101 6.0 Student Gold

Primavera® P6™
Training Manual
Course 101
Primavera®
Course 101
Version 6.0
Version date of manual: April 2008

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Course Contents
Lesson 1: Introduction to Primavera 1
Introduction to Primavera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primavera Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primavera P6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Methodology Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Timesheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Lesson 2: The Project Management Life Cycle 7
Project Management Life Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Initiating Process Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Planning Process Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Executing Process Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Controlling Process Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Closing Process Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lesson 3: Overview and Navigation 15
What is P6 Web? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
User Access to Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
License, Security Profile, Project Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
User Interface View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Logging In to P6 Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The P6 Web Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Navigating in P6 Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Most Recently Used Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Breadcrumbs Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lesson 4: Creating a Project 25
Enterpise Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Enterprise Project Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Viewing the EPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Organizational Breakdown Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Viewing the OBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Create Project Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Entering Required Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Lesson 5: Editing Project Details 37
Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Exploring the EPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using Project Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Editing Project Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
General Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Notebook Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Funding Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Codes Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Settings Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
User Defined Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
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Lesson 6: Creating a Work Breakdown Structure 53
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Creating a WBS for the HR System Upgrade Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Creating a WBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Adding a Child WBS Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Adding Sibling WBS Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Creating Additional Levels in the WBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Changing the Parent WBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Deleting a WBS Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reusing the WBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Lesson 7: Adding Activities 65
Adding Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Viewing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Adding a Start Milestone Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Adding an Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Copy/Pasting Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Deleting Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Viewing and Editing Activity Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Viewing Activity Details in Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Activity Details Sub-Tabs Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
General Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Steps Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Notebook Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Codes Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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Lesson 8: Using Activity Views 83
Using Activity Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Managing Activity Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Customizing Activity Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Columns Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Grouping in Activity List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Filtering Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Sharing Activity Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Sorting, Ordering in the Activities Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Lesson 9: Creating Relationships 99
Network Logic Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Relationship Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Finish-to-Start (FS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Finish-to-Finish (FF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Start-to-Start (SS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Start-to-Finish (SF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Relationships with Lag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Finish-to-Start with Lag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Start-to-Start with Lag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Assigning Relationships in P6 Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Adding Relationships in Activity Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Adding Relationships with Lag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Adding Relationships in the Gantt Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Editing Relationships in the Gantt Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Linking Multiple Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Canceling Data Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Deleting Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
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Lesson 10: Scheduling 113
Critical Path Method Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Critical Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
What is the Data Date? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Scheduling Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Forward Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Backward Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Total Float . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Backward Pass with Required Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Critical Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Scheduling a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Viewing the Scheduled Finish Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Scheduling Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Circular Relationships (Loops) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Open Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Exercise: Calculating a Schedule Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Exercise Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Lesson 11: Assigning Constraints 129
Assigning Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Must Finish By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Start On or After . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Additional Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
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Lesson 12: Optimizing the Project Schedule 141
Analyzing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Analyzing Schedule Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Compare Scheduled Finish to Must Finish By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Focus on Critical Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Shorten the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Adjusting Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Shortening Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Rescheduling and Checking Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lesson 13: Assigning Resources 153
Assigning Resources and Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Summarizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Assigning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Filling the Unstaffed Role Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Assigning Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Organizing Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Resource Access Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Assessing Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
E-Mail Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Editing a Resource Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Requesting Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
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Lesson 14: Project Workspace 171
The Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Viewing the Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Portlets on the Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Customizing the Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Customizing Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Customizing Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Customizing Portlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Lesson 15: Analyzing Resources and Costs 183
Analyzing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Analyzing Resource Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Viewing Overallocated Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Resolving Resource Overallocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Analyzing Resource Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Analyzing the Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Lesson 16: Baselining the Project 195
Baselines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Adding Baselines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Assigning Baselines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Editing Baseline Names and Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Deleting Baselines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
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Lesson 17: Executing the Project Plan 201
Updating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

The Data Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Entering Actuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
For Completed Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
For Activities In-Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Using Progress Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Statusing a Milestone Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Statusing an Activity to Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Statusing an Activity In Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Rescheduling the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Lesson 18: Analyzing the Updated Project 215
Analyzing Schedule Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Analyzing Project Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Adjusting the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Managing Project Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Adjusting Resource Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Closing an Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Lesson 19: Reporting 229
Project Reports Portlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Assigning Reports to Project Reports Portlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Scheduling Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Viewing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Deleting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
viii Course 101

Course Contents
Lesson 20: Dashboards 237
Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Viewing Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Customizing Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Filtering Portlet Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Customizing Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Portlets on Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Modifying Portlet Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Personal Information Portlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
My Activities Portlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Custom Portlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Managing Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Creating a Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Lesson 21: Portfolios 255
Creating a Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

User and Global Portfolios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Manual and Filtered Portfolios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Viewing Portfolios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Deleting a Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Creating a Portfolio Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Creating a Portfolio by Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Refreshing the Portfolio Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Analyzing Portfolio Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Project Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
How is Project Score Calculated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Course 101 ix
Course Contents
Appendix A: Updating the Project Using Timesheets 269
Updating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

The Data Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Updating a Project Using Timesheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Reviewing Timesheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Approving Timesheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Applying Actuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Analyzing Results of Applying Actuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Appendix B: Construction Workshops 283
Appendix C: Managing Project Issues 297
Viewing Project Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Creating Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Grouping Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Viewing Issue Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
x Course 101
Course Objectives
Course 101 will cover the following topics:
✔ Introduction to Primavera
• Describe Primavera solutions
• Describe P6
✔ The Project Management Life Cycle

• Review the relationship between Primavera and the Project Management Life
Cycle
• Identify the five process groups in the Project Management Life Cycle
✔ Overview and Navigation

• Log in to P6 Web
• Navigate to sections
• Locate Action bars
✔ Creating a Project
• Create a project
• Select a location in the Enterprise Project Structure
• Assign a Responsible Manager from the Organizational Breakdown Structure
✔ Editing Project Details

• Select a project in the EPS
• View Project Details
• Enter project data in the Details tabs
✔ Creating a Work Breakdown Structure

• Describe a WBS
• Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy
✔ Adding Activities
• Describe activity types
• View activity information in the Activities tab
• Send an e-mail related to an activity
• Edit Activity Details tabs
• Add steps to an activity
• Add a Notebook topic to an activity
• Assign an activity code
✔ Using Activity Views

• Customize columns
• Filter data
• Group and sort activities
© 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of Primavera Systems Inc.
Course Objectives (continued)
✔ Creating Relationships
• Differentiate between four relationship types
• Create relationships in Activity Details
• Create relationships in the Gantt Chart
✔ Scheduling
• Define key scheduling terms
• Perform a backward and forward pass
• Define Total Float and its impact on the schedule
• Schedule a project
• Describe loops and open ends
✔ Assigning Constraints
• Apply an overall deadline to a project
• Apply a constraint to an individual activity
• Add notebook topics to constrained activities
• Describe available constraint types
✔ Optimizing the Project Schedule

• Analyze schedule dates
• Shorten a project schedule
✔ Assigning Resources
• Assign a role
• Fill a role assignment
• Request resources
• Assign a resource
• Check resource availability
• Send e-mails to assigned resources
✔ Project Workspace
• Describe the Project Workspace
• Add and remove portlets
• Customize the Project Workspace
✔ Analyzing Resources and Costs

• Analyze and remove resource overallocation
• Analyze project costs
✔ Baselining the Project

• Add a baseline
• Select a baseline
Course Objectives (continued)
✔ Executing the Project Plan
• Describe several methods for updating the project schedule
• Define the data date
✔ Analyzing the Updated Project

• Compare Must Finish By and Scheduled Finish dates
• View issues
• View schedule performance
• Adjust the project based on issue information
• View budget data
✔ Reporting
• Assign reports to the Project Reports portlet
• Schedule reports
• View scheduled reports
✔ Dashboards
• Create a dashboard
• Add and remove dashboards
• Filter data to display in portlets
• View your projects and activities
✔ Portfolios
• Create a portfolio manually
• Create a portfolio by filter
LESSON 1
Introduction to Primavera
Objectives
✔ Describe Primavera solutions
✔ Describe P6
© 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of Primavera Systems Inc. 1
Lesson 1: Introduction to Primavera
Introduction to Primavera
Primavera Systems Inc. is the world’s leading project and portfolio
management software company, providing the software foundation that
enables all types of businesses to achieve excellence in managing their
portfolios, programs, projects, and resources. It is estimated that projects
totaling more than $5 trillion in value have been managed with Primavera
products.
Primavera began in 1983 with the launch of PC-based software for engineering
and construction. Today Primavera is a diversified software company that
provides both desktop and enterprise-class solutions that enable companies to
prioritize, plan, manage, and measure the project investments necessary to
grow the business and service their customers.
Primavera Solutions
The graphic below lists Primavera solutions and the industries served by
Primavera.
PROJECT & PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT FOR YOU
A&D, Public Engineering & Power, Energy

Technology Sector Services
Manufacturing Construction & Process
SOLUTIONS
ProSight Evolve P6
What?
Who?
How?
Portfolio Management Resource Management Project Management
Identify, select, and prioritize Right people. Right projects. Plan and execute high
the right strategic initiatives. Right now. quality projects on time,
on budget
Cost Contract
Change?
Much?
PertMaster
Risk?
Manager Manager
How
Earned Value
Earned Value Contract Control
Contract Control Risk Management
Earned value management Manage contracts, Mitigate project risk through

reporting for P6. commitments, changes. predictive analytics
2 © 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of Primavera Systems Inc.
Primavera Solutions (continued)

P6 — An enterprise-wide project planning, management, and control solution
that enables organizations to meet budget and deadline commitments by
managing schedules, resources, and costs across all of their projects and
programs. P6 is the solution covered in this course.
ProSight — A portfolio management and analysis solution that enables

organizations to deliver maximum value by identifying and prioritizing strategic
projects and investments, and complying with regulatory imperatives.
Evolve — An enterprise resource management solution that enables services

organizations to improve utilization and profitability by ensuring the right
person is assigned to the right project at the right time.
Cost Manager — A solution that reduces the work necessary to track earned
value. Graphic representations are automatically generated using the latest
project information from a centralized database. Download cost data from your
accounting system by using a flexible interface module to ensure a consistent
and complete view of project performance. Alternatively, actual cost data may
be entered or imported from Primavera.
Contract Manager — This solution, formerly known as Expedition, enables

the tracking of contracts from original estimate to buy-out. Track all project
submittals and automate the approval process via workflow management.
Comprehensive change management functionality assures that changes are
resolved, payments made, and claims are avoided.
PertMaster — A risk analysis and mitigation solution that enables

organizations to overcome project and portfolio uncertainty by modeling risks
and analyzing the cost and schedule impacts of mitigation scenarios.
Primavera P6
FIG. 1.1: Primavera Client-Server
P6 includes client-
server and Web Project
components. Methodology Management
Architect
Project Management
Methodology
Management Project
Project
Database Templates
Management
- MMDB - Database
(Methodologies Real-Time/ - PMDB -
and Summary (Project Plans) Progress Reporting
Processes) Information and Collaboration
Web
P6 Web
Project Portfolio Management
Architect
Project Management
Timesheets
Resource Management
Collaboration
P6 is used for planning, monitoring and controlling projects. Project data is

stored in a central database and can be accessed via client-server and the
Web.
Among P6’s capabilities:

❑ Enterprise-wide project management, resource management, and portfolio
analysis.
❑ Personalized role-based dashboards provide quick visual indicators of the
health and status of projects and programs, and help determine which
projects need help to get back on track.
❑ Extensive project reporting, including industry-standard templates and a
customization wizard.
❑ Scorecards that contain project scores, schedule performance, cost
performance, earned value metrics, and milestone dates.
Primavera P6 (continued)
❑ Capacity analysis and resource planning to anticipate resource usage
requirements in future projects.
❑ Collaborative workspaces to initiate projects and document workflows;
manage and approve documents; and communicate with the project team.
Methodology Management
❑ An integrated process improvement platform for delivering best practices,
lessons learned, and organizational standards in the form of project
templates, work product templates, and estimation metrics.
❑ Create, capture, organize, and improve reusable components for building
future project plans.
Timesheets
❑ Enables Web-based timekeeping and communication.
❑ Team members see all supporting information they need to coordinate and
perform their work while communicating directly with the central database.
LESSON 2
The Project Management

Life Cycle
Objectives
✔ Review the relationship between Primavera and the Project Management
Life Cycle
✔ Identify the five process groups in the Project Management Life Cycle
Key Terms
Project management
Project Management Life Cycle
Lesson 2: The Project Management Life Cycle
Project Management Life Cycle

Project management is the process of achieving set goals within the
constraints of time, budget, and staffing restrictions.
Lessons in your curriculum may cover some or all of the processes in the
Project Management Life Cycle, as indicated below:
Initiating
process
group
Planning
process
group
Executing
process
group
Controlling
process
group
Closing
process
group
Project Management Life Cycle (continued)

Each process can be broken down into these steps:
Project
Information
Initiating
Organizational
process Commitment
group
Team
Development
Scope
Definition
Activity
Definition
Planning
process
group
Schedule Resource and
Development Cost Planning
Project Plan
Development
Baseline
Yes Creation
Information
Distribution
Executing
process
group
Project Plan
Execution
Performance
Reporting No
Controlling
Are there
process changes?
group
No
Project
complete?
Yes
Contract
Closeout
Closing
Administrative
process Closure
group
Project
Closeout
Initiating Process Group

Steps in the Initiating process group include:
❑ Collect project information.
❑ Obtain organizational commitment.
❑ Develop the team.
Project
Information
Initiating Obtain
process organizational
group commitment
Team
development
Planning
process
group
Executing
process
group
Controlling
process
group
Closing
process
group
Planning Process Group

Steps in the Planning process group include:
❑ Establish project objectives and scope of work.
❑ Define the work.
❑ Determine the timing.
❑ Establish resource requirements/availability.
❑ Establish a cost budget.
❑ Evaluate, optimize, and create baseline plan.
Initiating
process
group
Scope
definition
Activity
definition
Planning
process
group
Schedule Resource and
development cost planning
Project plan
development
Baseline
creation
Executing
process
group
Controlling
process
group
Closing
process
group
Executing Process Group

Steps in the Executing process group include:
❑ Distribute information.
❑ Track work in progress and actual costs.
Initiating
process
group
Planning
process
group
Information
Executing distribution
process
group Project plan
execution
Controlling
process
group
Closing
process
group
Controlling Process Group

Steps in the Controlling process group include:
❑ Analyze and evaluate the project.
❑ Recommend necessary action.
❑ Modify the current project with realistic data.
❑ Re-forecast the schedule.
❑ Communicate project performance to the project team.
Initiating
process
group
Planning
process
group
Executing
process
group
Yes
Performance
reporting
No
Controlling Are there

process changes?
group
No
Project
complete?
Yes
Closing
process
group
Closing Process Group

Steps in the Closing process group include:
❑ Document lessons learned.
❑ Determine if project can be used as a methodology.
❑ Deliver product to client or stakeholders.
❑ Back-up or archive project files.
Initiating
process
group
Planning
process
group
Executing
process
group
Controlling
process
group
Contract
closeout
Closing
process Administrative
group closure
Project
closeout
LESSON 3
Overview and Navigation
Objectives
✔ Log in to P6 Web
✔ Navigate to sections
✔ Locate Action bars
Key Terms
Navigation bar
Action bar
User Interface view
Breadcrumbs trail
Lesson 3: Overview and Navigation
What is P6 Web?
P6 Web provides a Web-based interface to manage projects, portfolios, and
resources while sharing data with other project team members.
FIG. 3.1: P6 Web

functionality
areas.
The following four sections are targeted to roles within the organization:
❑ Portfolios — Executives can create portfolios of projects and use
customizable reporting features to track project status and make informed
decisions about strategic initiatives.
❑ Projects — Project managers can create and manage projects, request or
staff resources, and update project status.
❑ Resources — Resource managers can establish teams by resource or role,
monitor allocation of those resources, and assign them as requested by the
project manager.
❑ Administration — System administrators can tailor the user interface to
individual or group of users.
The Dashboards section is available to all users:

❑ Dashboards — Uses data windows called portlets to display portfolio,
project, and resource data. Administrators can enforce standard
dashboards across the organization.
User Access to Data

When you log in to P6 Web your access and ability to manipulate data is
determined by several layers of security.
FIG. 3.2: Layers of

security in P6 Web.
Login
You need a valid Username and Password provided by your system
administrator to log in to P6 Web.
License, Security Profile, Project Association

Your organization provides licenses to access P6 Web depending on your role
in the organization and the functions you need to perform your job. Your
license determines what sections are visible in the application. Your security
profile may further restrain your access and ability to manipulate data. Project
association determines the project data to which you have access.
User Interface View

Each user is assigned a User Interface view in P6 Web. The User Interface
view controls the tabs and Action bar items that are displayed.
Logging In to P6 Web
✍ You can save the P6 Web is a Web-based application. To access P6 Web, launch a Web browser
URL as a Favorite in
Internet Explorer.
and type in the URL specified by your organization.
Logging In
You must enter a valid Username and Password. Contact your system
administrator if you do not know your Username and Password. In your work
environment you may be required to change the default password by clicking
Change Password.
FIG. 3.3: Click

Login to log in to
P6 Web.
EXERCISE: Log in Steps

to P6 Web.
1. Type the URL provided by your instructor in the Address bar in the Web
browser.
✍ The URL provided 2. Type a Username <jbrunner> and Password <jbrunner>.
by your instructor is for
classroom use only. 3. Confirm PMDB$PRIMAVERA is selected in the Database drop-down list.
Your organization will
specify a different URL 4. Click Login.
to access Primavera at
your work site.
The P6 Web Screen

After a successful login, the P6 Web application screen is displayed. Items
displayed on the screen depend on your license, security profile, and the
assigned User Interface view.
Title bar
Navigation bar
FIG 3.4: P6 Web screen.
There are areas of the application screen that do not change once you log in:
❑ Title bar — Displays the Primavera logo and provides access to printing,
viewing context-sensitive help, setting user preferences, and logging out.
❑ Navigation bar — Provides access to sections: Dashboards, Portfolios,
Projects, Resources, and Administration. Click to display a section. The
selected section is bold.
Navigating in P6 Web
Only one section can be displayed at a time. After you click a section button,
the Action bar is displayed:
❑ Action bar — Displays commands related to the selected section.
Available commands depend on your security profile and the assigned User
Interface view.
FIG. 3.5: The

Action bar displays
section-related
commands.
EXERCISE: Steps
Navigate to the Projects
section. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. View the Action bar for the Projects section.
Most Recently Used Items

Three of the sections, Portfolios, Projects, and Resources, provide shortcuts to
most recently used items. For example, when you click the down arrow in the
Navigation bar next to Projects, the list of most recently selected projects is
displayed.
FIG. 3.6: Use

shortcuts to most
recently used
items.
EXERCISE: Select Steps

a project.
1. In the Navigation bar, click next to Projects.
2. Select a project, Finance System Upgrade.
Breadcrumbs Trail
After the project is selected, it is indicated in the Breadcrumbs trail. You can
use the Breadcrumbs trail to retrace your actions within a section. However, if
you change sections, your steps are not retained.
FIG. 3.7: Use the

Breadcrumbs trail
to retrace your
steps within a
section.
Tabs
Tabs within a section provide access to a group of actions. The number and
order of the tabs can be customized by the system administrator in the
Since tabs are related to the selected section, their titles often are referred to
with the section name. For example, in the Projects section below, the Details
tab can be called "Project Details," or the Tools tab "Project Tools."
FIG. 3.8: Tabs are

displayed for the
selected section.
EXERCISE: View Steps

tabs in the Projects
section. 1. Confirm that the Projects section is selected.
2. View tabs in the Projects section.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ There are several layers of security that determine data and functionality
that is accessible for each user.
❑ The main sections on top of the application screen (Dashboards, Portfolios,
Projects, Resources, and Administration) allow you to focus on a specific
aspect of project management.
❑ Each section has an Action bar to execute section-related tasks.
Review Questions
1. Which of the following is not a section in P6 Web?
a. Dashboards
b. User Interface views
c. Portfolios
d. Administration
2. Which of the following is true?
a. You can use the Breadcrumbs trail to retrace your steps across
sections.
b. You can view the name of the currently logged in user at the top of the
application screen.
c. Clicking the P6 logo takes you back to the login screen.
d. Your licence determines what sections are accessible to you.
3. True or False: If an arrow is visible in the Navigation bar, you can access
some of the most recently used items in that section.
LESSON 4
Creating a Project
Objectives
✔ Create a project
✔ Select a location in the Enterprise Project Structure
✔ Assign a Responsible Manager from the Organizational Breakdown
Structure
Key Terms
Enterprise Project Structure
Organizational Breakdown Structure
Lesson 4: Creating a Project
Enterpise Project Management

Primavera provides the capability for organizations to manage enterprise-wide
projects, portfolios, and resources while maintaining security and
responsibility. Each project is a unique entity containing the following essential
information:
❑ How is the project identified? — Each project has a unique Project ID
that identifies the project.
❑ What is the name of the project? — Each project has a descriptive
name. The project name is not required to be unique, but it is
recommended.
❑ Where is the project stored? — Projects are stored in the Enterprise
Project Structure (EPS), which resembles a hierarchical folder structure.
❑ Who is responsible for the project? — Each project has an assigned
Responsible Manager, selected from the Organizational Breakdown
Structure (OBS).
❑ When is the project planned to start? — Each project has a Planned
Start date that is set when the project is created.
Enterprise Project Structure

✍ EPS is defined by The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) provides the foundation for enterprise
your system
administrator. In P6
project management. It is a hierarchical arrangement of all projects in the
Web, you can view the enterprise, arranged so that data about projects can be rolled up and analyzed
EPS when selecting a at multiple levels.
project.
The EPS, a hierarchy created by the enterprise to organize its projects,
provides functionality to view project priorities, scope, budget, and resource
information across the enterprise.
It enables individuals to manage projects separately, and the organization to

roll up and summarize data across multiple projects, view resource allocation
across projects, and assign security at any level of the structure to provide
users with appropriate access to project information.
The EPS comprises roots and nodes:

❑ A root typically represents the top level of the organization.
❑ Nodes represent different levels within the EPS. Nodes can, for example,
represent divisions within the organization, departments, or site locations.
All projects must be included in an EPS 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.
EPS
Root
EPS EPS
Node Node
Project
EPS EPS EPS F
Node Node Node
Project Project Project Project Project

A B C D E
FIG 4.1: Elements of the EPS: root, nodes, and projects.
Viewing the EPS

Below is a graphic representation of Signature Corporation’s EPS and how it
appears in Primavera when you select a project.
FIG. 4.2: The EPS

represented Signature
graphically.
Corporation
Legend
Construct IT EPS Node

Projects Projects Name
Project
Name
Internal External
IT Projects IT Projects
New System IT
Systems Upgrades Maintenance
Finance
ERP System HR System Upgrade Integrate
System
Installation Upgrade Network S/390
Upgrade
FIG. 4.3: The EPS

displays in the
Projects section.
EXERCISE: Display Steps

the Enterprise Project
Structure. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. Click to expand EPS nodes, Information Technology Projects, Internal

IT Projects and System Upgrades.
Organizational Breakdown Structure

✍ OBS is defined by The Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) provides the foundation for
your system
administrator. In
enterprise project management. It is a hierarchical arrangement of an
Primavera, you can view organization’s project management structure, controlling user access to project
the OBS when selecting data and designation of the Responsible Manager.
a Responsible Manager.
The OBS, a hierarchical arrangement of an organization’s project management
structure, can be configured to represent a detailed organizational breakdown
with employee names or a more general framework with departments and
divisions.
The OBS performs two key functions in enterprise project management:

❑ Designating the Responsible Manager — OBS elements are assigned
as Responsible Managers for work within an EPS node, a project, a Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS), or an issue or risk within a project.
Responsible Manager assignments can be "inherited" as well. For example,
when you add a new project, the Responsible Manager is inherited from its
parent EPS node.
❑ Controlling user access to project information — All users are
assigned to an OBS element to establish their access to project data. For
example, all members of the Development Dept. are assigned to the OBS
element VP of Development. Due to this assignment, they can view all
projects for which the VP of Development is the Responsible Manager —
though they may not all have the same access to manipulate project data.
That access is governed by a user’s security profile, which may limit their
access to "read-only" status.
Viewing the OBS

Below is a graphic representation of Signature Corporation’s OBS. In the next
exercise you will see how it appears in P6 Web when you select a Responsible
Manager.
Signature
Corporation
VP of VP of Chief Technology
Program Office Construction Officer
Project Project
Coordinator Administrator
Andy Mason Meg Foley Joe Nolan Therese Swan Tim Harris
Tom Mills Linda Haris
VP of
VP of Training In House
Development
and Support Development
Dept.
System System
Testing Developments Training Support
Installations Analysis
Lead Lead Lead Lead
Lead Lead
VP of System
Administration
Network Implementation Data

Mgr. Mgr. Mgr.
FIG 4.4: OBS structure represented graphically.
Creating a Project
There are several ways to create a project in P6 Web. For example, your
system administrator may create one for you, or it can be created through the
initiation process. This course focuses on the Create Project command.
Create Project Command

You can launch the Create Project command in the Action bar in the Projects
section.
FIG. 4.5: In the

Action bar, click
Create Project.
EXERCISE: Create Steps

a new project.
1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. In the Action bar, click Create Project.
Entering Required Project Information

The Create Project screen requires you to:
❑ Type a unique Project ID.
❑ Type a Project Name.
❑ Select a location for the project in the EPS.
❑ Assign a Responsible Manager from the OBS.
❑ Set a Planned Start date.
Required fields are marked with an asterisk in the Create Project screen. The
Must Finish By field is optional.
Data Fields in the Application

❑ Some of the fields in the application allow you to type in a value directly.
For example, you type data in the Project ID and Project Name fields.
❑ Other fields may require you to click an icon first and then select a value
from the list of available items. For example, in the EPS and Responsible
Manager fields, click and then select a value.
Entering Required Project Information (continued)

Since Project ID must be unique across the enterprise data, P6 Web will
display an error after clicking Create if the Project ID already exists.
FIG. 4.6: Click the

list of values icon
to select an item.
EXERCISE: Provide Steps

required information for
a new project. 1. In the Project ID field, type <HRSYS>.
2. In the Project Name field, type <HR System Upgrade>.
3. In the EPS field, click .
4. Click to expand EPS nodes, Information Technology Projects and

Internal IT Projects.
5. Select an EPS node, System Upgrades, and then click OK.
6. In the Responsible Manager field, click .
7. Click to expand OBS nodes, Signature Corporation and Chief

Technology Officer.
8. Select a responsible manager, VP of Development, and then click OK.
9. In the Planned Start field, click to display calendar.
10. Select a date, 04-Jan-10, and then click Select.
11. Click Create.
Creating a Project (continued)

The Create Project Links page offers the following options to work with the
newly created project:
❑ Add activities and WBS.
❑ Go to Project Workspace.
❑ Create another project.
❑ Run Project Architect, enabling you to create a project plan by retrieving
methodology content from Methodology Management.
FIG 4.7: Options available after clicking Finish in Create Project.
These options, organized on one page, appear only after you create a project.
However, you can always access them in the Projects section:
❑ Add activities and WBS — Select a project and then click the Activities
tab.
❑ Go to Project Workspace — Select a project and then click the
Workspace tab.
❑ Create another project — In the Navigation bar, click Projects and then
click Create Project.
❑ Run Project Architect — Select a project and then click the Tools tab. In
the Tools tab, click Run Project Architect.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The Enterprise Project Structure is hierarchical arrangement of all projects
in the enterprise. It is arranged so that data about projects can be rolled up
and analyzed at multiple levels.
❑ The Organizational Breakdown Structure is hierarchical arrangement of an
organization’s project management structure. It controls user access to
project data and designation of the responsible manager.
❑ Launch the Create Project command in the Action bar in the Projects
section. The Create Project screen requires you to:
• Select a location for the project in the EPS.
• Type a unique Project ID.
• Type a Project Name.
• Assign a Responsible Manager from the OBS.
Review Questions
1. True or False: All projects must be included in an EPS node.
2. True or False: The Must Finish By field is required when you create a
project.
3. True or False: You must enter a unique Project Name when creating a
project.
LESSON 5
Editing Project Details
Objectives
✔ Select a project in the EPS
✔ View Project Details
✔ Enter project data in the Details tabs
Key Terms
Project Details
Lesson 5: Editing Project Details
Selecting a Project
Once a project is created it can be accessed via the Enterprise Project
Structure, which is displayed in the Projects section.
Exploring the EPS

If you know where the project resides in the EPS, you can expand EPS nodes
and find the project. For an EPS node ( ), only the EPS ID is displayed. For a
project ( ), the Project ID and the Project Name are visible.
Use the Delete link to delete the project from the EPS if you have the security
privilege to do so.
FIG. 5.1: Expand

the EPS to locate
projects.
EXERCISE: Locate Steps

the HR System Upgrade
project. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. Expand EPS nodes, Information Technology Projects, Internal IT Projects

and System Upgrades.
3. Locate a project, HR System Upgrade.
Using Project Search

The Search function in the Projects section allows you to find projects in the
EPS based on Project ID or Project Name. As you type in the Search field, P6
Web automatically displays only those projects whose Project ID or name
starts with the value in the Search field.
FIG. 5.2: Use the

Search function to
locate projects.

the HR System Upgrade
project. 1. In the Search field, type the first two letters of the project name, <HR>.
2. To select the project, click its Project ID, HRSYS.
Editing Project Details

After a project is selected, project information is organized in tabs in the
Projects section.
The Details tab allows you to edit details of the selected project via sub-tabs.
The number and order of sub-tabs may vary based on your assigned User
Interface view.
FIG. 5.3: Click to

edit details of the
selected project.

the Details tab for the
HR System Upgrade 1. Click the Details tab.
project.
2. Confirm that the General sub-tab is selected.
General Sub-Tab
The values for Project ID, Project Name, Parent EPS and Responsible Manager,
assigned when you created the project, can be edited in the General sub-tab.
❑ Project Web site URL — Post the URL to the Web site created by your
system administrator.
✍ Project owner is not ❑ Project Owner — The individual responsible for the project. The project
the same as Responsible
Manager, though the
owner designation provides the individual view-access to the project.
same individual can be
❑ Project Status — Select Planned, Active, Inactive, or What-if.
designated for both
roles. ❑ Risk Level — Select from five categories, which can be used to rank,
organize, and filter projects.
❑ Strategic Priority — Select a number from 1 to 10,000 to rank project in
a strategic plan.
❑ Original Budget — Enter an estimate of the total budgeted amount
required for this project, including all funding contributions.
❑ Current Budget — This calculated field displays planned budget plus all
approved budget change logs.
❑ Total Activities — Number of activities in the project.
❑ Planned Start — The start date of the project. It is a required field you
assigned in the Create Project wizard, but it can be edited here.
❑ Actual Start — This calculated field displays the actual start, based on the
actual start of the first activity in the project.
❑ Data Date — Enter the date used as the starting point to calculate the
schedule.
❑ Must Finish By — Enter a date to serve as a constraint placed on the
project’s end date.
❑ Scheduled Finish — This calculated field displays the latest early finish
date based on the schedule most recently generated for the project.
❑ Actual Finish — This calculated field displays the actual finish date of the
project. A project is finished when all activities have actual finish dates.
❑ Checked Out By — The name of the user who checked out the project. If
the project is not checked out, this field is blank.
❑ Date Checked Out — The date and time the user checked out the
project. If the project is not checked out, this field is blank.
General Sub-Tab (continued)
FIG. 5.4: Type a

value in the
Original Budget
field.
EXERCISE: Type Steps

an Original Budget.
1. In the Original Budget field, type a value <200,000>.
2. Click Save.
Notebook Sub-Tab
✍ Notebook topics are Use the Notebook sub-tab to view or modify project notes, such as the
created by system
administrator.
project’s purpose, core requirements, or other project-specific details.
FIG. 5.5: Use the

Notebook sub-tab
to edit project
notes.
EXERCISE: Steps
Document that you use
Primavera to manage 1. Click the Notebook sub-tab.
the project.
2. Click Assign Notebook Topic.
3. Use the Search function to select a topic, Tools/Techniques.
4. Click Assign, and then click Close.
5. Click a notebook topic, Tools/Techniques.
6. Type a description <We will use Primavera to manage this

project.>.
7. Click Save.
8. Click to view the description.
Adding Web Links to Notebook Topic Descriptions

You can use HTML tags in the body of your description and you can create a
link. The link is active when you place your cursor over it.
FIG. 5.6: Click

hyperlink to
launch Primavera
Web site.
EXERCISE: Add a Steps

link to a Notebook topic
description. 1. Click a Notebook topic, Tools/Techniques.
2. Highlight Primavera in the notebook topic description.
3. Click .
4. Type the Web site address in the Explorer User Prompt dialog <http://
www.primavera.com>.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Save.
7. Click to expand the description.
8. Click the hyperlink Primavera to launch Primavera’s Web page, and then
close the Web site window.
Funding Sub-Tab
Use the Funding sub-tab to add, delete, review, and revise funding sources for
your project.
❑ Funding Source — Lists funding sources assigned to the project. Click the
name of the funding source to edit details.
✍ Funding sources are ❑ Amount — The amount of money allocated to the project from the
created by your system
administrator.
funding source.
❑ Fund Share — Percentage of the total fund allocated to the project.
FIG. 5.7: Assign

funding sources in
the Funding sub-
tab.
EXERCISE: Assign Steps

a Funding Source.
1. Click the Funding sub-tab.
2. Click Assign Funding Source.
3. Select a funding source, Apex.
5. Click a funding source, Apex, to edit details.
6. In the Amount field, type <20,000>.
7. In the Fund Share field, type <10>.
8. Click Save.
Codes Sub-Tab
Use the Codes sub-tab to assign project codes and values to the project.
Project codes enable you to group projects into categories, such as location or
priority.
❑ Project code — Lists project codes assigned to the project.
✍ Project codes/ ❑ Code value — Displays the selected value of the project code. A single
values are created by
your system
project code, for example, Division, can have numerous values, such as
administrator. Marketing, Engineering, Development, etc.
❑ Description — Displays the project code description.
FIG. 5.8: Assign

project codes to
the project in the
Codes sub-tab.

a project code, ITSU: IT
System Upgrade, to the 1. Click the Codes sub-tab.
project.
2. Click Assign Project Codes.
3. Click to expand a project code, Project Code: Product Group.
4. Select a project code value, ITSU: IT System Upgrade.
Settings Sub-Tab
Use the Settings sub-tab to choose default settings for adding new activities in
the project; selecting a baseline for calculating earned value; and checking the
last summarized date, the WBS level, and the resource assignment used for
summarizing the project.
The following default settings apply to new activities in the project. You can
later change these default settings for individual activities as needed:
✍ Existing activities ❑ Default Duration Type for New Activities — Determines whether
are not updated to
reflect new default
schedule, resource availability, or cost is most important when modifying
settings. an activity. Note that duration type applies only when you have resources
assigned to the activity. You can specify the default duration type for new
activities in new projects in Projects Preferences.
❑ Default Percent Complete Type for New Activities — Determines
how progress can best be measured for most of the activities in your
project: Duration, Physical, or Units.
❑ Default Activity Type for New Activities — Determines how duration
and schedule dates are calculated for an activity.
❑ Default Rate Type — Determines the price/unit for all new resource
assignments on the project.
❑ Default Price/Unit or activities without resource or role Price/
Units — Determines the default price/unit to calculate cost for activities
that have units but no assigned resource, or for activities that have
assigned resources who do not have price/units specified. Enter a dollar
value and a work unit separated by a forward slash: $20/h.
❑ Summarize to WBS Level — Indicates the number of summary WBS
elements stored in the database.
❑ Last Summarized — Displays date project was last summarized. This is
useful for assessing whether summary data is current.
❑ Summarize project based on — Determines whether summarization is
based on high-level resource planning or detailed activity resource
assignments.
❑ Baseline for Earned Value Calculations — Select the Project baseline
or the Primary baseline to be used for earned value calculations. To
manage baselines, click the Baselines tab in the Projects section.
Settings Sub-Tab (continued)
FIG. 5.9: Set

default values in
the Settings tab.
EXERCISE: Set the Steps

default price/unit.
1. Click the Settings sub-tab.
2. In the Default Price/Unit for activities without resource or role Price/Units

field, type <40>.
3. Click Save.
User Defined Sub-Tab

✍ User defined fields The User Defined sub-tab enables you to assign values to project-related user
are created by your
defined fields, which can be used to track additional project data as columns in
the Project Statistics portlet on dashboards and in the Project Workspace.
FIG. 5.10: Set user

defined fields in
the User Defined
sub-tab.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

the user defined field
Estimated Expense Cost. 1. Click the User Defined sub-tab.
2. Click Customize.
3. In the Available Columns section, click to expand a grouping, User

Defined.
4. Select a user defined field, Estimated Expense Cost.
5. Click to move it to the Selected Columns section.
6. Click Save.
7. Type a value <40,000>.
8. Click Save.
WORKSHOP: EDITING PROJECT DETAILS

Background
The HR System Upgrade project has been created, and some of its attributes
have been entered in Project Details.
Objectives
Add the following attributes in Project Details:
1. Assign a Notebook topic, Purpose, and type a description <Upgrade the

corporate HR system, consolidate current systems onto a
centralized platform.>.
2. Assign a project code value HIGH - High Priority from within the project
code Priority Code.
3. Change the Responsible Manager to Solutions Delivery Group.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Use the Search function in the Projects section to locate projects quickly in
the EPS.
❑ Use the Details tab in the Projects section to edit project details. Project
data is organized in sub-tabs.
❑ To delete a project, click Delete next to the project.
Review Questions
1. Which statement is false?
a. Using the Search function on the Projects section displays projects in a
flat list.
b. You click the project name to select a project.
c. Projects within an EPS are sorted by ID.
d. You can select only one project at a time.
2. True or False: Sub-tabs under the Details tab may vary based on the
LESSON 6
Creating a Work
Breakdown Structure
Objectives
✔ Describe a WBS
✔ Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy
Key Terms
Work Breakdown Structure
WBS element
Lesson 6: Creating a Work Breakdown Structure
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The WBS is a hierarchical arrangement of products and services produced
during and by a project.
❑ The project is the highest level of the WBS.
❑ An activity is the lowest level of the WBS.
A key benefit of the WBS is that it enables you to divide a project into
meaningful smaller pieces for the purpose of planning and control. Elements
within the WBS have a "parent/child" relationship, meaning you can roll up and
summarize data from the lower levels.
For planning and budgeting, you can set anticipated dates or budgets at a high
level in the WBS before adding activities.
WBS elements can also be used to assign responsibility, via the Organizational
Breakdown Structure, to different managers for planning and accountability
purposes.
FIG. 6.1: The

hierarchical EPS
Root
structure of the
WBS enables you
to roll up data
from "child" to EPS
Node
EPS
Node
"parent."
EPS EPS EPS Project F

Node Node Node
Project A/
Project B Project C Project D Project E
WBS
WBS.1 WBS.2 WBS.3
WBS.1.1 WBS.1.2 WBS.1.3
Creating a WBS for the HR System

Upgrade Project
You will structure the WBS of the HR System Upgrade project into three
phases: System Development, System Testing, and System Deployment.
The three main phases will be further subdivided according to the chart below.
HR System
Upgrade
System
System System
Development
Testing Deployment
System System
System System System System
Integration QA Tests Installation
Requirements Design Implementation Installation
Tests Preparation
FIG 6.3: The Work Breakdown Structure of the HR System Upgrade project.
Below, the WBS structure of the HR System Upgrade project as it is displayed

in P6 Web:
Creating a WBS
The WBS is created in the Activities tab in the Projects section. The Activities
tab is the central location for maintaining the WBS and managing activities.
The selected HR System Upgrade - Creating a WBS project has only one WBS
element, its root.
FIG. 6.4: The WBS

root element is
displayed.

a project and an activity
view. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. In the Search field, type <HR> to locate a project, HR System Upgrade -

Creating a WBS.
3. To open the project, click its Project ID, HRSYS-06.
4. Click the Activities tab.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Adding WBS.
Creating a WBS (continued)

Each WBS element in the hierarchy is defined by three characteristics:
❑ WBS Code — A required field, the WBS code is a unique alphanumerical
value appended to its parent WBS name. A "child" WBS element inherits
part of its WBS code from its "parent," extending the suffix one place as it
moves down the hierarchy. For example:
Table 1: Relationship of Parent/Child WBS Codes
If parent’s WBS code is ... ... then WBS codes of its children are
Test Test.1, Test.2, etc.
Test1 Test1.1, Test1.2, etc.
Test1.1 Test1.1.1, Test1.1.2, etc.
❑ WBS Name — A unique name, usually one that represents the product or
service produced by activities within that element.
❑ Parent WBS — The parent WBS element in the hierarchy.
Adding a Child WBS Element

In the Icon bar, click ( ) to add or delete ( ) a child WBS element. The WBS
Code is automatically generated and you can edit its value any time by double-
clicking the WBS element.
To edit the WBS name, display WBS Details.
To edit the details of the selected WBS element, click .
FIG. 6.5: Click the

icon to edit details.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

elements to the WBS.
1. In the Icon bar, click to add a WBS element.
2. Click to save the WBS.
3. In the Icon bar, click .
4. In the WBS Code field, confirm a value, 1.
5. In the WBS Name field, type <System Development>.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Return.
Adding Sibling WBS Elements

Add sibling WBS elements using the context-sensitive right-click menu.
FIG. 6.6: Right-

click a WBS
element to access
commands.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

two sibling WBS
elements to 1. Confirm that a WBS element, HRSYS-06.1, is selected.
HRSYS-06.1.
2. Right-click and select Add sibling WBS.
4. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.2, and select Details.
5. In the WBS Name field, type <System Testing>.
6. Click Save and then click Return.
7. Right-click a WBS element, HRSYS-06.2, and select Add sibling WBS.
9. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.3, and select Details.
10. In the WBS Name field, type <System Deployment>.
Creating Additional Levels in the WBS

By adding a child WBS to a child WBS, you can create additional levels in the
hierarchy. You can also indent and outdent existing WBS element to modify
the WBS structure. Use the arrows on the icon bar to indent, outdent, or
change the order of sibling WBS elements.
FIG. 6.7: Use

arrows to move or
indent/outdent
WBS elements.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

WBS elements under
the HRSYS-06.1 WBS 1. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.1, and select Add sibling WBS.
element.
3. In the Icon bar, use to move HRSYS-06.4 under HRSYS-06.1.
4. In the Icon bar, click to indent HRSYS-06.4.
5. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.1.4, and select Details.
6. Click Yes to save data.
7. In the WBS code field, type <1>.
8. In the WBS name field, type <System Requirements>.
10. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.1.1, and select Add sibling WBS.
12. Right-click on a WBS element, HRSYS-06.1.2, and select Details.
13. In the WBS name field, type <System Design>.
Changing the Parent WBS

On the WBS details page, you can select a new Parent WBS as an alternative
to using arrows to indent/outdent.
FIG. 6.8: Click to

replace the current
Parent WBS.
Deleting a WBS Element

Deleting a WBS element deletes all WBS elements and activities within.
To delete the WBS, click on the Icon bar or press Delete on your keyboard.
When deleting a WBS that has activities, you can decide whether you want to
delete those activities or merge them under the parent WBS.
Reusing the WBS

You cannot export or import the WBS. However, using the Project Architect
tool, you can bring in an existing WBS saved in the Methodology Management
database.
WORKSHOP: CREATING A WORK

BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
Background
The project structure has been defined for the HR System Upgrade project.
You now need to add additional WBS elements.
Objectives
1. Add the following WBS codes and names within the parent WBS elements
as indicated in the table below.
WBS
Parent WBS WBS Name
Code
HRSYS-06.2 -
System Testing
1 System Integration Test
HRSYS-06.3 -
System Deployment
1 System Installation Preparation
2 System Installation
2. Compare your WBS structure with the screenshot below.
FIG. 6.9: WBS

elements added to
the project.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The WBS is a hierarchical arrangement of products and services produced
during and by a project, where the highest level of the WBS is the project,
and the lowest is an activity.
❑ The WBS structure enables you to divide a project into meaningful smaller
pieces for the purpose of planning and control.
❑ Elements within the WBS have a "parent/child" relationship, meaning you
can roll up and summarize data from the lower levels.
❑ Use the Activities tab in the Projects section to manage your WBS.
Review Questions
1. True or False: The project is the highest level of the WBS.
2. What tab in the Projects section should you use to build the WBS?
a. Details
b. Tools
c. Activities
d. None of the above
3. True or False: Elements within the WBS have a parent/child relationship.
LESSON 7
Adding Activities
Objectives
✔ Describe activity types
✔ View activity information in the Activities tab
✔ Send an e-mail related to an activity
✔ Edit Activity Details
✔ Add steps to an activity
✔ Add a Notebook topic to an activity
✔ Assign an activity code
Key Terms
Activity
Activity Details
Activity Type
Lesson 7: Adding Activities
Adding Activities
Activities are the fundamental work elements of a project. They are the lowest
level of a WBS and contain all information about the work to be performed.
Also known as tasks, items, events, or work packages, activities are the
smallest subdivision of work that directly concerns the project manager and
are generally the most detailed work unit tracked in a project schedule.
Activities drive the schedule of a project as they represent work that must be
completed in a determined amount of time, at a specific cost, or with a defined
number of resources. Primavera supports the following six activity types:
Table 2: Comparing Activity Types
Activity Type Use Case Notes

Start Milestone Mark beginning of a phase or -- Zero duration activity.
communicate project deliverables. -- Only has start date.
-- Can assign constraints,expenses, documents.
-- Can assign primary resource.
-- Cannot assign roles.
Finish Mark end of a phase or -- Zero duration activity.

Milestone communicate project deliverables. -- Only has a finish date.
-- Can assign constraints, expenses, documents.
-- Can assign primary resource.
-- Cannot assign roles.
Task Work needs to be accomplished in a -- Resources scheduled to work according to

Dependent given time frame, regardless of activity calendar.
assigned resources’ availability.
Resource Multiple resources assigned to the -- Activity resources are scheduled according to
Dependent same activity can work individual resource’s calendar.
independently. -- Duration determined by availability of
resources assigned to work on activity.
Level of Effort Ongoing tasks dependent on other -- Duration determined on its predecessor /
activities. For example, status successor activities.
meetings, database maintenance, -- Cannot assign constraints.
project management tasks.
WBS Summary Roll up date, duration, and percent -- Rollup values are calculated when the project
complete values for a group of is scheduled.
activities that share a common WBS -- Start dates are set to the earliest start date of
code level. all activities in the group.
-- Finish dates are set to the latest finish date of
all activities in the group.
-- Duration is calculated based on the earliest
activity start and latest activity finish in the group.
Viewing Activities
The Activities tab enables you to customize columns that are visible when
managing activities. It provides filtering, grouping, and sorting functionality to
better organize activities. It also allows you to turn on and off the Gantt Chart.
All of these elements are organized in activity views that you can create,
modify and share.
You can also send an e-mail to project team members associated with the
activity or click Export to file to export contents of the Activities tab to a
comma-separated value (.csv) file, which can be opened in Microsoft Excel.
FIG. 7.1: Only the

WBS is displayed
since the project
does not have any
activities.

the Activities tab.

Adding Activities.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Adding Activities.
Viewing Activities (continued)

The following columns are displayed in the Activities tab:
❑ WBS/Activity — Type an Activity ID that is unique within the project. If
you leave it blank, an Activity ID is generated automatically.
❑ Activity Name — Type a name for the activity. The Activity Name does
not have to be unique, but it is recommended. Primavera provides the
name New Activity by default.
❑ Activity Type — Identify the type of activity. The default activity type is
specified in the Settings sub-tab in Project Details.
❑ Planned Duration — Type the estimated time required to complete the
activity. If you leave this field blank, the default duration is set by your
❑ Primary Resource — Identify the resource primarily responsible for
performing the work.
❑ WBS Code — The WBS code of the parent WBS.
❑ WBS — The Parent WBS of the activity.
Adding a Start Milestone Activity

Activity status is indicated for each activity by the following icons:
Diamond: Milestone
Bar: Green (no progress); blue/green (in progress); blue (completed); red
(critical)
FIG. 7.2: Activity

ID is displayed in
the WBS/Activity
column.

Start Milestone activity
in the System 1. Select a WBS element, HRSYS-07.1.1.
Requirements WBS.
2. Right-click and select Add Activity.
3. Double-click in the Activity field and type <HR1000>.
4. Double-click in the Activity Name field and type <Start development

milestone>.
5. Double-click in the Activity Type field.
6. In the drop-down list, select Start Milestone.
7. Leave the Planned Duration as default.
8. Double-click in the Primary Resource field.
9. In the Search field, type a name <Susan>.
10. Select a resource, Susan Arnold, and then click OK.
11. Click to save.
Adding an Activity
Most fields are editable in the Activities tab. However, if values are not directly
accessible, those fields are disabled or grayed out. In the example below, the
Planned Duration of a milestone activity is always zero and you cannot change
the WBS code of the parent WBS directly in the list.
FIG. 7.3: Disabled

fields are not
editable.
EXERCISE: Add an Steps

activity under a WBS
element, System 1. Select a WBS element, HRSYS-07.1.1.
Requirements.
2. Right-click and select Add Activity.
3. Double-click in the Activity field and type <HR1010>.
4. Double-click in the Activity Name field and type <Define operational

concept of new system>.
5. Double-click in the Planned Duration field and type <4d>.
6. Click to save.
Copy/Pasting Activities
You can quickly add similar activities by copy-pasting existing ones. All activity
information is copied, except the Activity ID, since it must be unique.
FIG. 7.4: Activity

ID’s are changed.
EXERCISE: Copy- Steps

paste two activities.
1. Select an activity, HR1000 - Start development milestone.
2. Ctrl-click an activity, HR1010 - Define operational concept of new system.
3. Right-click and select Copy.
4. Select a WBS, HRSYS-07.1.2.
5. Right-click and select Paste.
6. Click to save.
Deleting Activities
You can delete a single or multiple activities by clicking or use the right-click
menu and select Delete.
FIG. 7.5: Click to

delete selected
activities.
EXERCISE: Delete Steps

multiple activities.
1. Select an activity, HR1020 - Start development milestone.
2. Ctrl-click an activity, HR1030 - Define operational concept of new system.
3. Right-click and select Delete.
4. Click Yes to confirm your decision.
5. Click to save.
Viewing and Editing Activity Details

You can view and edit activity information data such as relationships, codes,
and steps in Activity Details.
To access Activity Details, select an activity and then either click on the
Icon bar or use the right-click menu and select Details.
There are two ways to display Activity Details: form and tabs. The assigned
User Interface view determines whether how Activity Details is displayed:
❑ Form — Project information on a single page.
FIG. 7.6: Activity

Details form.
❑ Tabs — Project information in a series of sub-tabs.
FIG. 7.7: Activity

Details sub-tabs.
Viewing Activity Details in Tabs

In this course you will use sub-tabs to display Activity Details.
FIG. 7.8: Sub-tabs

in Activity Details.

Activity Details in sub-
tabs. 1. Confirm that the activity you just added, Define operational concept of
new system, is selected.
2. Right-click and select Details to display Activity Details.
Activity Details Sub-Tabs Summary

Following is a summary of Activity Details sub-tabs:
❑ General — Edit activity ID/Activity Name; set activity type, Percent
Complete type, and duration type; assign WBS, calendar, primary
resource; set auto compute for actuals.
❑ Steps — Add, delete, and review steps; update steps status.
❑ Status — Manually status progress of an activity by updating dates and
constraints, units and durations, and costs.
❑ Resources — Add/remove resource and role assignments; submit
resource requests; and view units and cost data.
❑ Notebook — Add, edit, and delete Notebook topics/descriptions.
❑ Relationships — Assign predecessor/successor activities.
❑ Codes — Assign activity codes and activity code values.
❑ Expenses — Add, edit, and delete expense items, and view expense-
related data via customized column display.
❑ Documents — Assign documents to activity and display the document’s
category, status, and public location.
❑ User Defined — Specify user-defined fields, which can be used to track
additional activity data as columns in the Activities tab.
General Sub-Tab
The General sub-tab enables you to define three key characteristics of an
activity: activity type, duration type, and Percent Complete type. Each plays a
role in how the activity is scheduled and updated. The sub-tab also allows you
to select a WBS, a primary resource, and the calendar for the activity.
Some of the key fields on the General sub-tab:

❑ Calendar — Use this field to assign an activity calendar, which specifies
the available working time.
✍ Use the Settings ❑ Duration Type — Determines how Remaining Duration, units, and units/
sub-tab in Project
Details to set default
time are calculated when you update an activity that has resources
settings for duration assigned. The activity's duration type should correspond to the factor that
type, activity type and is least flexible in the project: schedule, costs/work effort, or resource
percent complete type.
Default settings apply availability.
only to activities created
after the default is set.
❑ Percent Complete Type — Determines how an activity's Percent
Complete is calculated. Choose a Percent Complete type that represents
how activity progress can be most accurately reported.
❑ Auto Compute Actuals — Mark this checkbox if you want to measure
progress as if the activity is proceeding on schedule. If you choose the
Auto Compute Actuals option, Actual Units/Remaining Units and Actual
Costs/Remaining Costs are automatically updated for all activity resources
when you apply actuals.
Steps Sub-Tab
The Steps sub-tab can be used to add/delete steps; add/revise step
descriptions; and mark steps complete. Steps enable you to break down
activities into smaller units and track their completion. They are often used a
list of tasks to complete an activity. Unlike activities, they do not have duration
estimates or dates. You can add an unlimited number of steps to an activity.
FIG. 7.9: Steps are

added to the
activity.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

three steps to the
Define operational 1. Click the Steps sub-tab.
concept of new system
activity. 2. Click Add Steps.
3. In the Step Name field, type <Describe the current system>.
4. In the Step Name field, type <Provide justification for changes>.
5. In the Step Name field, type <Describe concept for the modified
system>.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Done.
Editing Steps and Adding Descriptions

Click a step name to edit step details, update step progress, and add a step
description.
FIG. 7.10: Click the

Step Name to edit
step details.

description to the
Provide justification for 1. Click a step, Provide justification for changes.
changes step.
2. In the Step Description field, type <Match requirements to system
capabilities.>.
3. Click Save.
4. Click to view description for a step, Provide justification for changes.
Notebook Sub-Tab
✍ Notebook topics are The Notebook sub-tab enables you to assign Notebook topics and then add
defined by your system
administrator.
topic descriptions to an activity. These are typically instructions or descriptions
that further describe the activity.
FIG. 7.11: Click

Expand All to
display all
Notebook
descriptions.
EXERCISE: Type a Steps

notebook topic
description for the 1. Click the Notebook sub-tab.
Define operational
concept of new system 2. Click Assign Notebook Topic.
activity.
3. Search for a notebook topic, Purpose.
4. Select a notebook topic, Purpose.
6. Click a notebook topic, Purpose.
7. Type a description <Prepare the Operational Concept Description

(OCD) and ensure consensus among all parties involved.>
8. Click Save.
9. Click to view description for a Notebook topic, Purpose.
Codes Sub-Tab
Use the Codes sub-tab to assign activity code values to the activity. Activity
codes enable you to group activities into categories, such as location or
priority.
✍ Activity codes/ ❑ Activity code — Lists activity codes assigned to the project. A single code,
values are created by
your system
for example, Division, can have numerous values, such as Marketing,
administrator. Engineering, Development, etc.
❑ Code value — Displays the selected value of the code.
❑ Description — Displays the code description.

Codes sub-tab to
assign activity
codes.

an activity code,
Development, to the 1. Click the Codes sub-tab.
activity.
2. Click Assign Activity Codes.
✍ Use the Search
3. Click to expand activity code groupings, Global Codes and Activity
feature to search by
code value or code Code: Department.
description.
4. Select an activity code value, DEV - Development.
5. Click Assign.
6. Click Close.
WORKSHOP: ADDING ACTIVITIES

Background
The WBS has been defined and approved for the HR System Upgrade project.
The next step is to finish adding activities to the project.
Objectives
✍ The full list of 1. Add activities to the project plan as indicated in the table below.
activities in the project
(Resources are not assigned yet; leave the Primary Resource field empty
is added for you in
succeeding lessons. for all activities.)
Activity Activity Planned Parent

Activity Type
ID Name Duration WBS
HR-ADMIN Project administration 0d Level of Effort HR System Upgrade -
Adding Activities
HR1020 Perform system requirements 10d Task Dependent System Requirements

analysis
HR1030 Perform interface 6d Task Dependent System Requirements

requirements analysis
HR1040 Design system architecture 8d Task Dependent System Design
HR1050 Perform high-level software 4d Task Dependent System Design

design
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Use the Activities tab to add activities and edit activity details.
❑ Activity ID must be unique in the database.
❑ Use the right-click menu to add, copy, or remove activities, or to view
Activity Details.
❑ Activity Details can be viewed in two ways: form or tabs, based on the
Review Questions
1. Which of the following fields must be unique in the project?
a. Activity Name
b. Activity ID
c. Activity Code
d. a & c
2. True or False: You cannot delete multiple activities at the same time.
3. True or False: You cannot edit any fields directly on the Activities tab. To
modify fields, you must go to Activity Details.
LESSON 8
Using Activity Views
Objectives
✔ Customize columns
✔ Filter data
✔ Group and sort activities
Key Terms
Sorting
Grouping
Filtering
Lesson 8: Using Activity Views
Using Activity Views

The Activities tab allows you to customize columns as well as sort, group, and
filter data. You can then save the customized view for yourself or share it with
a group of other users.
In this lesson, you will customize an existing activity view to display activities
that have Planned Start date between 01-Jan-10 and 31-March-10.
FIG 8.1: Original activity view
FIG 8.2: Customized activity view
Managing Activity Views

If you have the proper privilege, you can create new or edit and delete existing
activity views in the Projects section:
❑ To create a new activity view, click Create Activity View.
❑ To edit an activity view, click the name.
❑ To delete an activity view, click Delete.
FIG. 8.3: Click to

create, view or
delete activity
views.
EXERCISE: Steps
Manage activity views.
2. In the Action bar, click Manage Activity Views.
Customizing Activity Views

Use the Save View As command to create a copy of an existing activity view
before you start customizing it.
FIG. 8.4: Enter a

unique activity
view name.
EXERCISE: Save a Steps

copy of an existing
Activity view. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.

Reporting Performance.
6. Click Save View As.
7. Type a new activity view name <First Quarter Lookup>.
8. Click OK.
Customizing Activity Views (continued)

You can customize the name, columns, sorting, grouping and filtering in the
Customize Activity View dialog.
FIG. 8.5: Rename

the current activity
view.

the Customize Activity
View dialog. 1. Click Customize View.
Columns Tab
The Columns tab in the Customize Activity View dialog allows you to customize
the following:
❑ Available/Selected Columns — Add up to 30 columns to display. Use
the arrows to add, remove, or change the order of columns.
❑ Sort by — Select a field to sort the list.
❑ Sort order — Select Ascending orDescending order.
❑ Show first column as — Select whether the first column is Activity ID or
Activity Name. The selected field is always the first column.
Columns Tab (continued)

You can add or remove columns on the Columns tab, as well as arrange their
order. The Columns tab also allows you to set the default sorting order.
FIG. 8.6: Double-

click items to
move.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

and remove columns.
1. In the Selected Columns section, double-click WBS to remove it.
2. In the Selected Columns section, double-click WBS Code to remove it.
3. In the Dates grouping, double-click Planned Finish to move it to the

Selected Columns.
4. In the Dates grouping, double-click Planned Start to move it to the

Selected Columns.
5. Confirm that Activity ID is selected in the Show first column as option.
Grouping in Activity List

Activities can be grouped to better organize and categorize project data.
Grouping enables you to organize data that share a common attribute. Groups
are separated by bands that describe the attribute and can be customized for
color and type size.
✍ Only one When you choose to group by a hierarchical field, for example WBS or activity
hierarchical grouping
can be selected.
code, the To Level drop-down list is enabled so you can choose the number of
hierarchy levels you want to group by. For example, if your WBS comprises five
levels, you may want to group only to the third level. In this case, activities
associated with lower levels of the WBS are listed under the Level 3 band.
Groups are indented in the list by a grouping band. Use the Band Color and
Band Text drop-down lists to specify color and text for each band.
For grouping levels you can also specify:
❑ Show field title in band — Displays the grouping level field name,
followed by the field value. For example, if you select to group activities by
WBS, the field name WBS appears to the left of the date value for the
group. If you do not choose this option, only the field value appears in the
band.
❑ Show field rollups in band — Displays summary information for all cost,
numeric, integer, start date, and finish date fields in the group.
• Start date rollups reflect the earliest date for the group and finish date
rollups reflect the latest date for the group. Unit and cost rollups are a
total of the values for each activity in the group.
Grouping in Activity List (continued)

You will remove the grouping from this view. When Level 1 is set to blank,
activities appear in a flat list.
FIG. 8.7: Set or

remove grouping
here.

the current Group tab
settings. 1. Click the Grouping tab.
2. In the Level 1 drop-down list, select the blank item at the top of the list to
remove grouping from this view.
Filtering Data
When working with large list, you can better focus on activities by filtering out
some data. Primavera offers two types of filters:
❑ Predefined — You cannot modify filter criteria or add new filters to the
list. If you select the filter, Activities finishing in specified days or Activities
occurring in specified days, you can specify the number of days.
FIG. 8.8: Predefined

filters are listed.
❑ Custom — You can create your own filter by using multiple criteria. The
filter is saved in the current activity view.
Filtering Data (continued)

You will create a custom filter to show activities whose Planned Start date falls
between 01-Jan-2010 and 31-March-2010.
FIG. 8.9: Create

multiple filter
criteria.

Milestone activities only.
1. Click the Filters tab.
2. Select Custom Filter.
3. In the Select Filter Criteria drop-down list, confirm All of the following.
4. In the Parameter drop-down list, select Planned Start.
5. In the Is drop-down list, select is greater than or equals.
6. Next to the Value drop-down list, click and select a date, 01-Jan-2010.
7. Click to add new filter criteria.
8. In the Parameter drop-down list, select Planned Start.
9. In the Is drop-down list, select is less than or equals.
10. Next to the Value drop-down list, click and select 31-March-2010.
Sharing Activity Views

The Access tab allows you to determine who has access to the view:
❑ Current User — The view is available for the current user only. In the
View drop-down list, it is listed under the grouping, User.
❑ All Users — The view is available for all users. In the View drop-down list,
it is listed under the grouping, Global.
❑ List of Users — The view is available for the selected users only. In the
View drop-down list, it is listed under the grouping, Multiple Users.
FIG. 8.10: Click to

determine access
to the activity
view.
EXERCISE: Make Steps

the current activity view
available for all users. 1. Click the Access tab.
2. Select All Users.
3. Click OK.
Sorting, Ordering in the Activities Tab

The Activities tab allows you to easily change the order of columns and the
sorting preferences.
❑ Drag and Drop — Drag and drop columns to change their order in the
list. However, to remove or add columns, you must open the Customize
Activity View dialog.
❑ Sort — To change the sorted by preference, click a column header. You
can toggle between ascending and descending order by clicking the same
column header.
FIG. 8.11: Arrow

indicates the
current sorting
order.
EXERCISE: Drag Steps

and drop columns in the
Activities tab. 1. Click the Primary Resource column header and drag it to the last place.
2. Click the Planned Duration column header and drag it to the left of the
Primary Resource column.
3. Click the Planned Start column header to order the list by their Planned
Start date in ascending order.
4. Click the Planned Start column header again to order the list by their
Planned Start date in descending order.
5. Click Save View.
WORKSHOP: USING ACTIVITY VIEWS

Background
The First Quarter Lookup activity view needs to be customized to display
activities grouped by Primary Resource, and sorted by At Completion Total
Cost.
Objectives
1. Customize the First Quarter Lookup Activity view to match the following
screen:
If you need some hints:

❑ Add a column, At Completion Total Cost.
❑ For grouping, add a level 1 grouping, Primary Resource.
❑ Click the At Completion Total Cost column header to sort.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The Activities tab allows you to customize how data is displayed.
❑ You can save the customized activity view and then share it with a list of
users or all users.
❑ To make a copy of an existing activity view, click Save View As.
Review Questions
1. You can you sort the Activity list by
a. Clicking the column header.
b. Using the Sort by and Sort order drop-down lists in the Customize
Activity View dialog.
c. Right-clicking any column and select, Sort.
d. a & b
2. True or False: You can remove grouping by selecting the blank item in
the Level 1 drop-down list.
LESSON 9
Creating Relationships
Objectives
✔ Differentiate between four relationship types
✔ Create relationships in Activity Details
✔ Create relationships in the Gantt Chart
Key Terms
Relationship types
Lag
Lesson 9: Creating Relationships
Network Logic Diagram

A network logic diagram is commonly used to represent all activities in a
project and their dependency relationships.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

PDM is a technique for creating network logic diagrams.
❑ A box or rectangle represents each 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
Primavera supports four relationship types. In the following diagrams, activity
A represents the predecessor and activity B represents the successor.
Finish-to-Start (FS) Start-to-Start (SS)

❑ When A finishes, B can start. ❑ When A starts, B can start.
This is the default relationship
type.
Activity A
Activity A Activity B
First Activity
First Activity Second Activity
Activity B
Second Activity
EXAMPLE: When High-level Design EXAMPLE: When Analysis of System

(Activity A) is completed, Detailed Requirements (Activity A) starts,
Design (Activity B) can begin. Analysis of Interface Requirements
(Activity B) can start.
Finish-to-Finish (FF) Start-to-Finish (SF)

❑ When A finishes, B can finish. ❑ When A starts, B can finish.
Activity A Activity A
First Activity First Activity
Activity B Activity B
Second Activity Second Activity
EXAMPLE: Development of Training EXAMPLE: When the second-shift

Documentation (Activity B) can only security guard starts his shift (Activity
finish when System Design (Activity A)
A), the first-shift security can finish his
finishes.
(Activity B).
Relationships with Lag

Lag specifies an offset or delay between an activity and its successor.
❑ By default, it is scheduled based on the calendar of the successor activity,
though this setting can be altered in Project Tools/Scheduling Options.
❑ Can be added to any relationship type.
❑ Can be a positive or a negative value.
Finish-to-Start with Lag

❑ The following example shows that the High-level Design activity must be
finished for seven days before the Detailed Design activity can start.
Activity A Activity B
FS7
High-level Design Detailed Design
Start-to-Start with Lag

❑ The following example shows that the Test Code activity can start five days
after the Write Code activity starts.
Activity A
Write Code
Activity B
SS5
Test Code
Assigning Relationships in P6 Web

You can assign relationships in the Activities tab or in Activity Details.
Relationships are displayed as lines connecting activities in the Gantt Chart.
FIG 9.1: Relationship lines in the Gantt Chart
Adding Relationships in Activity Details

You will add a relationship in Activity Details. Although you can display the
Predecessors and Successors columns, you cannot edit their values directly.
FIG. 9.2: The

Predecessors and
Successors
columns are
disabled.

a successor activity to
the Define operational 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
concept of new system.
Relationships.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Relationships.
Adding Relationships in Activity Details (continued)

In Activity Details, use the Relationships sub-tab to assign relationships,
specify a relationship type, and assign lag. Click either Assign predecessor
activity or Assign successor activity, and select an activity from the hierarchy.
Click on an activity to edit the assignment, or to specify a relationship type or
lag.
FIG. 9.3: Successor

is added to the
selected activity.

successor activity.
1. Select an activity, HR1010 - Define operational concept of new system.
2. Right-click and select Details.
3. Click the Relationships sub-tab.
4. Click Assign successor activity.
5. Click to expand groupings, HR System Upgrade, System Development,

and System Requirements.
✍ The default 6. Select an activity, Perform system requirements analysis.

relationship type is
Finish to Start. 7. Click Assign, and then Close.
Click Previous Activity or Next Activity to display the activity according to the
current sorting on the Activities tab.
Adding Relationships with Lag
FIG. 9.4: Click to

edit Relationship
details.

a start-to-start
relationship with one 1. Click Next Activity.
day of lag.
2. Click Assign successor activity.
3. Click to expand groupings, HR System Upgrade, System Development

and System Requirements.
4. Select an activity, HR1030 - Perform interface requirements analysis.
6. Click an activity name, HR1030 - Perform interface requirements analysis.
7. In the Relationship Type drop-down list, select Start to Start.
8. In the Lag field, type <1d>.
9. Click Save.
Adding Relationships in the Gantt Chart

The Activities tab allows you to create single or multiple relationships between
activities displayed in the Gantt Chart.
FIG. 9.5: Right-

click an activity
bar to create
relationships.

the Perform interface 1. Click Return to Activity List.
requirement analysis.
2. Click to zoom to fit the Gantt Chart.
3. Select an activity, HR1030 - Perform interface requirements analysis.
4. In the bar area of the Gantt Chart, right-click the activity bar and select
Create Relationship.
5. Click the finish connection box at the end of the activity bar, HR1030 -
Perform interface requirements analysis.
6. Drag the connection line to the start connection box on activity HR1070 -
Design external interfaces.
7. Click to save.
Editing Relationships in the Gantt Chart
FIG. 9.6: Right-

click a relationship
line and select Edit
Relationship.

the Design external 1. Select an activity, HR1070 - Design external interfaces.
interfaces and then edit
the relationship type. 2. Right-click the activity bar and select Create Relationship.
3. Click the finish connection box at the end of the activity bar, HR1070 -
Design external interfaces.
4. Drag the connection line to the finish connection box on activity HR1080 -
Perform detailed software design.
5. Click to save.
6. Right-click the relationship line you just created.
7. Select Edit Relationship.
8. In the Type drop-down list, select Finish to Start.
9. Click OK.
10. Click to save.
Linking Multiple Activities

You can select multiple activities and create relationships with one click. The
activities will be linked in sorting order using the default Finish to Start
relationship type with zero lag.
FIG. 9.7: You can

link multiple
activities.
EXERCISE: Link Steps

multiple activities.
1. Select an activity, HR1110 - Implement the database.
2. Ctrl-click an activity, HR1120 - Perform unit testing.
3. Ctrl-click an activity, HR2010 - Prepare for system integration and testing.
4. Right-click and select Link Selected Activities.
Canceling Data Changes

You can undo your data changes as long as you have not saved them yet. On
the Icon bar, click to cancel unsaved changes.
FIG. 9.8: Click to

cancel unsaved
changes.
EXERCISE: Steps
Remove activity
relationships by
cancelling data changes. 1. Click to cancel changes.
2. Click No to confirm your decision.
Deleting Relationships
You can individually delete relationships by right-clicking the relationship line in
the Gantt Chart and select Delete Relationship.
WORKSHOP: CREATING RELATIONSHIPS

Background
Additional relationships need to be established for the HR System Upgrade
project.
Objectives
1. Use the Relationships sub-tab or the Gantt Chart to create relationships
with zero lag between these activities:
Relationship
Activity ID/Name Successor
Type
HR1040 - Design system HR1060 - Design database FS
architecture
HR1050 - Perform high-level HR1080 - Perform detailed FS

software design software design
HR1060 - Design database HR1070 - Design external FS

interfaces
HR1070 - Design external HR1080 - Perform detailed FS

interfaces software design
2. Assign a predecessor and a successor to the level of effort activity, Project

administration.
Relationship
Activity ID\Name Predecessor Successor
type
HR-ADMIN - Project HR1000 - Start SS
administration development
milestone
HR - ADMIN -Project HR3060 - Project FF

administration complete
milestone
The full list of relationships in the project plan is added for you in succeeding
lessons.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Create relationships between activities in Activity Details or in the Gantt
Chart.
❑ Primavera supports four relationship types that identify the type of
dependency that exists between an activity and its predecessor or
successor.
❑ You can also specify the lag between activities.
Review Questions
1. True or False: Four different relationship types are supported in
Primavera.
2. The default relationship type is:

a. Finish-to-Start
b. Finish-to-Finish
c. Start-to-Start
d. Start-to-Finish
3. True or False: In Activity Details the Next Activity link is based on the
current sort order in the Activities tab.
4. True or False: Lag is the offset or delay between an activity and its
successor.
LESSON 10
Scheduling
Objectives
✔ Define key scheduling terms
✔ Perform a backward and forward pass
✔ Define Total Float and its impact on the schedule
✔ Schedule a project
✔ Describe loops and open ends
Key Terms
Critical activity
Critical Path Method scheduling
Forward pass
Backward pass
Total Float
Lesson 10: 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.
• Date used to schedule all remaining work.
❑ During the planning phase the data date should match the project start
date.
FIG. 10.1: Data Data Date

date, indicated by J F M A M J J A S
the dashed line in
graphics at right, Schedule
equals project start
date during the
project planning
process.
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)
FIG. 10.2: The

numbers next to ES
and EF are the day in
the schedule that
A
the activities are 5
supposed to start
and finish. In this ES 1 EF 5
example the data
date is Day 1. The
number in the
bottom right hand
corner of the box is
C
the Remaining 15
Duration.
ES 11 EF 25
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
F orw ard p ass
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.
❑ Late Finish − Duration + 1 = Late Start
B ack w ard p ass
LS 6 LF 10
A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 11 LF 25
C
15
LS 1 LF 10 ES 11 EF 25
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
FIG 10.3: Critical path, activities B and C, is unchanged.
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)
FIG. 10.4: Three Types of Total Float

different types of
Total Float.
LS LF
Positive Float
ES EF
Positive Float
LS LF
Zero Float
(Critical)
ES EF
Zero Float (Critical)
LS LF
Negative Float
(Extremely Critical)
ES EF
Negative Float
Legend
Early Dates
Late Dates
Total Float (continued)

An activity's Total Float is automatically calculated each time you schedule the
project. You cannot edit an activity's float values directly.
B ack w ard p ass
LS 6 LF 10
A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 11 LF 25
TF = 5
C
15
LS 1 LF 10 ES 11 EF 25
TF = 0
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
TF = 0
F orw ard p ass
FIG 10.5: Activities B and C are on the critical path, the longest path of activities that
determine the end date of the project. Also, Activity B drives the start of Activity C.
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
B ack w ard p ass
LS 1 LF 5
A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 6 LF 20*
TF = 0
C
15
L S -4 LF 5 ES 11 EF 25
T F = -5
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
T F = -5
FIG 10.6: Critical path, activities B and C, remains the same. However, due to the
Required Finish date, activities A and B and C are now all critical activities because
Total Float for each is equal to or less than zero.
Critical Activities
If your project schedule falls behind, focus on critical activities causing delay.
Critical activities are usually defined as those with zero or negative float.
FIG. 10.7: Select

an option to define
critical activities.
In the Define critical activities as section, you have two options:

❑ If you are focusing on specific activities, define critical activities as those
whose Total Float is less than or equal to a specific value.
❑ If you want to focus on the overall end date of the project, define critical
activities as those on the longest path.
scheduling options.

Scheduling.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Schedule.
6. Click to open the Schedule Project dialog box.
7. Click Scheduling Options.
8. You will not change options at this time. Click Cancel.
Scheduling a Project
Before scheduling the project, you should confirm the data date. The data date
reflects the date used as a starting point for scheduling the project plan.
Click to specify the data date.
When you schedule a project, activity dates are calculated according to

durations and logic.
FIG. 10.8: Click to

schedule.
EXERCISE: Steps
Schedule the activities
in the HR System 1. Confirm the data date, 04-Jan-10.
Upgrade project.
2. Mark a checkbox, Display scheduling log upon completion.
3. Click Schedule.
4. View the Schedule log and then close it.
Viewing the Scheduled Finish Date

Now that the project has been scheduled, you can view the Scheduled Finish
date in Project Details. Scheduled Finish is the latest early finish date based on
the most recent schedule generated for the project. It is based on activity
durations, relationships, constraints, and other project data.

Details tab to view
the scheduled
finish date.
EXERCISE: Steps
Confirm that the project
will finish on 13-Jan-11. 1. Click the Details tab.
In the General sub-tab, the Scheduled Finish field indicates that the
project will finish 13-Jan-11.
Scheduling Tips
Avoid open ends, other than at the beginning and end of the project, and
circular relationships when creating your project plan. These can cause
difficulty when scheduling.
Circular Relationships (Loops)

❑ Loops indicate circular logic between two activities.
❑ The schedule will not calculate until the loop is eliminated.
• Determine proper logic.
• Rerun the schedule.
HR1000 HR1010 HR1020
FIG 10.10: Circular relationships
Open Ends
Open ends are activities without a predecessor or successor in the project.
Each project should have only two open ends: the first milestone activity and
the last milestone activity.
❑ 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.
10 70 FINISH
START
20 30 50 60 80 90
40
FIG 10.11: Open ended activities.
Exercise: Calculating a Schedule

Manually
Objective
The following graphics are two unique schedules. Using the space provided,
manually calculate the early and late dates and the Total Float of the activities.
No Imposed Finish Date
LS LF
B
TF = 13
LS LF LS LF
ES EF
A D
TF = 7 TF = 5
LS LF
ES EF ES EF
C
TF = 1
ES EF
Imposed Finish Date of Workperiod 12
LS LF LS LF LS LF LS LF
A B C D
TF = 3 TF = 1 TF = 4 TF = 10
ES EF ES EF ES EF ES EF
Formulas:
Early Start + Duration – 1 = Early Finish
Late Finish - Duration + 1 = Late Start
Late Start – Early Start = Total Float
Exercise Answers
No Imposed Finish Date
8 20
LS LF
B
TF = 0 13
1 7 21 25
LS LF 8 20 LS LF
ES EF
A D
TF = 0 7 TF = 0 5
20 20
1 7 LS LF 21 25
ES EF ES EF
C
TF = 12 1
8 8
ES EF
Imposed Finish Date of Workperiod 12
-5 -3 -2 -2 -1 2 3 12
LS LF LS LF LS LF LS LF
A B C D
TF = -6 3 TF = -6 1 TF = -6 4 TF = -6 10
1 3 4 4 5 8 9 18
ES EF ES EF ES EF ES EF
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Primavera uses the Critical Path Method scheduling technique to calculate
project schedules. CPM uses activity durations and relationships to
calculate schedule dates based on the forward and backward passes
through each activity in the project.
❑ If your project schedule falls behind, focus on critical activities causing
delay.
❑ In Project Tools/Scheduling Options, you can define critical activities to
meet your needs.
Review Questions
1. True or False: A schedule’s late dates are calculated during the backward
pass.
2. True or False: Primavera can calculate a schedule containing loops.
3. True or False: The critical path is longest continuous path of activities

that determines the project end date.
LESSON 11
Assigning Constraints
Objectives
✔ Apply an overall deadline to a project
✔ Apply a constraint to an individual activity
✔ Add notebook topics to constrained activities
✔ Describe available constraint types
Key Term
Constraint type
Lesson 11: Assigning Constraints
Assigning Constraints
Constraints are user-imposed date restrictions used to reflect project
requirements that cannot be built into the logic. After applying a constraint,
the project must be rescheduled to calculate the new dates.
Constraints enable you to:

❑ Build a schedule that more accurately reflects the real-word aspects of the
project.
❑ Provide added control to the project.
❑ Impose a restriction on the entire project or an individual activity.
The most commonly used constraints are:

❑ Project-level constraint: Must Finish By
❑ Activity-level constraint: Start On Or After
On the activity-level, you can assign a primary and a secondary constraints to

the same activity. When you assign the primary constraint, it determines what
secondary constraints, if any, you are able to use.
Must Finish By
Must Finish By is used when an overall project deadline must be met:
❑ Forces all activities in the project to finish by that date.
❑ Affects the Total Float of the entire project.
Establishing a Must Finish By constraint creates a date from which late dates
are calculated in the backward pass.
B ack w ard p ass
LS 1 LF 5
Required Finish
Date.
A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 6 LF 20*
TF = 0
C
15
L S -4 LF 5 ES 11 E F 25
T F = -5
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
T F = -5
Must Finish By (continued)

Because the Must Finish By constraint is assigned to the project, it is applied in
Project Details, General sub-tab.
FIG. 11.1: Enter

Must Finish By
date in the General
sub-tab.
EXERCISE: Apply a Steps

Must Finish By date of
03-Jan-11 and 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
reschedule.
Assigning Constraints.
4. Click the Details tab.
5. Click in the Must Finish By field, and select a date, 31-Dec-10.
6. Click Save.
7. Click the Tools tab.
8. Confirm data date, 04-Jan-10, and then click Reschedule Project.
Must Finish By (continued)

The Must Finish By date 31-Dec-10 is earlier than the scheduled finish of 13-
Jan-11. Therefore, activities on the critical path will contain negative float.
FIG. 11.2:
Activities with
negative Total
Float are on the
critical path.

Total Float on the
Activities tab. 1. Click the Activities tab.
2. In the View drop-down list, select Critical Activities.
3. View activities sorted by Total Float.
Start On or After
Start On or After is used to set the earliest an activity can begin:
❑ Forces the activity to start no earlier than the constraint.
❑ Pushes the early start date to the constraint date.
❑ Affects the early dates of its successors.
FIG. 11.3: Total

Float of activity
before applying
constraint.

the current status of an
activity, Implement the 1. Select an activity, HR1110 - Implement the database.
database.
3. Click the Status sub-tab.
4. View the Total Float for the activity.
Start On or After (continued)
FIG. 11.4: Total

Float of the
activity after
applying Start On
or After constraint.
EXERCISE: Apply a Steps

constraint to the activity
to reflect the delivery 1. Click Edit dates and constraint.
date and then
reschedule the project. 2. In the Primary Constraint drop-down list, select Start On or After.
3. Click to select Primary Constraint Date, 10-May-10.
4. Click Select.
5. Click Save.
6. Click Return to Activity List.

✍ Reschedule the
project to view the new 7. Click , and then click Schedule to reschedule the project.
constraint’s impact on
the project plan. 8. Scroll down to select an activity, HR1110 - Implement the database.
The early start for the activity is pushed out the because the constraint
date 10-May-10 is later than the original early start date 28-Apr-10. Also
note that Total Float decreased from 43 days to 35 days.
Additional Constraints
The following additional constraints can be imposed on the activity level:
❑ 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.
❑ Start On or Before — Forces the 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.
❑ Start On or After — Forces the activity to start no earlier than the

constraint date.
• Affects only early dates.
• Used in the forward pass only if the calculated early start date will be
earlier than the imposed date.
❑ 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.
❑ Finish On or Before — 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.
• Used to set intermediate completion points in the project.
❑ Finish On or After — Forces the activity to finish no earlier than the

constraint date:
• Shifts the early finish to the constrained date.
• Affects the early dates of its successors.
• Used to prevent an activity from finishing too early.
Additional Constraints (continued)

❑ 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.
WORKSHOP: ASSIGNING CONSTRAINTS

Background
When a constraint is assigned to an activity, it is recommended that you add a
note to document why the constraint was assigned.
Objectives
1. In the Notebook sub-tab in Activity Details, add a Notebook topic,
Constraint Log, for the HR1110 - Implement the database activity, and
type a description <New server will be delivered May 10, 2010.>
2. View the description in the Notebook tab.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Constraints are user-imposed date restrictions that more accurately reflect
the real-word aspects of scheduling the project.
❑ After applying a constraint, the project must be rescheduled to calculate
the new dates.
❑ Primavera allows you to apply constraints both at the project level and at
the activity level.
❑ On the activity level, you can add a primary and a secondary constraint.
Review Questions
1. A Start On or After constraint
a. Affects early dates and early dates of successor activities
b. Affects late dates and late dates of successor activities
c. Violates network logic
d. Delays an activity as long as resources are scarce
2. True or False: A Start On or After constraint affects the early dates of its
successors.
LESSON 12
Optimizing the Project

Schedule
Objectives
✔ Analyze schedule dates
✔ Shorten a project schedule
Key Terms
Schedule date
Lesson 12: Optimizing the Project Schedule
Analyzing the Project

Once you have created the project plan, verify that it meets project
stakeholders’ date, resource, and cost requirements. If a disconnect 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 resources to ensure they are
not overallocated.
❑ Analyze costs — Evaluate the costs to ensure that the project is within its
budget.
In this lesson you will focus on the Schedule (Scope) element.
Schedule
(Scope)
Resources Costs
FIG 12.1: Analyzing the project plan.
Analyzing Schedule Dates

Two dates are critical in assessing whether the project is scheduled to finish on
time:
❑ Scheduled Finish — Calculated finish date based on all project factors,
such as durations, relationships, and calendars.
❑ Must Finish By — Finish date set by project stakeholders.
If the Scheduled Finish 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 project stakeholders.
✍ Prior to making any

major changes to the
Steps for Analysis
schedule, you should
contact your system 1. Compare the Scheduled Finish to the Must Finish By date.
administrator to export
the project plan to use it 2. Export the project to XER format.
as a backup.
3. Focus on critical activities.
4. Shorten the project.
Compare Scheduled Finish to Must Finish By

To determine whether the project will finish on time, compare the Scheduled
Finish and Must Finish By dates.
FIG. 12.2: Compare

Must Finish By and
Scheduled Finish
dates.
EXERCISE: Steps
Determine whether the
project will finish on 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
time by comparing the
Scheduled Finish and 2. In the Search field, type <HR> to locate a project, HR System Upgrade -
Must Finish By dates.
Optimizing the Schedule.
4. Click the Details tab.
The Scheduled Finish field indicates the project will not finish until
13-Jan-11, later than the 31-Dec-10 Must Finish By date.
Focus on Critical Activities

To shorten the project, you should now focus on critical activities. These are
defined (in Scheduling Options in Project Tools) as either the longest path or a
value of Total Float.
It is also useful to know each activity’s Total Float -- the amount of time an
activity can slip from its early start without delaying the project.
FIG. 12.2:
Activities are
sorted based on
their Total Float.

critical activities.
2. In the View drop-down list, select Critical Activities.
3. View critical activities.
Shorten the Project

If the schedule analysis leads you to conclude that the Must Finish By date is
not being met, you need to concentrate your efforts on shortening the
schedule. Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:
❑ Use relationships to overlap activities.
❑ Assign additional resources to reduce durations.
❑ Break down long activities.
❑ Apply/modify constraints.
❑ Change calendar assignments:
• Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
• Add exceptions to nonworktime.
Adjusting Relationships
After analyzing the relationships in the schedule, you have found that you can
shorten the schedule if you change a relationship between two activities.
FIG. 12.3: Right-

click relationship
line to edit details.
EXERCISE: Change Steps

the relationship type
and add lag. 1. In the View drop-down list, select Optimizing the Schedule.
2. Select a relationship line connecting activities HR1060 - Design database

and HR1070 - Design external interfaces.
3. Right-click on the relationship line and select Edit Relationship.
4. In the Type drop-down list, select Finish to Finish.
5. In the Lag field, type <4d>.
6. Click OK.
7. Click to save your changes.
8. Click , and then click Schedule to reschedule the project.
9. In the View drop-down list, select Critical Activities to view Total Float.
Shortening Duration
Another option to shorten to length of the project is to shorten the duration of
a critical activity.
You can do so by:

❑ Typing a new value in the Planned Duration column.
❑ Selecting an activity bar in the Gantt Chart and dragging the right end of
the bar to the left to decrease duration. (Click to turn on full-screen
mode when working with bars in the Gantt Chart.)
FIG. 12.4: Type a

new value in
Planned Duration
column.
EXERCISE: Steps
Shorten the duration of
the activity to 5 days. 1. In the View drop-down list, select Optimizing the Schedule..
2. Select a activity bar, HR2040 - Perform interface testing.
3. In the Planned Duration column, type <5d>.
4. Click to save your changes.
Rescheduling and Checking Results

You have taken two steps to shorten the project:
❑ Changed a relationship from Finish-to-Start to Finish-to-Finish and added 4
days of lag.
❑ Reduced the duration of an activity.
FIG. 12.5: The

Scheduled Finish
date is earlier than
the Must Finish By
date. The project is
on schedule.
EXERCISE: Steps
Reschedule the project
and then compare the
Must Finish By date to 1. Click , and then click Schedule to reschedule the project.
the new Scheduled
Finish date. 2. Click the Details tab.
The Scheduled Finish date is earlier than the Must Finish By. The project is
on schedule.
Rescheduling and Checking Results
FIG. 12.5: Activities

have no negative
float after
rescheduling the
project.
EXERCISE: Return Steps

to the Activity List to
confirm that no negative 1. Click Activities tab.
float exists for any
activities in the project. 2. In the View drop-down list, select Critical Activities.
In this example, no activities have negative float. However, some activities

remain critical because they have zero float, meaning a delay in the
activity will impact the project’s finish.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Once you have created the project plan, verify that it meets project
stakeholders’ date, resource, and cost requirements.
❑ If a disconnect exists between the information in the project plan and the
project requirements, you should identify the source of the problem and
define a solution.
❑ Primavera provides you several tools to optimize a project plan —
shortening the schedule, removing resource overallocation, and analyzing
the budget.
Review Questions
1. True or False: You should export the project to make a backup copy
before making changes to the schedule.
2. Which statement is false about the Gantt Chart?

a. Allows you to modify activity duration.
b. Displays both activity ID and name.
c. Allows you to edit activity relationships.
d. Displays activity bars.
LESSON 13
Assigning Resources
Objectives
✔ Assign a role
✔ Fill a role assignment
✔ Request resources
✔ Assign a resource
✔ Check resource availability
✔ Send e-mails to assigned resources
Key Terms
Resource
Role
Unstaffed role
Lesson 13: Assigning Resources
Assigning Resources and Roles

You can assign resources and roles in different ways, suitable to your
individual needs or the staffing policies of your organization:
❑ Assign a role — If you know which skill sets are required for an activity,
but not the exact individual who will perform the work. You can assign a
role to an activity to act as a placeholder until you or another individual in
the organization staffs the assignment with a resource.
❑ Request a resource — You can further refine a role assignment by
requesting a resource who has a specific proficiency level and/or other
attributes, assigned via resource codes.
• For example, you could request an expert programmer experienced in
Oracle who works in the Richmond office. This functionality is
particularly useful in organizations where the task of requesting
resources and assigning resources is completed by different individuals.
❑ Assign a resource — Select a resource from the resource hierarchy and
check his/her allocation in your project, or all projects, before confirming
the assignment. You can also designate a primary resource to update
activity Start/Finish via timesheets.
Summarizing
Resource usage data in Primavera is based on summary data. Any changes
made to assignments within a project are not reflected until the project is
summarized in Project Tools.
A setting in Global Preferences enables you to choose to automatically

summarize the project after assigning resources, so that summary data always
reflects current resource usage. Click Preferences, and then select the Global
tab. In the Resource Staffing section, mark the option to Automatically
summarize project after assigning resources.
Assigning Roles
Assigning roles enables you to assign a temporary placeholder for a resource
assignment, to be filled later by a specific resource. Roles can represent job
titles or skills and are commonly associated with a proficiency scale that ranks
resources’ competency in the role.
FIG. 13.1: Roles Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

can function as
placeholders until Roles Dictionary Assigning Roles to Replace Roles with
activity Activity Resources
assignments are
staffed by Civil Engineer
resources. 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
Assigning Roles (continued)

The Resources sub-tab in the Activity Details allows you to add, edit, and
delete both resource and role assignments.
FIG. 13.2: Click

Assign Roles to
assign an
unstaffed role to
the activity.

the System Analyst role
to the Perform system 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
activity. 2. In the Search field, type <HR> to locate a project, HR System Upgrade -
Assigning Resources.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Primary Resource.
6. Select an activity, HR1020 - Perform system requirements analysis.
8. Click the Resources sub-tab.
9. Click Assign Roles.
10. Click to expand role groupings, IT Roles and Software Developer.
11. Select a role, System Analyst.
Filling the Unstaffed Role Assignment

If you click Assign Resources when an unstaffed role is already present, the
hierarchy defaults to organized by Resources by Role. In this case, resources
with the System Analyst role are displayed.
FIG. 13.3: Ben

Diamond is
assigned to fill the
unstaffed role.

a resource to the
unstaffed role, System 1. Click Assign Resources.
Analyst.
2. Click to expand a role grouping, System Analyst.
3. Select a resource, Ben Diamond.
5. Click OK when prompted.
Assigning Resources
Executing a resource assignment via Assign Resource is recommended if you
are familiar with the skill and competency of the resource pool, and have a
particular individual in mind for the assignment. After selecting a resource from
the hierarchy, you can:
❑ Check his/her allocation.
❑ Designate a primary resource and enter cost/unit information.
Organizing Resources
The Select Resources dialog box enables you to organize the hierarchy to
speed your resource selection. Use the Organized By drop-down list to
organize resources in one of the following hierarchical lists:
❑ Resource Codes — Organizes resources according to resource code
values assigned to them.
❑ Resource Teams — Organizes resources according to teams defined by
you or others in the organization.
❑ Resource Hierarchy — Organizes resources according to the enterprise
resource hierarchy.
You can select a group of favorites for each category as well. Favorites provide
quick access to selected resources.
Organizing Resources (continued)
FIG. 13.4:
Organize
resources by
Resource
Hierarchy.

a resource to the
selected activity. 1. Click Assign Resources.
2. In the Organized By drop-down list, select Resource Hierarchy.
3. Click to expand resource groupings, IT-Resources and Development.
4. Select a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
Resource Access Restrictions

You may not see all enterprise resources in the Select Resources window
because:
❑ Resources are organized by resource teams — Some resource teams
can be viewed only by the user that created them.
❑ Primavera’s resource security — Your system administrator may
restrict your access to resources. If resource security is enabled, you may
only see resources that you have access to in the resource hierarchy.
• Project resources — Project resources, those resources already
assigned to the project, are always available for you, even if you do not
have access to them in the resource hierarchy. Project resources are
displayed in the Project Resources folder in a flat list in the resource
hierarchy.
FIG. 13.5: Project

resources are
displayed in a flat
list under the
Project Resources
folder.
Assessing Allocation
Before assigning the resource, click Show Detail to view the resource’s
availability. The histogram provides a graphic representation of allocation in all
projects:
❑ Blue bar — Represents actual units.
❑ Green bar — Represents remaining units.
❑ Red bar — Represents overallocated units.
In the Display section, click Spreadsheet for a list of projects to which the
resource is assigned.
FIG. 13.6: Green

bars indicate
allocation in
December 2010,
but resource is
available in
January 2011 to
perform the
activity.

resource allocation and
assign resource. 1. Click Show Detail.
2. View the time period when the activity is scheduled, 08-Jan-10 through
21-Jan-10.
You cannot scroll to a time period prior to the resource’s initial
assignment, in this case December 2010. Even though you cannot view
the time period, you can safely infer that the resource is available.
E-Mail Notification
Primavera allows you to notify resources via e-mail when they are assigned to,
or removed from, an activity. The e-mail notification can be automated or
manual:
❑ Automated e-mail notification — A setting in Global Preferences
enables you to notify resources via e-mail when they are assigned to, or
removed from, an activity. You can also choose to be prompted before the
e-mail is sent.
❑ Manual e-mail notification — If you do not wish to automate e-mail
notification, you can click E-mail these resources in the Assign Resources
form to notify resources currently assigned to the activity.
FIG. 13.7: E-mail

form is populated
with the resources’
name in the To
field; activity name
in the Subject line;
and basic activity
information in the
body of the e-mail.

e-mail notification to
resources manually. 1. Click E-mail these resources to view a sample e-mail.
2. Click Cancel.
Editing a Resource Assignment

The Edit Resource Assignment window enables you to remove resource or role
assignments, and to view or update resource details such as units and costs.
Following is a summary of fields and sections in the Edit Resource Assignment

window:
❑ General section — Basic resource assignment information.
• Resource — Name of the resource assigned to the selected activity.
• Role — The name of the resource’s assigned role for the selected
activity.
• Primary Resource — Indicates that the corresponding resource is the
selected activity's primary resource.
✍ To view proficiency, • Proficiency — The corresponding resource's skill level for the assigned
you must have the
role: master, expert, skilled, proficient, or inexperienced.
required global security
privilege set by your ❑ Units section — Use fields in this section to enter unit information for the
selected resource. All fields are editable, except Price/Unit, which is set in
the Units/Prices tab in the Resources view.
❑ Costs section — Use Planned, Actual, and Remaining fields to enter cost
information about the selected resource. Select a Curve to specify how the
resource’s units and costs are distributed over the duration of an activity.
• Rate Source and Rate Type determine the price/unit used to calculate
costs for the activity assignment. If a single activity assignment
includes both a resource and a role, you can choose to use the rates or
price/unit values defined for the resource or use the rates defined for
the role. You can also choose Override as the Rate Source, which
allows you to manually enter a price/unit for the assignment. Your
system administrator can define up to five price/units for Rate Type.
• Calc Costs from Units — Use this field to override the resource's
default setting for individual activities. Mark the checkbox to have
resource costs for this activity calculated (Cost = Units * Price/Unit).
Clear the checkbox to record resource costs manually.
• Drive Activity Dates — Mark the checkbox to allow the resource dates
to determine the activity’s start and finish dates. Clear the checkbox to
allow the activity dates to be independent of the resources dates. The
resource's default setting for this option is specified by the
administrator, and is set at the project level for all project resources.
Editing a Resource Assignment (continued)
FIG. 13.8: In the

Resources tab,
click a resource to
edit resource
assignment.

resource assignment
details. 1. In the Resources tab, click a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
2. Click Cancel.
Requesting Resources
Request Resources enables you to request resources or roles, and enhance
your request by stipulating specific qualifications and skills to fill the
assignment. Qualifications you express become the basis for a search of the
resource pool to locate an appropriate resource.
This functionality is particularly useful in organizations where the task of

requesting resources and assigning resources is completed by different
individuals. Resource requests appear as unstaffed assignments in the Open
Requests for Resources portlet in dashboards, enabling you to communicate
your request directly to the individual responsible for assigning resources.
FIG 13.9: Open a request for a resource form.
EXERCISE: Steps
Request a resource for
the Perform interface 1. Click Request Resources.
activity.
Requesting Resources (continued)

Four search criteria are available. At the top of the form, specify whether the
resource must match all or any of the following criteria:
✍ The number of ❑ Roles — Use this field to specify the role on the activity. This is the role
fields available in each
column, four in the
that will appear as unstaffed in the Open Requests for Resources portlet.
example on the previous You must specify a primary role.
page, can be changed in
the Resource Staffing ❑ Proficiency — Choose a proficiency from the menu or accept the default
section of Global value, Any.
Preferences.
❑ Resources — Use this field to identify a resource you would like to fill the
assignment. You can click Show Detail to check the resource’s availability
to perform the activity. You can specify more than one resource -- provided
that Any is selected at the top of the form -- but only one resource is
assigned to the activity.
❑ Resource Codes — Use this field to specify resource code values for the
assigned resources. You can use multiple fields to specify additional
resource code values.
Requesting Resources (continued)
FIG. 13.10: Enter

resource request
search criteria.
EXERCISE: Steps
Request a senior
software engineer who 1. In the Find a resource matching field, confirm All search criteria is
works in the Atlanta selected.
office for the Perform
interface requirements
analysis activity.
2. In the Primary Role field, click .
3. Click to expand role groupings, IT Roles and Software Developer.
4. Select a primary role, Senior Software Engineer.
5. Click Assign.
6. In the Resource Codes field, click .
7. Click to expand a resource code, Office.
8. Select a resource code value, ATL - Atlanta.
9. Click Assign.
✍ To edit the resource 10. Click Save.

request, click Yes in the
Search Criteria field.
WORKSHOP: ASSIGNING RESOURCES

Background
Additional resource and role assignments are required for the HR System
Upgrade project.
Objectives
1. Create role assignments for the following activities:
Activity ID/Name Role(s)

HR1040 - Design system architecture System Analyst
System Architect
HR1060 - Design database Database Administrator
✍ Use Search to locate 2. Assign a resource to an unstaffed role:

roles in the hierarchy.
Activity Resource Role

HR1010 - Define operational concept of Ben Diamond System Analyst
new system
3. Request a resource with the following criteria for the HR1070 - Design
external interfaces activity.
Primary role Proficiency Resource code/value

System architect 3-Skilled Department: DEV - Development
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Select a resource from the resource hierarchy and after checking his/her
allocation in your project (or all projects) commit the resource to the
assignment.
❑ If you know which skill sets are required for an activity, but not the exact
individual who will perform the work, you can assign a role to an activity to
act as a placeholder.
❑ Remember to summarize after modifying any resource and role assignment
in the project.
Review Questions
1. True or False: Resource usage in the P6 Web application is based on
summary data.
2. Which of the following is not one of the criteria available when requesting
a resource?
a. Primary role
b. Resource code
c. Resource team
d. Proficiency
3. Send an e-mail to newly assigned resources by:

a. Marking e-mail notification options in Global Preferences
b. Right-clicking on resource name
c. Clicking E-mail these resources
d. a & c
LESSON 14
Project Workspace
Objectives
✔ Describe the Project Workspace
✔ Add and remove portlets
✔ Customize the Project Workspace
Key Terms
Portlet
Project Workspace
Project access
Lesson 14: Project Workspace
The Project Workspace

Consider the Project Workspace the homepage for your project in P6 Web. The
Project Workspace, shared by project team members, is a single page that
displays information about the selected project. Data is displayed in small data
windows, called portlets. Each portlet displays specific type of project
information. If you have the privilege, you can customize what portlets are
displayed in the Project Workspace.
Portlets
FIG 14.1: The Project Workspace
Viewing the Project Workspace

The Project Workspace is specific to each project. When you select a project,
the Project Workspace is displayed in the Workspace tab. The Project
Workspace contains portlets displaying the following icons:
Icon Description
Launch context-sensitive help.
Refresh portlet content. Use this to refresh data rather than the Web-
browser’s refresh.
Maximize/minimize portlet.
Remove portlet from the workspace. You can add the portlet again on the
Content tab of the customization page.

Workspace tab to
display the Project
Workspace.

the Project Workspace
for the HR System 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
Upgrade project.
Project Workspace.
4. Confirm that the Workspace tab is selected.
The Project Workspace (continued)

The Project Workspace can be accessed by users who are associated with a
project by:
❑ Project Access — User is associated to the project through the
Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS). This, in general, provides the
widest access to project data.
❑ Project Resource Access — User is assigned to at least one activity in
the project as a resource.
❑ Project Owner — User is assigned this role in the corresponding field in
Primavera.
The message No data available. Refer to Help for more

information appears when there is no data to populate
a portlet. When a project is newly created it is normal
to see the message in most portlets on the Project Workspace.
Portlets on the Project Workspace

Following is a list of portlets available on the Project Workspace. (As noted in
table, some portlets are available only if collaboration functionality is installed.)
The table indicates:
❑ Portlet name — The name of the portlet.
❑ Description — Description of what data the portlet displays.
❑ Default — Check mark indicates portlet displayed by default.
❑ Hide — The project manager may wish to hide sensitive project data from
resources and others who have access to the Project Workspace. The
checkmark in the table indicates the ability to hide a portlet from team
members and invited users.
Table 3: Portlets on the Project Workspace
Portlet Description Default Hide

Project Documents View project documents and document details; add new ✔ ✔
documents to the project; create and organize document
folders.
Project Risks View project risks that you are associated with, along with
details such as status.
Project Issues View open issues to which you are associated. ✔
Project Notebooks View notebook items assigned to a project.
Overallocated View name and role of resource who is overallocated. Click

Project Resources on a resource name to view allocation details.
Critical Activities View all activities with zero or negative float and a negative ✔
Behind Schedule finish date variance.
Milestone Status View all project milestones completed or due within date ✔
ranges you specify. E-mail links let you contact team
members associated with each milestone.
Project Reports Schedule and view reports.
Custom Portlets Display a Web site.
Project Discussions Add, participate in online conversations relating to projects ✔

or activities. (Requires installation of collaboration
functionality.)
Project Events Add, view project events such as meetings. (Requires

installation of collaboration functionality.)
Table 3: Portlets on the Project Workspace
Portlet Description Default Hide

Project News Add, view custom messages. (Requires installation of ✔
collaboration functionality.)
Communication Create discussions; schedule events; start document ✔

Center review; send e-mail to team.
Project Calendar Lists events, activities associated with the project. ✔
Workgroups Lists workgroups associated with the project. ✔

(Requires installation of collaboration functionality.)
Schedule View current and forecast schedule and cost summary per- ✔
Performance formance information.
Earned Value View current and forecast earned value schedule variance ✔
Performance and cost variance calculations.
Index Performance View schedule performance index, cost performance index, ✔

and to complete performance index calculations.
Project Statistics View project data via customizable columns. ✔ ✔
Project Health View project performance via graphical indicators. ✔
Customizing the Project Workspace

If you have the proper privilege, you can customize the Project Workspace by:
❑ Customizing the Project Workspace content and layout — Choose
the content that appears in the workspace (Content tab) and organize the
workspace layout into wide and narrow columns (Layout tab).
❑ Customizing portlet columns — Choose columns to display in portlets
that are customizable.
If more than one individual has privilege to modify the Project Workspace, the
name/date of the last modification is listed at the bottom of Project Workspace
Preferences.
Customizing Content
You can customize the Project Workspace by clicking Customize. On the
Content tab, mark a checkbox to display a portlet; clear a checkbox to remove
the portlet. On the Layout tab, you can design where and how the selected
portlets display.
FIG. 14.3: The

Content tab allows
you to turn
portlets on and off.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize the Project
Workspace. 1. In the Project Workspace, click Customize.
Customizing the Project Workspace (continued)
FIG. 14.4: Portlets

with checkmarks
will display on the
Project
Workspace.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

portlets to the Project
Workspace. 1. Mark the checkbox next to a portlet, Project Risks.
2. In the Custom Portlets section, mark the checkbox next to Custom Portlet
1.
3. Click next to Custom Portlet 1.
4. In the Title field, type <Primavera>.
5. In the URL field, type <www.primavera.com>.
6. Click Save.
Customizing Layout
After you select the portlets to be displayed, decide where and how the
portlets should appear. On the Layout tab, drag and drop portlets to move
them around or use the arrows at the right side of the screen.
FIG. 14.5: Drag

and drop portlets
in the Layout tab.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize portlet layout
for the Project 1. Click the Layout tab.
Workspace.
2. In the Primavera portlet, select Wide.
3. In the Project Issues portlet, select Narrow.
4. Drag and drop the portlets to match the screen above.
5. Click Save and Close.
Customizing Portlets
Some of the portlets on the Project Workspace can be customized. For
example, the Project Statistics portlet allows you customize its columns to view
project data that meets your needs.
FIG. 14.6: Click to

customize the
portlet.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize columns in
the Project Statistics 1. In the Project Statistics portlet, click Customize.
portlet.
2. Use to move all columns from the Selected Columns section.
3. In the Available Columns section, click to expand a grouping, Budget.
4. Use to move Original Budget to the Selected Columns section.
5. In the Available Columns section, click to expand a grouping, Cost.
6. Use to move At Completion Total Cost to the Selected Columns section.
7. Click Save.
WORKSHOP: PROJECT WORKSPACE

Background
As the project manager for the HR System Upgrade project, you will customize
the Project Workspace to share data with the project team.
Objectives
1. Customize the Project Workspace to remove the Project Risks and Project
Issues portlets.
2. On the Project Workspace, display descriptions for the Purpose notebook

topic in the Notebook Topics portlet.
3. On the Project Workspace, view the Estimated Expense Cost column in the
Project Statistics portlet.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The Project Workspace is your homepage for the project in Primavera.
❑ It displays information about a single project, including project
management and performance data.
❑ Data is displayed in portlets.
❑ You can use the Project Workspace to discuss project data, communicate,
and share information with other project members. However, you need the
proper security privileges to customize the Project Workspace.
Review Questions
1. True or False: The Project Workspace displays information about a single
project.
2. True or False: All members of the project team can customize the Project
Workspace.
3. Which statement is true about the Project Workspace?

a. You can drag and drop portlets on the Project Workspace.
b. You can customize the layout of the Project Workspace.
c. You cannot refresh individual portlets.
d. You can have multiple Project Workspaces per project.
LESSON 15
Analyzing Resources and

Costs
Objectives
✔ Analyze and remove resource overallocation
✔ Analyze project costs
Key Terms
Overallocation
Lesson 15: Analyzing Resources and Costs
Analyzing the Project

Once you have created the project plan, verify that it meets project
stakeholders’ date, resource and cost requirements. If a disconnect 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 resources to ensure they are
not overallocated.
❑ Analyze Cost Budget — Evaluate the costs to ensure that the project is
within its cost budget.
Schedule
(Scope)
Resources Costs
FIG 15.1: Analyzing the project plan.
Analyzing Resource Allocation

The project plan is now scheduled to be completed by the deadline.
To ensure resource data is up to date, resummarize the project before making

changes in resource allocation. You will then use the Overallocated Resources
portlet on the Project Workspace to analyze resource overallocation.

Workspace tab to
use portlets for
analyzing project
data.
EXERCISE: Assess Steps

allocation of resources
on the project team. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.

Analyzing Resources and Costs.
5. Click Summarize Project, and then click Refresh as necessary.
6. Click the Workspace tab.
Viewing Overallocated Resources

The Overallocated Resources portlet is not currently displayed on the Project
Workspace. You will customize the Project Workspace to display the portlet at
the top in wide mode.
FIG. 15.3: Click

Customize to
manage portlets
on the Project
Workspace.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

the Overallocated
Resources portlet to the 1. In the Project Workspace, click Customize.
Project Workspace.
2. In the Content tab, mark the checkbox next to a portlet, Overallocated
Resources.
3. Click Save.
4. Click the Layout tab.
5. Drag the Overallocated Resources portlet to the top.
6. Select the Wide display mode for the portlet.
Resolving Resource Overallocation

Clicking the name of a resource in the Overallocated Resource portlet to launch
the Team Usage tab, which displays details on the selected resource’s
allocation in histogram or spreadsheet format.
You can customize the Project Team Usage histogram to display allocation in
the current project only or all projects. You can also display a specific timescale
and display units or costs.
FIG. 15.4: The red

bar shows
overallocation for
Jennifer Boyle.
EXERCISE: Locate Steps

the time period of the
overallocation. 1. In the Overallocated Resources portlet, click a resource name, Jennifer
Boyle.
2. Scroll to the overallocated time period for Jennifer Boyle.
Resolving Resource Overallocation (continued)

✍ Click Customize to Select Spreadsheet for a more detailed view of Jennifer’s overallocation. The
specify whether all
projects or just the
top row of the spreadsheet contains allocation totals for each period. Red type
current project is listed in the middle row indicates overallocation. Cells in the spreadsheet indicate
in the spreadsheet. units allocated to each project.
Click the name of the project to view activities or e-mail the project manager to
discuss resource allocation.
FIG. 15.5: Click

Spreadsheet to
display activities
that may cause
overallocation.

Jennifer’s allocation in
the spreadsheet view. 1. In the Display section, select Spreadsheet.
2. Drag the split bar to the right of the Resource/Project column to expose
the Units column.
3. Confirm that Jennifer is overallocated in the week of 10-Jan-10.
4. Click a project, HR System Upgrade - Analyzing Resources and Costs, to

view activities to which Jennifer is assigned.
5. Confirm that two activities, HR1020 - Perform system requirements

analysis and HR1030 - Perform interface requirements analysis, are
occurring in the same week, causing her overallocation.
6. Close the Resource-Project Activities window.

To resolve Jennifer’s overallocation, assign Donna Hansen, who is available
during the week of 10-Jan.
FIG. 15.6: Donna is

available during
the week of
10-Jan. to perform
the activity.
EXERCISE: Steps
Confirm that Donna
Hansen is available 1. In the Display section, select Histogram.
during the week of
10-Jan. 2. Select a resource, Donna Hansen.
FIG. 15.7: Click a

resource name to
change resource
assignment.

Donna Hansen and then
return to the Project 1. Click the Activities tab.
Team view to reassess
allocation. 2. Select an activity, HR1030 - Perform interface requirements analysis.
5. Click a resource name, Jennifer Boyle.
6. In the Resource field, click to select a new resource.
7. Click to expand resource groupings, IT Resources and Development.
8. Select a resource, Donna Hansen.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Save.
Analyzing Resource Allocation

Jennifer Boyle is no longer overallocated in the week of 10-Jan-10.
FIG. 15.8: With

Donna assigned to
the activity,
Jennifer is no
longer
overallocated.
EXERCISE: Steps
Summarize the project
and then view updated 1. Click the Tools tab.
allocation for Jennifer
and Donna. 2. Click Summarize Project, and click Refresh as necessary.
4. View the Overallocated Resources portlet.
5. Click the Team Usage tab.
6. Click to expand groupings, HR System Upgrade - Analyzing Resource

Allocation and Costs.
7. Select a resource, Donna Hansen.
8. Select a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
Analyzing the Budget

Before finalizing the project plan, you should ensure that planned costs do not
exceed the amount allocated by your organization. You will customize the
Project Statistics portlet to displays cost information.
FIG. 15.9: The At

Completion Total
Cost is within the
$200,000 budget.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize the Project
Statistics portlet to view 1. Click the Workspace tab.
budget data.
2. In the Project Statistics portlet, click Customize.
3. Move all columns in the Selected Columns section to the Available

Columns section.
✍ Select all columns

4. In the Available Columns section, click to expand a grouping, Budget.
by Shift-clicking on the
first and the last
columns, then click .
5. Move the following column to the Selected Columns section: Original
Budget.
6. In the Available Columns section, click to expand a grouping, Cost.
7. Move the following column to the Selected Column section: At Completion

Total Cost.
8. Click Save.
9. View the Project Statistics portlet.
The project is under the $200,000 original budget.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Use the Overallocated Resources portlet to identify resources with
overallocation.
❑ View resource allocation in the Team Usage tab.
❑ Summarize after you make resource assignment changes.
Review Questions
1. True or False: The Histogram can be customized to view allocation in the
current project and in all projects.
2. True or False: The Overallocated Resources portlet lists resources who

are overallocated and provides links to projects where overallocation
occurs.
3. Which portlet on the Project Workspace enables you to customize columns

to view project-related data?
a. Project News
b. Project Statistics
c. Project Calendar
d. Communication Center
LESSON 16
Baselining the Project
Objectives
✔ Add a baseline
✔ Select a baseline
Key Terms
Project baseline
Primary baseline
Lesson 16: Baselining the Project
Baselines
Before updating the schedule for the first time, you should create a baseline to
measure and control the project as it progresses. A baseline is a copy of a
project that provides a target against which you can track a project’s cost,
schedule, and resource performance.
Adding Baselines
The Baselines tab enables you to add, edit, and delete a project baseline and a
primary baseline:
❑ Project baseline — This baseline is generally established by the project
manager. Security privileges significantly restrict the ability of users to edit
or delete this baseline, ensuring all users have a single, consistent project
baseline to compare to the current project schedule. In P6 Web, the
project baseline is used to calculate and display summarized baseline data,
generate enterprise-wide reporting, and for comparing to the current
project in the Gantt Chart view. It is also used for milestone status
reporting and to determine which critical activities are listed as behind
schedule in the Critical Activities Behind Schedule portlet.
❑ Primary baseline — This baseline is generally established by individual
users so they can conduct baseline analysis independent of the project
baseline. It is used to calculate and display live baseline data, for example,
in the Activities tab.
Adding Baselines (continued)

If no baselines have been assigned to the project, the baseline is the project
itself. Current Project is listed in the drop-down lists.
✍ Baseline types To add a baseline, click Add Baseline and then specify a baseline name that is
typically are created by
a project administrator.
unique to the project. You can also choose a baseline type.
After a baseline is created, it can be assigned as either a project baseline or

primary baseline, or both. Note that when you create a baseline, you are
copying the project in its current state.
FIG. 16.1: Click

Baselines tab to
display baselines.

the Baselines tab.

Baselining the Project Plan.
4. Click the Baselines tab.
Adding Baselines (continued)
FIG. 16.2: Baseline

Name is required
when you create a
baseline; Baseline
Type is optional.

a baseline.
1. Click Add Baseline.
2. In the Baseline Name field, type <Base 1: HR System Upgrade>.
3. In the Baseline Type field, click .
4. Select a Baseline Type, Initial Plan, and then click OK.
5. Click Save.
Assigning Baselines
After a baseline is created it can be assigned as a project baseline or primary
baseline by selecting it in the drop-down lists.
FIG. 16.3: Select a

project baseline.

a project baseline to the
project. 1. In the Project Baseline drop-down list, select Base 1: HR System Upgrade.
Editing Baseline Names and Types

Click a baseline name to edit its name or the currently assigned type. You can
edit the baseline name and type even if the baseline is currently assigned as a
project baseline or primary baseline.
Deleting Baselines
Click a baseline and then click Delete Baseline. You cannot delete a baseline if
it is assigned as a project baseline or primary baseline. Assign another baseline
or the current project before deleting the baseline.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Before updating the schedule for the first time, you should create a
baseline to provide a target against which you can track a project’s cost,
schedule, and resource performance.
❑ The project baseline is used to calculate and display summarized baseline
data.
❑ The primary baseline is used to calculate and display live baseline data, for
example, on the Activities tab.
❑ Both baselines can be set as the baseline to calculate live earned value
data at the activity level.
Review Questions
1. True or False: There can be only one Project Baseline assigned to the
project.
2. True or False: You cannot create baselines in P6 Web.
3. Which sub-tab in Project Details enables you to select a baseline for

earned value calculation?
a. General sub-tab
b. Settings sub-tab
c. Codes sub-tab
d. None of the above
LESSON 17
Executing the Project Plan
Objectives
✔ Describe several methods for updating the project schedule
✔ Define the data date
Key Terms
Date date
Actuals
Progress Spotlight
Lesson 17: Executing the Project Plan
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 procedure for how data is collected and how often it is updated.
How Often?
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.
How Collected?
❑ Approve and apply timesheets.
• Team members use timesheets to update activities.
• Project managers review and approve timesheets.
• Project managers apply timesheets to the project.
❑ Enter actual date, resource, and cost information manually.
• Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and cost, and
nonlabor costs.
• Apply actuals to the project.
❑ Auto compute actuals.
• Progress of activities is automatically calculated according to the
original schedule.
The 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.
Data Date
J F M A M J J A S
Schedule
Time
Resource
Resource
Quantity
(person-
days)
Time
Cost
Time
Entering Actuals
Once a project is underway, you must enter actual schedule and resource
usage at regular intervals. You may need to update daily, weekly, or monthly,
depending on the timespan of your project and how frequently you want to
adjust your forecasts. Actual data is different than planned data -- it is the real
time/cost associated with an activity.
Enter schedule, resource, and cost data in the following order:
For Completed Activities

1. Actual Start and Actual Finish dates
2. Actual Regular Units/Actual Regular Costs
3. Actual expense costs
For 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 expense costs
Using Progress Spotlight

The Progress Spotlight feature allows you to focus on activities on which
progress should have occurred in a time period. As you drag the spotlight
curtain to reflect the data date, all activities will be highlighted where progress
should be reported.
In the example below, according to the schedule, there are four activities
highlighted you should record progress on.
FIG. 17.1: In the

Gantt Chart, you
can drag the
spotlight curtain to
the data date.
EXERCISE: Steps
Activate Progress
Spotlight in Gantt Chart. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.

Executing the Project Plan.
5. In the View drop-down list, select Record Activity Progress.
6. Click to turn on Progress Spotlight.
7. Confirm that the spotlight curtain is set to the new data date, 11-Jan-10.
Statusing a Milestone Activity

Milestone activities have zero duration. When you set the Actual Start of a start
milestone activity, the Actual Finish will be set automatically.
FIG. 17.2: Set the

Actual Start of the
milestone to 04-
Jan-10.
EXERCISE: Set the Steps

start date of a milestone
activity. 1. Select a milestone activity, HR1000 - Start development milestone.
2. Double-click in the Actual Start field.
3. Click and select a date, 04-Jan-10.
Statusing an Activity to Completion

Three steps must be performed to update an activity to completion:
1. Enter Actual Start and Actual Finish dates.
2. Enter Actual Regular Units for the resources.
3. Enter Actual Costs for expenses.
FIG. 17.3: Set

Actual Start and
Actual Finish dates
for completed
activities.
EXERCISE: Set Steps

Actual Start and Actual
Finish dates. 1. Select an activity, HR1010 - Define operational concept of new system.
3. Click Yes to save data changes.
4. Mark the Started checkbox.
5. In the Started field, confirm the date, 04-Jan-10.
6. Mark the Finished checkbox.
7. In the Finished field, confirm the date, 07-Jan-10.
8. Click Save.
Statusing an Activity to Completion (continued)

resource name to
enter Actual Units.
EXERCISE: Enter Steps

Actual Units for
resources. 1. Click the Resources sub-tab.
2. Click a resource, Ben Diamond.
3. In the Actual field in the Units section, type <34>.
4. Click Save.
5. Click a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
6. In the Actual field in the Units section, type <32>.
7. Click Save.
8. Click Return to Activity List.
Statusing an Activity In Progress

Four steps must be performed to update an activity in progress:
1. Enter Actual Start date.
2. Enter Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration.
3. Enter Actual Regular Units and Remaining Units for resources.
4. Enter Actual Costs and Remaining Costs for expenses.
FIG. 17.5: Mark

Started for
activities with
actual start.
EXERCISE: Status Steps

an activity in progress.
1. Select an Activity, HR1020 - Perform system requirements analysis.
3. Mark the Started checkbox.
4. In the Started field, confirm the date, 08-Jan-10.
5. In the Remaining Duration field, confirm a value, 10d.
6. Click Save.
Statusing an Activity In Progress (continued)
FIG. 17.6: Enter

actual units for a
resource.
EXERCISE: Enter Steps

actual units for Ben
Diamond. 1. Click the Resources sub-tab.
2. Click a resource, Ben Diamond.
3. In the Actual field in the Units section, type <8h>.
4. In the Remaining field in the Units section, type <72>.
5. Click Save.
Rescheduling the Project

Now that actuals have been recorded, you should reschedule with the new
data date and then summarize the project.
FIG. 17.7:
Successors to the
Perform system
requirements
analysis activity are
delayed.
EXERCISE: Steps
with a data date of 1. Click the Tools tab.
11-Jan-10, and then
return to the Gantt 2. Click Cancel if you are prompted about saving view changes.
Chart to analyze results.
3. In the New Data Date field, click .
4. Select a date, 11-Jan-10, and then click Select.
5. Click Reschedule Project, and then click Refresh as necessary.
8. In the View drop-down list, select Analyzing Progress.
9. Right-click on the timescale and select Month/Week.
Analyzing Results of Rescheduling

To further analyze activities, select an activity view to compare your current
schedule and the baselines.
FIG. 17.8: Due to

Jennifer’s inability
to start the
Perform system
requirements
analysis activity, it
is scheduled to
finish 1 day late.

the impact of the
activity delay. 1. In the View drop-down list, select an activity view, Variance BL & BL1.
2. View an activity, HR1020 - Perform system requirements analysis.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Once a project has started, you need to update actual schedule information
and resource usage at regular intervals.
❑ Remember to summarize project data if resource assignment information
has changed.
❑ Reschedule the project and analyze the impact of actuals entered in the
timeperiod.
❑ Use the Progress Spotlight to highlight activities on which progress should
be reported.
Review Questions
1. True or False: The data date is the date used as the starting point for
schedule calculations.
2. True or False: You can drag the Progress Spotlight curtain on the Gantt
Chart.
3. Which sub-tab in Activity Details enables you to enter resource assignment

actuals?
a. General sub-tab
b. Resources sub-tab
c. Codes sub-tab
d. Status sub-tab
LESSON 18
Analyzing the Updated

Project
Objectives
✔ Compare Must Finish By and Scheduled Finish dates
✔ View issues
✔ View schedule performance
✔ Adjust the project based on issue information
✔ View budget data
Key Terms
Baseline analysis
Project performance portlets
Issues
Lesson 18: Analyzing the Updated Project
Analyzing Schedule Dates

To determine whether the project will finish on time, view the Project Statistics
portlet on the Project Workspace. If the Scheduled Finish of the project is
beyond the Must Finish By date, the project must be adjusted.
To adjust the project, perform the following steps for analysis:
1. Perform baseline analysis.
2. Focus on critical activities.
3. Monitor issues.
4. Copy the project for what-if analysis.
5. Adjust the project.
Analyzing Schedule Dates (continued)

The Scheduled Finish, 03-Jan-11, is later than the Must Finish By date,
31-Dec-10. Even though there are no workdays between 31-Dec-10 and 03-
Jan-11 — 01-Jan is a Saturday, 02-Jan is a Sunday — the Must Finish by date
requires all work done by the morning of 31-Dec-10. Thus, the project is 1 day
behind schedule.
FIG. 18.1: Compare

Must Finish By and
Scheduled Finish.
EXERCISE: Steps
Compare dates in the
Project Statistics portlet 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
to assess whether the
project is on schedule. 2. In the Search field, type <HR> to locate a project, HR System Upgrade -
Analyzing the Updated Project.
4. On the Project Workspace, view the Project Statistics portlet.
Analyzing Project Performance

You can use other portlets on the Project Workspace to assess project
performance:
❑ Schedule Performance — Displays current and forecast schedule and
cost summary performance information.
❑ Earned Value Performance — Displays current and forecast earned
value, schedule variance, and cost variance calculations.
❑ Index Performance — Displays schedule performance index, cost
performance index, and to complete performance index calculations.
❑ Project Health — Displays project status based on status indicators
defined in Global Preferences.
FIG. 18.1: The

portlet indicates
that the project is
behind schedule.

the Schedule
Performance portlet on 1. On the Project Workspace, scroll down to the Schedule Performance
the Project Workspace. portlet.
The portlet indicates that the project is behind schedule and labor units
are exceeding planned values.
Adjusting the Project

You can use several methods to shorten the project:
✍ Prior to making any ❑ Use relationships to overlap activities.

major changes to the
schedule, it is ❑ Add additional resources to reduce durations.
recommended that you
make a copy of the ❑ Break down long activities.
project. Your system
administrator can make
❑ Change calendar assignments:
a copy of the project for • Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
you.
• Add exceptions to nonworktime.
You can use the following set of questions to help you decide how to most
appropriately adjust the schedule.
Can the Finish Date of the Project Slip?

❑ The project may need to be delayed if no other options are available.
❑ If the delay is approved, adjust the Must Finish By date.
❑ If the delay is not approved, find another way to meet the project
milestones and finish date of the project.
Can the Scope of the Activity/Project

Decrease?
❑ In some cases, in order to meet the project milestones and finish date, you
can decrease the total amount of work that will be accomplished, for
example, decreasing the scope of the project.
❑ If the scope change is approved, decrease the scope by decreasing the
total hours worked on activities. This will change the duration of the
activities.
❑ If the scope change is not approved, find another way to meet the project
milestones and finish date of the project.
Were the Planned Hours Over- or Under-

Estimated?
❑ You may have overestimated the number of hours to complete activities;
the scope of work can be accomplished in fewer hours.
❑ You can decrease the total hours worked on activities, which decreases the
duration of the activities.
Can an Additional Resource be Assigned?

❑ You can assign another resource to the activity to finish it on time.
❑ This may be possible if another resource with the necessary skills is
available.
Can the Resource Work Overtime?

❑ The resource may need to work overtime to complete an activity on time.
❑ The hours the resource works each day will increase.
Managing Project Issues

Issues are known problems within a project that require attention or corrective
action before the project can be completed. You can view issues in:
❑ Issues tab in the Projects section.
❑ Project Issues portlet on the Project Workspace.
Issues are derived from three sources:

❑ Created manually in P6 Web.
❑ Created manually in the P6 client-server application.
❑ Generated by monitoring thresholds.
• Thresholds are created and monitored by the system administrator.
Thresholds enable you to define acceptable tolerances within a project,
for example, Total Float, and automatically generate an issue when the
threshold is exceeded. A typical threshold would require an issue to be
generated when an activity has negative float.
Managing Project Issues (continued)

An issue generated by a threshold shows that the Finish Date Variance for
activity HR1020 - Perform system requirements analysis is -1 day, meaning
that the activity is scheduled to finish 1 day later than indicated in the baseline.
The delay in the activity was caused when Jennifer Boyle was out sick on 08-
Jan-10, the day she was scheduled to begin the task.
FIG. 18.2: Click

issue name to view
Issue Details.

the Project Issues
portlet. 1. On the Project Workspace, view the Project Issues portlet.
Adjusting Resource Usage

Jennifer has agreed to work overtime to get the activity back on schedule.
FIG. 18.3: Activity

is scheduled to
finish 22-Jan.

the current status of an
activity, Perform system 1. Click the Activities tab.
requirements analysis.
2. In the View drop-down, select Analyzing Progress.
3. Select an activity, HR1020 - Perform system requirements analysis.
5. Click the Status sub-tab.
Adjusting Resource Usage (continued)

You will shorten the Remaining Duration of the activity by 1 day to 9 days,
while keeping Jennifer’s remaining units at 80h. Primavera will calculate how
many hours Jennifer should work each day to complete her remaining 80 hours
work in 9 days.
FIG. 18.4: Jennifer

is now scheduled
to work 9 hours a
day.
EXERCISE: Adjust Steps

Remaining Duration and
Remaining Units. 1. Click Edit duration and units.
2. In the Remaining Duration field, type <9d>.
3. Click Save.
5. Click a resource name, Jennifer Boyle.
6. In the Remaining Units field, type <80h>.
7. Click Save.
In the Remaining Units/Time column, Jennifer is now scheduled to work 9

hours per day to complete activity. You will also re-adjust Ben’s units.
8. Click a resource name, Ben Diamond.
9. In the Remaining Units field, type <72h>.
10. Click Save.
Ben’s Remaining Units/Time are recalculated to 8h/d.

To see the effect of this change, you need to reschedule the project.
After scheduling:
❑ Comparing the Must Finished By date and Scheduled Finish, the project is
back on schedule.
❑ Comparing the Original Budget and At Completion Total Cost, the project is
under the $200,000 Original Budget.
FIG. 18.5: The

project is back on
schedule and
under budget
EXERCISE: Steps
Reschedule and then
check the Scheduled 1. Click the Tools tab.
Finish date.
2. Confirm a data date, 11-Jan-10.
3. Click Reschedule Project, and then click Refresh as necessary.
6. View the Project Statistics portlet.
Closing an Issue
If the issue is resolved to your satisfaction, you can close the issue in the
Project Issues portlet.

issue name to
change its status.
EXERCISE: Close Steps

an issue.
2. In the Project Issues portlet, click an Issue Name, Finish Date Variance
(days) is -1 on Activity: HR1020.
3. In the Status drop-down list, select Closed.
4. Next to the Resolution Date field, click and select a date, 11-Jan-10.
5. Click Save.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ To determine whether the project finishes on time, view the General sub-
tab in Project Details or use the Project Statistics portlet on the Project
Workspace.
❑ If the Scheduled Finish of the project is beyond the Must Finish By date,
the project must be adjusted.
❑ Primavera provides several tools to assist you with the analysis before you
adjust the project: baseline analysis, displaying critical activities,
monitoring issues, and portlets for projects performance analysis.
Review Questions
1. The project’s Scheduled Finish and Must Finish By date are displayed in
a. Tools tab
b. Project Details, Settings sub-tab
c. Project Details, General sub-tab
d. Baselines tab
2. True or False: Issues can be created in the P6 Web.
3. Prior to making major changes to the schedule, you should:

a. Summarize
b. Export the project to create a backup copy
c. Apply actuals
d. Create an issue
LESSON 19
Reporting
Objectives
✔ Assign reports to the Project Reports portlet
✔ Schedule reports
✔ View scheduled reports
Key Term
Project Reports portlet
Lesson 19: Reporting
Project Reports Portlet

The Project Reports portlet enables you to schedule and view reports in P6
Web.
You can run reports manually or schedule them to run on a regular basis, for
example, every morning at 9 am. Reports can be viewed in HTML directly in
your Web browser, or you can view them in MS Excel.
❑ You need the proper privilege to assign or remove reports. When you
assign a report, it always runs against the current project.
❑ Since the Project Reports portlet is on the Project Workspace, project team
members have access to the assigned reports. However, in order to view
data, each team member must schedule them in their own Project Reports
portlet.
FIG. 19.1: The No

data available
message appears
until reports are
assigned in the
Project Reports
portlet.

the Project Reports
portlet on the Project 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.
Workspace.
Reporting Performance.
4. On the Project Workspace, click Customize.
5. Remove all existing portlets from the Project Workspace.
6. Mark a checkbox next to a portlet, Project Reports.
Assigning Reports to Project Reports Portlet

You need the proper privilege to assign reports to the Project Reports portlet.
Usually, only the project manager customizes the Project Workspace and
decides which reports should be accessible to team members.
Click Assign Report to add a report to the Project Reports portlet. When you
add a report to the portlet, its schedule status is Disabled, meaning the report
is not yet scheduled to run.
FIG. 19.2: Initially,

the assigned
report is disabled.

a report to the portlet.
1. In the Project Reports portlet, click Assign Report.
2. Search for a report, SR-15 Schedule Report - Sorted by Total Float.
3. Select the report, and then click Assign.
4. Click Close.
Scheduling Reports
When you schedule a report, the portlet submits the job request to the
Primavera Job Service. The Job Service processes the request at the scheduled
time and runs the report.
Note that the Job Service runs the reports by logging in as the user who
schedules the report. Thus, user security and access settings always apply,
and the same report might not return the same data for users with different
privileges. For example, you may run a report that contains data you do not
have the privilege to view. In that case, you can still run the report, but some
of the columns will be blank.
The Schedule State column indicates whether the report is scheduled to run.
When the column displays Enabled, the report will run based on scheduling
options. When the field displays Disabled, the report will not run even if
scheduling options have been specified.
Disable a report if you want to suspend its scheduling now but run it at a later
time. The My Reports portlet retains its scheduling information, but the report
will not run until you enable it again.
Other columns in the portlet:

❑ Report name — Report name will become a link after the report has run.
❑ Last Run date — Date when report was last successfully run.
❑ Schedule Type — Displays when the report is selected to run, for
example, every day, every week, etc.
❑ Status — Displays status of current report job.
Scheduling Reports (continued)

To set scheduling options, mark a checkbox adjacent to a report and click
Schedule. To schedule multiple reports, mark the checkbox prior to each report
name. To select all reports, mark the checkbox prior to the column header,
Report Name.
FIG. 19.3: Click

Schedule to
schedule a report
to run.
✍ EXERCISE: View Steps

report scheduling
options. 1. Mark a checkbox prior to a report, SR-15 Schedule Report - Sorted by
Total Float, to select it.
2. Click Schedule.
Scheduling Reports (continued)

In the Report Schedule Options dialog box, select Enabled in order to access
scheduling options.
You can choose to run the report at a specific time every day, every week,
every two weeks, or every month. You can also choose to run the report as
soon as possible, meaning it will be submitted to the Job Service immediately
after the last job currently in the service runs.
FIG. 19.4: When

the Status column
displays Complete,
the name of the
report becomes a
link.
EXERCISE: Steps
Schedule the report to
run as soon as possible. 1. In the Report Schedule State section, select Enabled.
2. Confirm that Run as soon as possible option is set.
3. Click OK.
4. Click to refresh as necessary.
Viewing Reports
When the Status column of a scheduled report displays Complete, the name of
the report becomes a hyperlink. To view the report in your Internet browser,
click the name of the report.
✍ In order to view the To view the report in MS Excel, mark the checkbox next to the report name,
report in MS Excel, you
must have MS Excel
and click Open In Excel. The Open In Excel link is enabled only if you have at
properly installed on least one report checkbox marked.
your computer.

name of the report
to view report
data.
Deleting Reports
To delete a report, mark the checkbox next to the report name, and click
Remove. Removing a report deletes the report from the Project Reports portlet
with all existing scheduling information.
Removing the Project Reports portlet from the Project Workspace will not
delete its reports. Scheduled reports will run even if the portlet is not
displayed.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The Project Reports portlet on the Project Workspace enables you to assign
and schedule reports to run periodically or once.
❑ You can then view the reports in HTML in your Web browser or in MS Excel
format.
❑ Project team members have to schedule the report to run for themselves.
Review Questions
1. Once the report status is Complete, you can view report data, by
a. Clicking Assign Report
b. Marking its checkbox and clicking Schedule
c. Clicking the report name
d. Clicking Remove
2. True or False: Removing the Project Reports portlet from the Project
Workspace cancels all scheduled reports as well.
3. True or False: Your user security settings do not have any impact on the
data returned by reports.
LESSON 20
Dashboards
Objectives
✔ Create a dashboard
✔ Add and remove dashboards
✔ Filter data to display in portlets
✔ View your projects and activities
Key Terms
Dashboard
Filter by field
Lesson 20: Dashboards
Dashboards
The Dashboards section is your personalized homepage in P6 Web. Like the
Project Workspace, the Dashboards section uses portlets to display project or
portfolio data. (A different set of portlets is available for dashboards.)
The following table lists the similarities and differences between the
Dashboards section and the Project Workspace:
Feature Dashboards Section Project Workspace

Data source Dashboard content Selected project only
determined by dashboard
filter (single project, multiple
projects or single portfolio)
Number Multiple dashboards per One Project Workspace

user. per project.
Customizable Yes. Individuals can Yes. Usually only by the

customize their own project manager.
dashboards.
Shared If you have the privilege to Automatically shared by

create dashboards, you can project resources. It
make them accessible to all cannot be shared with all
or a group of users. users.
Viewing Dashboards
The Dashboards section allows you to display multiple dashboards in P6 Web.
Each dashboard is represented as a tab. Click a tab to view the dashboard.
Each dashboard uses a Filter by field to determine whether portlets in the

dashboard display project or portfolio data.
FIG. 20.1: Click

tabs to view
dashboards.

John Brunner’s
displayed dashboards. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Dashboards.
2. Click the displayed dashboard tabs.
Customizing Dashboards
Dashboards provide information specific to your role in the organization and
data related to projects to which you are associated.
You can customize dashboards by:

❑ Filtering portlet data — Filter data by projects, portfolios, or project
codes.
❑ Customizing content and layout — Choose the content that appears in
the workspace (Content tab) and organize the workspace layout into wide
and narrow columns (Layout tab).
❑ Customizing portlets — Choose columns to display in each portlet. Note
that not all portlets are customizable.
Filtering Portlet Data

The Filter by field at the top of the dashboard enables you to filter portlet data
by:
❑ Project — Portlet data relates to the selected project.
❑ Portfolio — Portlet data relates to projects in the selected portfolio.
❑ Project Code — Portlet data relates to the projects assigned the selected
project code value.
Data in the following portlets is not filtered by Filter by field: Action Required,
Project and Document Workflows, Resource Team Summary, and Open
Requests for Resources.
Preferences for some portlets enable you to further filter data based on project
association. For example, in the My Projects portlet, you can choose to view
projects for which you have access rights, you are a resource, or you are a
project owner.
FIG. 20.2: Select

Use the Select drop-down list to select a
Projects, Portfolios, project, portfolio or project code. You can
or Project Codes in also search to quickly locate items.
the Select drop-
down list. Search parameters are linked to the item
in the Select drop-down list. For example,
if Project is selected in the Select drop-
down list, you can search for Project Name
or Project ID only.

available Filter by
options. 1. Click the John’s Projects dashboard tab.
2. In the Filter by field, click .
3. Click to expand Global Portfolio.
You will not change the Filter by selection at this time.
4. Click Close.
Customizing Dashboards
If you have the proper privilege, you can customize dashboards by setting
which portlets are displayed, the type of data shown in the portlets, and how
the portlets are organized. The customization page is divided into three tabs:
❑ Content — Mark a checkbox to display a portlet. Click to display
additional portlet options.
❑ Layout — Use right/left arrows to move portlets to wide and narrow
columns; up/down arrows to arrange portlets vertically in a column. You
can also drag and drop portlets to create a layout.
❑ Access — Select user(s) who can access the dashboard.
FIG. 20.3: Click to

customize the
current dashboard.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize the current
dashboard. 1. Click Customize.
Portlets on Dashboards
Following is a list of portlets available on dashboards. (As noted in table, some
portlets require installation of collaboration functionality.)
Table 4: Portlets Available for Dashboards
Portlet Functionality
My Projects Displays projects to which you are associated.
My Activities View all activities where you are assigned as a resource.
My Risks View project risks to which you are associated.
My Issues Displays all open issues to which you are associated.
My Documents Access to project documents you have recently worked on; manage pri-
vate documents for your own use.
Communication Center Start discussion, schedule event, start document review, send e-mail to
team members associated with a project.
My Events Track meetings relating to specific projects or activities and notify team
members. (Requires installation of collaboration functionality.)
My Calendar See a week's worth of events and activities that pertain to your projects.
My Reports Schedule and display reports created by the Administrator.
My Workgroups Displays Workgroups. (Requires installation of collaboration functionality.)
Custom Portlet Displays a Web site. You can have up to 50 custom portlets in your
Personal Workspace.
Action Required Lists project request/process workflows and document reviews that
require your attention. (Requires installation of collaboration functionality.)
Project and Document Track project request/process workflows and document reviews.
Workflows (Requires installation of collaboration functionality.)
Portfolio View Displays Portfolio Views created in the Portfolios section.
Schedule Performance Displays schedule and cost summary performance information.
Earned Value Performance Displays both current and forecast earned value schedule variance and
cost variance calculations.
Index Performance Displays schedule performance index, cost performance index, and to
complete performance index calculations.
Project Health View status indicators on portfolio, project performance.
Project Statistics Customize columns to view project data.
Project Notebooks Displays notebook topics, descriptions assigned to a project.
Table 4: Portlets Available for Dashboards
Portlet Functionality
Resource Team Summary View resources, roles, and the number of active projects for each
resource in the selected team.
Open Requests for Resources View which roles require staffing at any time in your projects. Click
unstaffed role to view or define search criteria, assign resource.
Resource Analysis Chart View total units/costs for a resource, resource team, or resource code.
Portlets on Dashboards (continued)
FIG. 20.4: Mark

the checkbox next
to My Activities to
add the portlet to a
dashboard.
EXERCISE: Add Steps

the My Activities portlet
to a dashboard. 1. Mark a checkbox next to a portlet, My Activities.
2. Click to display additional options.
3. In the Show activities scheduled for the next days field, type <999>.
The maximum value, 999 days, is entered in the scheduled for the next
days field for training purposes. In an actual environment, you would likely
enter a smaller number of days to more efficiently track upcoming
activities.
4. Click Save.
Modifying Portlet Layout

In the Layout tab you can control where and how selected portlets are
displayed:
❑ Drag and drop portlets to organize the layout.
❑ Use to move portlets.

❑ For each portlet, select Narrow or Wide.
To remove a portlet from the dashboard, clear its checkmark in the Content
tab.
FIG. 20.5: Drag

and drop portlets
in the Layout tab.
EXERCISE: Move Steps

to the top of the 1. Click the Layout tab.
dashboard.
2. Click the My Activities portlet and drag it to the top.
3. In the My Activities portlet, select Wide.
Modifying Portlet Layout (continued)

Buttons within each portlet enable you to control its display directly in a
dashboard (and in the Project Workspace):
❑ Click Collapse All to collapse all active portlets to their title bars.
❑ Click Expand All to expand all active portlets.
❑ Click to collapse a single portlet.
❑ Click to expand a single portlet.
❑ Click to access online help for a portlet.
❑ Click to refresh a portlet.
❑ Click to maximize/minimize a single portlet.
❑ Click to close a single portlet.
❑ Click to search within a portlet
FIG. 20.6: Click to

collapse all
portlets.
EXERCISE: Expand Steps

only. 1. Click Collapse All.
2. Click on the My Activities portlet.
Personal Information Portlets

Personal Information portlets focus on information that affects you. Most of
the portlet names begin with "My", such as My Projects, My Issues, My
Calendar, etc. You can customize data displayed in portlets according to your
role in a project.
My Activities Portlet
This portlet lists activities based on the project, portfolio, or project code in the
Filter by field, and future activities based on the number of days specified in
the Show Activities scheduled for next __ days field in Personal Workspace
Preferences.
❑ Activities are grouped by project.
❑ Click to expose activities within the project.

❑ Click an activity to launch Activity Details.
❑ Click Enter Time to launch Timesheets.
FIG. 20.7: Click

Activity Name to
launch Activity
Details.

Activity Details for
Project execution 1. Click to expose activities within a project, ERP System Installation.
activity.
2. Click an activity, Project execution, to view Activity Details.
3. Scroll to view the Resources section.
4. Click Return to return to the dashboard.
Custom Portlets
Up to 50 Custom portlets can be displayed on a dashboard. These portlets can
be used to display a Web site or a Web application. For example, you can use
a custom portlet to access your organization’s intranet or run programs written
against the Primavera Application Programming Interface (API).
Mark a checkbox next to each Custom portlet to display it on a dashboard.

Click to specify a portlet title and portlet URL. To change the number of
available custom portlets, enter a value from 1 to 50 in the Number of Custom
Portlets field.
FIG. 20.8: Mark

checkbox to
display the portlet
on a dashboard.

Custom portlet
displaying the Primavera 1. Click Customize.
Web site.
2. Mark a checkbox next to a portlet, Custom Portlet 1.
3. Click next to Custom Portlet 1.
4. In the Portlet Title field, type <Primavera>.
The title appears in the portlet title band.
5. In the Portlet URL field, type <www.primavera.com>.
7. Scroll to view the Custom portlet, Primavera.
Managing Dashboards
If you have the proper privilege you can create, modify, delete, display or
remove dashboards on the Manage Dashboards page. You can access the
Manage Dashboard page through the Manage Dashboards command in the
Action bar.
FIG. 20.9: Click to

access the Manage
Dashboards page.

and remove
dashboards. 1. In the Action bar, click Manage Dashboards.
2. Mark a checkbox next to an available dashboard, Default Dashboard.
3. Using , move the Default Dashboard up to the first place.
4. Clear the checkbox next to a displayed dashboard, Planned Projects.
5. In the Navigation bar, click Dashboards to view the changes.
Creating a Dashboard
On the Manage Dashboard page you can create a new dashboard by clicking
Create Dashboard.
FIG. 20.10: Click to

create a new
dashboard based
on an existing one
or the default.

a new dashboard.
1. In the Task bar, click Manage Dashboards.
2. Click Create Dashboard.
3. Expand User Dashboards, and then select a dashboard, John’s Projects.
4. Click OK.
Creating a Dashboard (continued)

Once the dashboard is created, you can customize its portlets, layout and
access.
FIG. 20.11: The

new dashboard is
displayed.
EXERCISE: Steps
Customize the new
dashboard. 1. In the Dashboard Title field, type <My Dashboard>.
2. Mark all the portlets in the Personal Information section.
3. Clear checkboxes next to other portlets.
5. In the Navigation bar, click Dashboards.
6. Click the My Dashboard tab to view portlets.
WORKSHOP: DASHBOARDS
Background
Signature Corp. permits each user to create a dashboard.
Objectives
1. Create a dashboard called My Personal Info.
2. Select portlets you would use at your work site.
3. Customize the layout.
4. Display a Custom portlet with a Web site from a news source in your
hometown.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Dashboards display data in portlets.
❑ You can choose portlets and customize how they appear in dashboards.
❑ The data displayed in most portlets is filtered by the Filter by field.
❑ You can manage dashboards by clicking Manage Dashboards in the Action
bar.
Review Questions
1. True or False: Data in all portlets is filtered by the selection in the Filter
by field.
2. True or False: Not all portlets can be displayed in the narrow column.
3. Which statement is false about dashboards?

a. You can display multiple dashboards
b. Dashboards and the Project Workspace share portlets.
c. You cannot delete Multiple User Dashboards if you did not create them.
d. You can place the same portlet on several dashboards.
LESSON 21
Portfolios
Objectives
✔ Create a portfolio manually
✔ Create a portfolio by filter
Key Terms
Portfolio
Portfolio filter
Lesson 21: Portfolios
Creating a Portfolio
A portfolio is a group of projects organized by criteria specific to your needs.
For example, you can create a portfolio of the projects you manage; projects
starting in the current fiscal year; projects over a specific budget figure; or
projects involving a certain department.
You can view information about the portfolio, and projects within it, by
specifying the portfolio in the Filter by field on the Personal Workspace.
User and Global Portfolios

A security privilege is required to create/modify portfolios and create global
portfolios. In addition, you must have access to a project in order to add it to a
portfolio.
You can create a portfolio:

❑ For another single user: User portfolio.
❑ For yourself: User portfolio.
❑ For all users: Global portfolio.
Manual and Filtered Portfolios

Projects in a portfolio can be added manually or via filter.
Manual portfolios do not change unless you manually modify the portfolio.
When a filtered portfolio is created, projects are automatically placed in the

portfolio if they meet filter criteria. When you manually refresh the filter,
additional projects that meet the criteria are added, and projects that no
longer meet the criteria are removed.
❑ Manual portfolios are indicated by (User) or (Global).
❑ Filtered portfolios are indicated by (User) or (Global).
Viewing Portfolios
The Action bar in the Dashboards section allows you to launch the Manage
Portfolios page, where you can create, edit and delete portfolios. Click next
to a portfolio to display its projects.
FIG. 21.1: Click to

view project
names.

current portfolios.
2. In the Action bar, click Manage Portfolios.
3. Click the next to a portfolio, New Systems.
Deleting a Portfolio
If you have the proper privilege, you can delete portfolios by clicking Delete.
You will delete the New Systems portfolio.
FIG. 21.2: Click to

delete a portfolio.
EXERCISE: Delete Steps

the New Systems
portfolio. 1. Click Delete next to a portfolio, New Systems.
2. Click OK.
Creating a Portfolio Manually

Portfolios are created on the Manage Portfolios page by clicking Create Project
Portfolio.
FIG. 21.3: Click to

create a portfolio.

a portfolio, New
Systems, containing 1. Click Create Project Portfolio.
manually selected
projects. 2. In the Project Portfolio Name field, type <New Systems>.
3. In the Manage this Portfolio field, confirm Manually.
4. In the This portfolio is available to field, select All Users.
5. In the Available Projects section, click to expand EPS groupings,

Information Technology Projects, Internal IT Projects, and New Systems.
6. Select all projects, and use the arrow to move them to the Selected
Projects section.
7. Click Save.
Creating a Portfolio by Filter

Up to three separate parameters can be used to build the portfolio. When
using multiple parameters, specify whether a project must meet all or any of
the parameters to be included in the portfolio.
FIG. 21.4: Up to
three different
parameters can be
used to build the
portfolio filter.
Each filter component is comprised of three elements:

❑ Parameter — Select a parameter field from the drop-down list.
Available parameters include cost, labor, and date-related fields. Project
code values and user-defined fields enable you to further customize a filter
with data specific to your organization.
❑ Is — Select an operator from the drop-down list.
Options for data-based parameters include:
• greater than
• less than
• equals
❑ Value — Type a value or use to select a value.
Creating a Portfolio by Filter (continued)
FIG. 21.5: The icon

indicates that the
portfolio is created
by using a filter.

a portfolio to monitor all
projects that are 1. Click Create Project Portfolio.
assigned a project code
value of Important. 2. In the Portfolio Project Name field, type <Important Projects>.
3. In the Manage this portfolio field, select By Filter.
4. In the Parameter drop-down list, scoll to the Project Code grouping, and
then select Priority Code.
5. In the Is drop-down list, confirm equals.
6. In the Value field, click .
7. Click to expand a project code grouping, Project Code: Priority Code.
8. Select a project code value, Imp - Important.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Save.
11. Click to view projects in the Important Projects portfolio.
Refreshing the Portfolio Filter

You can refresh a currently selected filtered portfolio by clicking next to the
Filter by field on a dashboard. Projects that no longer meet filter criteria are
removed from the portfolio; projects that meet filter criteria are retained or
added. The icon appears only if a filtered portfolio is specified in the Filter by
field.

icon to refresh a
filtered portfolio.
EXERCISE: Steps
Refresh a filtered
portfolio. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Dashboards.
2. Select a dashboard, John’s Projects.
4. Expand a grouping, Filtered Portfolio.
5. Select a portfolio, Important Projects.
6. Click OK.
7. Click to expand the Project Statistics portlet.
Analyzing Portfolio Performance

The Dashboards section offers four portlets designed to analyze project and
portfolio performance:
❑ Schedule Performance — Displays both current and forecast schedule
and cost summary performance information.
❑ Earned Value Performance — Displays both current and forecast
earned value schedule variance (SV) and cost variance (CV) calculations.
❑ Index Performance — Displays schedule performance index (SPI), cost
performance index (CPI), and to complete performance index (TCPI)
calculations.
• SPI indicates whether you are meeting earned and planned values
within your schedule.
• CPI indicates whether you have spent money over the budget to date.
• TCPI enables you to determine the level of performance needed to
achieve the cost or time objectives.
❑ Project Health — View project performance in narrative form.
In addition, Project Score, a column in Project Statistics, is useful in assessing

a project’s strategic value.
Analyzing Portfolio Performance (continued)
FIG. 21.7: Portlets

display data based
on the Filter by
selection.
EXERCISE: Change Steps

the Filter by selection to
a manual portfolio. 1. Select a dashboard, Project Performance.
3. Expand a grouping, Global Portfolio.
4. Select a portfolio, New Systems.
5. Click OK.
Analyzing Portfolio Performance (continued)

The Project Health portlet indicates that one of the three projects in the
portfolio is both over-budget and behind schedule. Its narrative form is well-
suited for project reports.
FIG. 21.8: The icon

indicates that the
project is not
meeting earned
value objectives.
The Earned Value Performance portlet indicates that two projects in the
portfolio are not meeting earned value objectives. To assess the cause of the
delays, click a project name to display earned value data at the WBS level.
FIG. 21.9: Click

project name to
view earned value
data at the WBS
level.
Project Score
Project Score is a method to rank or prioritize projects via weighted project
codes and project code values. The combined weights of the project code
values assigned to a project are calculated to determine a relative score.
FIG. 21.10: The

Payroll Manager
project, assigned
to Accounting and
New IT Systems
project codes, has
the highest Project
Score.

the Project Score in the
Project Statistics portlet. 1. Click Manage Dashboards.
2. In the Available Dashboards section, mark a checkbox next to a

dashboard, Project Score.
4. Select a Dashboard, Project Score.
5. In the Display field in the portlet, select Group.
6. Click the Project Score column header to list in descending order.
How is Project Score Calculated?

✍ Project codes/ Projects in the New Systems portfolio were assigned project code values in two
weights are created by
your system
project codes: Product Group and Division.
administrator.
In the Product Group project code, the highest weighted project code value is
assigned to New IT Systems. In the Division project code, the highest
weighted project code value is assigned to projects affecting Accounting.
The Payroll Manager project, assigned to the New IT Systems and Accounting
project code values, has the highest Project Score.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ You can create portfolios manually or automatically using filters.
❑ User portfolios can be accessed by only the selected users. Global
portfolios are available for all users.
❑ Dashboards provide four portlets to measure project or portfolio
performance.
❑ The Project Score is a calculated value that can be used to rank projects
based on their importance to your organization.
Review Questions
1. True or False: A portfolio filter can be manually refreshed via an icon on
the Dashboard.
2. Project Score is a column in

a. Project Statistics portlet
b. Schedule Performance portlet
c. Project Health portlet
d. All of the above
APPENDIX A
Updating the Project Using

Timesheets
Objectives
✔ Describe several methods for updating the project schedule
✔ Define the data date
✔ Review timesheets
✔ Approve/reject timesheets
✔ Apply actuals
Key Terms
Timesheet approval manager
Applying actuals
Appendix A: Updating the Project Using Timesheets
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 procedure for how data is collected and how often it is updated.
How Often?
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.
How Collected?
❑ Approve and apply timesheets.
• Team members use timesheets to update activities.
• Project managers review and approve timesheets.
• Project managers apply timesheets to the project.
❑ Enter actual date, resource, and cost information manually.
• Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and cost, and
nonlabor costs.
• Apply actuals to the project.
❑ Auto compute actuals.
• Progress of activities is automatically calculated according to the
original schedule.
The 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.
Data Date
J F M A M J J A S
Schedule
Time
Resource
Resource
Quantity
(person-
days)
Time
Cost
Time
Updating a Project Using Timesheets

Although the process for updating a project using timesheet information may
vary from company to company, the steps below provide a general outline for
completing this process:
❑ Review timesheets
❑ Approve/reject timesheets
❑ Apply actuals
❑ Analyze results of applying actuals
❑ Reschedule the project
❑ Analyze results of rescheduling the project
Reviewing Timesheets
The Approve Timesheets function enables you to view timesheets that affect
your project.
As the timesheet approval manager, you can approve or reject timesheets,

notify resources about timesheet status, and view detailed timesheet
information for your assigned resources. You can also determine if a resource
has not started or not submitted a particular timesheet.
Three tabs are available:

❑ Approval — Approve or reject submitted timesheets. After reviewing
timesheets, choose either:
• Reject — Rejects the selected timesheet. This button is disabled when
there are no submitted or approved timesheets to reject.
• Approve — Approves the selected timesheet. This button is disabled
when there are no submitted timesheets to approve.
❑ Notes — View notes associated with a specific timesheet.
❑ Details Report — Display detailed timesheet information for specified
project resources.
Reviewing Timesheets (continued)
FIG. A.1: In the

Resources section,
click Approve
Timesheets to
manage
timesheets.
EXERCISE: Review Steps

timesheets for the
period 03-Jan-10 - 1. Click the Resources section button.
09-Jan-10, when the
first two activities in the 2. Click the Approve Timesheets command.
HR System Upgrade
project are scheduled to
begin.
3. Click to select a period, 03-Jan-10 - 09-Jan-10.
4. Click OK.

Jennifer Boyle performed work on one activity in the HR System Upgrade
project, Define operational concept of new system. She worked 8 h/d from
Monday to Thursday on the activity. Jennifer was supposed to start working on
the Perform system requirements analysis activity on Friday, but she was out
sick. She added a timesheet note explaining that there will be a delay in the
activity due to her absence.
FIG. A.2: Jennifer

reported 8 hours
of sick leave on
Friday.

Jennifer’s timesheets
and attached notes.
1. Click Details to view hours for a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
2. Click Close to close Timesheet Details.
✍ You can also click

the Notes to view all 3. Click Notes for a resource, Jennifer Boyle.
notes in the time period.
4. Click Close to close Jennifer’s note.

Ben Diamond performed work on two activities in the HR System Upgrade
project, Define operational concept of new system and Perform system
requirements analysis. He worked 8 h/d from Monday to Thursday on the first
activity, plus 2 hours of overtime on Tuesday. He then began work on the
second activity on Friday.
FIG. A.3: Ben

worked 2 overtime
hours on the
Define operational
concept of new
system activity.

Ben’s timesheets.
1. Click Details to view hours for a resource, Ben Diamond.

2. Click Close to close Timesheet Details.
Approving Timesheets
To approve a timesheet, mark checkbox next to resource name and then click
Approve. You can also mark the checkbox at the top of the Select field to select
all displayed resources.
FIG. A.4: Click

Approve to
approve selected
timesheets.
EXERCISE: Steps
Approve Ben Diamond’s
and Jennifer Boyle’s 1. In the Select field, mark the top checkbox to select all resources.
timesheets.
2. Click Approve.
3. In the Display field, select Approved.
FIG. A.5: The

Display field
enables you to
view submitted,
not submitted,
approved,
rejected, or all
timesheets.
Applying Actuals
Applying actuals is a process in which the hours from timesheets are added to
activities.
✍ Actual Start and When applying actuals, select a new data date.
Actual Finish are
immediately assigned to ❑ The new data date represents the date up to which you are recording
activities when the progress.
primary resource
updates them in the ❑ The new data date is used to calculate the actual durations of activities in
Timesheet module.
the statusing period.
• Actual duration equals the number of workperiods between the
activity’s actual start date and the new data date.
❑ Applying actuals to a project differs from scheduling a project:
• When applying actuals, only activities that have been progressed are
recalculated, allowing you to focus immediately on activities that may
be causing the project to slip.
• When scheduling, all activities are scheduled based on durations and
relationships.
Applying Actuals (continued)

You have reviewed and approved the timesheets. You will now apply these
timesheet hours.
In this cycle, the project has progressed from Monday, 04-Jan-10 to Friday,
09-Jan-10. Since no work will occur over the weekend, you will move the data
date to Monday, 11-Jan-10, when you apply actuals.
FIG. A.6: Click to

apply actuals.
EXERCISE: Move Steps

the data date and apply
actuals to the project. 1. In the Navigation bar, click Projects.

Executing the Project Plan.
5. In the New Data Date field, click and select a new data date, 11-Jan-
10.
6. Click Apply Actuals to Project, and then click Refresh as necessary.
Analyzing Results of Applying Actuals

After applying actuals, analyze the activities within the statusing period. Focus
on activities causing the project to slip from its baseline/objectives.
The Gantt Chart shows that the Perform system requirements analysis activity
is finishing late compared to the baseline, due to the fact that Jennifer was sick
on 8-Jan, when she was scheduled to begin work on the task. However, the
successors to the activity have not moved because the project has not been
rescheduled.
FIG. A.7: The

Perform system
requirements
analysis activity is
finishing late
compared to the
baseline.

Gantt Chart after
applying actuals to the 1. Click the Activities tab.
project.
2. In the View drop-down list, select Analyzing Progress.
3. Click to maximize the screen.
✍ Roll mouse cursor 4. Right-click the Timescale and select Month/Week.

over bars in the Gantt
Chart to view activity 5. Zoom in to the time period 03-Jan-2010 through 07-Jan-2010.
information.

Now that actuals have been applied, you should reschedule the project based
on the new data date. Any activities that were delayed during the apply actuals
process will delay their successor activities.
FIG. A.8: Successors

to the Perform
system
requirements
analysis activity are
delayed.
EXERCISE: Steps
with a data date of
11-Jan-10. 1. Click to reschedule the project.
2. Confirm data date, 11-Jan-10.
3. Click Schedule.
Analyzing Results of Rescheduling

To further analyze activities, view impact of the delay on activities.
FIG. A.9: Due to

Jennifer’s inability
to start the
Perform system
requirements
analysis activity, it
is scheduled to
finish one day late.

the impact of the delay.
1. In the View drop-down list, select an activity view, Variance BL & BL1.
2. View the impact of the delay shown in the columns.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ Once a project has started, you need to update actual schedule information
and resource usage at regular intervals.
❑ When you apply actuals, the hours from timesheets are added to activities.
After applying actuals, do not forget to reschedule the project.
Review Questions
1. True or False: The data date is the date used as the starting point for
schedule calculations.
2. True or False: When you apply actuals to a project, all activities in the
project are scheduled based on relationships and durations.
APPENDIX B
Construction Workshops
Objectives
✔ Create a project
✔ Imbed a link in a notebook topic description
✔ Create a Work Breakdown Structure
✔ Add activities to the WBS
✔ Create relationships
✔ Assign constraints
✔ Assign resources
Appendix B: Construction Workshops
WORKSHOP: LOGGING IN
Signature Corporation’s Construction Division is building an addition to the
company’s main office building. Tim Harris is assigned to manage the project.
The project is divided into the following phases: Design and Engineering,
Procurement, Foundation Construction, Structural, Rough-in, Close-in, and
Finishes.
FIG. B.1: The

Office Building
projects are under
EPS node, Apex
Inc.
EXERCISE: Log in Steps

to P6 Web as a project
manager Tim Harris. 1. Type the URL provided by your instructor in the Address bar in the Web
browser.
2. Type a Username <tharris> and Password <tharris>.
3. Confirm PMDB$PRIMAVERA is selected in the Database drop-down list.
4. Click Login.
6. Expand the EPS.
WORKSHOP: CREATING A PROJECT

Background
You will create the Office Building Addition project and type a Notebook topic
description outlining the project’s objectives. The project’s EPS location, Apex
Inc., can be found under Construction Projects, Caprini Corporation. For this
workshop, you need to log in as Tim Harris with a Username <tharris> and
Password <tharris>.
Objectives
1. Use the Create Project command to create the Office Building Addition
project, with the values defined in the table below:
Field Value
Project ID BLDG
Project Name Office Building Addition
Location in EPS Apex Inc.
Responsible Manager Tim Harris
Planned Start 11-Jan-10
2. Assign a Notebook topic, Project Objectives, and type a description <To

construct an addition to the current office space. View the
Signature Corporation site for more information.>.
• Add a hyperlink to <http://www.signaturecorp.com> on the word
Signature in the description.
FIG. B.2: Notebook

topic and
description for the
newly created
project. Imbedded
link is evident when
you place cursor on
the word Signature.
WORKSHOP: CREATING A WBS

Background
The project structure has been defined for the Office Building Addition project.
You now need to create WBS elements. For this workshop, you need to log in
as Tim Harris with a Username <tharris> and Password <tharris>.
Objectives
1. In the Projects section, select a project, Office Building Addition - Creating
a Work Breakdown Structure.
✍ Remember to click 2. Add the WBS codes and names within the parent WBS elements as
Save before selecting
indicated in the table below:
another WBS element.
Parent WBS WBS Code WBS Name

Office Building Addition - Creating a
Work Breakdown Structure (root
element)
1 Design and Engineering
2 Foundation
3 Structure
4 Mechanical/Electrical
Systems
5 Exterior Finishes
6 Interior Finishes
Mechanical/Electrical Systems
1 Elevator
2 HVAC
3 Plumbing and Electrical
Exterior Finishes
1 Brick
2 Roof
3 Doors and Windows
Workshop: Creating a Work Breakdown Structure (continued)
Parent WBS WBS Code WBS Name

Interior Finishes
1 Plumbing and Lighting Fixtures
2 Floor and Carpeting
3 Carpentry
4 Paint
3. Expand WBS elements and check your completed WBS below:
FIG. B.3: WBS

elements added to
the project.
WORKSHOP: ADDING ACTIVITIES

Background
The WBS has been defined and approved for the Office Building Addition
project. The next step is to add activities and assign activity codes. For this
Password <tharris>.
Objectives
1. In the Projects section, select a project, Office Building Addition - Adding
Activities.
3. Add the following activities to the project plan:
Parent Activity Activity Planned

Activity Type
WBS ID Name Duration
Bldg-07.D&E - Design BA1000 Building addition kickoff Start Milestone 0d
and Engineering
Bldg-07.D&E - Design BA1030 Assemble technical data for Task Dependent 3d

and Engineering heat pump
Bldg-07.Found - BA2000 Begin building construction Start Milestone 0d

Foundation
Bldg-07.Found - BA2010 Site preparation Task Dependent 15d

Foundation
Bldg-07.Found - BA2020 Excavation Task Dependent 10d

Foundation
To change default activity type, click in the Activity Type cell.
4. Check completed activities on next page.
Workshop: Adding Activities (continued)

The Activities tab displays the activities you just added to the project. The full
list of activities in the project plan is added for you in succeeding workshops.
FIG. B.4: Activities

added to the
project.
WORKSHOP: CREATING RELATIONSHIPS

Background
Relationships need to be established for the Office Building Addition project.
For this workshop, you need to log in as Tim Harris with a Username
<tharris> and Password <tharris>.
Objectives
1. In the Projects section, select a project, Office Building Addition - Creating
Relationships.
2. In the Activities tab, select an activity view, Relationships.
3. Use the Gantt Chart to locate activities or right-click and select Details.
4. Select each activity in the table below, and create relationships:
Relationship
Activity Successor
Type
BA1010 - Design building addition BA1020 - Review and approve designs SS
BA6060 - Prepare and solicit bids for FS

flooring
BA6060 - Prepare and solicit bids for BA6070 - Review bids for flooring FS
flooring
BA6070 - Review bids for flooring BA6080 - Award contract for flooring FS
BA6080 - Award contract for flooring BA6090 - Fabricate and deliver flooring FS
BA4020 - Prepare and solicit bids for BA4030 - Review bids for heat pump FS
heat pump
BA4030 - Review bids for heat pump BA4040 - Award contract for heat pump FS
BA4040 - Award contract for heat BA5020 - Prepare and solicit bids for brick FS
pump exterior
BA4050 - Fabricate and deliver heat pump FS

and controls
Workshop: Creating Relationships

5. The BA2060 - Concrete foundation walls activity requires both a
predecessor and a successor:
a. Predecessor: Finish-to-start relationship with BA2050 - Form/pour
concrete footings with 1 day of lag.
b. Successor: Start-to-finish relationship with BA2070 - Form and pour
slab.
Check your work against the screen below:
FIG. B.5: Activity

relationships are
displayed.
WORKSHOP: SCHEDULING
Background
The initial project plan is complete. You will schedule the project and review
critical activities. For this workshop, you need to log in as Tim Harris with a
Username <tharris> and Password <tharris>.
Objectives
1. In the Projects section, select a project, Office Building Addition -
Scheduling the Project Plan.
2. In the Activities tab, select an activity view, Schedule.
3. Mark the checkbox to create schedule report, and then schedule the
project with a data date, 11-Jan-10.
4. View schedule report.
5. In the Activities tab, review critical activities (indicated by red bar).
FIG. B.6: Click to

schedule the
project.
WORKSHOP: ASSIGNING CONSTRAINTS

Background
The Office Building Addition project must be completed by the first week of
November in 2010. You will apply a Must Finish By date of 02-Nov-10. Due to
unavailability of resources, you will also assign a Start On or After constraint to
the Assemble brick samples activity to push it back one week, and then use a
Notebook topic to document the reason for the constraint. For this workshop,
you need to log in as Tim Harris with a Username <tharris> and Password
<tharris>.
Objectives
Assigning Constraints.
2. In Project Details, assign a Must Finish By date for the project, 02-Nov-10.
3. Assign a Start On or After primary constraint, 25-Jan-10, to the BA5000-

Assemble brick samples activity.
4. Add a Notebook topic, Constraint Log for the Assemble brick samples
activity and type a description: <Resources needed to assemble brick
samples are working on another project until the week of Jan.
25.>
5. Reschedule the project.
6. In the Activities tab, select an activity view, Critical Activities.
Workshop: Assigning Constraints (continued)
FIG. B.7:
Constraints are
applied to the
project plan.
WORKSHOP: ASSIGNING RESOURCES

Background
You have identified resources that will work on the Office Building Addition
project. You will assign resources to activities and customize columns in the
Expenses tab to track expenses.
You can also assign material resources, such as bricks, concrete, and piping, to
activities. Unlike labor (people) and nonlabor (equipment) resources, material
resources are measured in units other than time -- for example, square feet or
tons, for example. Units for material resources are created by your system
administrator but can be selected in Resources section/General tab. For this
Password <tharris>.
Objectives
Assigning Resources and Costs.
2. Use the Activities tab to locate the activity in the table below.
3. Right-click and select Details to display Activity Details.
4. Assign resources in the Resources sub-tab as indicated in the table below.
Activity Resource(s)
BA2060 - Concrete foundation walls Carpenter
Laborer Construction
Polyform (material resource)
5. Adjust Planned Units/Time for the Laborer resource to <16h/d>. This

will assign two laborers to the activity.
6. Adjust Planned Units of Polyform to <1000 l/f>.
7. Check resource assignments on the next page.
Workshop continued on next page
Workshop: Assigning Resources (continued)
FIG. B.8: Click on

resource name to
adjust Planned
Units/Time and
Planned Units.
8. Customize columns in the Expenses tab to display, in order:

• Expense Category
• Accrual Type
• Planned Units
• Unit of Measure
• Price/Unit
9. Enter expenses to activities as indicated in the table below:

• In the Add Expense window, type only the Expense Item. Then, after
clicking Save and Done, click the Expense Item to edit fields required in
the table.
Expense Expense Accrural Planned Units of Price/

Activity
Item Category Type Units Measure Unit
Install ceiling grid Ceiling tile Materials Uniform 1 Each $6,620
over Activity
Rough-in Piping Materials Start of 500 Cubic yards $10

plumbing/piping activity
Erect structural Crane Equipment Uniform 1 Each $3,600

frame over Activity
APPENDIX C
Managing Project Issues
Objectives
✔ View project-related issues
✔ Customize the appearance of issues
Key Terms
Issue code
Issue form
Issue form category
Appendix C: Managing Project Issues
Viewing Project Issues

Issues are known problems within a project plan that require attention or
corrective action. You can create an issue for a project in the Projects section
on the Issues tab.
FIG. C.1: Click to

view project
issues.

project issues.
1. On the Navigation bar, click Projects.
2. In the Search field, type <Fi> to locate a project, Finance System

Upgrade.
3. To open the project, click its Project ID, FUSYS.
4. Click the Issues tab.
Creating Issues
Create an issue for the project by filling in an issue form.
❑ Issue form — Ensures consistency and standards throughout the
organization. While all issue forms are created in the Administration
section, project managers still must assign them to the project before
project team members can use them to create issues. Assign issue forms
on the Issue Forms tab in the Projects section.
When you click Add an Issue, you are prompted to select an issue form
assigned to the project:
❑ Expand issue form categories to select an issue form.
❑ Select the Default Form to create an issue based on the standard issue
form.
FIG. C.2: Fields

marked by an
asterisk are
mandatory.

an issue based on an
issue form. 1. Click Add an Issue.
2. Click to expand an issue form category, Software.
3. Select an issue form, Bug Report, and then click OK.
4. In the Issue Name field, type <Errors in budget calculations>.
Creating Issues (continued)
5. Click in the Date Identified field.
6. Select a date, 1-April-10, and then click Select.
7. Click in the Resolution Date field.
8. Select a date, 8-April-10, and then click Select.
9. Select a Priority, Top.
10. Click in the Bug Severity field.
11. Click to expand an issue code, Bug Severity.
12. Select Level 1-Inoperable, and then click OK.
13. In the Area Affected field, type <Accounting>.
14. Click in the Impact on Go Live field.
15. Select an indicator and then click OK.
Viewing the Newly Created Issue

The issue you just created is now displayed in the Top category.
FIG. C.3: The issue

is displayed.

issues.
1. Click Save.
2. View issues displayed in groups.
Grouping Issues
You can group issues and view them in chart form for enhanced analysis.
In the Grouping tab, you can select up to three levels, or fields, to group
issues. Grouping gathers, or groups, all of the issues together that contain the
same value for the selected field. For example, if you select to group by
Priority, all issues with an Top priority are grouped together, all issues with a
Normal priority are grouped together, etc.
Each selected grouping level appears with a colored band when displaying
issues in the List format. From the Band Color drop-down list, you can select
the background color for each grouping level. The Text drop-down list lets you
choose the color of the text that displays in the grouping level band.
FIG. C.4: You can

select up to three
levels of grouping.
You can also choose:

❑ Show field title in band — Displays the selected grouping level field
name, followed by the field value.
❑ Show field rollups in band — Displays summary information for all cost,
numeric, integer, start data, and end date fields in the grouping level.
❑ Show ID/Code Value in band — When grouping by an issue code,
displays the issue code value associated with the grouping level.
❑ Show Name/Code Description in band — When grouping by an issue
code, displays the issue code description associated with the grouping
level.
Grouping Issues (continued)
FIG. C.5: Issues

are grouped by
Priority, and then
by Responsible
Manager.
EXERCISE: Group Steps

issues by Priority and
Responsible Manager. 1. Click Customize.
2. Click the Group tab.
3. In the Level 1 drop-down list, select Priority.
4. In the Level 2 drop-down list, select Responsible Manager.
5. Click Save.
Viewing Issue Charts

Issues can be viewed in three types of charts: histogram, stacked histogram,
and pie chart. Click Customize to change chart type and color theme.
✍ A pie chart can be To display issues in the chart format, issues must be grouped at least one
grouped to only one
level.
level.
FIG. C.6: Click

Customize to
change chart type
and color theme.

issues in chart form.
1. In the Display field at the top of the page, select Chart.
2. Click Customize.
3. In the Chart Type drop-down list, select Stacked Histogram.
FIG. C.7: Issue

displayed in a
stacked histogram.
LESSON REVIEW
Key Concepts
❑ The Issues tab allows you to view project-related issues and if you have
the proper privilege, create new issues using consistent forms.
❑ Issue forms, issue codes and issue categories are managed in the
Administration section.
❑ Issues can be displayed as a list or a chart.
Review Questions
1. True or False: You cannot group and sort issues at the same time.
2. True or False: All issue forms are available for the project.
Glossary
Activity Details — Activity Details sub-tabs provide access to activity details

for advanced project management functions. It is available through the
Activities tab.
Activities tab — A tab in the Projects section that provides access to the WBS
and activities.
Activity relationship type — Identifies the type of dependency that exists

between the selected activity and its predecessor or successor.
Activity type — Determines how the activity's schedule is calculated.

Primavera distinguishes the following types: Task Dependent, Resource
Dependent, Milestone, Level of Effort, and WBS Summary.
Applying actuals — The process of applying timesheet actuals to the project.
Backward pass — Calculates the latest times an activity can start and finish
without delaying the end date of the project. These are called the late start
and late finish.
Breadcrumb trail — A "trail" at the top of the Primavera screen that shows
your current page and clickable links to the previous two pages visited.
Closing process group — Part of the Project Management life cycle that
includes the process of documenting lessons learned, determining if project
can be used as a methodology, delivering product to client or stakeholders,
and backing up or archive project files.
Constraint type — User-imposed date restriction used to reflect project

requirements that cannot be built into the logic.
Glossary
Controlling process group — A component of the Project Management life

cycle, which includes the process of analyzing and evaluating the project,
recommending necessary action, modifying the current project with realistic
data, re-forecasting the schedule, and communicating project performance to
the project team.
Create Project command — Enables you to create a project in Primavera.

You can launch the Create Project command on the Action bar in the Projects
section.
Critical activity — Critical activities are defined by the user as either the
longest path through the project or the having an amount of float, usually zero
or negative.
Critical Path Method scheduling — Primavera uses the Critical Path

Method scheduling technique to calculate project schedules. CPM uses activity
durations and relationships to calculate schedule dates based on two passes
through each activity in the project.
E-mail notification — Automated e-mail messages sent to resources when

they are assigned to/removed from an activity. Settings for e-mail notification
can be found in Preferences.
Enterprise Project Structure — Key component in defining the scope of the

project. It is the hierarchical arrangement of an organization’s projects.
Enterprise-wide solution — 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.
Executing process group — A component of the Project Management life

cycle, which includes the process of distributing information, tracking work in
progress and actual costs.
Filter by field — Data in many portlets is filtered based on selection in the

Filter by field, located at the top of the dashboards. Only data about the
project, portfolio, or project code in the Filter by field displays in the portlet.
Filtering — Display data according to certain filter criteria.
Forward pass — Calculates the earliest times an activity can start and finish
once its predecessors have been completed. These are called the early start
and early finish.
Grouping — Arranging elements in common categories. When elements are

sorted, they are sorted within each group.
Glossary
Initiating process group — A component of the Project Management life

cycle, which includes the process of defining templates and workflow for
initiation request, initiating request, and obtaining organizational commitment.
Issue form category — Group of issue forms.
Issue code — Enables you to quickly categorize and organize issues that
affect your project by creating issue codes and assigning values to them.
Issue form — Issue forms enable you to create templates for the creation of
project issues. You can specify fields that display in the issue form; designate
default values to those fields; and assign project codes and user-defined fields.
Issues — Issues are known problems within a project plan that require
attention or corrective action.
Labor resource — A resource who performs labor, measured in units of time.
Lag — An offset or delay from an activity to its successor. Lag can be positive
or negative, and by default, it is based on the calendar of the successor
activity.
Material resource — Substance or material, for example cable or wire, not

measured in units of time.
My Reports portlet — Portlet on the Personal Workspace that allows you to

schedule to run reports periodically or manually.
Navigation bar — Comprises the following sections: Dashboards, Projects,

Portfolios, Resources and Administration. Your license determines what
sections are available.
Nonlabor resource — Equipment or other nonlabor entity, measured in units

of time.
Organizational Breakdown Structure — Key component of defining a

project. It is a hierarchical arrangement of the project management structure.
Parent WBS — The WBS element to which an activity is assigned.
Planning process group — A component of the Project Management life

cycle, which includes the process of establishing project objectives and scope
of work, defining the work, determining the timing, establishing resource
requirements/availability, establishing a cost budget, and evaluating,
optimizing, and freezing baseline plan.
Portfolio — Projects grouped together for performance analysis either

manually or by automatic filter criteria.
Glossary
Portfolio filter — Automated process of grouping projects into a portfolio

based on filter criteria. When you manually refresh the filter, additional
projects that meet the criteria are added, and projects that no longer meet the
criteria are removed.
Portlet — A small portal that provides a window into specific types of

information. Portlets can be displayed and customized on the Personal
Workspace and Project Workspace.
Project access — A type of project association. User is associated to the

project through the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS). This generally
provides the widest access to project data.
Project association — The type of project data you can access, and your
ability to manipulate that data is controlled by three factors in Primavera: your
license, your project association, and your user security profile.
Project baseline — Of the two baseline types that can be assigned to a

project. You need the proper privilege to change the project baseline. Earned
value calculations are based on either the project baseline or the user’s
primary baseline.
Project Reports portlet — Portlet on the Project Workspace that allows

team members to share report data.
Project Score — Field to help assess the project’s strategic priority. It is

displayed in the Project Statistics portlet on the Personal Workspace Project
and the Statistics view in Portfolios.
Project Workspace — A workspace that functions as the homepage for a

project. It is generally maintained by the project manager and is accessible by
those who are associated to the project.
Resource — Resources include the personnel and equipment that perform

work on activities across all projects.
Resource security — Administrative settings that may limit your ability to

view or assign resources.
Role — Roles are assigned to resources to describe a resource’s skills. In the

planning stage of a project, roles can be used as placeholders until a resource
is assigned.
Role-specific tool — Primavera provides tools tailored to specific roles in the

organization to satisfy each team member’s needs, responsibilities, and skills.
Schedule date — Date when the project is scheduled.
Glossary
Score — A numerical score that helps you assess each resource’s availability
to perform the activity in the Resource Search. The score is calculated as:
Available units across the expanded activity time frame - Total requested units.
Search criteria — Criteria, in the form of roles, proficiency, and resource

codes, expressed in a Resource Request and filled via Resource Search.
Sorting — Arranging elements ascending or descending order by one or more

factors.
Summarization — Most resource data in Primavera is based on summary

data. Enterprise-level resource records are updated each time a project is
summarized.
Timesheet approval manager — A resource that has the privilege to

approve or reject submitted timesheets. The privilege is set by the system
administrator.
Total float — The amount of time an activity can slip from its early start
without delaying the project, based on the difference between an activity’s late
dates and early dates.
Unit — A unit of time, such as hour or day, applied to an activity. Planned

Units represent a resource's planned/budgeted number of work units for an
activity. Actual Units represents the actual number of units spent working on
an activity.
Unstaffed role — A role assigned to an activity that has not been staffed by a
resource.
User’s primary baseline — Of one the two baseline types you can assign to
a project. You can have several user’s primary baseline, but only one can be
assigned to the project at a time. Earned value calculations are based on either
the project baseline or the user’s primary baseline.
WBS element — A single component in the Work Breakdown Structure.
Work Breakdown Structure — The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a

hierarchical arrangement of products and services produced during and by a
project.
Glossary
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Primavera® P6™

Version date of manual: April 2008

Please send your comments to:

Primavera Systems, Inc.

Three Bala Plaza West

Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

World Wide Web site: http://www.primavera.com

Printed in the United States of America.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Primavera 1

Lesson 2: The Project Management Life Cycle 7

Project Management Life Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lesson 3: Overview and Navigation 15

Lesson 4: Creating a Project 25

Enterpise Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Lesson 5: Editing Project Details 37

Lesson 6: Creating a Work Breakdown Structure 53

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Lesson 7: Adding Activities 65

Course 101 iii

Lesson 8: Using Activity Views 83

Using Activity Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Lesson 9: Creating Relationships 99

Network Logic Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Lesson 10: Scheduling 113

Critical Path Method Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Lesson 11: Assigning Constraints 129

Assigning Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Lesson 12: Optimizing the Project Schedule 141

Analyzing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Lesson 13: Assigning Resources 153

Assigning Resources and Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Lesson 14: Project Workspace 171

The Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Lesson 15: Analyzing Resources and Costs 183

Analyzing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Lesson 16: Baselining the Project 195

Course 101 vii

Lesson 17: Executing the Project Plan 201

Updating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Lesson 18: Analyzing the Updated Project 215

Analyzing Schedule Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Lesson 19: Reporting 229

Project Reports Portlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

viii Course 101

Lesson 20: Dashboards 237

Lesson 21: Portfolios 255

Creating a Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Appendix A: Updating the Project Using Timesheets 269

Updating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Appendix B: Construction Workshops 283

Appendix C: Managing Project Issues 297

Viewing Project Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

✔ The Project Management Life Cycle

✔ Overview and Navigation

✔ Editing Project Details

✔ Creating a Work Breakdown Structure

✔ Using Activity Views

✔ Optimizing the Project Schedule

✔ Analyzing Resources and Costs

✔ Baselining the Project

✔ Analyzing the Updated Project

PROJECT & PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT FOR YOU

A&D, Public Engineering & Power, Energy

EXERCISE: Log in Steps

EXERCISE: Select Steps

EXERCISE: View Steps

EXERCISE: Display Steps

EXERCISE: Create Steps

EXERCISE: Provide Steps