Scheduling: Minimizing the input while maximizing the output

Chris Ackerman, PMI-SP

SSOE Group
Rick Fox, PMP
SSOE Group

Have you ever spent an abundance of time and energy developing the perfect detailed schedule for a client, only to
find out you have missed the mark? Perhaps you spelled out a specific project plan in great detail, incorporated
valuable input from all project stakeholders, laid it out beautifully atop an 11x17 colored PDF and illustrated it with
a Gantt chart showing relationship lines and a stair stepped critical path… only to receive a blank glare that says
“what am I supposed to do with this?”

At SSOE Group, an international engineering, architectural and consulting firm headquartered in Toledo Ohio, our
opportunities to create, update and maintain project schedules range from the initial needs analysis through the
detailed start up/commissioning phases. The schedules are often complex and require several iterations including
high level milestone schedules used for initial planning and conclude with a detailed logic and resource driven
project schedule. Often the required input comes from various places, both internally and externally, with resources
that have widely varying degrees of knowledge about the time, effort and information it takes to create a logic
driven schedule. Our presentation will show you some tips and tricks that we have found that help us both save time
and effort utilizing P6 and allow for a schedule deliverable that is user friendly, less cumbersome to update, and
capable of producing customizable reports to meet the client’s needs . We’ll showcase how SSOE, and subsequently
our clients, have benefitted from software components such as user defined fields, activity steps, high level
resources with custom resource curves, and level of effort/WBS summary activities. Let us help you turn those blank
stares and thoughts of “what am I supposed to do with this” to a friendly smile and a “Perfect!”

Objectives:
Problem: The time consuming task of statusing a complex multi-phase schedule makes it difficult to provide
complete project updates in a timely manner.
Solution: Dividing large project schedules into smaller and more manageable related schedules allows for flexibility
in updating. Furthermore, using activity steps can lessen the overall size and complexity of the schedule and
dramatically lesson the effort required to advance the data date.

Problem: Quickly and effectively resource loading a detailed schedule can be a time consuming and daunting task.
Solution: Assigning resources to WBS Summary and Level of Effort activity types allows for greater flexibility.
Concurrently, using high level resources and custom resource curves can increase one’s ability to quickly and
effectively develop a resource plan.

Problem: Using Primavera P6 standard reporting outputs on large schedules can produce lengthy reports that may
contain more information than is required.
Solution: Illustrate how using custom filters & user define fields can enhance reporting functionality and condense
reporting output.

Manageable Interlinked Schedules

On projects with a large amount of scope to manage, maintaining a single project schedule can be daunting.
Interlinking multiple schedules allows for assigning separate responsible parties for schedule updates, limiting the
overall information that needs to be reviewed by each responsible party and eases the baselining process.

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On multi-discipline/contractor projects, input is often required from multiple responsible parties to complete a
schedule update. Breaking the project plan into individual schedules where scope is divided by responsible party
allows for flexibility in updating schedule progress. (See Example 1 below)

Example 1

Simultaneous updates can be made and schedules can be updated at separate times if information about specific
areas in unknown or in question. This also assists in the risk analysis or what-if scenario breakdown.

Another advantage of having interlinked schedules is baselining. As changes occur on the project, maintaining the
plan can be a difficult task for schedules that incorporate a large amount of scope. The update baseline function has
many options to sift through and not fully understanding all of the changes that are being made can result in lost data
(See Example 2.1 and 2.2 below). The log, although useful, can contain more information than needed and
information can be difficult to locate.

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Example 2.1

Example 2.2

With schedules broken down by responsible party, new baselines can be assigned (See Example 3 below) as
approved changes are made or the update baseline function can be used. Both are much easier on smaller schedules
as there is less information to manage by a single responsible party.

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Example 3

Activity Steps
The use of activity steps within a project schedule is a useful method that allows you to keep all of the necessary
details while minimizing the effort to understand and update the schedule. This method is best used when you have
a number of activities that are of short duration, directly linked to each other, and all part of a larger task. For
example, when scheduling the construction of foundations there are many activities that lead up to the pouring of
concrete. If you included all of those activities as steps, and only one activity for foundations, the amount of
maintenance needed to keep the schedule current is significantly reduced. This method produces a Gantt chart that
is easily understood and can be used as a communication tool at all levels of a project (see Example 4 below).

Example 4

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Steps can also be used to expedite the creation of project schedules. Once a list of standard steps has been created, it
can be stored as a template for future use. This gives you the ability to quickly create first pass project schedules
with plenty of detail which can then be customized for project-specific needs (see Examples 5.1 through 5.3 below).

Example 5.1 Example 5.2

Example 5.3

The use of activity steps also allows for schedules to be updated very efficiently. You have the option to hold
traditional schedule update meetings or you can produce straightforward checklist reports that can be sent out to
project stakeholders for comments (see Example 6 below). The comments can then be sent to project schedulers for
input into the schedule. Also, these reports can be filtered to include only relevant activities for a given individual
or group. This reduces time spent in meetings listening to information that may not apply and allows the responsible
party the ability to update their activities without searching through a detailed project schedule to find them.

Example 6

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Activity Types and High-Level Resources and Curves

WBS and Level of Effort (LOE) activity types are an efficient way to increase the ease of project creation, updating
and reporting. This is enhanced when using high level resources with customized resource curves.

By assigning resources to WBS and LOE activities, tracking of resource financials (budgets, actuals and forecasts)
can be managed at a higher level and the information that may be required is still available for progressing and
reporting (i.e. EV, CPI & SPI). As the schedule changes when resources are assigned at the task level the resource
data need to be adjusted at that level. This requires that each of those revised activity’s resource financials needs to
be updated and then reviewed for accuracy. WBS and LOE activities only need revised as activities are moved,
added or deleted from the WBS or from the chain of activities the LOE is assigned to.

In addition to assigning resources to WBS and LOE activity types, using high level resources such as job
classification (i.e. Project Manager, Project Controller) or discipline level (i.e. Architect, Structural Engineer) versus
named resources allows for easier schedule creation and updating. This is especially beneficial on large projects
where resources are grouped by job classification or departments and an overall average rate and work calendar can
be agreed upon.

Using resources that are classified by job classification or discipline level can further be enhanced by using custom
resource curves that are assigned at the project level. Resource curves, which are customizable, allow for historical
information to be incorporated into plans so that a more accurate baseline schedule can be created and reported
against.

P6 Reporting
Primavera standard reports tend to produce lengthy outputs with information that may be more than truly required.
The standard reports can be used as starting points to help users generate ideas, or through the use of simple methods
within the software, users can create project specific reports that can also be used as templates throughout an
organization.

All of the information needed for project reporting is already being generated through regular updating of the project
schedule. The trick is creating a report that extracts required information into an understandable format for the end
user. The quickest method for creating a new report is through the use of layouts. By creating a layout, with just the
required information, through the use of filters and other user defined data, a report can quickly be generated
through the use of the Report Wizard tool (see Examples 7.1 through 7.3 below).

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Example 7.1

Example 7.2 Example 7.3

   
Once a report with the raw data has been created, the Modify report function can be used to depict the information in
a customizable format. This function can be used to show information in a user friendly spreadsheet format; colors
can be added to depict status or thresholds, custom graphics can be inserted to personalize reports, along with many
other options that can enhance reporting output (see Examples 8.1 through 8.2 below).

Example 8.1 

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Example 8.2

These methods produce reports that give users a quick visual indication of status as well as the ability to review
detailed information that may be required for a specific task.

Conclusion

It easily becomes overwhelming when you stop and consider the amount of time and effort it would take to create
and manage detailed project schedules if programs like Primavera P6 weren’t available to assist you in that process.
Tasks such as baseline variance analysis, resource planning, and project reporting, that take minutes or hours to
complete in the software, would potentially take days to complete manually and the accuracy would be questionable
at best. The methods mentioned above are just a few of the options available within the software that can be used to
make planners, schedulers and project managers more efficient. In today’s culture of faster and cheaper, gaining
efficiency is a great way to remain competitive in the marketplace which helps to achieve everyone’s goal of long-
term success.

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