Training Hub

…a brand of Betaconnect Consulting

Project Management and Primavera P6 Training

Date: 14th March – 4th April, 2020.

March, 2020
 Project Management & Primavera P6
Professional –
Rel 8.4

March, 2020
 What is a Project?
According to PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, A project is
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, or service, or result.

Examples include: Construction of

Bodo-Bonny Bridge, Building an off-
shore platform, Building a House etc.

March, 2020
 Why projects?
• A market demand
• An organizational need
• A customer request
• A technological advance
• A legal requirement

March, 2020
 Characteristics of a Project
 Defined Start and End: From Goal Setting to Completion and
Acceptance by Customer
 Unique Undertaking: Design, Development, Prototyping
 Involvement of Many People: Different Skills and Multiple
Disciplines i.e. Cross functional & Multi-disciplinary
 The project team can be made entirely of employees of the
company, or of virtual team members.
 It is bound by constraints e.g. time, cost, scope, benefits, risks,
change, quality etc.

March, 2020
 End of a Project

This is reached when one of the following happens:

The project’s objectives have been achieved,
When it becomes clear that the objectives cannot be
met, or
The need for the project no longer exists.

March, 2020
 Sub-project
A component of a project that can be subcontracted
out to an outside entity or to another functional unit.
Usually, this is what calls for the need of sub-
contractors or vendors.

March, 2020
 Why sub-contract?

Problem: Most Prime contractors cannot take responsibility for all the
project risk !

Nigeria LNG

Prime
Contract

Saipem

Sub-
Contracts
General Pivot-GIS Julius
DBN
Electric (GE) Ltd Berger

Solution: Focus on your core business. Share the risk.

March, 2020
 What is an OPERATION?

Ongoing work performed by

organizations to achieve a set of
objectives.
The work performed to carry out the
day-to-day business of an
organization e.g. manufacturing,
banking, oil & gas production, etc.
It is otherwise known as Business-
As-Usual

March, 2020
 PROJECTS + OPERATIONS = ?

For an organization to survive in business, it must perform a

combination of Projects and Operations.

Productivity/ Operation Level 2

Efficiency

Project

Operation Level1

Time
March, 2020
 Program

A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to

obtain benefits and control not available from managing them
individually.

March, 2020
 Portfolio

A collection of programs, projects and additional work

managed together to facilitate the attainment of
strategic business goals.

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 Portfolio, Program, Project & other related work

March, 2020
 What is Project Management?
Project management is the application of
knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities in order to meet project requirements.
(PMBOK Guide 6th Edition)

March, 2020
Murphy’s Law
 If anything can go wrong, it will. – Control
 Nothing is as easy as it looks. – Scope
 Everything takes longer than you think. – Time
 If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a
procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth
way will promptly develop. – Risk
 Whenever you set out to do something, something else
must be done first. – Scheduling
 Every solution breeds new problems. - Risk
March, 2020
 Project Constraints

Every project is constrained in different ways by its:

• Scope: What work will be done?
• Time: How long should it take to complete?
• Cost: What should it cost?
• Quality: How good or durable should the product be?
• Benefit: Why are we doing this?
• Risk: What are the things that can go wrong?

March, 2020
 Project and Organization

The Organizational Structure will strongly influence the project’s

performance. Different organizations will have different answers for
critical questions such as: Who controls the resources? Who
determines the schedule and budget? What is the reporting structure?

• Functional Organization

• Projectized Organization

• Matrix Organization
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Functional Organization

March, 2020
Projectized Organization

March, 2020
Matrix Organization

• Weak Matrix
• Balanced Matrix
• Strong Matrix

March, 2020
Process Management Process Group

March, 2020
Initiating Process Group
The initiating process group includes all the processes required to
authorize the start of a project or phase:

• Selecting the project manager and obtaining organizational

commitment
• Determining the project business need
• Defining acceptance criteria
• Defining initial high-level plans such as a schedule, a risk, a budget,
and an organization chart

March, 2020
Planning
The processes required to define, refine, and formalize objectives, as well as
to determine the necessary actions to attain them. Planning activities cross
all project management knowledge areas and may include:
• Defining the rules on how the project will be managed, which processes
will be used, and how they will be implemented
• Identifying constraints and assumptions
• Collecting product requirements
• Defining the project scope, identifying and describing the project
deliverables
• Decomposing the work into smaller elements (work breakdown structure
[WBS]) and describing the work elements for future reference (WBS
dictionary)
• Developing the schedule
• Estimating costs and determining budget

March, 2020
Executing
The processes required to execute the plan, complete the project
deliverables, and coordinate the resources required to carry out the
plan. Examples of executing activities include:
• Completing the project deliverables
• Assessing the team’s performance
• Requesting changes
• Performing quality audits
• Acquiring human resources
• Obtaining the team necessary training
• Solving problems and disputes

March, 2020
Controlling & Monitoring
The monitoring and controlling process group includes all the processes
required to compare the actual performance with the plan, identify potential
variances, issue corrective or preventive actions, and manage changes.
Examples of monitoring and controlling activities include:
• Assessing project performance
• Comparing actual performance with planned performance to identify
variances
• Determining the schedule and costs forecasts
• Managing project changes
• Controlling the project scope to prevent the team from completing
unplanned work
• Analyzing schedule and cost variances
• Determining the project actual costs

March, 2020
Closing
The processes required to bring a formal and controlled end to the
phase, project, or contract. While closing, the project management
team may:
• Verify if the product was delivered as required
• Verify if the phase or project acceptance criteria were met
• Obtain the formal acceptance to close the project or phase
• Transfer the product to stakeholders
• Issue final payments
• Close contracts
• Collect final lessons learned and archive project document.

March, 2020
 The Ten PM Knowledge Areas
1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Schedule Management
3. Project Cost Management
4. Project Scope Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Resource Management
7. Project Communication Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management
10. Project Stakeholder Management
March, 2020
 Project Integration Management

Project Integration Management

includes the processes which are
needed to

identify,
define,
combine,
unify and
coordinate

the various project management

March, 2020
processes.
 Project Scope Management

Project Scope Management

includes the processes required to
ensure that the project includes all
– and only the – work needed for its
successful completion. In other
words, scope management asks
what is included in the project.

Completion of the project scope is

measured against the project
management plan where the
requirements and specifications of
the project output are given.
March, 2020
 Project Schedule Management
Project Schedule Management
includes the processes required to
ensure the completion of the
project within the time-frame which
has been allocated for it.

March, 2020
 Project Cost Management

Project Cost Management

includes the processes which
are required to plan, manage
and control costs so that the
project can be completed
within the budget allocated for
it.

March, 2020
 Project Quality Management

Project Quality Management

includes the processes for
ensuring that the project
satisfies the needs and
requirements for which it was
undertaken in the first place.

March, 2020
 Project Resource Management

Project Resource
Management includes
the processes needed
to organize and
manage the project
team, Material and
Equipment.

Human resources are considered an organization’s “most

important asset” and the same applies to projects.
March, 2020
 Project Communication Management
Project Communications
Management includes the
processes needed to ensure
timely and appropriate
generation, collection,
dissemination, storage, and
ultimate disposition of project
information.

Considered the “life-blood” of a project, communication can

severely impede a project.
March, 2020
 Project Risk Management

Project Risk Management

includes the processes
needed to manage the risks
on the project with a view to
reducing the likelihood of a
negative impact on
attainment of the project
goal, the project cost and
time, and the project
stakeholders.

March, 2020
 Project Procurement Management

Project Procurement Management

includes the processes for acquiring
or purchasing the
which
are needed to perform the project
work.

March, 2020
 Project Stakeholder Management
A stakeholder is a Person(s) or
organization(s) that is actively
involved in the project, or

whose interest may be positively

or negatively affected by
execution or completion of the
project or

May also exert influence over the

project and its deliverables
March, 2020
Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart
• Determine development approach and how you will plan for each
knowledge area
• Define and prioritize requirements
• Create project scope statement
• Assess what to purchase and create procurement documents
• Determine planning team
• Create WBS and WBS dictionary
• Create activity list
• Create network diagram
• Estimate resource requirements
• Estimate activity durations and costs
March, 2020
Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart
• Determine critical path
• Develop schedule
• Develop budget
• Determine quality standards, processes, and metrics
• Determine team charter and all roles and responsibilities
• Plan communications and stakeholder engagement
• Perform risk identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis,
and risk response planning
• Go back—iterations
• Finalize procurement strategy and documents
March, 2020
Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart

• Create change and configuration management plans

• Finalize all management plans
• Develop realistic and sufficient project management plan and
baselines
• Gain formal approval of the plan
• Hold kickoff meeting
• Request changes

March, 2020
Features of the Project Charter
• Project Title and Description (What is the project?)
• Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level (who is given authority
to lead the project, and can they determine, manage, and approve
changes to budget, schedule, and team assignments?)
• Business Case (Why is the project being done? On what financial or
other basis can we justify doing this project? Describe the project
purpose and justification.)
• Resources Preassigned (How many or which resources will be
provided?)
• Key Stakeholder List (Who will affect or be affected by the project
[influence the project], as known to date?)

March, 2020
Features of the Project Charter
• Stakeholder Requirements as Known (Requirements related to both
project and product scope.)
• High Level Product Description/Key Deliverables (What are the key
product deliverables that are wanted, and what will be the end result
of the project?)
• High-Level Assumptions (What is believed to be true or reliable in the
situation? What do we believe to be the case but do not have proof or
data for? See details in the assumption log.)
• High-Level Constraints (What factors may limit our ability to deliver?
What boundaries or parameters will the project have to function
within?)
March, 2020
Features of the Project Charter
• Measurable Project Objectives (How does the project tie into the
organization's strategic goals? What project objectives support those
goals? The objectives must be measurable and will depend on the
defined priority of the project constraints.)
• Project Approval Requirements (What items need to be approved for
the project, and who will have sign-off authority? What designates
success?)
• Overall Project Risks (Overall potential threats and opportunities for
the project)
• Project Exit Criteria (What needs must be met so that the project
manager will be able to close or terminate the project or phase?)
• Project Sponsors Authorizing This Project
March, 2020
Project Planning Terminology
 Milestones
 Critical Path and Activities
 Schedule Compression
 S-Curve
 Bid Schedule
 Trend Analysis
 Delay Analysis
 Extension of Time (EOT)

March, 2020
 SECTION I

CREATING A PROJECT

ASSIGNING CALENDARS

CREATING A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

ADDING ACTIVITIES

March, 2020
 CREATING A PROJECT

March, 2020
 OBJECTIVES

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Create a project.

Navigate in the Projects window.

View and modify information in Project Details.

March, 2020
 PROJECT

 Creates product or service.

 Finite start and end date.

 Managed within confines of:

 Schedule

 Resources

 Cost

March, 2020
 CREATING A PROJECT

There are three ways to create a project:

• CREATE NEW – Best suited for new endeavors or for
implementation of new processes / policies.
• IMPORT – Add data from P6, spreadsheet applications or
Microsoft Project.
• COPY/PASTE – Duplicate existing project or elements of existing
project.

March, 2020
 Creating a Work Breakdown
Structure

March, 2020
 OBJECTIVES

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Define a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy.

March, 2020
 WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS)

• A hierarchical arrangement of the products and services produced

during, and by, a project.
 Element represents a deliverable, product, or service.

 Each element contains the activities needed to produce the deliverable.

• Enables you to divide a project into logical pieces for the purpose of
planning and control.

March, 2020
WBS

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

March, 2020
WBS
WBS of the BLDG project, which you will use throughout this
course.

BLDG

Design and Exterior Interior

Foundation Structure Mechanicals
Engineering Finishes Finishes

Plumbing and
Plumbing and Floor and
Elevator HVAC Lighting Carpentry Paint
Electrical Carpet
Fixtures

Doors and
Brick Roof
Windows
 Adding Activities

March, 2020
 Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe an activity and its components.
Describe activity types.
Add activities.
Add a Notebook topic to an activity.
Add steps to an activity.

March, 2020
 Activities

• Fundamental work element of a project.

 Also known as a task, item, event, or work package.

• Lowest level of a WBS.

 Most detailed work unit tracked in the project schedule.
 Contains all information about the work to be performed.
 Smallest subdivision of work that directly concerns project
manager.

March, 2020
 Activity Type

• Controls how activity’s dates are calculated.

• Depends on the activity’s function in the project and the
calendar used for the activity during scheduling.
• P6 Professional supports six activity types:
 Start Milestone
 Finish Milestone
 Task Dependent
 Resource Dependent
 Level of Effort

March, 2020
 Start Milestone
• Used to mark the beginning of a project phase or to
communicate project deliverables.
• Has zero duration.
• Has a Start date only.
• Constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and documents
can be assigned.
• Roles cannot be assigned.
• Resources cannot be assigned except for the Primary
Resource.

March, 2020
 Finish Milestone
• Used to mark the end of a project phase or to communicate
project deliverables.
• Has zero duration.
• Has a Finish date only.
• Constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and documents
can be assigned.
• Roles cannot be assigned.
• Resources cannot be assigned except for the Primary
Resource.

March, 2020
 Task Dependent
• Used when work needs to be accomplished in a given
timeframe, regardless of the assigned resources’
availability.
• Resources are scheduled to work according to the
activity calendar.
• Duration is determined by the activity calendar.
• Roles and resources can be assigned.
• Constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and
documents can be assigned.
March, 2020
 Resource Dependent
• Typically used when multiple resources assigned to the
same activity can work independently.

• Resources are scheduled according to the individual

resource’s calendar.

• Roles and resources can be assigned.

• Constraints, steps, expenses, work products, and

documents can be assigned.

March, 2020
 How Activity Type Affects Dates
• Activity duration = 3 days
• Scheduled to start Monday
• Requires three resources, each working three days
• Each of the three resources has a resource calendar:
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Laborer X W X W W
Engineer W X W W W
High-Capacity Crane W X W W X
W = work day X = nonwork day

How many days will activity be scheduled, based on activity

type?
 Task Dependent
 Resource Dependent
How Activity Type Affects Dates
Task Dependent: Scheduled for 3 days
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Laborer X W X W W
Engineer W X W W W
High-Capacity Crane W X W W X

Resource Dependent: Scheduled for 5 days

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Laborer X W X W W
Engineer W X W W W
High-Capacity Crane W X W W X
Question

Based on the previous slides, which resource would

most likely require that the activity be categorized as
Resource Dependent?
A. Laborer

B. Engineer

C. Specialized high-capacity crane

March, 2020
 Level of Effort

• Used for ongoing tasks dependent on other activities.

• Duration is determined by its predecessor and successor

activities and its assigned calendar.

• Roles and resources can be assigned.

• Constraints cannot be assigned.

March, 2020
 Assigning Calendars

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Define work time and non-work time.

Explain the differences between global, project, and

resource calendars.

Create a new project calendar.

March, 2020
Calendars
 Specify work time and non-work time.

 Used for scheduling and leveling resources.

 An unlimited number of calendars can be created.

 All activities must have an assigned calendar.

March, 2020
Calendar Pools
There are three calendar pools:
 Global
 Project
 Resource

Determines whether the calendar is available to:

 All projects, resources, and activities.
 One project and its activities.
 Resources only.

March, 2020
Calendar Pools
• Global
 Calendars that can be used by all projects and resources.
 Example: 5-day workweek, 8 hours/day (usually with holidays and
non-work days from the organization’s calendar).
• Project
 Project-specific calendars.
 Example: 6-day workweek calendar to accelerate project.
• Resource
 Resource calendar can be assigned to resource only – not to an
activity.
 Example: Personal vacation days for an individual resource.

March, 2020
Resource Calendars
There are two types of resource calendars:
• Shared:
 Share among multiple resources.

 Can convert to personal calendar.

• Personal:
 Assign to single resource.

 Calendar is deleted if resource is deleted.

 Resource can edit personal resource calendar.

March, 2020
Work Time Types
A calendar can include four types of work time:
• Standard day
• Work hours in day match calendar’s work week.
• Nonwork
• Zero working hours in day.
• Exception
• Work hours in day do not match calendar’s work week.
• Example: Weekend work hours for a resource normally on a 5-
day workweek.
• Nonwork Exception
• A full day of nonwork time not covered by the standard work
week (e.g., vacation).

March, 2020
Calendars and Activity Types
Activity Type determines which calendar is used
when a project is scheduled.
• Task Dependent: Resource assignments are scheduled
according to the calendar assigned to the activity.
• Resource Dependent: Resource assignments are
scheduled according to the calendar assigned to the
resource.

March, 2020
March, 2020
 SECTION II
CREATING RELATIONSHIPS

SCHEDULING

ASSIGNING CONSTRAINTS

CREATING LAYOUTS

ROLES AND RESOURCES (ASSIGNMENT)

OPTIMIZING THE PROJECT PLAN

March, 2020
 Creating Relationships

March, 2020
Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

View a network logic diagram.

Describe the four relationship types.

Create relationships in the Activity Network.

Create relationships in Activity Details.

March, 2020
Network Logic Diagram
A network logic diagram is a graphic representation of all of the
activities in a project and their logical (dependent) relationships.

Activity E

Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity G

Activity F
Predecessor to Successor to
Activity B Activity B
Relationship Types
There are four relationship types:
Finish to Start (FS) – When A finishes, B can start.

Start to Start (SS) – When A starts, B can start.

Finish to Finish (FF) – When A finishes, B can finish.

Start to Finish (SF) – When A starts, B can finish.

March, 2020
Finish to Start (FS)
When activity A finishes, activity B can start. This is the
most common type of relationship.
A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

Example: When we finish sweeping the floor, we can start

arranging the tables.

March, 2020
Start to Start (SS)
When activity A starts, then activity B can start.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

Example: When we start arranging the tables, we can start

arranging the chairs.

March, 2020
Finish to Finish (FF)
When activity A finishes, then activity B can finish.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

Example: When we finish testing, we can finish collecting data.

March, 2020
Start to Finish (SF)
When activity A starts, then activity B can finish.

A
First Activity

B
Second Activity

Example: When we begin constructing our own tables and

chairs, we can stop outsourcing them.

March, 2020
Relationships with Lag
Lag specifies an offset or delay between an activity
and its successor.
• Can be added to any relationship type.
• Can be a positive or a negative value.
• There are four calendar options for scheduling lag:
 Predecessor activity calendar
 Successor activity calendar
 24-hour calendar
 Project default calendar

March, 2020
Finish to Start with Lag
Activity B can start after activity A finishes and seven days
have passed.

A
First Activity
FS 7d
B
Second Activity

Example: After the concrete floor is poured and cures for

seven days, we can begin constructing the walls.

March, 2020
 Start to Start with Lag
After activity A starts and 3 days of work have passed,
then activity B can start.

A
First Activity

SS 3d
B
Second Activity

Example: We can start laying the drainage pipes three

days after we start digging the trenches.

March, 2020
Question
Which of the following statements is true?
a) A successor activity depends on the start or finish of
another activity.
b) Lag specifies a delay between an activity and its
successor.
c) Lag can be positive or negative.
d) 1 and 2
e) 1 and 2 and 3

March, 2020
 Scheduling

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe Critical Path Method (CPM) Scheduling.

Perform a forward and a backward pass.

Describe float and its impact on a schedule.

Identify loops and open ends.

Calculate a schedule.

Analyze the scheduling log report.

March, 2020
Critical Path Method Scheduling
The Critical Path Method (CPM) is the traditional
technique for calculating project schedules and
determining the minimum total project duration.
• Uses activity durations and relationships between
activities to calculate schedule dates.

• Calculation is done in two passes – forward and

backward – through the activities in a project.

March, 2020
Critical Path
• The sequence of activities that determines a project’s
minimum total duration and completion date.
• Generally the longest continuous path of activities
through the project.
• The duration of the activities on the critical path controls
the duration of the entire project. A delay to any activity
on the critical path will delay the Finish date of the
project.

March, 2020
Data Date
• The date that is used as the starting point to schedule all
remaining work.

• During the Planning phase, the data date should match

the project Start date.

March, 2020
Data Date
J F M A M J J A S

Data date line

March, 2020
Forward Pass
• The forward pass calculates each activity’s early dates.

• Early dates are the earliest times an activity can start and
finish once its predecessor relationships have been
satisfied.

• The calculation begins with the activities without

predecessors.

• Early Start (ES) + Duration – 1 = Early Finish (EF)

March, 2020
Forward Pass

1 5

11 25

1 10

March, 2020
Backward Pass
• The backward pass calculates each 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 activity with the latest Early
Finish date without a successor.

• For projects without a Must Finish By date, activities without

successors are assigned a Late Finish equal to the latest Early
Finish date.

• Late Finish (LF) – Duration + 1 = Late Start (LS)

March, 2020
Backward Pass

6 10

11 25

1 10

March, 2020
Total Float
• The amount of time an activity can be delayed from its
Early Start without delaying the project.

• The difference between an activity’s late dates and early

dates.

• Total Float is automatically calculated each time you

schedule the project. You cannot edit an activity's float
values directly.

• Late date – early date = Total Float (TF)

March, 2020
 Types of Total Float

March, 2020
Total Float

March, 2020
Must Finish By Date
A common scenario is a project with a required Must
Finish By date:
• Specifies when the project must finish regardless of the
network’s duration and logic.

• Is used only during the backward pass to calculate late

dates.

March, 2020
 Backward Pass with Required Finish

March, 2020
Notice that there is no relationship between activities 30
and 50, creating two additional open ends. What will
happen when this network is scheduled?
No Imposed Finish

Formulas:
Early Start + Duration - 1 = Early Finish
Late Finish - Duration + 1 = Late Start
Late Start - Early Start = Total Float
Imposed Finish Date of 12

Formulas:
Early Start + Duration - 1 = Early Finish
Late Finish - Duration + 1 = Late Start
Late Start - Early Start = Total Float
 Assigning Constraints

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe available constraint types.

Apply Must Finish By constraint to a project.

Apply a Start On or After constraint to an activity.

Add a Notebook topic to a constrained activity.

March, 2020
Constraints
• Date restrictions used to reflect project requirements
that cannot be built into the network logic.
• More accurately reflect real-world aspects of a project.
• Provide added control of a project.
• Apply to the entire project or to individual activities.
• Commonly used project-level constraint: Must Finish By
• Commonly used activity-level constraint: Start On or After
• No more than 10 percent of a project’s activities should
be constrained.

March, 2020
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.
• Establishes the date from which late dates are calculated
in the backward pass.
• Affects the Total Float of the entire project.

March, 2020
Start On or After
• Used to set the earliest date an activity can begin.

• Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint

date.

• Pushes the activity’s early start date to the constraint

date.

• Affects the early dates of the activity’s successors.

March, 2020
Additional Start Constraints

• Start On — Forces an activity to start on the constraint

date:
 Shifts both early and late start dates to the constraint date.
 Used to specify dates submitted by contractors or vendors.
• Start On or Before — Forces an activity to start no later
than the constraint date:
 Shifts the late start to the constrained date.
 Affects the late dates of its predecessors.
 Used to place a deadline on the start of the activity.

March, 2020
Additional Finish Constraints
• Finish On — Forces an activity to finish on the constraint
date:
 Shifts both early and late finish dates to the constraint date.
 Used to satisfy intermediate project deadlines.
• Finish On or Before — Forces an 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.
 Used to set intermediate completion points in the project.
• Finish On or After — Forces an activity to finish no
earlier than the constraint date:
 Shifts the early finish to the constrained date.
 Affects the early dates of its successors.

March, 2020
Additional Constraints
• As Late as Possible — Delays activity as late as possible
without delaying successors:
 Shifts 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.

March, 2020
 Creating Layouts

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Group activities according to specific criteria.

Sort activities.

Apply a filter.

Create a filter.

March, 2020
Grouping
• A flexible way to organize
data into categories that
share a common attribute.
• Can be used to create
customized layouts.
• Organized by grouping
bands.
Grouping
• Activities can be grouped:
 By hierarchical fields (WBS,
activity codes, project
codes).
 By data fields (dates, costs,
Total Float, other numeric
data).
• Can be used to:
 Quickly view subtotal data
in grouping bands.
 View summary bars in the
Gantt Chart.
 Summarize data for
reporting purposes.

March, 2020
Sorting
• Determines the
sequence in which
activities are listed
within grouping bands.
• Based on data item, you
can sort:
 Alphabetically
 Numerically
 Chronologically
• Click on column header
to quickly sort
ascending, descending

Sorted by Start date Sorted by Start date

Ascending Descending

March, 2020
Filtering
• Determines which activities are displayed in a layout.
• Enables you to create customized layouts that:
 Limit the number of activities displayed.
 Help you focus on a particular group of activities (critical
activities, for example).

Filter

March, 2020
Question

True or False: Grouping, sorting, and filtering can all

be included in the same layout.

March, 2020
 Roles and Resources
(Assignment)

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe and Assign Roles and Resources.
View the Roles and Resources dictionary.
Assign resources to an activity by role and directly from the
resource dictionary.
Identify the differences between labor, nonlabor, and material
resources.
Adjust Budgeted Units/Time for a Resource.
Assign expenses to activities
March, 2020
Roles and Resources
• Role: A job title or skill needed to • Resource: The specific individual
complete an activity. used to complete the activity.

Tim Harris
Project Manager
March, 2020
Roles and Resources
• Both are enterprise data – available for use across all
projects.
 Both are usually defined by the application administrator.
• Roles are associated with resources according to their
function.
 Each resource can also be assigned one primary role, which
defines the resource’s core skill or responsibility in the
organization.
• Roles can be placeholders in activity assignments until
specific resources are assigned to do the work.

March, 2020
Roles and Resources
• Resource: Paul Kim

• Roles: Civil Engineer, Cost Engineer,

Mechanical Engineer

• Primary Role: Civil Engineer

Relationship Between Roles and Resources

ROLES

RESOURCES
Project Mgr Civil Engineer Mech Engineer Cost Engineer

Tim
PRIMARY Harris
ROLE

Oliver
Rock

ROLE

Paul
Kim
Resource Types
• Labor (people)
 Resources and roles
 Measured in units of time.
 Generally re-used between activities/projects.
 Recorded in terms of price/unit (for example,
$50/hour).
• Nonlabor (equipment)
 Measured in units of time.
 Recorded in terms of price/unit (for example,
$500/hour).
• Material (consumables)
 Measured in units other than time (for example,
$5/sq.ft.).
Assigning Roles
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Roles Dictionary Assign Role to Activity Replace Role with Resource

Project Manager
Project Manager Project Manager
Tim Harris

Cost Engineer Cost Engineer Cost Engineer

Oliver Rock

March, 2020
Assigning Resources
a) Assign by role:
At least one role must be assigned to an activity.
Replace role assignment with a specific resource.
Replace single role assignments individually or multiple
role assignments simultaneously.
b) Assign directly from the resource dictionary:
Labor resources without role assignments.
Required method when assigning nonlabor and material
resources.

March, 2020
Steps for Resource Management
1. Define resource in the
resource dictionary.

2. Assign resource to
activities.

3. Analyze resources and

costs.
Question
Which of the following is a benefit of assigning roles to
activities?
A. Roles can act as placeholders until specific resources are
assigned.
B. Roles can help project managers and resource managers
identify appropriate resources for specific activities.
C. Roles can provide cost estimates and determine preliminary
budget requirements during project planning.
D. All of the above
March, 2020
 Optimizing the Project Plan

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Analyze schedule dates.

Shorten a project schedule.

Analyze resource availability.

Resolve resource overallocation.

Analyze project costs.

March, 2020
Project Constraints
Successful projects must balance multiple constraints:
1) Scope

2) Quality

3) Schedule

4) Budget

5) Resources

6) Risk

March, 2020
Analyzing Schedule Dates
• Finish date – Most important date in the schedule:
 Compare the scheduled Finish date to the Must Finish By date.
 If the scheduled Finish date is later than the Must Finish By
date, the project must be shortened.
 Finish date is calculated; it cannot be edited.
• Project deliverables should also be scheduled to finish by
the dates imposed by project sponsors.
 Identify milestone dates and ensure that the schedule meets
them.

March, 2020
Shortening the Project
• Focus on critical activities.
• Refine duration estimates.
 Break down long activities.
 Assign additional resources to reduce duration.

• Use relationships to overlap activities.

• Apply/modify constraints.
• Change calendar assignments.
 Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
 Add exceptions to non-work time.
March, 2020
Analyzing Resource Allocation
• Determine which resources are overallocated.
• Identify activities contributing to resource
overallocation.
• Remove overallocation from appropriate resources.
 Replace the overallocated resource with another available
resource.
 Increase the resource’s workweek.
 Increase the hours/day that the resource works.
 Assign additional resources to the activity.
March, 2020
Analyzing the Budget

• Review budgeted costs for individual activities, WBS

elements, and the entire project.

• Confirm that costs are within budget.

March, 2020
March, 2020
 SECTION III
BASELINING THE PROJECT PLAN
IMPORTING AND EXPORTING DATA
METHODS OF APPLYING PROGRESS
EXECUTING THE PROJECT PLAN
ANALYZING THE UPDATED PROJECT
REPORTING PERFORMANCE

March, 2020
 Baselining the Project Plan

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Create a baseline plan.

Display baseline bars on the Gantt chart.

Modify the bars on the Gantt chart.

March, 2020
What is a Baseline? Current bar
Baseline bar

• A copy of the project plan used

as a basis for comparison when
evaluating the progress of an
updated project.
 Create a baseline before
updating a schedule for the
first time.
• Provides a target against which
to track a project’s cost,
schedule, and resource
performance.

March, 2020
 Importing and Exporting Data

March, 2020
Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Describe the process of importing and exporting data.

Export a project.

Import a project.

March, 2020
Import / Export Wizards

Other PM Applications
P6 Database Other P6 Professional Users

March, 2020
Reasons to Import/Export Project Data
• Share project information with:
 Other P6 EPPM users.
 Users of other project management tools.
 Your organization’s human resource and accounting
departments.
• Archive projects or create backups.
 Single or multiple projects can be imported/exported at one
time.
 The Export wizard enables you to choose the format and data
type (activities, resources, expenses, or complete projects) that
you want to export.

March, 2020
Import/Export Formats
• Primavera PM (XER)
P6’s proprietary format.
Independent of database type used (Oracle or MS SQL).
• Primavera PM (XML)
Share project information between P6 EPPM databases.
Compatible with Microsoft Project 2002 or later.
• Spreadsheet (XLS)
Compatible with Excel and other spreadsheet
applications.
• Primavera Project Planner (P3)
Share project information with Oracle Primavera Project
Planner version 3.x.
• Microsoft Project (MPX, XML)
March, 2020
Integrate with Microsoft Project and other third-party
tools.
 Methods of Applying
Progress

March, 2020
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Describe methods for applying progress to a project.

March, 2020
Updating a Project
• After a project has started, actual project data should be
updated regularly.

• Updates can be monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly depending

on project length and the precision of project control.

• A variety of methods can be used for updating the project.

• A single method need not be used exclusively. Multiple

updating methods can be used within a single project.

March, 2020
Updating a Project
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?

March, 2020
Spectrum of Updating Methods
Spectrum of Updating Methods
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets

March, 2020
Update Progress
• Updates activity dates, expenses, and resource
utilization according to project plan
• Internal update
• Data precision: Estimated
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets
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
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets
Auto Compute Actuals
• 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.

March, 2020
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
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets
Recalculate Units, Cost
When Duration % Complete Changes
• 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
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets
Timesheets
• Resources record hours worked.
• Manager approves / rejects timesheets and
then applies actuals
• External update
• Data precision: Exact
INTERNAL UPDATES

Auto Recalculate units, Manually update

Update Compute cost when Duration activities, expenses
Progress Actuals % Complete changes and resources

DATA
ESTIMATED PRECISION EXACT
EXTERNAL UPDATES

Timesheets
Timesheets
• 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.
Delegating Status Updates
Project updates can be delegated to
external resources, such as subcontractors.
Methods include:
• Reflection project
 Reflection project is updated by subcontractor,
resource, or individual designated as Activity
Owner.
 Can status activities, update resource assignments
 Project manager has ability to view and then
approve/reject updates before merging reflection
project into source project.
• Available in P6 Professional only.
• Import updated project
 Copy of project updated by another individual and
then imported.
Questions

1. Which update method(s) do you use?

2. What are advantages and
disadvantages?
 Executing the Project Plan

March, 2020
Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Use Progress Spotlight.

Update the status of completed activities and activities

in progress.

Reschedule the project.

March, 2020
Updating a Project
Once a project has started, actual activity
information should be updated at regular intervals.

• Schedule dates and durations

• Resource usage

• Expenses

March, 2020
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.
The data date always starts at the beginning of the day.
History Data Date Remaining Work

March, 2020
The Updating Process
Standard project update procedures should be
established, including how data is collected and how
often it is updated.
Create a baseline plan (optional).
Identify the new data date.
Enter activity progress.
Report resource use and costs to date.
Use Suspend and Resume dates as necessary.
Reschedule using the new data date.

March, 2020
 Analyzing the Updated
Project

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Analyze schedule dates, resource availability/allocation,
and project costs.
Identify areas where the project is falling behind
schedule or exceeding planned costs.
Make changes necessary to address variances.
Understand the importance of analyzing a project after
every status update.

March, 2020
Steps for Analyzing the Updated Project
1) Perform a baseline analysis.
a) Compare current plan to baseline plan to analyze variances.
b) Compare calculated Finish and Must Finish By dates.
2) Make changes to restore important schedule
milestones.
a) Focus on critical activities.
3) Perform a resource usage analysis.
a) Identify availability or allocation issues.
b) Adjust resource assignments to resolve issues.
4) Perform cost analysis.
a) Compare Total Cost to the Original Budget.

March, 2020
Questions to Determine How to Adjust a
Schedule
Can the Finish date of the project slip?

Can the scope of the activity/project decrease?

Were the planned hours over- or under-estimated?

Can any relationships between activities be changed?

Can additional resources be assigned?

Can resources work overtime?

March, 2020
Shortening the Project
• Focus on critical activities.
• Refine duration estimates.
 Break down long activities.
 Assign additional resources to reduce duration.

• Use relationships to overlap activities.

• Apply/modify constraints.
• Change calendar assignments.
 Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
 Add exceptions to non-work time.
March, 2020
 Reporting Performance

March, 2020
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe reporting methods.

Run a schedule report.

Create a resource report with the Report wizard.

Create a time distributed report.

Create a report using the current layout.

March, 2020
Methods for Reporting Performance

Reports from layouts

Reports from Report wizard

Reports from Report editor

March, 2020
March, 2020