
application.
 Description — A narrative description of the selected work product or document.
Steps
1. In WP & Docs tab, select a document, Training Manual.
2. Click Launch.

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17 FORMATTING SCHEDULE DATA


Grouping Data
Grouping is a flexible way to organize data into categories that share a common attribute.
You can group data to create customized layouts. You can also use grouping to quickly view
subtotal data in the group title bands, view summary bars in the Gantt Chart, and summarize data
for reporting purposes.
 Grouping is available in all windows and most dialog boxes.
- Each window or dialog box has its own grouping options.
- Some windows have customized/pre-defined groups.
 Activities can be grouped by hierarchical fields such as WBS, activity codes, and project codes.
 Activities can be grouped by data fields such as dates, costs, Total Float, and other numeric
data.

Group and Sort Dialog Box


The Group and Sort dialog box is used to set up the organization of activities on the screen.
 Show Group Totals — Choose to display or hide the total values for grouping bands. If you mark
the Show Group Totals checkbox, you have the additional options to Show Grand Totals and
Show Summaries Only.
- Show Grand Totals — Mark to display a grand total row at the top of
the layout.
- Show Summaries Only — Mark to hide the activities within each group title band.

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 Shrink Vertical Grouping Bands — Minimize the width of the vertical grouping bands displayed
in the Activity Table. This setting is available in windows that have the Group and Sort by,
Customize layout option.
 Group By — Lists data items used to group the current display.
- Indent — Available if the selected data item is hierarchical.
- To Level — Indicates the number of levels to display when grouping by a hierarchical data
item.
- Group Interval — Indicates the interval by which you want to group the selected data item.
- Font & Color — Displays the font/color for each group title band.
 Hide if empty — Mark to hide the group title bands that do not contain activities.
 Sort Bands Alphabetically — Mark the checkbox to sort the grouping bands alphabetically rather
than their order in their respective hierarchy. This checkbox is disabled for any grouping that is
not hierarchical.
 Show Title — Mark to display the name of the field that the layout is grouped by; the value is also
displayed.
 Show ID/Code — Mark the checkbox to display the ID or code value on the grouping band.
 Show Name/Description — Mark the checkbox to display the name or description on the
grouping band.
Steps
1. Open a project
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window. (Or in the Toolbar, click Activities.)
3. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Open.
4. Select a layout, Classic WBS Layout, and then Click Open.
5. In the Layout Options bar, click Group and Sort
Grouping by Date
Grouping a layout by date allows you to identify activities that are scheduled to occur within a
particular time period.
Steps
1. In the Group by column, select Start.
2. In the Group Interval column, select Month.
3. Click OK.
4. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Save As.
5. Type a Layout Name <Monthly Schedule>, and then click Save.
Collapsing/Expanding Grouped Data
Collapse group bands to control the level of detail you are viewing. This functionality is especially
useful if you want to focus on a specific portion of the layout.
 In the Activity Table, view summary information for the displayed columns.
 In the Gantt chart, summary bars are displayed to represent the Start/ Finish dates in each group
band.
Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Collapse All
2. Click + to expand a group band

Sorting Activities
Sorting determines the sequence in which activities are listed within each grouping band. Based on
the data item you choose, you can sort alphabetically, numerically or chronologically.
Sorting by a Single Criteria
To sort by single criteria, click the data item's column title.

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Upward Triangle - indicates ascending sort order


Downward Triangle - indicates descending sort order

Bars & Timescale Layouts


To modify the visibility of bars in Gantt chart, go to View – Bars or Right Click in Gantt chart area –
Bars. Bar width, color, Row position etc can be specified in this dialog box.

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To modify the visibility of Gantt chart sight lines & Data date style, go to View – Bars chart options or
Right Click in Gantt chart area – Bar chart options.

To change the time period view of Gantt chart, go to View – Timescale or Right Click in Gantt chart
area – Timescale.

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18 FILTERS
Filtering Activities
A filter is a set of instructions that determines which activities should display on screen.
Filters enable you to create customized layouts by limiting the number of activities displayed —
helping you to focus on critical activities, for example.
 A set of pre-defined filters is provided, as is the ability to create user-defined filters of your own.
 Filters are divided into the following groupings:
• Default
- Available to all users.
- 15 pre-defined filters.
- Cannot be deleted or modified.
• Global
- Available to all users.
• User-defined
- Available to current user for all projects to which he/she has access.
 One or more filters may be applied to a layout at a time.
 Multiple criteria for selection may be used within a single filter.
 Filter specifications can be saved and re-applied.
 Filters can be saved as part of a layout.

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Filters Dialog Box


 All Activities — Mark to show all activities in the current layout.
 Show activities that match — When more than one filter is marked, you must select one of the
following options:
- All selected filters — Mark to include the activities that meet the criteria of each selected
filter.
- Any selected filter — Mark to include the activities that meet the criteria of at least one of
the selected filters.
 Replace activities shown in current layout — Displays only the activities that meet the criteria of
each selected filter.
 Highlight activities in current layout which match criteria — Highlights only the activities in the
current layout that meet the criteria of each selected filter.

Applying a Default Filter


To view critical activities, you can run the Critical default filter.
Steps
1. In the Select column, mark the checkbox next to a filter, Critical,
2. In the When applying the selected filter(s) section, select Highlight activities in the
current layout which match criteria.
3. Click OK to execute the filter.
The Filtering layout displays all activities in the project but highlights only the critical activities (Total
Float less than or equal to zero).

Creating a Filter
You can create filters based on a single line of criteria or multiple criteria.
A convenient single-criteria filter to use throughout the life cycle of a project is a look ahead filter. It
displays the activities that are scheduled to occur within a given amount of time — for example, the
next month.

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Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Filters.
2. In the Filters dialog box, click New.
3. In the Filter Name field, type <One Month Look ahead >.
4. Click in the Parameter cell and select a data item, Early Start.
5. Double-click in the Is cell and select a filter criteria, is within range of
6. Double-click in the Value cell and select a date, DD.
7. Double-click in the High Value cell and type <DD+IM>.
8. Click OK to close the Filter specification dialog box.

You will execute the new filter to display all activities scheduled to occur within the next month, and
then save the layout as One Month Look ahead.
Verify the new filter is selected, One Month Look ahead
9. Verify Replace Activities shown in current layout is selected,
10. Click OK to execute the filter.
11. In the Layout Options bar, click Group and Sort.
12. Mark the checkbox, Hide if empty,
13. Click OK.
14. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Save As.
15. Type a Layout Name <One Month Look ahead>.
16. Click Save.
Using Multiple Filters
If you cannot achieve your goal with a single filter, you can run two filters simultaneously.
Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Filters.
2. In the Select column, mark the checkbox next to a filter, Critical.
3. Scroll down and confirm that the One Month Lookahead filter also is selected.
4. Click OK to execute the filters.
5. In the Layout Options bar, click Save As.
6. Type a layout name, One Month Lookahead ~ Critical Activities.
7. Click Save.
Note that all grouping bands are not displayed in the layout. Only those bands that have activities
that meet the filter criteria are displayed.
Applying the All Activities Filter
To refresh your screen with all activities, you can run the All Activities filter.
Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click FILTERS
2. Mark the All Activities checkbox,
3. Click OK to execute the filter.

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19 RESOURCES, ROLES & COSTS


Roles and Resources
Before you begin to manage resources in Primavera, you must understand the difference between a
role and a resource:
 Role — A role is a job title or skill — for example, Software Engineer, Project Manager,
Trainer, and Database Administrator.
 Resource — A resource is an individual (or equipment or material) used to complete an
activity.
The Role dictionary and Resource dictionary are enterprise data — available for use across all
projects. After roles and resources are defined, roles can be associated to resources, identifying the
skill sets of each resource. Each resource also can be assigned a primary role, which defines the
core skill or responsibility in the organization.
Some organizations use roles as placeholders in activity assignments until specific resources are
assigned to do the work.

Relationship Between Roles and Resources


Roles Dictionary
Civil Cost Database Mechanical Project System
Engineer Engineer Administrator Engineer Manager Analyst

Ben Diamond

Bob Patterson

Charles North
Resource Pool

Oliver Rock

Paul Kim

Sue White

Tim Harris

Wendy Resner

Resource’s primary role in the organization Resource’s role in the organization

Defining Resources
Resources include the personnel and equipment that perform work on activities across all projects.
Resources are generally reused between activities and/or projects. In the Project Management
module, you can create a resource pool that reflects your organization's resource structure and
supports the assignment of resources to activities. The Project Management module also enables
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you to distinguish between labor, material, and non-labor resources. Labor and non-labor resources
are always time-based, and material resources, such as consumable items, use a unit of measure
you can specify. You can create and assign resource calendars and define a resource's roles,
contact information, and time-varying prices. If a resource uses Timesheets, you can also assign a
login name and password to the resource.
Define a master list of resources consisting of the resources necessary to complete the projects in
your organization. Then, group resources to create an easily accessible pool from which you can
draw when assigning resources to a project. For each resource, set availability limits, unit prices,
and a calendar to define its standard work time and non-work time, then allocate resources to the
activities that require them. To enable grouping and rollups of your resources across the
organization, set up resource codes and assign code values.
Resources are different than expenses. While resources can be time-based and generally extend
across multiple activities and/or projects, expenses are one-time expenditures for non-reusable
items required by activities. The Project Management module does not include expenses when
leveling resources.
Steps for Resource Management
Following are the basic steps for resource management:

1. Define resources in the Resources window:


• Define resource availability.
• Set up the resource name, description, cost, roles, and attributes that control the
resource's effect on the schedule.

2. Assign resources in the Activities window:


• Enter the resource name and amount of work planned.
• The cost is calculated based on the resource quantity and price/unit as defined in the
Resources window.

3. Analyze resources and costs in the Activities window:


• Use the Resource Usage Profile to view resource quantity/cost information graphically.
The profile helps you analyze when, and to what extent, a resource is allocated.
• Use the Resource Usage Spreadsheet to view resource quantity/cost information in a
tabular format. Like the Resource Usage Profile, the spreadsheet helps you analyze
resource allocation.
• Use columns to view total costs.
Primary Resources
The Project Management module allows you to assign primary resources to activities. An activity's
primary resource is typically the resource who is responsible for coordinating an activity's work.
Using Timesheets, the primary resource also updates the activity's start date, finish date, and
expected end date. In addition, if an activity has any material resources, the primary resource may
also be responsible for reporting the material resource's units as well. With the exception of material
resources, all other resources are responsible for reporting their own hours for assigned activities.
Adding Resources:
1. To create resource dictionary click on Resource icon from the toolbar.
2. Create a resource pool for "NATIONAL LIMITED RESOURCE POOL" by clicking ADD menu.
3. Add the following resources under NATIONAL RESOURCE POOL
4. To add new resource, click on ADD option.
5. Give Resource ID and in the detail tab select the resource classification. P6 supports 3 type
of resource classifications, namely Labor, Non-Labor and Material resource.

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6. Click on Units & Prices tab and give the resource availability and the Price /Time.
7. Unmark Auto compute actuals for each resource (if req).
Exercise: Create the Resource Pool as per the below mentioned table
Resource ID Resource Name Unit of Resource Max Standard
Measure Type Units/Time Rate
NLRP National Limited
DSGENG R
Design Engineers
NLD-21 Ahmed - Labor 14/d Dhs.80
NLD-22 Kathy - Labor 12/d Dhs.80
NLD-23 Kevin - Labor 12/d Dhs.80
NLD-24 Ethan - Labor 12/d Dhs.70
NLD-25 Prashant - Labor 12/d Dhs.70
NLD-26 Kenedy - Labor 12/d Dhs.70
NLD-27 Domnic - Labor 12/d Dhs.72
NLD-28 Sai - Labor 16/d Dhs.72
NLD-29 Joseph - Labor 16/d Dhs.75
NLD-30 Kannan - Labor 16/d Dhs.75
NLD-31 Prabhu - Labor 12/d Dhs.75
FLDENG Field Engineers - Labor
NLF-31 Shankar - Labor 14/d Dhs.55
NLF-32 Mark - Labor 14/d Dhs.55
NLF-33 Suresh - Labor 14/d Dhs.55
NLF-34 Kartik - Labor 14/d Dhs.58
NLF-35 Ali - Labor 14/d Dhs.58
NLF-36 Shiju - Labor 14/d Dhs.56
NLF-37 Rajesh - Labor 16/d Dhs.56
NLF-38 Syed - Labor 14/d Dhs.60
NLF-39 Sajesh - Labor 14/d Dhs.60
NLF-31 James - Labor 14/d Dhs.60
NLCM-41 Anthony - Labor 16/d Dhs.100
NLCM-42 Akbar - Labor 16/d Dhs.100
NLP-11 Anwar - Labor 12/d Dhs.95
NLP-12 Karim - Labor 12/d Dhs.95
EQPT/MC Equipment / Machinery
CR2 Crane 2 (15T Capacity) - Nonlabor 12/d Dhs.2,000
CR1 Crane 1 (5T Capacity) - Nonlabor 8/d Dhs.1,500
SE-MATL Supply / Erection
001 M t i l
Excavation M3 Material 6/d Dhs.120
002 PCC M3 Material 2/d Dhs.210
003 RCC M3 Material 5/d Dhs.300
PIPE Pipe - Supply Meters Material 1/d Dhs.600
FITT Fittings - Supply Numbers Material 1/d Dhs.150
VALVE Valve - Supply Numbers Material 1/d Dhs.1,250
UBEQPT UB Equipment - Supply Numbers Material 1/d Dhs. 16,000
MPHEQPT MPH Equipment - Supply Numbers Material 1/d Dhs.20,000

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Resource ID Resource Name Unit of Resource Max Standard


Measure Type Units/Time Rate

INSITMS Instrument Items - Supply Lump Sum Material 1/d Dhs.80,000


ELEITMS Electrical Items - Supply Lump Sum Material 1/d Dhs. 114,000
PIPFAB Piping - Fabrication Inch Dia Material 45/d Dhs.300
PIPERE Piping - Erection Inch Meter Material 1000/d Dhs.200
EQPTERE Equipment - Erection Metric Ton Material 3/d Dhs.500
INSITME Instrument Items - Lump Sum Material 1/d Dhs.28,000
Erection
ELEITME Electrical Items - Erection Lump Sum Material 1/d Dhs.30,000

Defining Roles
Roles are project personnel job titles or skills, such as mechanical engineer, inspector, or carpenter.
They represent a type of resource with a certain level of proficiency rather than a specific individual.
Roles can also be assigned to specific resources to further identify that resource's skills. For
example, a resource may have a role of a engineer and manager.

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You can create a set of roles to assign to resources and activities in all projects in the enterprise.
You can establish an unlimited number of roles and organize them in a hierarchy for easier
management and assignment. The set of roles you assign to an activity defines the activity's skill
requirements.
You can temporarily assign roles during the planning stages of the project to see how certain
resources affect the schedule. Once you finalize your plans, you can replace the roles with
resources that fulfil the role skill levels. Five proficiency levels can be assigned to roles: Master,
Expert, Skilled, Proficient and Inexperienced.
Roles can be assigned in the Resource Details window or from the Roles dialog box
.
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Roles Dictionary Assigning Roles to Replace Roles with
Activity Resources

Civil Engineer
Activity A Activity A

Tom Acosta Mike Cross Joan Peters Civil


Engineer Project Mike Tom
Cross Acosta
Manager
Project Manager

Tom Acosta Mark Merwin Activity B Activity B


Trainer
Project
Mark
Manager Trainer Sara
Merwin
McGee

Sara Joe Chris Tami


McGee Hayden Braddell Boyle

Adding a role:-
1. Choose Enterprise, Roles.
2. Click Add.
3. Click the General tab, and then type a unique ID for the role.
4. Type the role's name.
5. Type a description of the role's responsibilities.
Exercise: Create the Roles & Assign resources as per the below mentioned table

Role ID Role Name Resource ID


NLR NATIONAL LIMITED ROLES
NLR.A Architect NLD-21 to 23

NLR.CE Civil Engineer NLD-24 to 26 NLF-


31to33
NLR.CME Commissioning Engineer NLCM-41 & 42
NLD-27
NLR.EE Electrical Engineer
NLF-34&35

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Role ID Role Name Resource ID

NLD-28 NLF-36 &


NLR.IE Instrumentation Engineer
37
NLR.ME Mechanical Engineer NLD-29to211 NLF-
38to31
NLR.PE Procurement Engineer NLP-11& 12

Assigning Roles to Resources:


Assign roles to resources from the Roles dialog box:-
1. Choose Enterprise, Roles, and then select the role you want to assign.
2. Click the Resources tab, and then click Assign.
3. Select the resource to which you want to assign the selected role.
4. Click the Assign button, and then click the Close button.
5. In the Resources tab, double-click the Proficiency column and select a skill level.
6. If this is the resource's primary role, mark the Primary Role checkbox.
Assign roles to resources from the Resources window:-
1. Choose Enterprise, Resources, and then select the resource to which you want to assign a
role.
2. Click the Roles tab, and then click Assign.
3. Select the role you want to assign.
4. Click the Assign button, and then click the Close button.
5. In the Roles tab, double-click the Proficiency column and select a skill level.
6. If this is the resource's primary role, mark the Primary Role checkbox.

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Assigning resources to activities:-


1. Choose Project, Activities.
2. Select the activity to which you want to assign a resource.
3. Display Activity Details, and then click the Resources tab.
4. Click Add Resource.
5. Select the resource you want to assign.
6. Click the Assign button, and then click the Close button.
COST ACCOUNTS
You can create cost accounts and associate them with activity resource assignments or expenses in
a project. Cost accounts are hierarchical, and they enable you to track activity costs and earned
value according to your organization's specific cost account codes.
You can specify a project's default cost account. This cost account is used for resource
assignments to activities and project expenses in the open project.
Cost accounts enable one to track Activity Costs and Earned Value throughout the project lifecycle.
Cost Accounts are established in a hierarchy available to all projects in the EPS.
Creating a cost account hierarchy:-
1. Choose Enterprise, Cost Accounts.
2. Click the Cost Account ID column label to display the cost accounts hierarchy. An outline
symbol in the Cost Account ID column label indicates a hierarchy display.
3. Click Add and type the cost account's ID and Name.
4. Type a brief description of the cost account.
Exercise: Create the Cost Account as per the below mentioned table

Cost Account ID Cost Account Name


ACC ACC - Cost Account
ACC. 1001 Design Engineer
ACC.1002 Field Engineer
ACC.1003 Supply
ACC.1004 Construction
ACC.1005 Site Infrastructure
ACC.1006 Equipment & Machinery
ACC.1007 Miscellaneous

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Assigning Expenses/Cost account from the Activities window:-


1. Choose Project, Activities.
2. Select the activity that incurs the expense.
3. Display Activity Details, and then click the Expenses tab.
4. To display the Expenses tab, click the Layout Options bar and choose Bottom Layout
Options.
5. In the Available Tabs section, select Expenses, and then click OK.
6. Click Add, and then type a name for the expense item.
7. Double-click in the Cost Account column. Select the cost account you want to assign, and
then click the Select button.
8. Double-click in the Expense Category column. Select the category you want to assign, and
then click the Select button.
9. Double-click the Accrual Type column, and then select the expense's accrual type.
10. Type the number of budgeted units you expect the selected activity to use.
11. Type the price of each unit.
12. The module calculates and displays the expense's budgeted cost (budgeted units * price/unit)
in the Budgeted Cost field.
13. To enter actual expense costs already incurred by the activity, type the cost in the Actual Cost
field.
14. To automatically calculate an expense's actual cost based on the activity's planned
completion Percentage, mark the Auto Compute Actuals checkbox.
15. Type the name of the vendor business or organization to which the expense is payable.

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Exercise: Assign the Resource & Cost Account to the activities as per the below mentioned table

Activity ID Resource Name Budgeted Units Cost Account


Ethan 48 1001
Domnic 32 1001
EGGEN02
Sai 32 1001
Joshep 40 1001
EGGEN03 Prabhu 80 1001
EGARC01 Ahmed 352 1001
EGARC02 Kathy 198 1001
EGARC03 Kathy 132 1001
EGARC04 Kevin 400 1001
EGCIV01 Ethan 352 1001
EGCIV02 Prashant 264 1001
EGCIV03 Kenedy 176 1001
EGCIV04 Kenedy 528 1001
EGEQP01 Joshep 240 1001
EGEQP02 Kannan 240 1001
EGEQP03 Joshep 176 1001
EGEQP04 Kannan 176 1001
EGEQP05 Prabhu 120 1001
EGEQP06 Prabhu 120 1001
EGPIP01 Joshep 176 1001
EGPIP02 Kannan 176 1001
EGELE01 Domnic 528 1001
EGELE02 Domnic 352 1001
EGINS01 Sai 352 1001
EGINS02 Sai 176 1001
Karim 240 1001
PRELE01
Electrical Items - Supply 1 1003
Karim 176 1001
PREQP01
MPH Equipment - Supply 10 1003
Anwar 176 1001
PREQP02
UB Equipment - Supply 6 1003
Anwar 240 1001
PRINS01
Instrument Items - Supply 1 1003
Karim 176 1001
Pipe - Supply 32000 1003
PRPIP01
Fittings - Supply 600 1003
Valve - Supply 135 1003
Anwar 176 1001
Pipe - Supply 25000 1003
PRPIP02
Fittings - Supply 420 1003
Valve - Supply 95 1003
Shankar 640 1002
Excavation 150 1004
CNCIV01
PCC 20 1004
RCC 130 1004

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Mark 320 1002


Excavation 80 1004
CNCIV02
PCC 15 1004
RCC 70 1004
Mark 150 1002
Suresh 250 1002
CNCIV03 Excavation 120 1004
PCC 25 1004
RCC 105 1004
Suresh 720 1002
CNCIV04 Excavation 200 1004
PCC 40 1004
RCC 180 1004
CNMEC05 James 160 1002
CNMEC06 James 1600 1002
Crane 1 (50T Capacity) 320 1006
CNMEC01 Equipment - Erection 80 1004
Syed 320 1002
Crane 1 (50T Capacity) 280 1006
CNMEC02
Equipment - Erection 45 1004
Sajesh 280 1002
Crane 2 (15T Capacity) 480 1006
Syed 240 1002
CNMEC03
James 240 1002
Piping - Fabrication 1200 1004
Piping - Erection 33500 1004
Piping - Erection 26300 1004
Piping - Fabrication 920 1004
CNMEC04 Syed 320 1002
Sajesh 320 1002
Crane 2 (15T Capacity) 640 1006
Kartik 1040 1002
CNELE01 Ali 1040 1002
Electrical Items - Erection 1 1004
Instrument Items - Erection 1 1004
CNINS01 Shiju 1040 1002
Rajesh 1040 1002
Anthony 60 1002
CMCOM01
Akbar 60 1002
CMCOM02 Anthony 240 1002
CMCOM03 Akbar 160 1002
CMCOM04 Anthony 160 1002
CMCOM05 Akbar 120 1002
Anthony 240 1002
CMCOM06
Akbar 240 1002

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EXPENSES
Expenses are non-resource costs associated with a project and assigned to a project's activities.
They are typically one-time expenditures for non-reusable items. Examples of expenses include
materials, facilities, travel, overhead, and training.
You can categorize expenses, indicate a unit of measure for expenses, and specify whether an
expense accrues at the start or end of an activity or uniformly over its duration. Each expense has a
budgeted cost, actual cost, and estimated remaining cost.
Expenses are not the same as resources. Resources generally extend across multiple activities
and/or multiple projects. Examples of resources are personnel and equipment. Unlike resources,
expenses are project-specific. The Project Management module does not include expenses when
leveling resources. Resource curves are not supported for expenses.
Adding expenses:-
1. Choose Project, Expenses.
2. Click Add.
3. Select the activity to which you want to assign the expense, then click the Select button.
4. Click the General, Activity, Costs, and Description tabs, and enter details for the expense.

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Exercise:
Assign the Expenses to the activities as per the below mentioned table
Activity ID Expense Expense Budgeted Accrual Type Cost
Item Category Cost Account
EGGEN3 Plotter Equipment Dhs.4,500 Uniform over Activity ACC.1006
EGGEN1 Consulting Legal & Dhs. 10,000 Uniform over Activity ACC.1007
Professional
CNGEN1 Site Office Facilities Dhs.35,000 Uniform over Activity ACC.1005
CMCOM6 Document Testing & Dhs.30,000 Uniform over Activity ACC.1007
Reports
CMCOM1 Transport Shipping / Dhs.15,000 Uniform over Activity ACC.1007
Transport

RESOURCE CURVES
Resource/cost distribution curves enable you to specify how you want resource units or costs
spread over the duration of an activity. Resource units and costs are distributed evenly during an
activity unless you specify nonlinear distribution using curves.

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You can assign a resource distribution curve to any resource or role assignment on activities with a
duration type of Fixed Duration and Units/Time or Fixed Duration & Units. Assign the appropriate
curve to a resource or role assignment by selecting a curve in the Curve column in the Resource
Assignments window. You can also assign a resource curve in the Resources tab in the Activity
Details.
If timesheet data exists for the actuals, curves are ignored for the actuals and are spread using the
timesheet data. Activities with timesheet data continue to spread the remaining units using the
curve.
In order to use curves to calculate the Actual Units/Cost and EV Units/Costs, the new project setting
that uses duration percent complete to calculate actuals should be marked.

Notes:
Resource curves do not support expenses. The Accrual Type will continue to spread the expenses.
Resource lag is taken into consideration. The curve should begin on the "lagged start date."
Resource curves are reflected in the Resource Usage Profile and Resource Usage Spreadsheet.
Adding a resource curve:-
1. Choose Enterprise, Resource Curves.
2. Click Add.
3. Select an existing curve from which to copy the curve value percentages, then click Select.
4. Type a name for the new resource curve. You can type up to 6 alphanumeric characters.
You must enter a resource curve name.
5. Click Modify to define the curve's distribution. Edit the curve value percentages to create a
curve that indicates how your costs/units should distribute over time. Curves are defined by
21 points (5% intervals 0 from to 100%).
6. Click Prorate to make the total of the distribution values equal to 1% while maintaining the
shape you specified.
7. Click OK, and then click Close

Exercise: Create a new resource curve (ACC-Curve) as shown below.

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Note: You can define an unlimited number of global resource curves.

Assigning a curve to a resource or role assignment:-


You can assign a resource distribution curve to any resource or role assignment on activities with a
duration type of Fixed Duration and Units/Time or Fixed Duration & Units. Resource usage and
costs are distributed evenly during an activity unless you specify nonlinear distribution using curves.
1. Choose Project, Resource Assignments.
2. In layout option bar, select Group & sort by - Resource
3. Select the resource/role assignment to which you want to assign a resource curve.
4. Double-click in the Curve column and select the curve you want to assign to the
resource/role assignment, and then click Select.
5. To display the Curve column, click the Display Options bar, then choose Columns,
Customize. Select Curve from the General group and click to add the column to the Selected
Options.

Exercise:
1. Assign the ACC-Curve to Ahmed working in EGARC01.
2. Assign Front Loaded Curve to the following Activities-Resource
EGINS01 – SAI
EGINS02 – SAI
CMCOM05 – Akbar
3. Assign Linear Curve to the following Activities-Resource
EGEQP03 – Joseph
CNINS01 – Rajesh
PRINS01 – Anwar
PRELE01 – Karim
PRINS01 – Ravi
CNMEC03 – Piping Fabrication

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20 VIEWING RESOURCE & COST PROFILE / SPREADSHEETS


Resource Usage Profile/Spreadsheet:
Use the Resource Usage Profile/Spreadsheet to analyze quantity or cost usage for resources or
roles. You can view a resource's or role's cost and quantity data for a specific project or for all
projects across the enterprise (total allocation).
Define the Profile/Spreadsheet to specify whether you want to display cost or quantity information
and set the timescale for displaying data values. Choose to display vertical bars to represent costs
or units allocated to your resources for each time period, and include cumulative curves/units to
represent accumulated units and costs over time.

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

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Item Functionality

Right Pane Display Displays a menu of the formatting options available for the resource/role
Options bar usage profile.

Legend Displays a legend for the profile's bars and/or lines. This will change
depending on the data/formatting options selected.

Timescale Displays the date intervals: major increment displayed on the bottom and
minor increment displayed on the top.

Display Activities for When viewing Open Projects Only, you can mark Time Period or
Selected... Resource to filter the activities in the top layout.

Resource/Role Lists the names of the resources/roles. Can be filtered to show a shorter
Hierarchy list, e.g., the Current Project's resources.

Left Pane Display Displays a menu of the formatting options available for the resource/role
Options bar hierarchy.
Formatting the Profile
The Resource Usage Profile can be modified by adjusting Data and Graph settings in the Resource
Usage Profile Options dialog box.

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Data settings:

 Display — Select to display units or costs.


 Show Bars/Curves — Mark to display By Date (periodic) bars and/or Cumulative curves
and format their colors.
 Show Remaining Bars As — Select a solid color to display early bars and a hatched color
to display late bars.
 Additional Data Options — Mark to display a line indicating resource limits; resource/role
over allocation; resource availability; or resource overtime units.

Graph settings:
 Vertical Lines — Choose to display major/minor sight lines based on the
timescale interval.
 Horizontal Lines — Choose the line style and color.
 Additional display options:
• Show Legend — Display the data item each color represents.
• 3D Bars — Add a third dimension to the bars.
• Background Color — Specify the color displayed in the background of the Resource
Usage profile.
• Calculate Average — Specify the values you want to use to divide the timescale interval
totals.
• Divide interval totals by — To divide the timescale interval totals by an increment you
specify, type it in this field.
• Unit of Measure — Specify the unit of measure for the timescale intervals.

Use the Resource Usage Profile/Spreadsheets to:-


1. Determine how many hours each resource is scheduled to work.
2. Identify overloaded resources.
3. Track expenditures per time period.
4. Determine resource usage by late dates.
5. Display a "banana" curve to compare early and late dates.
6. Display different colors or patterns on the histogram bars when showing the stacked
histogram.
7. In addition to customizing data, you can customize the look of the profile by specifying
display options, for example, bar color, background line type, or averaging. You can also
save a customized profile so that you can always access the same set of activity information
or share the Resource Usage Profile with someone else.
8. The Resource Usage Profile is available only in the bottom layout of the Activities window.
The bottom layout window is divided into two panes. The left pane lists all the resources or
roles stored in the hierarchy, depending on your current view.
9. In the stacked histogram view, the left pane lists all the resource or role filter/group names in
the hierarchy.
10. The right pane displays the values for the activities assigned to each resource or role in the
histogram, or resource or role filter/group name in the stacked histogram.
Resource Analysis Settings
The Resource Usage Profile, which can be displayed in the Activities window, enables you to view
resources/role unit and cost distribution over time. You can specify how data is played in the profile
via the Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences:
 All Projects

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• All closed projects (except what-if projects) — Displays resource/ cost usage data for:
- all projects that are open, and
- all projects that are closed (except what-if projects)
• All closed projects with a leveling priority — When electing to show remaining values
for open versus closed projects, choose this option to include data for all closed
projects with a specific leveling priority.
• Opened projects only — Focus on resource/cost usage in the projects currently opened.
 Time-Distributed Data
• Display data based on Remaining Early or Forecast dates.
• Select the time interval for displaying live resource allocation: hour, day, week, or
month.

Note:
If you do not want the resource unit/cost values spread evenly, use resource curves to distribute
those values nonlinearly. The Resource Usage Profile reflects the resource curves. When displaying
units, bars do not display for summary rows if your selection contains mixed units of measure or a
mixture of labor/non-labor and material type resources. Bars and cumulative curves with negative
values do not display in the profile. You can view the negative values in the profile details. Double-
click in the profile area to view the profile details.

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Activity Usage Profile/Spreadsheet:


Use the Activity Usage Profile/Spreadsheet to view cost or unit values for activities in the open
project over time according to a timescale you specify. The Activity Usage Profile/Spreadsheet
displays resource allocations for all activities or for the activities you select in the Activity Table,
Activity Usage Spreadsheet, Gantt chart, or the Activity Network.
The Activity Usage Profile/Spreadsheet can display labor, non-labor, material, and expense costs
and labor and non-labor units allocated to the activities in your project over time. Costs and units
allocated to activities for each period in the timescale are represented as vertical bars. You can also
display curves for charting cumulative costs or units over time.

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21 OPTIMIZING THE PROJECT PLAN


Analyzing the Project
Once you have created the project plan, verify that it meets the project stakeholders' date, resource,
and cost requirements. If an inconsistency exists between the information in the project plan and the
project requirements, you will be able to identify the source of the problem and define a solution:
 Analyze schedule dates — Evaluate the schedule to ensure that milestone dates and
project dates are achieved.

 Analyze resource allocation — Evaluate the resources to ensure that the resources are not
overallocated.

 Analyze cost budget — Evaluate project costs.

Ensure
milestones/project
Schedule
(Scope)
deadlines are achieved.

Ensure resources are


not overallocated.
Ensure project is
within its cost
budget
Resources Costs

Analyzing Schedule Dates


The most important date in the schedule is the calculated project Finish date. If the calculated Finish
date of the project is beyond the Must Finish By date, the project must be shortened. In addition,
each deliverable in the project should be scheduled to finish by the dates imposed by the project
stakeholders.
Steps for analysis:
1. Compare the calculated Finish to the Must Finish By date.
2. Back up your project plan.
3. Focus on critical activities.
4. Shorten the project.
Comparing Finish Date to Must Finish By Date
You can quickly determine whether the project will finish on time by viewing the Dates tab in the
Projects window.
The ACC-Dubai project must be finished by 24-Nov-11 — however the schedule indicates that the
project will not finish until 29-Nov-11. (Note that the project actually must finish by the close of
business on 23-Nov-10 as the Must Finish By constraint is at 12:01 am on November 23.)
Steps
1. In the Toolbar, click Projects.

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2. Select ACC-DUBAI project


3. In Project Details, click the Dates tab and compare the Must Finish By date to the calculated
Finish date.
Focusing on Critical Activities
To shorten the project, focus on critical activities. These represent the longest continuous path of
activities through a project that determines the project Finish date. If you adjust a critical activity, the
Finish is likely affected.
Steps:
1. Click the Settings tab.
2. In the Define Critical Activities section, select Longest Path.
3. In the Toolbar, click Activities.
4. In the Layout Options bar, click Filters Select a filter, Critical, and then click OK.

Shortening the Project


If schedule analysis leads you to conclude that the Must Finish By date cannot be met, concentrate
your efforts on shortening the schedule. Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:
1. Refine duration estimates
- Break down long activities.
- Assign additional resources to reduce duration.
2. Use relationships to overlap activities.
3. Apply/modify constraints.
4. Change calendar assignments:
- Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
- Add exceptions to nonworktime.
Begin the analysis by reviewing the activities with the longest duration. In general, these activities
offer the greatest flexibility in altering durations.
Modifying Relationships - If you need to further compress the schedule, review relationships
between activities on the critical path. Identify the activities which can be performed at the same
time. Therefore, change the relationship to Start-to-Start with lag.
Modifying Constraints - Constraints assigned earlier in the project life cycle may need to be
modified based on the latest information from the project team. If you modify a constraint, be sure to
also modify the Notebook topic that was created to document the constraint.
Exercise:
Modify the predecessor activity lag for the below mentioned Activities
 CNELE01 - Electrical Equipment & Cable Installation
- CNMEC06 Painting – Finish to Finish – Lag (-10)
 CNINS01 - Instrument Equipment & Cable Installation
- CNMEC06 Painting – Finish to Finish – Lag (-10)
Analyzing Resource Allocation
The project plan is now scheduled to be completed by the deadline. Before proceeding, verify that
resources are appropriately allocated.
You can use the Resource Usage Profile to determine which resources are over allocated
underutilized. You can then re-assign resources to help even the workload.

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Correcting Over allocation


If over allocation is identified, choose a method to remove the over allocation from the specific
resource. Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:
1. Replace the over allocated resource with an available resource.
2. Increase the resource's workweek.
3. Increase the hours/day that the resource works.
4. Assign additional resources to the activity.
Replacing a Resource

Click in the Assign Resources dialog box to quickly replace one resource with another in a
single activity or in multiple activities simultaneously.
Note that this functionality is available only when assigning a resource directly — it is not available
in the Assign Resources by Role dialog box.
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Exercise:
1. Resource Domnic is overallocated in activity EGGEN02, EGELE01 & EGELE02

Assign Kartik to activity EGELE02 to share the total budgeted labour units into half for each.
2. Anwar is Overallocated in activities PREQP02, PRINS01 & PRPIP02

Add a new resource under Field Engineers with below mentioned details

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Resource ID Resource Name Resource Type Max Units/Time Standard


Rate

NLP-13 Ravi Labour 12h/d Dhs 80/h

Assign Ravi to activity PREQP02 to share the total budgeted labour units into
100 for Anwar, 76 for Ravi.
Assign Ravi & Karim to activity PRINS01 to share the total budgeted labour units into
120 for Anwar, 120 for Ravi, 40 for Karim.
Assign Ravi to activity PRPIP02 to share the total budgeted labour units into
76 for Anwar, 100 for Ravi.
3. Crane – 2 (15T Capacity) is overallocated in activities CNMEC03 & CNMEC04

Add a new resource under Equipment/Machinery with below mentioned details

Resource ID Resource Name Resource Type Max Units/Time Price/Unit

SCR-3 Stand by Crane Nonlabour 12h/d Dhs 1500/h


(15T Capacity

Assign SCR-3 to activity CNMEC03 to share the total budgeted labour units into half for
each.
Assign SCR-3 to activity CNMEC04 to share the total budgeted labour units into half for
each.

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22 BASELINING THE PROJECT PLAN


A Baseline is a complete copy of a project plan that you can compare to the current schedule to
evaluate progress. Before updating a schedule for the first time create a baseline. It provides a
target against which one can track a project's cost, schedule and performance. Up to three
baselines can be compared at once. Baseline projects do not exist as separate project to access. 5
baselines can be created for each project.

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Creating a Baseline
1. Open the projects for which you want to create a baseline.
2. Choose Project, Maintain baselines, if more than one project is open, and select the project
for which you want to create a baseline.
3. If you want to copy the current project as a new baseline, you can select multiple projects; a
baseline will be created for all selected projects.
4. If you want to convert another project to a baseline, you can select only one project.
5. Click Add and choose to save a copy of the current project as a new baseline or convert
another project into a baseline of the current project, then click OK.
6. If you choose to convert another project, select the project in the Select Project dialog box,
then
7. Click the Select button.
Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline based on how you to intend to use it. For
example, the Initial Plan baseline type can be used for your initial project plan. Another baseline
type, Mid-Project Status, can be used after the project is underway. Baseline types are also useful
in organizing multiple baselines in the project.
Assigning a Baseline

Use the Assign Baselines dialog to assign project, primary, secondary, and tertiary baselines to a
project from Project/Assign Baseline.
Project: Lists all open projects. Select the project to which you want to assign baselines.
Project Baseline: Lists the available baselines for the selected project. Select the baseline to use as
the project baseline. If a baseline does not exist, the current project is the default value.
User Baselines
Primary: Select the primary baseline from the list of available baselines. If a baseline does not
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exist, the current project is the default value.


Secondary: Select the second baseline from the list of available baselines. A second baseline is not
required.
Tertiary: Select the tertiary baseline from the list of available baselines. A tertiary baseline is not
required.

Viewing Baseline Bars


The Bars dialog box allows you to modify the type, size, color, row position, and shape of the bars
displayed in the Gantt Chart.

Bar Style Tab:


The Bar Style tab enables you to specify the shape, color, and pattern of the bars and endpoints.
Shape —Shape of the selected bar's start endpoint, the bar itself, and the finish endpoint.
Color —Choose the selected bar's start endpoint color, the color of the bar itself, and the color of
the finish endpoint
Pattern —The fill pattern of the selected bar
Row—Displays the position of the bar on the Gantt Chart

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Steps
1. In the Layout Options bar, click Bars.
2. In the Display column, mark a checkbox next to Prj Baseline Bar.
3. In the Row field in the Bar Style tab, verify 2
4. In the Display column, mark a checkbox next to Prj Baseline Milestone.
5. In the Row field, verify 2.
6. Click OK to close the Bars dialog box.
7. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Bottom, No Bottom Layout
8. In the Layout Options bar, click Table, Font and Row,
9. In the Row Height section, clear a checkbox, Keep Current Row Heights.
10. Select an option, Select height for all rows,
11. Use arrows to increase row height to 30
12. Click OK
13. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Save as – Current vs Baseline Bar

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23 PROJECT EXECUTION & CONTROL


Data Date
When updating a project, actuals are recorded for each activity relative to the data date. The data
date is the date up to which actual performance data is reported and the date from which future
work is scheduled. By default, the data date is set to the beginning of the day.

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Updating a Project
Once a project has started, you need to update actual schedule information and resource usage at
regular intervals. Your company will establish a standard update procedure, including how data is
collected and how often it is updated. You may need to update daily/weekly, or monthly, depending
on the length of your project and how frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.
Consider these factors when deciding on a method:
Data precision: The degree to which project data is exact (based on manual data entry) or estimated
(based on automated calculations).
– Is project data entered manually?
– Is project data automatically calculated and applied?
Internal or external: The extent to which individuals other than the project manager are empowered
to update project data.
– Do other persons – resources, for example – update project data?

The goal of the graphic is to present all updating methods in a single view. The graphic is organized
along two axes: The X (horizontal) axis represents data precision. Methods at the right of the X axis
represent the most precise (exact). As you move along the axis to the left, methods become less
precise until reaching fully estimated. The Y (vertical axis) is divided between external updates
(below the line) and internal updates (above the line). Combine the elements to describe each
method. For example, Update Progress is to the far left of the X axis, making it estimated, and is
above the line on the Y axis, making it an internal update. Thus, Update Progress is an internal
update that is estimated. On the following pages, each method is explored in detail. A small version
of the graphic is repeated to reinforce the context of each method within the updating spectrum.
Update Progress
• Updates activity dates, expenses, and resource utilization according to project plan
• Internal update
• Data precision: Estimated
On the Tools menu, click Update Progress. Set data date to to cover some non-statused activities
and click Apply.

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Auto Compute Actuals


• Updates activity dates, expenses, and resource utilization according to project plan
– However, enables you to select which elements are computed automatically
• Internal update
• Data precision: Estimated
• Values are computed based on element you select for auto compute:
– If activity is selected, resources and expenses also automatically updated.
– If just resource or expense is selected, only those elements are automatically updated.
• Doesn’t affect successor activities outside of status period until project is scheduled.

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Steps to Activate:
1. In the Tools menu, click Apply Actuals.
2. Click H to select a New Data Date,
3. Click Apply, and then click Yes when prompted.
4. Click Yes to confirm the Apply Actuals command.
5. Click OK.
Recalculate Units, Cost When Duration % Complete Changes
• Project-level setting computes units based on Duration % Complete
• Internal update
• Data precision: Units and costs estimated based on exact Duration % Complete
• Based on Budgeted Units/Time, application calculates Actual Units and subtracts from Budgeted
Units
• Example: 10-day activity with 80 Budgeted Units (8 h/d)
– 2 days progress (Duration % Complete = 20%)
– Actual Units automatically recalculated to 16h
– Remaining Units automatically recalculated to 64h
Manually Update Activities, Expenses, and Resources
• Manually enter values for each element.
• Internal update
• Data precision: Exact
Timesheets
• Resources record hours worked.
• Manager approves / rejects timesheets and then applies actuals
• External update
• Data precision: Exact
• Resources record hours worked against activities.
• Primary resource also can mark activities started or finished and update Remaining Duration.
• After approving / rejecting timesheets, manager applies actuals.
– Only statused activities are recalculated.
– Does not affect activities not in the status period.
– Activities within the status period that are not progressed are pushed out to new data date.
Timesheets can be reviewed only in P6 (the Web application) – not in P6 Professional.
Updating Process
1. Create a baseline plan.
2. Identify the new data date with the Progress Spotlight.
3. Enter activity progress.
4. Report resource use and costs to date.
5. Use Suspend and Resume dates as necessary.
6. Calculate the schedule.

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• Be sure to verify the new data date.


7. Perform target analysis.
• Compare the current plan to the target to analyze variances.
8. Monitor project progress with reports.
• Determine whether project objectives are being met:
- Will the project finish on time?
- Is it within budget?
- Are project resources being used effectively?

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Statusing the Activities

Data Date

ES
AS AF
EF
5d
AS
ES EF
10d /5d RD

ES EF
8d
ES EF
2d

01-Jan-10

Setting the New Data Date

Data Date New Data Date

AS AF
5d
AS EF
10d /5d RD
ES EF
8d
ES EF
2d
Statusing Period

01-Jan-10 01-Feb-10

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Rescheduling the Project

Old Data Date Data Date

AS AF
5d
AS EF
10d/ 5d RD
ES EF
8d
ES
2d

01-Jan-10 01-Feb-10

How Data is collected:

 Project managers manually enter the actual date, resource, and cost information.
- Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and cost, and expense costs.
 Approve and apply timesheets.
- Team members use Timesheets to update activities.
- Project managers review and approve timesheets.
- Project managers apply timesheets to the project.
 Auto compute actuate.
- Progress of activities is automatically calculated according to the project plan.

Defining a Statusing Period


Define the statusing period before you begin to update activities. In general, the statusing period
begins at the current data date and ends at a point in the future. The length of the statusing period
depends on the frequency of your updates- You could, for example, create a statusing period that
extends one week from the current data date. The end of the statusing period will become the new
data date — the date up to which actual performance is measured.
There are two options to define the statusing period in the Gantt Chart:
 Activate Progress Spotlight.
Progress Spotlight creates a visible statusing period between the current data date and the next
status date. It also provides a highlighted list of activities that should have progress during the
update period. Click focus light icon on the tool bar to activate the Progress Spotlight. Click
again to deactivate.
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 Drag the data date.


Note that even as you establish a new statusing period, the new data date must still be manually
changed in the Schedule dialog box. Highlight the activities to be updated by dragging the status
line to the desired
Entering Actuals
Once a project is underway, you must enter actual schedule data, resource usage, and expense
costs at regular intervals. You may need to update daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the
length of your project and how frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.
Actual data is different than planned data — actual data is the real time and cost associated with an
activity.
Enter schedule, resource, and cost data in the following order
Completed Activities
1. Actual Start and Actual Finish dates
2. Actual Regular Units/Costs
3. Actual Cost for expenses
Activities in Progress
1. Actual Start date
2. Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration
3. Actual Regular Units/Costs and Remaining Units/Costs
4. Actual and Remaining Costs for expenses
5. If activity work is temporarily halted, use Suspend/Resume dates
Exercise:
1. Update the activities as per below mentioned table.

Resc Expense Expense


Activity Start % Rem Steps Finish
Actual Actual Remaining
ID Date Complete Dur Complete Date
Units Units Units
EGGEN00 3-1-10 - - - - - - -
EGGEN01 3-1-10 100% - - 4-1-10 - Dhs 10,000 Dhs 0
Domnic
- -
50
Ethan
- -
35
EGGEN02 4-1-10 - - 100% 17-1-10
Joseph
- -
35
Sai
- -
43
Prabhu
EGGEN03 12-1-10 - - 100% 27-1-10 Dhs 4,500 Dhs 0
88
Ahmed
EGARC01 27-1-10 - 41 10% - - -
36
Kathy
EGARC02 27-1-10 - 30 10% - - -
36
Kathy
EGARC03 27-1-10 - 29 10% - - -
36
Kevin
EGARC04 27-1-10 - 47 10% - - -
36
CNGEN01 4-1-10 85% 8 - - - Dhs 33,000 Dhs 2,000

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2. Click Schedule in toolbar or press F9.


3. Select current data date as 01-2-10
4. Click schedule in schedule dialog box.

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Steps for Analyzing the Updated Project


1. Perform a baseline analysis.

– Compare current plan to baseline plan to analyze variances.

– Compare calculated Finish and Must Finish By dates.

2. Make changes to restore important schedule milestones.

– Focus on critical activities.

3. Perform a resource usage analysis.

– Identify availability or allocation issues.

– Adjust resource assignments to resolve issues.

4. Perform cost analysis.

– Compare Total Cost to the Original Budget.

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24 MONITOR THRESHOLDS AND ISSUES

Lower Upper
Threshold Threshold

Not Not
Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable

Issue generated Issue generated

Thresholds
Thresholds enable you to define the tolerances you are willing to accept within a project. When you
create a threshold, you must specify the type of threshold parameter to monitor, such as Total Float
or finish Date Variance. You must set a lower and/or an upper threshold value to define the
tolerance. Thresholds can be set at the activity level or WBS level. If a value is not in the acceptable
range between the lower threshold parameter and upper threshold parameter, an issue is
generated.
ISSUES
Issues are known problems within a project which require attention or corrective action before the
project can be completed. Issues can be manually created or automatically generated by monitoring
project thresholds.
An issue is automatically generated when the threshold values for a given parameter are exceeded.
Managing Thresholds and Issues
Thresholds and issues are managed in a two-step process.
1. Create the threshold. (Create once per project)
• Specify a threshold parameter.
• Set the Lower/upper threshold values.
• Select the WBS element you want to monitor.
• Specify the level of detail: WBS or activity.
• Assign a responsible manager.
• Assign an issue priority.
2. Create or generate the issue.
• Monitor the threshold.
• Analyze the issue.

- Associate with a WBS element, activities, or resources.


- Assign a priority level, to the issue.
- Identify the manager responsible for addressing the issue.
- E-mail the issue's details, along with your comments, to any member of the
project team.
- Quickly view all the information associated with an issue by using the Issue
Navigator.
• Resolve problems.
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Steps:
Creating a Threshold - Thresholds can be created at any point in the project life cycle.
1. In the Toolbar, click Thresholds.
2. In the Side Toolbar, click Add.
3. Verify the General tab is selected.
4. In the Threshold Parameter-field, select Total Float (days).
5. In the Responsible Manager field, Select the Project Manager - ACC
6. In the General tab, in the Lower Threshold field, type <0>.
7. Select the WBS – ACC Dubai to Monitor,
8. In the Detail to monitor drop-down list, select Activity.
9. In the Status drop-down list, verify Enabled.
10. In the Issue Priority drop-down list, select 2 - High.
Monitoring Thresholds - An issue is created for each WBS/activity that meets or exceeds the
threshold parameters. Use the Details tab to define the time frame in which you want to monitor the
threshold.
11. Click the Details tab.
12. Select a From Date, DD.
13. Type a To Date <DD+1M>.
14. In the Tools Menubar, click Monitor Threshold,
15. Click OK.
16. In the Details tab, in the Threshold Issues section, expand the Issue column.
Addressing Issues - Review the issues generated to help you determine where to begin adjusting
your project. You can quickly access the Project Issues window by clicking the GoTo button on the
Details tab of the Thresholds window.
17. Select an issue
18. Click GoTo to view issue details in the Project Issues window.
19. Verify the information on the General and Details tabs.
Issue History - The Issue History enables you to view and add comments about the selected issue.
When you add a note, your login name and the date are recorded. Once a comment has been
added, it cannot be modified or deleted.
20. In the project issues window, select any issue & right click to select issue history option.
21. Type information about the issue in-the Add to Notes section.
22. Click Add.
23. Click Close to exit the Issue History dialog box.
Navigating issues - The Issue Navigator allows you to select an issue and navigate to different
windows to view issue details. If a button is disabled on the Issue Navigator dialog box, the issue

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does not pertain to that window. The Issue Navigator can be set to open every time you launch
Primavera by selecting Edit, User Preferences, then clicking the Application tab.
24. In the Tools menu, click Issue Navigator.
25. Select an issue.
26. In the Issue Navigator dialog box, click Activities.
27. Click Notify. Inform the issue to the concerned person.
Adjusting the Project - Based on the issues generated, you may need to adjust the project to get
the project back on track.
28. Adjust the remaining duration of activity EGARC04 to 46.
29. After adjusting the project & scheduling, Close the issue
30. In the Toolbar, click Issues.
31. Select an issue
32. Click the General tab.
33. In the Status drop-down list, select Closed.
34. In the Resolution Date field, select a date 01.02.14.

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25 RISKS DOCUMENTATION
Risks are uncertain events/conditions that have the potential to negatively (or positively) impact
project objectives. Primavera P6 Professional includes an integrated Risk Management feature that
enables you to identify, categorize and prioritize risks, assign a responsible person for managing the
risk, assign risks to one or more activities that may be impacted by the risk, and conduct qualitative
analysis on each risk. Additionally, you have the ability to record a risk response.

P6 generates a “Risk Score” based on information that is entered for each risk. The “Risk Score”
can then be used to help you evaluate the significance of the risk. This tutorial demonstrates the
process of using the Risk Management functionality in P6.

Step-1: We will document a possible risk to our project involving the Engineering process. We want
to document that if the customer changes the design of our exercise project, the project may incur
additional costs as well as schedule delays. The image below illustrates the Engineering WBS
element (work breakdown structure). As you can see below, this portion of the project is currently
scheduled to start on Jan 3rd and finish on Oct 3rd, and the total budgeted cost is AED 416,148. We
can also view the activities comprising this WBS element and their corresponding dates & budgeted
cost. Please note that we have added the “Risks” tab in our Activity Details.

Step-2: Access the “Risks” icon on the side toolbar and click the add icon to begin the process of
documenting the potential risk. The details pertaining to the risk are added using the detail tabs. The
“General” tab is used to identify the risk category, risk type, owner or person responsible for
resolving the risk, and status. The Exposure Start and Exposure Finish dates correspond to the start
and finish of the activities in the Engineering WBS. These dates represent the earliest and latest
dates this risk may occur. The Pre-Response Exposure Cost represents the possible cost this risk
may impose, and the Post-Response Exposure Cost is the cost the risk may impose based on your
risk response. Notice that you can also provide the date the risk was identified as well as the
resource that identified the risk.

Enter the following details for new identified risk:


- Risk ID – Design Change
- Risk Name – Customer changes design request
- Category – Requirement Changes
- Type - Threat
- Owner - Engineering Manager
- Status – Open
- Identified on – 1st Feb

Step-3: The impact tab enables you to identify both pre-response and post-response parameters.
Notice that you can select the Probability that the risk will occur, the impact that the risk may have
on the schedule, and the monetary impact on the project if this risk occurs. The Risk Score is
calculated based upon the values selected for the above mentioned parameters. The impact tab can
also be utilized to document a response plan as well as response impact parameters to arrive at a
Post-Response Risk Score.

Enter the following impact details for new identified risk:

Pre Response Response Post Response


Probability: 2-High Response Type: Reduce Probability: 2-High
Schedule: 2-High Response Description Schedule: 4-Low
Cost: 3-Medium Keep in close communication Cost: 4-Low
Score: ------ with the customer during design Score: ------
process

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Step-4: You can use the Activities tab to identify activities that may be impacted by this risk. Assign
all activities on WBS (Civil, Equipment, Piping, Electrical, and Instrumentation)

Step-5: Use the Description tab to further describe the risk.

Step-6: Use the Cause tab to document the cause of the risk.

Step-7: Document the effect of the risk.

Step-8: Additional Notes can be entered.

Step-9: In the Activities window, you can view and/or assign risks to activities using the Risks tab in
activity details.

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26 STORING PERIOD PERFORMANCE


Past Period Actuals
The Store Period Performance feature enables you to track Actual Units and Actual Costs by period,
typically after the schedule is updated. You can record actuals for the selected financial period,
along with earned value and planned value data.

You can also use the feature to track previous periods, performance for trend analysis. If past period
data changes after you store period performance, you can edit the data in the Financial Period
columns in the Activity Table, Resource Assignments window, and the Resources tab In Activity
Details.

For example, when you increase the Actual This Period data, Primavera Increases the Actual to
Date value by the same amount at the end of each financial, period, click Store Period Performance
in the Tools menu to store the actuals and P6 will reset the Actual This Period values of all activities
and assignments to zero. Resetting the Actual This Period values does not affect Actual, to Date
values; rather, it prepares you to begin tracking new use for the current period.
You can schedule your project weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. To track actual costs and
progress, update your schedule at the times established in the Financial Periods dictionary. The
next step is to store period performance at the end of the update period and before the start of the
next schedule update.

The example below displays the Actual This Period value and the financial period value (2010-02-
01) before/after actual values are stored.

Actual Units Actual This 2010-02-01


To Date Period Actual Units

Before Actual
100 100 0
Values Stored

After Actual
100 0 100
Values Stored

Steps to store past period actuals:


Rather than spreading costs evenly throughout the length of a project, you can view how actual
costs were incurred by customized financial periods. Financial periods, generally created by a
system administrator, can match the time period when project schedules are routinely updated, or
created on an as needed basis
For creating Financial periods refer last chapter “Administrative Functions of P6”
1. Open a project, ACC-DUBAI.
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window.
3. In the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Open.
4. Select a layout, Classic WBS Layout, and then click Open.
5. In the Edit menu, click User Preferences.
6. Click the Application tab.
7. In the Select financial periods to view in columns field
8. Select a Period Name, 2010-02-01
9. Click close.
10. Now goto activities window.
11. In Activity Details, click the Resources tab.
12. Right-click and choose. Customize Resource Columns.

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13. Select a data item, 2010-02-01: Actual Units then move it to the Selected Items section.
14. Arrange data items in Selected Items section as follows: Resource ID Name, Actual Units,
Actual This Period Units, and 2010-02-01 Actual Units.
15. In the Tools menu, click Store Period Performance.

16. Click Store- Now.


17. Click Yes.
18. Click the Resources tab and review values in 2010-02-01: Actual Units and Actual this
Period Units columns.

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Before Storing Past Period Actuals:

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After Storing Past Period Actuals:

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27 REPORTING PERFORMANCE
In addition to providing a large library of standard project management reports, two reporting tools
are available to access and report information stored in the database: the Report Wizard and the
Report Editor. You can use the Report Wizard to easily create a wide variety of customized reports.
The wizard steps you through the process of creating new reports, enabling you to select the
category of information and specific data fields to include. You can group, sort, and filter project
information and include time-distributed data for units and costs.
The Report Editor is a powerful tool that enables you to create reports that are highly customized.
Although you can create customized reports with the Report Wizard, the Report Editor provides the
capability to tailor a report more closely to your specific requirements. The Report Editor enables
you to group, sort, filter, and roll up project information. You can display time distributions for units
and costs and include graphics and HTML links in your reports. You can use the Report Editor to
further customize reports you create with the Report Wizard. However, if you modify a wizard report
in the Report Editor, when you reopen the report in the wizard, you lose all of the modifications
made in the Report Editor.
You can preview and print reports and you can save reports as text or HTML files. If you save a
report to a file, you can import the data to a spreadsheet program, e-mail the report, publish the
report on a Web site, and/or archive the report.
1. To view a list of the standard reports - select Tools, Reports, and Reports.
2. To create a new report with the Report Wizard:-
3. Choose Tools, Report Wizard. Follow the prompts on each dialog box in the wizard to create
the report.

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Run Report Dialog Box


Use the Run Report dialog box to compile and print the selected report.
• Print Preview – Preview the report before printing it.
• Directly to Printer – Compile and print the report.
• E-mail Attachment – Compile and attach the report, as an HTML file, to a new e-mail message.
• HTML File – Compile and save the report as an HTML file.
• ASCII Text File – Compile and save the report as a delimited text file (.txt).
- Field Delimiter – Select the character used to separate categories of information that you
save in delimited text format (i.e., comma, tab, space).
- Text Qualifier – Select the character used to separate categories of data that you save in
delimited text format (.txt) if the data contains the field delimiter you specify, such as quote
marks (").
• Output file – If you choose HTML File or ASCII Text File, click to specify the file name and
location where you want to save the report.
• Store report in Work Products and Documents for this project – Create a work product and
document record for the report. If the output file is saved in an accessible network location,
users can launch the report in P6.
• Notes – Use to add a comment to the report. Comment appears directly under the report title

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Notes:
To create or edit global reports from the Report Wizard or Report Editor, you must have Edit Global
Reports security privileges. To create or edit project reports from the Report Wizard or Report
Editor, you must have Edit Project Reports security privileges. You do not require security privileges
to view global or project reports. You can use the Report Editor to further customize reports you
create using the wizard. However, if you modify a wizard report in the Report Editor, when you
reopen the report in the wizard, you lose all of the modifications made in the Report Editor.

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Creating a Time-Distributed Report: A time-distributed report enables you to create reports that
display time-phased unit or cost data.

Exercise:
1. Run any of the report for the current project.
2. Create a new report to show the Activity ID & Name under which –Budgeted, Actual &
Remaining Units for each resource shown.
3. Grouped by WBS Path, Filter resources actual labour units greater than 0.
4. Save as Resource units, under Resource - Tabular, Report Scope – Current Project. (Using
New Wizard)
5. Create another report showing Budgeted, Actual, Remaining, At completion cost for activities
(Using Current Screen) and save it as Actual cost, under Cost - Tabular, Report Scope –
Current Project.
6. Now export the report.

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28 PROJECT WEBSITE

PUBLISHING PROJECT WEB SITE


To facilitate communicating project data in a company with offices local or worldwide, you can
publish project plans in HTML format using the Project Web Site Publisher. Transfer these
documents to either the World Wide Web (using FTP) or your office intranet, and view them using
an Internet browser. The documents contain hypertext links, or jumps, to other pages in the
structure, allowing you to move between projects and reports and from page to page within a report.
When publishing a project Web site, you control the level of detail published in terms of activity
information and personal information for resources, as well as which project reports you want to
include in the Web site.

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To publish projects as Web sites:-


Before you publish a project as a Web site for the first time, you may want to create a new folder on
your computer or network or verify that the existing folder you want to use is empty.
1. Open the project you want to publish. Choose Tools, Publish, Project Web Site.
2. Click the General tab.
3. In the Web Site Name field, type the title of the Web site.
4. In the Web Site Description field, type a description of the Web site. This description appears
on the Web site's initial page.
5. In the Publish Directory field, type the full path for the folder in which you want to save the
project's Web site files, or click and select the location.
6. Click Edit Scheme to modify the specified scheme or select another scheme.
7. Click the Topics tab and mark the appropriate checkboxes to specify the project information
you want to publish on the project's Web site.
8. The checkboxes determine what Activity Details are available on the project Web site. If you
clear all checkboxes, then the General activity information option is automatically selected
because at least one type of activity detail information must be included in the Web site.
9. Click the Graphics tab and specify which activity or tracking layouts to include as graphical
reports in the Web site.
10. Click the Reports tab and specify which reports to include in the Web site.
11. Click Publish.
12. If the folder you selected contains older Web site files or other files, a message warns you
that those files will be deleted. Choose Yes to continue or No to cancel.
13. Later if you want to publish layouts in the website, then choose Tools, Publish, Activity
Layouts
14. Now assign the layout and save it under the same directory.

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29 USER-DEFINED FIELDS & GLOBAL CHANGE


User-Defined Fields Overview
User-defined fields enable you to add your own custom fields to the project database. These fields
can be used to group, sort, and filter project data within layouts, as well as to organize reports for
analysis. Examples include delivery-dates and monetary conversions.
Subject Areas
The subject area determines the available data types and the level of the database at which user-
defined fields can be accessed.
• Activity
• Activity Resource Assignments
• Activity Steps
• issues
• Project Expenses
• Project
• Resources
• Risks
• WBS
• Work Products and Documents
Data Types
A user-defined field's data type determines the kind of data that can be entered In the user-defined
field.
• Start date — Dates and times.
• End date — Dates and times.
• Integer —Numeric (except currency); no decimals.
• Number — Numeric; with decimals.
• Text — Text or combinations of text and numbers.
• Cost — Currency values.
• Indicator — Color-coded icons.
Creating User Defined Fields & Including in Activity Table:
1. In the Enterprise menu, click User Defined Fields.
2. Select a Subject Area “Activities”.
3. Click Add.
4. Type the Title <Up Front Costs>.
5. Select the Data Type, Number,
6. Click Add.
7. Type the Title <Up Front Cost Indicator>.
8. Select the Data Type, Indicator.
9. Click Close.
10. Now come to activities window and include the fields in the activity table.
11. In the Layout Options bar, click Columns.
12. In the Available Options section, click User Defined & include in the selected fields side.
13. Enter some value in the Up front cost, and indicate the activities with Yellow Warning symbol
in the Upfront indicator cell (as shown for the activities mentioned below).

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Global Change
Global Change is a powerful feature that can change data for a project in a single process. You can
make changes to data in the Activities, Activity Resource Assignments, or Project Expenses subject
areas. Use Global Change to perform various functions, such as replacing existing data with new
data, populating user-defined fields, activity codes, and other data items. Use arithmetic equations
to change numeric data such as units, costs, and durations. For example, you can use global
change to change budget values and store dates for comparison when leveling.

Global Change specifications rely on "If, Then, and Else" logic:


 "If" statements, which are optional, compare two values to determine whether to make the
change.
 "Then" statements change data when the "If" statement is true. All global change
specifications require at least one "Then" statement.
• When no "If" statement is defined, the "Then" statement is applied to all activities in the
current filter, not all activities in memory.
 "Else" statements change data when the "If" statement is false. To specify an "Else"
statement, there must be at least one "If" statement.
 You can define an unlimited number of "If, Then, and Else" statements.

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Creating a New Global Change


Steps - Using Then Logic
1. In the Tools menu, click Global Change.
2. In the options buttons, click New.
3. Type the Global Change Name <initializing Up Front Costs>.
4. Verify the Select Subject Area, Activities, is selected.
5. Click in the Then section, and then choose Add.
6. Click in the Parameter cell, and then select Up Front Costs.
7. Click in the Parameter/Value cell, and then select At Completion Expense Cost.
8. Click in the Operator cell, and then select *
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9. Double-click in the Parameter/Value cell, and select Custom.


10. Type a Parameter/Value, <0.10>.
11. In the Command bar, click Change.
12. The Global Change Report dialog box provides a preview of the global change. You can
choose to cancel or commit the changes.
13. Click Commit Changes. When prompted to save the information to a text file, click No.
14. In the Modify Global Change dialog box, click OK.
15. In the Global Change dialog box, click Close.
16. Scroll down the Activity List to view the updated Up Front Costs values.

Steps - Using If-Then-Else Logic


1. In the Tools menu, click Global Change.
2. In the Command bar, click New
3. Type a Global Change Name <initializing the Up Front Cost indicator>.
4. Click in the Parameter cell in the If section, and then select Up Front Costs.
5. Click in the is cell and choose is not equal to.
6. Click in the Value cell and type <0>.
7. Click in the Then section and click Add.
8. Select a Parameter, Up Front Cost Indicator.
9. Verify the Is cell is set to "=".
10. Click in the Parameter/Value-cell and select icon (Red).
11. Click in the Else section and choose Add.
12. Select a Parameter Up Front Cost Indicator.
13. Click in the Parameter/Value cell and select icon (Green)
14. In the Command bar, click Change.
15. Click Commit Changes.
16. When prompted, click No.
17. Click OK
18. Click Close.
19. Scroll down the Activity List to view the change in the activities window.

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30 PORTFOLIOS
You can use portfolios to organize projects. Portfolios are a group of projects that have something in
common. Use portfolios to limit the number of projects displayed in the Open Project dialog box.
When you select a portfolio in the Open Project dialog box, only the project data for the projects in
the portfolio-is loaded.
Creating a Portfolio
In the Enterprise menu, click Project Portfolios to create and edit portfolios. In the Project Portfolios
dialog box, you can add a portfolio and specify the projects to include.
You can also specify the users who can access the portfolio — the current user; all users, or
another user. If you choose all users, the portfolio becomes a global portfolio. If you choose another
user, you can specify the user who can access the portfolio.
Steps
1. In the Enterprise menu, click Project Portfolios.
2. Click Add
3. In the Portfolio Name field in the General tab, type <Training Projects>.
4. In the Available to field, verify Current User Is selected.
5. In the User field, verify Admin is selected.
To add Projects to the Portfolio
6. Click the Projects tab.
7. Click Assign to open the Add Projects dialog box.
8. In the EPS level, press Control-click to select the Project.
9. Click assign icon to assign the projects to the portfolio.
10. Close the Add Projects dialog box.
11. Close the Project Portfolios dialog box.
To Open Projects Using Portfolios
12. In the file menu, click Open.
13. In the Select Project Portfolio in the top field.
When you select a project portfolio, the Open Project dialog box displays only projects in the
selected portfolio that the user has security privilege to access. The summary data only
includes information from the projects in the portfolio.

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31 ADVANCED SCHEDULING
Multiple Float Paths
The critical path is a series of activities that determines a project's completion date. In the Advanced
tab of the Schedule Options dialog box, you can choose to calculate a specific number of critical
float paths based on total float or free float. You can also choose the activity you want the float
paths to end on by choosing an activity; you can calculate multiple float paths that affect the entire
project schedule, a specific part of the schedule, or a milestone in the schedule.

Some options in the Schedule Options dialog box are:


 Calculate the paths based upon free float or total float
 Pick a key activity upon which to draw the path. This option would be useful in analyzing
what activities drive the end of a phase in the project.
 Determine how many paths to track.
Each float path is ranked from most critical to least critical and stores the value for each activity in
the Float Path field. For example, if you calculate five float paths, a value of 1 is stored in the Float
Path field for each activity on the most critical float path; a value of 5 is stored for each activity on
the least critical float path.

The two options in selecting how to calculate the float paths are Total Float and Free Float:

 Total Float — If you choose this option then, based on the activity you want the paths to end on,
the application determines which predecessor activity has the most critical Relationship. Total
Float on the backward pass. Primavera repeats this process until an activity-is reached that has
no predecessor relationship. Then, Primavera begins the forward pass from this activity and
determines which successor activity has the most critical Relationship Total Float. The module
repeats this process until an activity is reached that has no successor relationship. These
activities represent the most critical float path. The process begins again until the remaining sub-
critical paths are calculated.

 Free Float— Choose this option to define critical float paths based on longest path. The most
critical path will be identical to the critical path that is derived when you choose to define critical
activities as Longest Path in the General tab in the Project Details, in the Projects window. In a
multi-calendar project, the longest path is calculated by identifying the activities that have an
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early finish equal to the latest calculated early finish for the project and by tracing all driving
relationships for those activities back to the project start date. After the most critical path is
identified, the module will calculate the remaining sub-critical paths.
Steps
1. Open a project
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window.
3. In the layout Options bar, click Layout, Open.
4. Select a layout, Classic WBS Layout, and then click-Open.
5. In the Layout Options bar, click Show on Top, Activity Network.
6. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
7. Click Options.
8. Click the Advanced tab.
9. Click Calculate multiple float paths.
10. Verify that Total Float is selected.
11. Click the ellipse to choose an activity to Display multiple float paths ending with activity.
If the option Displays multiple float paths ending with activity Is not selected, Primavera will
automatically base the float paths on the last -activity in the project.
12. In the Display options bar, click Expand AIl
After setting the multiple float paths options and scheduling, the Float Path Order field is
populated.
To view the float paths after you schedule the project, group activities in the Activity Table by
Float Path. A Float Path value of 1'"indicates that those activities are part of the most critical
float path. The: Float Path Order value indicates the order in which the activities were
processed.
13. Click Schedule.
14. In the Layout Options bar, click Group and Sort.
15. Group by Float Path.
16. Click OK.
17. Click zoom icon in the toolbar to zoom in the Activity Network.

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Schedule Options Dialog Box


General Tab

Ignore relationships to and from other projects: If the current project has relationships with activities
in projects that are not opened when you schedule, then you can choose whether or not to take
those relationships into account when scheduling.

Make open-ended activities critical: P6 Professional will change the Total Float on open-ended
activities to zero, and the activities will appear red on the Gantt chart and in Activity Network.

Use Expected Finish Dates: Select to schedule an activity’s Finish date using the expected Finish
date which, in turn, recalculates the activity’s Remaining Duration. This option is checked by default.

Recalculate assignment costs after scheduling: P6 Professional will automatically recalculate the
activity cost based on the resources assigned to the activity and their effective dates and the
price/unit as defined in the resource pool.

Calculate start-to-start lag from:


• Early Start: Use this option when the successor's Start depends on the amount of work that the
predecessor activity accomplishes. P6 Professional calculates the expired lag as the number of
work periods between the Actual Start and the data date. P6 Professional determines the
successor's Start date as the predecessor's remaining Early Start plus any remaining lag.
• Actual Start: Use this option when the successor's Start depends on the time elapsed from the
predecessor's Actual Start (regardless of the amount of work that has been accomplished in the
predecessor activity). P6 Professional determines the successor's Start date as the data date
plus any remaining lag.

Define Critical Activities as:


• Total Float less than or equal to _____: The default setting is zero, but users can change the
criticality factor to suit their needs.
• Longest Path: Defines critical activities as those on the single longest path through the project
regardless of the amount of float in the project.

Calculate float based on finish date of:


• Each Project - Schedules external relationships on the backward pass using each project’s
finish date for open-ended activities, including activities that have an external relationship.
• Opened Projects - Schedules external relationships on the backward pass using the latest finish
date of all opened projects and external relationship dates to calculate late dates of activities.
Float for open-ended activities is calculated using the latest finish date of all opened projects,
allowing for more float than the Each Project option. Each project's Scheduled Finish date field
is calculated as the latest finish date of all opened projects.

Compute Total Float as: Finish float is the default setting.

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Scheduling Progressed Activities

Work on activities may sometimes proceed out of sequence. For example, Task A might have a
Finish to Start relationship with Task B, but work begins on Task B before Task A has been
completed. Although usually not of serious concern, such instances nevertheless represent changes
to the project plan that, unless accounted for, can disrupt activity relationships later in the project.

To prevent potential problems, P6 Professional offers three scheduling options for handling
progress on outof- sequence activities:

 Retained Logic — The Remaining Duration of a progressed activity is not calculated until all
predecessors are complete.
 Progress Override — Network logic is Ignored and the activity can progress without delay.
 Actual Dates — Backward, forward passes are scheduled using actual dates.

Scheduling Progressed or Out-of-Sequence Activities


In the context of this lesson, “progressed activities” are activities that have been updated out of
sequence – a successor activity in an FS relationship has been updated with actuals before its
predecessor has been completed. This is not an uncommon occurrence – project managers would
prefer to have workers working rather than idle – and usually causes no harm. Strictly speaking,
however, it is a departure from the formal project plan and, unless accounted for, can potentially
disrupt relationships and cause resource conflicts later in the project.
Steps:
1. Open a project
2. Confirm you are in the Activities window.
3. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
4. In the Command bar, click Options.
5. In the When scheduling progressed activities use field, verify Retained Logic is selected.
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When scheduling using retained logic, an activity that starts out of sequence will not be able
to complete until its predecessor has finished. The Remaining Duration of the successor
activity is scheduled to begin after its predecessor activity is scheduled to' finish.
6. Click Schedule.
7. In the When scheduling progressed activities use field, verify progress override is selected.
When scheduling using progress override, Primavera will ignore the relationship logic-and
schedule the remaining duration of the successor activity from the- data date.
8. Click Schedule.
Calendar Effect on lag
Scheduling activities with different activity calendars can cause unexpected results not only
regarding lag but also regarding other aspects of scheduling, such as durations.

Lag is defined as an offset or delay from an activity to its successor. In the General tab of Schedule
Options, you can choose a calendar for Primavera to use when calculating lag between activities.
The, relationship lag is calculated based on one of the following calendars:
 Predecessor Activity Calendar — Lag is-calculated based on the predecessor's assigned
activity calendar. This Is the default calendar.

 Successor Activity Calendar — Lag is calculated based on the successors assigned activity
calendar.
 24 Hour Calendar — Lag is calculated based on continuous workperiods.

 Project Default Calendar — The calendar selected as Default for New Activities on the
Defaults tab of Project Details.
Steps:
1. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
2. Click Options.

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3. In the Calendar for scheduling Relationship Lag, Select the Predecessor Activity Calendar or
Successor Activity Calendar.
4. Click Close.
5. Click Schedule.

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32 REFLECTION PROJECTS
You can import and export information to and from the Primavera database using external files. You
can then share this information with other Primavera users, Primavera Contractor- users, other
project management tools (such as Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel), and your organization's
human resource and accounting systems. You can use Export to archive your projects or create a
backup of your project. You can import/export: one or multiple projects at a time.

A copy of a project used for updating or to conduct what-if analysis.

 Team members or other P6 Professional users can update status of activities in which they are
designated Activity Owner.
 Review and decide which changes to merge into the source project.
 What-If status.
 Baselines in the source project are copied to the reflection project.
– Enables you to convert reflection project into active project with baseline data in place.

Creating a Reflection Project

A reflection project is created in the Projects window. To create a reflection project, select a project,
right click in the Project Table, and then click Create Reflection. If the source project has a baseline,
the Copy Baselines dialog box will display, asking you to specify which baselines to copy when
creating the reflection project.

The reflection project has the following characteristics:

 Same name as the original source project, with reflection appended to it.
 What-If status.
 Contains an internal link to the source project that allows the application to merge changes to
the reflection into the source project.
 Contains baseline data.

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Steps:

1. On the Enterprise menu, click Projects.


2. On the Layout Options bar, click Layout, Open.
3. Select a layout, Projects, and then click Open.
4. In the Projects window, select a project, ACC- DUBAI (After Updating 31.1.10).
5. Right-click in the Project Table, and then click Create Reflection.
6. Click OK in the Copy Baselines dialog box.
7. On the Layout Options bar, click Columns, Customize.
8. In the Available Options section, click + to expand the General grouping band.
9. Select a data item, Source Project.
10. Click to move it to the Selected Options section.
11. Click OK.

Making Changes to the Reflection Project

Use the reflection project to test different project scenarios and then merge selected changes back
into the source project. Or, designate other individuals to update the project and then review their
work before merging the changes into the source project:

Import/Export — Export a reflection project as an .XER file and then send it to third parties —
subcontractors, for example — who import the file into their database. After making changes to the
project, third party users can export the file and send the resulting .XER file back to you. By
importing the .XER file back into your reflection, you can decide which changes to keep when you
merge the reflection back to the source.

Activity Owner — An Activity Owner can update the status and other details of activities in which
they are designated as owners. By offering an Activity Owner OBS access to a reflection project —
rather than its associated active source project — you can collect the data you require and, through
a review process, ensure data integrity for the active project.

After opening the reflection project in activities window, you can make changes to it, including
changing activity status and resource assignments. In the example below, a subcontractor is
updating activities in the reflection project that you will later merge into the source project.

In the reflection project, update status for two activities and one expense (choose any activity &
make the update)

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Merging Reflection into Source Project

When the changes are complete, close the project and return to the Projects window, where you
can merge the reflection project into the source project.

Steps:

1. On the File menu, click Close All to close the project.


2. Confirm you are in the Projects window. (Or, on the Enterprise menu, click Projects).
3. In the Projects Table, select the reflection project, ACC- DUBAI (After Updating 31.1.10)
Reflection.
4. Right-click, and then click Merge Reflection into Source Project.

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Previewing Changes

The Preview Changes dialog box enables you to view changes made in the reflection project prior to
merging them into the source project. For each grouping, values before merging and values after
merging are displayed. You can group the page by:

Subject Area — Show all changes made to the project by subject. In the sample below, subject
areas for Activities and Activity Resource Assignments are listed.

Activity — Show all changes made to an activity under an activity band. When grouped by activity,
a Merge column is displayed for each band. Select the Merge check box to merge all changes for
the activity; clear the check box to not merge changes for the activity. Or, you can mark:

Select All — Select all Merge check boxes.

Clear All — Clear all Merge check boxes.

Steps:

1. In the Group Changes by field, select Subject Area.


2. In the Group Changes by field, select Activity.

You also have options that can be applied to the source project prior to merging, and to the
reflection project after merging.

Prior to merging:

Create a copy of source project as a baseline — Select this check box to create a baseline from
the source project that you can use to roll back the changes you made after merging the projects.
Create a backup file (.xer) of source project — Select this check box to create a .XER file that
you can use to rollback the changes you made after merging via an XER import.

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After merging:

Keep reflection — Keep the reflection project in the database after merging it with source project.
Delete reflection — Delete the reflection after merging it with the source project.
Replace reflection — Replace the reflection with an updated reflection based on the current data in
the source project after the merge.

Steps:

1. Select the Create a copy of source project ACC- DUBAI (After Updating 31.1.10) as baseline
check box.
2. Select Delete “ACC- DUBAI (After Updating 31.1.10) Reflection”.

Merging Reflection into Source Project

After reviewing changes, confirm that the Merge check boxes are selected and then click Merge
Changes. Note that merging will not remove items from the source project that have been deleted
from the reflection. If major elements of a project have been deleted from the reflection, you will
have to manually delete them from the source project if you do not want to keep the elements in the
source project.

Elements that are not deleted during a merge include activities, resource assignments, WBS
elements, work products and documents, expenses, issues, and risks.

Steps:

1. Click Merge Changes.


2. Click OK when prompted.

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33 UPDATING BASELINES
During a project's life cycle, changes may impact the project plan. If you have a baseline assigned
to the project, you may want to update the baseline to reflect these changes. For example, the
owner of a project may request a design change during the planning phase of the project. The
baseline of the project needs to be updated with this change.

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Options available in the Update Baselines dialog box enable you to:

 Select the project data you want to include in the update. You can include project data,
such as project details, work products and documents, project risks, issues, and
thresholds.

 Select specific activities to update. You can select a filter that will only include activities that
satisfy the filter's criteria.
 Add new activities to the baseline. You can add new activities and activity data from the
open project to the baseline. Past period actuals are not added in the update.

 Delete activities that are-no longer in the project plan.


 Update existing activities in the baseline.
• Additional update options enable you to select the types of activity and resource/role
assignment data to include in the update.
 Record a log of errors and warnings that may occur during the update.

 Choose to run the baseline update without logging any errors.

 Update data items based on the data item's last update date,, instead of updating the data
items based on the baseline's last update date.
The options set in the Update Baselines dialog box are saved for each user. Only users with the
proper security privileges can run the baseline update.

Steps to update baseline


1. Open a project ACC – Dubai.
2. Add/Remove activities in the activities window.
3. Remove Activity CMCOM01 – Raw material receipt for commissioning. Rename the activity
ID’s CMCOM01 to 05.
4. Assign Successor for activity CNCIV02 - Civil Work Raw Material Store.
CNCIV04 – FS – (16 days Lag)
5. For newly added activities give original duration & create relations
6. Schedule the project
7. In the Project menu, click Maintain Baselines.
8. Highlight a baseline, ACC – Dubai – B1.
9. Click Update.
10. In the Update Baseline dialog box, Specify the activities to include section, select All
Activities.
11. Mark the Add New activities and activity data (except actuals) checkbox.
12. Mark the Delete from baseline any activities no longer in the current project checkbox.
13. Verify the Update existing activity already in the baseline checkbox is cleared.
14. Click Update.

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34 CLAIM DIGGER
Claim Digger is a utility that compares two project plans— a revised project and a base project —
and create a report: on the differences between the project plans, including:
 Items added
 Items deleted
 Changed values
Claim Digger is a separate application outside of Primavera. A database link to Claim Digger must
be established during the installation of the component.

Key Claim Digger functionality:


 Report is created in either HTML, CSV or text format.
 Select a base project and a revised project to be used for comparison.
 Comparison options can be turned on/off based on your needs.
Claim Digger is located in the Tools menu in Primavera.
Main Application Window
After Claim Digger is launched, the Main Application window appears.

Configuring Projects Output Options


Several configuration and output decisions are required:
 Specify projects to use as the revised project and the base project.
 Select a report format:
• HTML file
• CSV file
• ASCIl text file
 Determine output file destination.
 Specify report launch setting (automatic launch after creation).

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Steps to compare two Projects using Claim Digger


1. Close all projects.
2. Open Tools menu – Claim Digger.
3. In the Select revised project column, in the first row, click end icon to select the revised
project.
4. Click OK.
5. In the first row of the Select original project or baseline column, click end icon to select the
original project or baseline.
6. Click OK.
7. In Send Report To, verify HTML File is selected.
8. For Output file, click browse to C:\Program Files\Primavera\Project Management\Logs.
9. Type the file name.
10. Click Save.
11. Mark the View file when done checkbox.
Choosing Comparison Options - Comparison options can be selected by clicking
Advanced in the Main Application window. Mark the Group report-by Activity checkbox.
12. Click Advanced.
13. Click Compare.
14. Click OK.
Reviewing the Report - Each section of the report details:
• Added/deleted values
• Old values/new values for those that have been changed.
15. Review the output report.
16. In the File menu, click Close.
17. Close the Primavera Claim Digger dialog box.

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35 DURATION TYPES
Duration Types Overview
Duration Type is a setting which allows you to control how the duration, resource units, and
resource units/time are synchronized for activities so that the following equation is always true:

Duration x Units/Time = Units


Non-Progressed Activity
For a non-progressed activity, the basic equation remains the same but the names of the values
are:
Original Duration x Budgeted Units/Time = Budgeted Units

Progressed Activity
For a progressed activity:

Remaining Duration x Remaining Unite/Time = Remaining Units

The following is also true:

Actual Units + Remaining Units = At Completion Units


Budgeted Units - At Completion Unit = Variance (in- Units)
Balancing the Equation
The following table lists the value that changes to balance the equation
Duration x Units/Time = Units whenever one of the variables is changed.

Activity Duration When you change When you change When you change
Type Units, P6 Duration, P6 Unit/Time, P6
changes.. changes.. changes..
Fixed Units/Time Duration Units Duration
Fixed Duration Units/Time Units Units
& Units/Time
Fixed Units Duration Units/Time Duration
Fixed Duration & Units Units/Time Units/Time Units
Use the following information as a reference when selecting Duration Types.
 If the duration is fixed, Primavera will never recalculate the duration.
 If the duration is not fixed, Primavera will always recalculate the duration.

If you do not want Primavera to


…Then Use
recalculate…
Budget or work effort Fixed units
Daily resource allocation Fixed units/time

If you do not want Primavera to recalculate …Then Use


the -schedule and...
Budget or work effort Fixed duration and units
Daily resource allocation Fixed duration and units/time

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Duration Type: Fixed Units/Time


Fixed Units/Time indicates that the activity's resource availability is limited. Choose Fixed
Units/Time if you are planning the activity according to the resources assigned to the activity and
need to focus on:
 Resource availability
 Resource overallocation or under-utilization.

Duration Type: Fixed Duration and Units/Time


Fixed Duration and Units/Time indicates that the activity's duration and units/ time are not subject to
change, regardless of the number of resources assigned to the activity. Choose Fixed Duration and
Units/Time if:
 You are planning the activity in terms of the calendar or schedule dates.
 The activity has a "drop dead date."
 You are entering an original duration value for this activity rather than budgeted labor units.

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Duration Type: Fixed Units


Fixed Units indicates that the number of labor/nonlabor units assigned to the activity (the work
effort) is not subject to change. Since cost is directly correlated with- units, it is also not subject to
change.
Choose Fixed Units if:
 You are planning this activity in terms of its work effort, i.e., number of resource hours that
you think will be required to complete the activity.
 You need to work within a set budget
 You are entering budgeted labor/nonlabor units for this activity, rather than the original
duration.

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Duration Type: Fixed Duration & Units


Fixed Duration & Units indicates that the units/time should be recalculated if either duration or units
are changed. Choose Fixed Duration & Units if:
 You are planning the activity In terms of schedule dates and its work effort.
 You have a "drop dead date" and know the total effort needed to complete -the activity.

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36 PERCENTAGE COMPLETE TYPES


Percent Complete Types
The Activity Percent Complete is used to identify the amount of work completed on an activity: The
user controls the calculation of Activity Percent Complete by assigning one of the three percent
complete types to the activity: Duration Percent Complete, Units Percent Complete, or Physical
Percent Complete. The default percent complete type is assigned at the project level but may be
changed at the activity level.

Overall view of % complete types

 Duration Percent Complete


• Use if you record progress based on the number of work days remaining (i.e. Remaining
Duration):
• Activity is duration driven.
• Calculated as: [(Original Duration - Remaining Dur)/Original Dur] * 100
• Select the Duration Percent Complete type when progress can most easily be reported
in terms of actual days of work remaining. To record progress on an activity, update
Remaining Duration and each resource’s Actual Units.

 Units Percent Complete


• Use if you record progress based on actual work effort accomplished and remaining
work effort; needed to complete (i.e./Remaining Units).
• Activity is work-effort driven.
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• Calculated as: (Actual Units/At Completion Units) * 100


• Use Units Percent Complete to calculate an activity's percent complete from its
resources’ Actual Units and At Completion units. To record progress for an activity,
update each resource’s Actual Units and Remaining Units

 Physical Percent Complete


• Use if you record progress based on personal judgment.
• Activity is work-product driven.
• Manually entered, no calculation.
• Physical Percent Complete reflects the actual progress on an activity.
To update an activity, type the following:
o A value into the Physical Percent field.
o A Remaining Duration.
o Each resource’s Actual Units.

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37 EARNED VALUE ANALYSIS

Earned value analysis is a technique for measuring project performance according to project cost
and schedule. This technique compares the budgeted (planned) cost of work to the actual cost of
work.

Panned Value Cost


 Planned Value Cost is the cost of the work that should have been accomplished as of
the data date, if the project had proceeded according to the baseline plan.
 Planned Value Cost = Budget at Completion x Schedule % Complete.
• Schedule % Complete specifies how much of the project's baseline duration should be
completed.
 Answers the question: How much work should be done?

Earned Value Cost


 Earned Value Cost is the monetary value of the work performed by a resource as of the
data date.
 Earned Value Cost = Budget at Completion x Performance % Complete
• The method for computing performance, percent complete depends on the earned value
technique selected at the WBS level.
 Answers the question: How much work is done?

Actual Cost
 Actual Cost is the actual total cost incurred for the work accomplished as of the data
date.
 Actual Cost = Actual Labor Cost + Actual Nonlabor Cost + Actual Expense Cost +
Actual Material Cost
• Actual Cost is the same as the Actual Total Cost.
 Answers the question: How much did the completed work cost?

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Earned Value Graph


The following graph shows several earned value variables and illustrates the relationship between
the variables.

Key:
BCWS (Planned) -Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled
BCWP (Earned) - Budgeted Cost of Work Performed
ACWP (Actual} - Actual Cost of Work Performed
SV - Schedule Variance
CV - Cost Variance
ETC - Estimate to Complete
BAC - Budget at Completion
EAC - Estimate at Completion
VAC - Variance at Completion

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WBS WINDOW
P6 Professional automates earned value analysis. Earned value settings are selected on tabs in
WBS Details in the WBS window, and earned value calculations can be viewed in Activity Table
columns in the Activities window

Earned Value Calculation:


Let us consider a project ACC – Earned Value, which contains a single activity (Duration 10 days)
that spans from 1-Jan-10 to 10-Jan-10. A single resource is assigned to that activity for a total of 80
hours. The price/unit for the resource is $100 per hour; therefore, the Budgeted At Completion cost
is $8,000. A baseline has been created for this project.

1. Now open the project ACC - Earned Value


2. In the Toolbar, click Activities & open a layout earned value

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The Planned Value Cost, Actual Cost, and Earned Value Cost currently equal zero because
the activity has not started.
Calculating Planned Value Cost - Planned Value Cost is the cost of the work that should
have been accomplished as of the data date, if the project had proceeded according to the
baseline plan.
• Planned Value Cost = Budget at Completion * Schedule % Complete
An alternative way to define Planned Value Cost:
One day of work should have been completed with a single resource at 8 h/d and $100/h;
therefore, 8hr x $100/h = $800.
3. In the Tools menu, click Schedule.
4. Select a new data date, 2-Jan-10, and then click Schedule.

Calculating Actual Cost - Actual Cost is the actual total cost incurred for the work
accomplished as of the data date.
• Actual Cost = Actual Labor Cost + Actual Nonlabor Cost + Actual Expense Cost + Actual
Material Costs. (Even though no expenses or nonlabor resources are-assigned, you can
view the Actual Total Cost on the Summary tab.)
5. Click the Resources tab.
Calculating Earned Value Cost - Earned Value Cost is the monetary value of work
performed by a resource as of the data date.
• Earned Value Cost = Budget at Completion * Performance % Complete
Another way to think of Earned Value Cost:
Since 25% of the work has been completed, 25% of the cost should have been incurred -
hence $2000 = (25% * $8000).
6. On the Status tab, assign an actual Start, 2-Jan-10.
7. Type a Physical % <25> and a Remaining Duration <8>.
8. On the Resources tab, type Actual Units <30>.
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9. Reschedule the project with a new data date, 05-Jan-10.


The Performance % Complete is set to 25% because the activity's % Complete Type is set
to Physical (in the General tab) and the Physical % has been entered as 25%. As a result,
the Earned Value Cost is now calculated as $2000 ($8000 * 25%).

Performance % Complete

Accurate and reliable determination of Performance Percent Complete is essential to a meaningful


earned value analysis. Performance Percent Complete can be different from the Activity Percent
Complete depending on the technique used to compute it. Techniques are set at the WBS level and
calculated as:

 Activity percent complete — Calculated based on the activity's percent complete type.
 WBS Milestones percent complete — Calculated based on the completion of the WBS
element's weighted milestones.
 0/100 — Calculated as 0% after an actual start is assigned then as 100% after an actual
finish is assigned.
 50/5O — Calculated as 50%-after -an actual start is assigned, then as 100% after an
actual finish is assigned.
 Custom percent complete — Calculated as a user-defined percentage after an actual
start is assigned, then as 100% after an actual finish is assigned.

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Weighted Milestones
WBS milestones can be used when higher-level task increments comprise a body of activities and
you want to control the activities at the WBS level. When you assign weights to the WBS
milestones, the completion of each specific milestone is used to calculate the performance percent
complete of the WBS.
 Weight of the milestone can be any number between 0 and 999999.
 Performance percent complete is calculated based on the relative weights of the
completed milestones versus the incomplete milestones.
• The Performance Percent Complete is applied to all the activities under that WBS
element, and then rolled back up to the WBS.
 The following option must be set to use weighted milestones:
• In the WBS window, click the Earned Value tab in WBS Details. Mark the WBS Milestone
percent complete checkbox.
 Use when calculating earned value.
 In the WBS window, you must enter weights for each milestone.
 The weights are relative to one another based on 100% completion of all the
milestones,
Steps to calculate performance % complete based on Weighted Milestone
1. In the Toolbar, click WBS.
2. Select the top level of the WBS.
3. Verify the Earned Value tab is selected.
4. In the Earned Value tab, select a Technique for computing performance percent complete,
WBS Milestones percent complete.
5. Click Yes when prompted.
6. In the WBS Milestones tab, click Add
7. Add milestones title and weights:
• Milestone <MS -1>, weight <3.0>.
• Milestone <MS -2>, weight <1.0>.
• Milestone <MS -3>, weight <6.0>.

Updating Weighted Milestones - The milestone Percent Complete is based on the relative
weights of the completed milestones versus the incomplete milestones.

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The milestone Percent Complete will be calculated as follows: MS -1 = 30%, MS -2 = 10.0%,


MS -3 = 60.0%.
8. Mark the checkbox in the Completed column for the milestones, MS -1, MS -2.
Effect of Weighted Milestones on Activities - The Performance Percent Complete is set
equal to the WBS milestones Percent Complete.
• Earned Value = Budget At Completion * Performance Percent Complete
9. In the Toolbar, click Activities.
The Performance % Complete is now set to 40% because two of the WBS milestones were
completed.

Activity Percent Complete


Activity Percent Complete calculates Performance Percent Complete from the activity's Percent
Complete type.
1. Select a technique for computing performance percent complete, Activity percent complete.
2. When prompted, click Yes.

Overall view of % complete types

Conclusions Based on Earned Value

Once you have completed an updating cycle, you can draw conclusions about schedule and cost
performance by comparing Planned Value Cost, Earned Value Cost, and Actual Cost.

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Schedule Performance
As of the data date, 30 hours of work is finished (Actual Labor Units), but only 25% of the activity is
complete (Performance Percent Complete). The baseline indicates that 40% of the work should be
complete (Schedule Percent Complete). This shows that the project is behind schedule.
Cost Performance
As of the data date, the project has cost $3,000 (Actual Cost) to achieve only $2,000 worth of work
(Earned Value Cost). The baseline indicates that $3,200 worth of work should have been
accomplished (Planned Value Cost). This shows that the resources on the project are not working
as efficiently as they should be. The project is running over budget.

Cost, Schedule Performance Indices


Another way to analyze how efficient the project is progressing is to calculate Cost Performance
Index and Schedule Performance Index.
Cost Performance Index
Cost Performance Index (CPI) relates the amount of physical work accomplished against the dollars
actually spent to accomplish the work
 CPI = Earned Value Cost / Actual Cost
A value of less than one (1) indicates that actual costs have exceeded the value of the work
accomplished.
Another way to think of CPI: If CPI=0.67 then for every project dollar spent, $0.67 in physical
work was accomplished.

Schedule Performance index


Schedule Performance Index (SPI) relates the physical work accomplished against the amount of
work that was planned.
 SPI = Earned Value Cost / Planned Value Cost
A value of less than one (1) indicates that less work was actually performed than was
scheduled.
Another illustration of SPI: If SPI=0.63 then for every dollar of physical work this project had
planned to accomplish, only $.63 was actually completed.

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Calculating Estimate to Complete


There are various techniques for calculating Estimate to Complete (ETC). These techniques take
into consideration a delay in the schedule and an overrun in costs, and are set at the WBS level.

Estimate To Complete
ETC identifies how much money you are projecting to spend from now to the end of your project.
The ETC is calculated using one of two formulas:
 ETC = remaining cost for activity
• Calculated, as Remaining Units * Resource Price/Units
• Default setting for calculating ETC
 ETC = Performance Factor * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
• Where Performance Factor Is calculated depending on the technique selected for the
WBS.
Performance Factor
The Performance Factor is used to compute Estimate To Complete (ETC).
There are four ways to calculate the Performance Factor:
 Performance Factor = 1 (Yields an optimistic result)
ETC = [PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)]
 Performance Factor = 1/CPI (Yields a most likely result)
ETC = (1/CPI)* (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
 Performance Factor = 1/ (CPI *SPI) (Yields a pessimistic result)
ETC = [1/ (CPI * SPI)] * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
 Performance Factor =
ETC = Performance Factor * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
Calculated according to a Performance Factor that the user specifies

Using Remaining Cost for Activity to Calculate ETC


Remaining cost for activity is the system default. It calculates ETC based on Remaining Units.
However, this calculation does not take into account a schedule delay or overspending into

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consideration. Historical evidence shows that these trends do not correct themselves over time; they
tend to worsen.
1. In the Toolbar, click WBS.
2. Verify the technique for computing Estimate To Complete (ETC), ETC remaining cost for
activity.

Using CPI to Calculate ETC


Using CPI to calculate ETC represents a reliable indicator of the "minimum" total required costs. It is
viewed as the most optimistic the project will do based on its history.
1. In the Toolbar, click WBS,
2. In the Technique for computing Estimate to Complete (ETC) section, select PF = 1/Cost
Performance Index.
3. When prompted, click Yes.
ETC = PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
• Where PF = 1/CPI
Therefore, ETC = (1/CPI) * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)

Using CPI and SPI to Calculate ETC


Using CPI and SPI to calculate ETC represents a reliable indicator of the "maximum' total required
costs because it incorporates the cost overrun to date with a behind-schedule condition to produce
the statistical forecast. Viewed as the very worst the project will do based on its history, In the
Technique for computing Estimate to Complete (ETC) section,
1. In the Toolbar, click WBS,
2. In the Technique for computing Estimate to Complete (ETC) section, select PF - 1 / (Cost
Performance Index * Schedule Performance Index).
3. When prompted, click Yes.
ETC = PF * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)
• Where PF = 1/(CPI * SPI)

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Therefore, ETC = [1/ (CPI * SPI)] * (Budget at Completion - Earned Value Cost)

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38 RESOURCE LEVELLING
Resource levelling is a process that ensures resource demand doesn't exceed resource availability.
Activities may be delayed if too few resources are available at any time during the activity's duration.
Levelling enables you to determine the earliest dates an activity can be scheduled without
overallocating resources
 Primavera compares the resource requirements of all scheduled activities to the
maximum quantity available at the time of levelling.
• The maximum amount of work a resource is available to perform for a given time period
is defined by the resource's standard workhours, as defined in the resource calendar.
• If the resource is not available for the entire duration of the activity, the
activity is delayed until the resource becomes available.
 Level all resources in your project or select the resource(s) to be levelled.
 Levelling priorities can be assigned at the project or activity level.
• Used to determine which project or activity gets the resource (levelled) first when a
conflict exists.
 The following items are ignored during the levelling process:
• Milestones
• Level of effort activities
• Expenses
• Closed what-if projects
• WBS summary activities
 An activity's schedule dates may temporarily change when levelling a project
• Reschedule your project to remove the levelled dates.

Handling Resource Conflicts


The following are steps that can be executed when you encounter resource conflict and over
allocation:
1. Determine whether resource conflicts exist through resource profiles and spreadsheets.
2. Use resource levelling to resolve over allocation.
3. Review levelling log to determine Impact.
4. Review resource profile to see whether problems are resolved.
5. If levelled dates are acceptable, constrain activities.
6. If levelled dates are not acceptable:
• Review logic.
• Review resource assignments and availability.
• Modify activity data and then reschedule.
Leveling Rules
The following rules are used to determine the order for levelling activities.
1. Mandatory constraints
• Primavera leaves activities that have a mandatory Start/Finish date on their early dates.
• Network logic may be violated.
2. Topological order (predecessor/successor relationships)
• Respects network logic.

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3. Levelling priority ("tiebreaker")


• If two activities can be levelled at the same time, levelling priorities are used to break the
tie.

Levelling determines the earliest possible dates that activities can be scheduled without exceeding
resource availability.
 Starts with activities that do not have predecessors.
 Levelled dates temporarily replace the Remaining Start/Finish dates and the
Start/Finish dates.
 May delay the project finish date.

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Below are definitions of fields in the Level Resources dialog box:


 Automatically level resources when, scheduling — Mark to level resources each time
you schedule your, project.
 Consider assignments In other projects with priority equal/higher than —Primavera will
reduce the resource's availability by the amount of work in any of the other projects with
a levelling priority equal to or higher than the value specified in the field before
allocating the resource to the open project.
 Preserve schedule early and late dates
• If marked, -the project's current early and late dates are retained.
• If unmarked, the current scheduled early-and late dates are overwritten by the levelled
dates. - Total float is calculated based on levelled dates.
 Recalculate assignment costs after leveling
• Levelling may change an activity's dates the levelled dates may push the resource
assignment, into a different Effective Date, which could change the price/unit
• Primavera will recalculate the costs .based on the new price/unit, which is based on the
Effective Date of the resource assignment and the new levelled dates.
 Level all resources
• Mark to level all resources.
• Clear and click Select Resources to specify the resources to be levelled.
 Level resources only within activity Total Float
• Mark to delay activities with resource conflicts up to their late finish dates.
• Type the minimum amount of total float to preserve.
• Specify the maximum percentage by which the resource may be overall located
 Leveling priorities — Use to handle scheduling conflicts that can occur during
levelling by specifying which project/activity is levelled first.
 Log to file. — Mark to create a log report of the levelling process.

The Level Resources dialog box enables you to level all resources or select resources to level. Click
Select Resources to:

 Decide which resources to level within the project.


 Displays the Max Units/Time that were defined In the Resources window

Adding Leveling Priorities


If two activities are ready for levelling, Primavera chooses one using, the priorities you specify in the
Levelling Priorities section. If you specify no prioritization, Primavera sorts by Activity ID. The default
levelling priority Is Activity Levelling Priority.

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Before Levelling

After Levelling

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The following table defines some commonly used priority and order options for levelling resources:

PRIORITY ASCENDING DESCENDING

Levels activities with Levels activities with


Activity ID
lower IDs first higher IDs first

Levels lower Levels higher


Activity Levelling
priority activities priority activities
Priority
first first
Levels activities with Levels activities with
Early Finish earlier, Early Finish later, Early Finish
dates first. dates first
Levels activities with Levels activities with
Early Start earlier, Early Start dates later Early Start dates
first first.
Levels activities with
Levels activities with
Free Float less Free Float, or
more Free Float, or less
more critical activities,
critical activities, first
first
Levels activities with Levels activities with
Late Finish earlier, Late Finish dates later, Late Finish dates
first. first.

Late Start Late Start dates first Late Start dates first.

Levels activities with Levels activities with


Original Duration shorter Original longer Original Durations
Durations first first.
Levels activities with Levels activities with
Planned Finish earlier Planned Finish later Planned Finish
dates first. dates first.
Levels activities with Levels activities with
Planned Start earlier Planned Start later Planned Start
dates first. dates first.

Levels lower priority Levels higher priority


Project Priority
projects first. projects first.

Levels activities with Levels activities with


Remaining Duration shorter Remaining' longer Remaining
Durations first Durations first.
Levels activities with less Levels activities with more
Total-Float Total Float, or more Total Float, or less critical
critical. activities, first activities, first

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39 IMPORTING AND EXPORTING DATA


You can import and export information to and from the Primavera database using external files. You
can then share this information with other Primavera users, Primavera Contractor- users, other
project management tools (such as Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel), and your organization's
human resource and accounting systems. You can use Export to archive your projects or create a
backup of your project. You can import/export: one or multiple projects at a time.

Export Format

Data can be imported/exported using the following file formats:


 Primavera PM/MM (XER)
• Primavera's proprietary format
• Exchanges project data between databases.
• Independent of the database type being used (Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or MSDE).
 Microsoft Project (MPX, MPP if MS Project is installed)
• Import/export to Microsoft Project.
• Integrates with third-party tools.
 Primavera Project Planner (P3)
• Exchange project information with Primavera Project Planner v3.0.
 Spreadsheet (XLS)
• Import/export to Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet applications.
• Import/export includes subject areas such as activities, activity relationships, expenses,
resources, and resource assignments.
 Primavera Contractor 5.0 (XER)
• Export project and resource information to Primavera Contractor 5.0.
 Primavera PM (XML)
• Microsoft Project XML format enables you to share information with Microsoft Project
2002. You must have Microsoft Project 2002 or later installed on your computer to export
an XML file.

Export Wizard
The Export wizard enables you to choose the format and data you want to export. You can export
information, such as activities, resource data, projects, and expenses.

1. Click the ellipsis and browse to the location,


2. In the Save File dialog box type the file name,
3. Select any of the export format, (Eg-XER Files (*.xer))
4. Click Save,
5. Click Finish.
6. Click OK to confirm that the export was successful.

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Import Wizard
The Import wizard guides you through the steps for importing projects. The project you want to
import data into must be open. If you are creating a new project, no projects need to be open.

1. In the File menu, click Import


2. Select an Import Format, Primavera PM/MM - (XER).
3. Click Next.
The import type must match the data being imported. For example, you cannot import a
project from an XER fife that was exported as only resource data.
4. Verify the Import Type Project, Click Next
5. Verify the file to import, browse to the location, Click Next
Import Project Options
Select the options you want to use for importing the project.
 Project ID — Lists the project(s) in the XER file.
 Match — If a project with the same name already exists in the hierarchy, then a
checkmark will appear in the Match column.
 Import Action — To prevent data from being overwritten, select one of the following
options:
• Update Existing Project — The existing project in the database will be updated by the
project being imported. This option is available only when the project is open.
• Create New Project — Creates a new project from the project being imported.'
• Replace Existing Project — The existing project is deleted and replaced by the
project being imported. This option is available only when the project is open.
• Ignore this Project — The project is not imported.
• Add into Existing Project — This option is available only when the project is open.
 Import —To specify the target project or where in the EPS to create a new project.
6. Verify the Import Action, Create New Project.
7. Double-click in the Import To field, and select an EPS node, Click Next
Update Project Options - When importing a project, some data may conflict with existing
global or project data. In the .wizard, you can create and save configurations that specify the
action to take when the same data exists in the import file and the project being updated
Multiple configurations can be created and saved. However, you can select only one
configuration when importing a file.

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8. In the Layout Name field, confirm Default Configuration is selected.


9. Click Modify.
Modifying Import Configuration
The import configurations determine how to update the project data. The Modify Import
Configuration dialog box lists activity, global, and project data types. For each data type, you
can select an action.

 Action — Specify how to update the selected data.


• Keep Existing — Maintains the record In the database and does not overwrite any of
its information by the record being imported. If the record does not exist, it will be
added.
• Update Existing — Overwrites the existing Information in the database with the
record being imported. If the record "does not exist, it is added.
• Insert New — Imports a new record, regardless if a match is found, and appends a
number to generate a unique name.
• Do Not Import — No records are Imported.
 Delete — Mark to indicate that the import file is the "master copy." If the record is
not In the import file, it will be deleted from the database.
• The Delete field applies to activities, risks, thresholds, and issues.
• Global data types are not affected by this setting.
10. Click OK to accept defaults. Then Finish

Transferring Data between Primavera and Microsoft Excel


Exporting Primavera data to Excel
1. In the File menu, click Export.
2. Select Spreadsheet - (XLS), and then click Next.
3. Select all export types listed.
Export Type - Each data type selected is exported to a separate worksheet in the
spreadsheet application. The export types available are based on the selected export format.

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4. Click Next
5. Select a project to export
6. In the Select Template dialog box, click Add.
Select Template - You can create or modify an existing template that holds specifications
for the export file. In the template, select the columns, filters, and sort criteria for each
subject area. The column, filter, and sort criteria only apply to the subject area selected. You
can define the criteria for each subject area.

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7. Type the template name <Modify Data>.


8. Select a subject area, Since the data fields available to add as columns are based on the
subject area
9. In the Columns tab in the Available Options bar, click Group and Sort- By, List
10. In the Available Options, select the field and click right arrow to move into the Selected
Options section.
11. Click the Sort tab.
12. In the command bar, click Add.
13. Select a field name, Activity ID.
14. Click OK.
15. In the Select Excel File field, double-click and browse to the location to save the XLS file
16. Enter the <file name> in the file name field
17. In the Files of Type field, verify Excel Files.
18. Click Open.
19. Review the summary information for the export file.
20. Click Finish.

Modifying Project Data in Excel


After you export an XLS file from Primavera, you can begin the process of modifying the project
data in Excel. When you export data to an XLS file, each subject area is exported to a separate
worksheet within the XLS file. Each subject area has the following sheet name:
 Activities — TASK.

 Activity Relationships —TASKPRED.

 Expenses — PROJCOST

 Resources — RSRC

 Resource Assignments — TASKRSRC

The first two rows in each worksheet consist of the following data:
 First row — Column headers identify the database field name that was exported. To
import data successfully, do not change the values in these cells.

 Second row — Primavera field names that correspond to each database field
name. These cells are editable.

The following guidelines can assist you in importing project data successfully:
 When updating project data in Excel, such as unit, costs, durations, and percent complete
fields, import one updated field at a time. Data integrity may be compromised if you
attempt to update multiple fields simultaneously via import into Primavera.
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 In Excel, to delete a row of data, type a 'D' or W in the Delete This Row column.
 Add dictionary items to Primavera before assigning these items to activities in Excel. If you
assign a new value to an activity or resource that does not exist in Primavera, then Import
will not add it to the dictionary. This applies to resources, roles, activity codes and values,
calendars, cost accounts, WBS, and resource codes and values
 An activity row in Excel must include an Activity ID to import successfully.
 Update each subject area- in its own sheet.
 Do not change the language set in Primavera (Tools, Set Language) For example, if the
text in the export file is in English the updates you import should be in English.
 Export the Activity Type column in Primavera to assign to new activities. Primavera will
assign the default activity type (Project Details, Defaults tab) to a new activity if a type is
not specified.
 In Primavera, right-click in the Activities window and select Export to Excel to quickly
export the columns displayed in the current layout.
 Use the USERDATA tab in the Excel spreadsheet as a reference for the user-preference
settings (Edit, User Preferences) in Primavera. Do not edit this information.

Importing Modified Excel file into Primavera:


1. Open the exported excel file
2. Select the worksheet tab, TASK. Expand the columns as necessary to view its data.
3. Click each worksheet tab to view its data.
4. In the TASK tab, expand the column.
5. Select an activity.
6. Type a new value for Original Duration or enter a new activity (with all field values)
7. To delete an activity in the table, type a 'D' or W in the Delete This Row column.
8. In the File menu, click Save.
9. Exit Microsoft Excel.
10. Import the edited file, using the same importing procedure

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40 TIMESCALED LOGIC DIAGRAMS

A timescaled logic diagram is a bar chart (similar to a Gantt chart) that shows the logical
relationships among project activities during a particular time period.

 Capabilities enable you to:


- Specify the time period.
- Group and sort activities in the diagram.
- Control appearance of activity bars, bar labels, relationship lines, and other diagram
elements in the final printout.
 Useful for:
- Isolating small sections of a project in order to better understand the chains of activities
that drive the project’s schedule.
- Compressing and printing an entire project on a single page for reports and other
communications.

Click Timescaled Logic Diagram on the Tools menu to access timescaled logic diagram templates
and associated options for specifying the timescale and for controlling the appearance of activity
bars, bar labels, relationship lines, and other elements in a timescaled logic diagram.

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Steps:

1. Open a project, ACC- DUBAI (After Updating 31.1.10), and confirm that you are in the
Activities window.
2. On the Tools menu, click Timescaled Logic Diagram to launch the Timescaled Logic
Diagram Templates dialog box.

Choosing a Template

Timescaled logic diagrams use templates to record, maintain, and apply the numerous option
settings that control a diagram’s final appearance. Templates reduce errors and make configuring
timescaled logic diagrams faster, more convenient, and easier to reproduce.

The Timescaled Logic Diagram Templates dialog box includes several templates from which to
choose. It also provides icons for making changes to the templates available:

Add a new template.

Delete the selected template.

Duplicate the selected template.

Edit the selected template.

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Steps:

1. In the Timescaled Logic Diagram Templates dialog box, select a template, Default Template.

2. Click (Edit Template).

Specifying the Timescale


The default template uses a project’s Start and Finish dates to specify the timescale. However, you
can specify a shorter time period within the project’s overall schedule and then zoom in on that
period for a close look at the activities and relationships occurring therein.

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Specify a timescale.

1. In the Timescaled Logic Diagram Options dialog box, confirm that the Timescale tab is
selected.
2. In the Timescale Start field, click and select Custom from the list.
3. In the date field to the right, click and select a date, 01-Jan-10.
4. In the Timescale Finish field, click and select Custom from the list.
5. In the date field to the right, click and select a date, 01-Sep-10.
6. In the Timescale Line 1 Date Interval field, select Month.
7. In the Timescale Line 2 Date Interval field, select Week.
8. Clear the Timescale Line 3 check box.

Other Timescale Logic Diagram Options


In addition to specifying the timescale, you can customize activity bar positions, colors, and labels;
choose the color and style of data date and relationship lines; and group and sort the activity bars
displayed in a timescaled logic diagram. Changes to option settings can then be saved as a new
template for use with future diagrams.

Select additional customization options and draw a timescaled logic diagram.

1. Click the Bar Format tab.


2. In the Show schedule for field, confirm Early Dates, and in the Method field, confirm
Standard.
3. Click the Bar Content tab.
4. In the Bar Labels section, select the Top Right check box, and then click and select Early
Start from the list.
5. Select the Bottom Right check box, and then click and select Original Duration from the
list.
6. Click the Lines tab.
7. In the Relationship Lines section, confirm that Draw Relationships and All Relationships are
both selected.
8. Click the Group and Sort tab.
9. In the Group By section, select the first check box and confirm WBS Path.
10. Click Draw and Close.
11. Click Close.
12. After viewing the timescaled logic diagram, on the File menu, click Save Template.
13. In the Save Template dialog box, type a name for the template, <Custom Template>, and
click OK.
14. On the File menu, click Exit.
15. When asked if you want to save changes, click No.

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41 ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS OF P6
Administrative functionalities of P6 enable to define users and assign security profiles, admin
preferences, admin categories and currencies.
USERS & SECURITY PROFILES

Security profiles determine a user's level of access to project information. The security profiles
include both global profiles and project profiles. A global profile determines the user's access to
application-wide information. A project profile determines the user's level of access to each project
within the enterprise project structure (EPS). When you assign a project profile to a user, you also
associate the project profile with an OBS element/responsible manager. The user's access
privileges, as defined in the project profile, will then apply only to those elements of the EPS that are
assigned to the OBS element/responsible manager you selected.

1. To define application users activate Admin/Users menu.


2. Click on ADD to add users.
3. Click on "General" tab to give log-in name and password for the new application user.
4. Click on "Global Access" tab for assigning Global Security profile to the application user.
5. Click on "Project Access" tab and assign the responsible OBS to the application user.
6. To define security profiles activate Admin/Security Profiles.
7. Application administrators can define Global and Security and profiles and assign the same
to the application users
8. To add new global profile click on ADD and grant the privileges by enabling the check boxes.
9. Depending on Privilege, global profile allows or prevents the application users from editing
Global information.
10. Depending on Privilege, Project Profile allows or prevents the application users from editing
project information.

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ADMIN PREFERENCES
To activate Admin Preferences click on Admin/Admin Preferences menu.

The General tab enables you to specify general default options, such as the weekday on which the
calendar week begins. You can also specify the character that separates cost account codes to
indicate hierarchy levels and the default duration for new activities.

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Data Limits
Use data limit tab to specify the maximum number of levels for hierarchical structures. One can also
specify the maximum number of baselines and activity codes that can be included in a project. New
settings apply only when adding new elements or editing existing elements.

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ID Lengths
Use the ID lengths to specify the maximum number of characters for ID's and Codes. The ID
Lengths tab enables you to specify the maximum number of characters for codes, from 1 to
20.

Time Periods
Primavera calculates and stores time unit values in hourly increments. However, through User
Preferences, each user can choose to display time unit values as hours, days, weeks, months, or
years. When a user displays data in time unit fields in increments other than hours, the Project
Management module converts the data based on the Hours per Time Period settings. Conversely, if
a user enters time units in increments other than hours, the Hours per Time Period settings are
used to convert these input values to hours for database calculation and storage.

As an administrator, you can specify the conversion factors or you can allow users to specify the
conversion factors. If you want to specify the conversion factors, enter the number of hours to use
as a conversion factor in each field. If you want users to specify the conversion factors, mark the
Allow users to specify the number of work hours for each time period checkbox.

Allow users to specify the number of work hours for each time period: If you do not select this
option, the Hours per Time Period settings you specify here are used as conversion factors. If you
do select this option, the Hours per Time Period the user specifies in User Preferences are used as
conversion factors.

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Options

Specify the interval to summarize and store resource spreads


WBS Level: Choose the time interval, such as week or month, for storing summarized activity data.
Resource/Role Assignment Level: Choose the time interval, such as week or month, for storing
summarized resource data.

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Link to Contract Manager: To set up access to Contract Manager (formerly known as Expedition),
mark the Enable Link to Contract Manager checkbox, then choose the Contract Manager/Expedition
product version you are connecting to. For version 9.x and higher, type the URL and port number to
the Contract Manager web server. For HTTP, the default port number is 80, but you do not have to
enter it. If you are not going to use port 80, you must enter the port number. For example:
http://10.12.14.168:110. address). For example: http://10.12.14.168:110. For https, the default port
number is 443. You must always enter the port number, including the default port number, at the
end of the URL. For example: https://10.12.14.189:443.

ADMIN CATEGORIES
Your organization can define a series of application-wide parameters and values that apply to all
projects. Your organization can use these settings to customize your projects to meet specific
project management requirements and standards. While all users can view these settings, a user
must have special security privileges to edit them. The project controls coordinator uses the Admin
Categories dialog box to define standard categories and values you can apply across all projects,
including custom categories and category values for projects, resources, and WBS elements.

Baseline Types - Use to create, edit and delete baseline types. Baseline types enable to categorize
and standardize baselines across projects.

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WBS Category - Create a WBS category and create, edit, and delete WBS category values. Use
this category to standardize and categorize WBS elements

Document Category - Create, edit, and delete categories for work products and documents. Use
these categories to standardize and categorize work products and documents, and organize and
maintain work product and document information.

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Document Status - Create, edit, and delete document status types. Use these status types to
identify the current status of work products and documents within a project.

Risk Types - Can create, edit and delete risk types or categories of possible risk types. Risk types
can be used to standardize and classify possible risks across projects.

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Notebook Topics - To create, edit and delete notebook topics. Typically consists of instructions or
descriptions for performing an activity. However notebook topics can also be assigned at EPS,
Project and WBS levels.

Units of Measure - To define a unit of measure for material type resources.

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FINANCIAL PERIODS
Use the Financial Periods dialog box to define global customized financial periods. Users can store
a project's period performance (past period actuals) for any predefined period contained in the
Financial Periods dialog box. The columns, fields, and buttons contained in the Financial Periods
dialog box are described below.

Period Name: A unique identifier for the period. When you create a new financial period, the name
defaults to the start and end dates for the period. Click on the name to edit.
Start Date: The period start date you specified in the Select Financial Period Timescale dialog box.
End Date: The period end date you specified in the Select Financial Period Timescale dialog box.
Add: Click to open the Select Financial Period Timescale dialog box in which you can specify the
start and end date of the new period. When the dialog opens, the default start date is the day after
the previous period's end date; the default end date is seven days later.
Note: The Start Date and End Date of a period cannot overlap the Start Date or End Date of any
existing period.
Batch Create Financial Periods
Last Period End Date: Displays the latest period end date contained in the dictionary. This field is
read-only.
Batch Start Date: Select the date on which you want the financial period batch to start. The module
will adjust the date in this field (if necessary) after you create the batch depending on your selections
in the Financial Period section.
Batch End Date: Select the date on which you want the financial period batch to end. The module will
adjust the date in this field (if necessary) after you create the batch depending on your selections in
the Financial Period section.
Financial Period: Select to make each financial period in the batch Every n Weeks or Every n
Months long (where n is the number of weeks or months); or, select Every Year to make each
period one year long.
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Period Ends On: If you selected Every n Weeks, choose the day of the week you want each
financial period to end on. If you selected Every n Months, this field is disabled. (The end date for
each monthly period is the last day of the month.) If you selected Every Year, select the month you
want the financial period batch to end on.
Batch Create: Creates the financial periods based on your selections.
Notes
All periods start at midnight and end at 11:59 PM. The end date must be at least one day later than
the start date; therefore, the shortest financial period you can create is two days long. For example,
if you create a financial period with a Start Date of Jan 1, 2010, and an End Date of Jan 2, 2010, the
period begins at midnight on Jan 1st and ends at 11:59 PM on Jan 2nd.
You must have the Edit Financial Period Dates global privilege to add, edit, or delete financial
periods in the Financial Period dictionary. You cannot modify the start and end dates of a financial
period after it is created. To modify the start and end dates of a period, you must delete the financial
period, then create a new period with the desired dates.

CURRENCIES
Specify the monetary unit or base currency used to store cost data for all projects in the database,
as well as the monetary unit or view currency used to display cost data in windows and dialog boxes

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