basically a level of effort
DESCRIPTION
p6TRANSCRIPT
Basically a Level of Effort (or LoE) task is generally like any other task in your schedule, where it will possess following properties:
1. LoE tasks cannot be open ended (that must have atleast one predecessor and successor) for them to be operational/ meaningful (Remember, you should not have any open ended tasks in your schedule apart from Project Start and Finish milestones).
2. LoE tasks DO NOT drive any other tasks and are driven by other tasks themselves. Hence, their durations are always moving according to their driving activities. This should not be confused with the fact that sometimes LoE tasks can even show on Critical Path of a project, they still do not drive other critical tasks.
3. As for the location within a particular WBS, I don't believe there is any "hard & fast" rule there but generally its better to keep them under a separate WBS so they are segregated from the rest of the planned tasks (For eg, if you are preparing a Construction program, the LoE task relating to lets say Construction Management should be under a separate sub-WBS level within the overall Construction WBS).
What Swissvalian is trying to emphasise on is the fact that LoE tasks do not drive any other tasks and infact their duration gets driven by other tasks, hence not casting any impact on the overall duration of the program.
Level of Effort:
Example:
For how many days/weeks/months would you need a Project Manager on a project? You cannot answer with an absolute number of days. You can only answer "From the beginning of the project to the end, irespecitve of how many ever days/weeks/months it takes". This is a case where you would use LoE.
Here you would define an activity, say, "Project Management", and the predecessor would be "Start Project"; the successor would be "End Project" and the activity type would be Level of Effort. So, if the "End Project" date changes, the duration of the "Project Management" activity would automagically change without you having to remember to go and change it.
Explanation:
"Activity Type" is a field that helps you determine the duration of an activity.
If the Activity Type is a milestone, Duration is zero. If it is LoE, the duration is the time between the predecessor and successor and will be automatically recalculated when one or both change. If it is "WBS Summary", duration is from the start date of that WBS element to the finish date of that WBS element. This includes this element's sub-nodes too. If it is "Task Dependent" or "Resource Dependent" then, the duration is controlled by manual entry and/or the combination of "Duration Type" and "Calendar"
Task Dependent & Resource Dependent:
These two entries determine which calendar the activity will use to determine duration. The choices are Activity Calendar & resource Calendar.
Imagine the curing of concrete - this should work on a 24x7 calendar and will not take more or fewer days depending on how many resources are assigned to it. So, this activity should be "task dependent".
Imagine digging a hole - let's say it takes 2 days and that you need two guys. Te problem is that Guy 1 is available on Monday and Tue this week, but Guy 2 is available only on Tue and wed this week.
Now you should make the activity "Resource Dependent" because you would have mentioned in the Guy 1 and Guy 2 calendar that they are available as I mentioned.
So, now this two day activity will actually take three days to finish because Guy 1 works two days (Mon-Tue) and Guy 2 works two days (Tue and Wed), so the whole activity goes Mon-Tue-Wed, which is three days duration.
This is what "Task Dependent" and "Resource Dependent" do.
This is out of Primavera’s help function:Level of effort activityA level of effort activity’s duration is dependent on its predecessor and/or successor activities. Level of effort activities cannot have constraints assigned to them. Level of effort activities are not included when leveling resources.Use level of effort activities for on-going tasks that depend on other activities. For example, you could assign level of effort activities for clerical work, a security guard, or even some aspects of project management.A level of effort activity uses its assigned calendar to summarize its dates.Any type of relationship can be assigned to a level of effort activity.A level of effort activity’s duration is calculated from the earliest early start of its predecessors/successors (linked to the start end of the level of effort activity) to the latest early finish of its predecessors/successors (linked to the finish end of the level of effort activity).
But there are some additions to be made:- No need, that the LOE-Activity is in the same project as the activities from which it depends - but all related projects must be open during scheduling.- The first predecessor activity, started, automatically starts the LOE. The last successor activity finished, automatically finishs the LOE.- A LOE cannot drive another LOE
Creating WBS is a task that required not only planner effort but also required inputs from the project team. Suppose a petrochemical plant revamp project scope included design and engineering, purchasing of equipments and materials and construction of furnace and compressor areas. The following is a sample WBS which may differ from your project nature, project scope and organization's preferences.
WBS Code Description A Engineering A.1 Project Engineering A.2 Process Engineering A.3 Piping Engineering A.4 Mechanical (Rotating) Engineering A.5 Mechanical (Static) Engineering A.6 Civil Engineering
A.7 Structure Engineering A.8 Electrical Engineering A.9 Instrumentation EngineeringB Procurement B.1 Heat Exchanger/Air Fin Cooler B.2 Column/Towers B.3 Drums/Vessel B.4 Tankages B.5 Pump/Blower/Compressor B.6 Bulk Materials (i.e piping materials, control valves, electrical cables, lighting fixture, filed Instrument,etc) B.7 PackagesC Construction C.1 Pre Construction C.1.1 Site development/Reclamation C.1.2 Roads,fencing and paving C.1.3 Water supply and drainage C.1.4 Piling Work C.1.5 Foundation Work C.1.6 Fabrication Work C.1.6.1 Pipe fabrication C.1.6.2 Steel fabrication(piperacks,platforms) C.2 Shutdown C.2.1 Furnace Area C.2.1.1 Piping tie-in work C.2.1.2 Equipment Work C.2.1.3 Electrical Work C.2.1.4 Instrumentation Work C.2.1.5 Insulation Work C.2.1.6 Fireproofing including refractory, brick lining C.2.1.7 Painting C.2.2 Compressor Area C.2.2.1 Piping tie-in Work C.2.2.2 Equipment Work C.2.2.3 Electrical Work C.2.2.4 Instrumentation Work C.2.2.5 Insulation Work C.2.2.6 Painting Work C.3 Major Construction C.3.1 Furnace Area C.3.1.1 Piping Installation including tie-in C.3.1.2 Steel Installation (Piperacks,platforms) C.3.1.3 Equipment Work C.3.1.4 Electrical Work C.3.1.5 Instrumentation Work C.3.1.6 Insulation Work C.3.1.7 Fireproofing including refractory, brick lining C.3.1.8 Painting C.3.2 Compressor Area
C.3.2.1 Piping Installation including tie-in C.3.2.2 Steel Installation (Piperacks,platforms) C.3.2.3 Equipment Work C.3.2.4 Electrical Work C.3.2.5 Instrumentation Work C.3.2.6 Insulation Work C.3.2.7 Painting C.4 Pre-commissioning C.4.1 Furnace Area C.4.2 Compressor Area
What is a Work Breakdown Structure?
A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the team’s work into manageable sections. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the work breakdown structure as a “deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team.” The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can understand, as each level of the work breakdown structure provides further definition and detail. Figure 1(below) depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined.
Figure 1. Work Breakdown Structure Example – Click for Full Size
An easy way to think about a work breakdown structure is as an outline or map of the specific project. A work breakdown structure starts with the project as the top level deliverable and is further decomposed into sub-deliverables using the following outline hierarchy (Figure 2):
Figure 2. Work Breakdown Structure Hierarchy using Matchware MindView
The project team creates the project work breakdown structure by identifying the major functional deliverables and subdividing those deliverables into smaller systems and sub-deliverables. These sub-deliverables are further decomposed until a single person can be assigned. At this level, the specific work packages required to produce the sub- deliverable are identified and grouped together. The work package represents the list of tasks or “to-dos” to produce the specific unit of work. If you’ve seen detailed project schedules, then you’ll recognize the tasks under the work package as the “stuff” people need to complete by a specific time and within a specific level of effort.
From a cost perspective, these work packages are usually grouped and assigned to a specific department to produce the work. These departments, or cost accounts, are defined in an organizational breakdown structure and are allocated budget to produce the specific deliverables. By integrating the cost accounts from the organizational breakdown structure and the project’s work breakdown structure, the entire organization can track financial progress in addition to project performance.
Why Do Project Teams Need a Work Breakdown Structure?
The work breakdown structure has a number of benefits in addition to defining and organizing the project work. A project budget can be allocated to the top levels of the work breakdown structure, and department budgets can be quickly calculated based on the each project’s work breakdown structure. By allocating time and cost estimates to specific sections of the work breakdown structure, a project schedule and budget can be quickly developed. As the project executes, specific sections of the work breakdown structure can be tracked to identify project
cost performance and identify issues and problem areas in the project organization. For more information about Time allocation, see the 100% Rule.
Project work breakdown structures can also be used to identify potential risks in a given project. If a work breakdown structure has a branch that is not well defined then it represents a scope definition risk. These risks should be tracked in a project log and reviewed as the project executes. By integrating the work breakdown structure with an organization breakdown structure, the project manager can also identify communication points and formulate a communication plan across the project organization.
When a project is falling behind, referring the work breakdown structure will quickly identify the major deliverables impacted by a failing work package or late sub- deliverable. The work breakdown structure can also be color coded to represent sub- deliverable status. Assigning colors of red for late, yellow for at risk, green for on-target, and blue for completed deliverables is an effective way to produce a heat-map of project progress and draw management’s attention to key areas of the work breakdown structure.
Work Breakdown Structure Development Guidelines
The following guidelines should be considered when creating a work breakdown structure:
The top level represents the final deliverable or project Sub-deliverables contain work packages that are assigned to a organization’s department or unit All elements of the work breakdown structure don’t need to be defined to the same level The work package defines the work, duration, and costs for the tasks required to produce the
sub-deliverable Work packages should not exceed 10 days of duration Work packages should be independent of other work packages in the work breakdown structure Work packages are unique and should not be duplicated across the work breakdown structure
Tools to Create a Work Breakdown Structure
Creating a Work Breakdown Structure is a team effort and is the culmination of multiple inputs and perspectives for the given project. One effective technique is to organize a brainstorming session with the various departments that will be involved with the project. Project teams can use low-technology tools like a white board, note cards, or sticky note pads to identify major deliverables, sub-deliverables, and specific work packages. These cards can be taped to a wall and reorganized as the team discusses the major deliverables and work packages involved in the project.
The low-technology approach is easy to do; however, it does not work well with distributed teams or translate easily into an electronic format. There are several tools available that support mind mapping, brainstorming, and work breakdown structures. Matchware MindView is an easy-to-use mind mapping software package that supports work breakdown structures, project outlines, Gantt charts, and exports easily into Microsoft Project for further schedule definition. Figure 3 provides an example of a work breakdown structure using Matchware MindView.
Sample Progress Measurement System for Petrochemical Plant Project Construction Progress Measurement System plays an important part of project control. It includes the detail progress tracking sheet of its WBS elements, work categories and work steps for each deliverable. It is developed either when the additional requirements are occurred for a particular project or when progress measurement system is not in placed.
Suppose the work scope includes fabricate and installation of pipeline including tie-in work, insulation work, painting work, fabricate and installation of new pipe racks, fabricate and installation of equipment access platforms, installation of process equipments. Progress measurement system would be different depending on organizational and/or project preference. Typical progress measurement systems include, but are not limited to the following;
Overall progress summary sheet The detail progress tracking sheet for each discipline or back-up system to support overall
progress summary sheet Progress S curve/Histogram chart
Tips to develop progress measurement system
Step-1 Create WBS ,
The WBS can be decomposed according to above scope.
WBS code –WBS description
PC Project Name (level-0)
PC.1 Area Name (Level-1)
PC.1.1 Fabrication Work (level-2)
PC.1.1.1Piping Fabrication (level-3)
PC.1.1.2 Steel Fabrication (level-3)
PC.1.1.2.1 Pipe Rack Fabrication (level-4)
PC.1.1.2.1 Equipment Access Platform Fabrication (level-4)
PC.1.2 Onsite Work (Level-2)
PC.1.2.1Tie-in Installation (level-3)
PC.1.2.2 Pipeline Erection (level-3)
PC.1.2.3 Equipment Installation (level-3)
PC.1.2.4 Steel Work Erection (level-3)
PC.1.2.4.1 Pipe Rack Erection (level-4)
PC.1.2.4.2 Equipment Access Platform Erection (level-4)
PC.1.2.5 Piping Hydro Testing (level-3)
PC.1.2.6 Piping Touch up Painting Work (level-3)
PC.1.2.7 Insulation (level-3)
Based on the above WBS level, the status of project deliverables can be tracked and monitored. Overall project progress status is calculated by the sum of weight progress of each WBS element.
Step-2 Organize work area, estimated quantity and man hour as below;
For example, the project area is divided into Area-A and B. Area-A’s work scope and quantities are grouped as
a) Piping fabrication -1,000 diameter –inch and 6,000 hour
b) Pipe rack fabrication- 80 ton and 3000 hour
c) Equipment Access platform fabrication- 20 ton and 1800 hour
d) Tie-in installation work – 10 tie-ins and 1,500 hour
e) Pipeline erection work – 300 diameter-inch and 4,000 hour
f) Equipment Installation work- 8 EA and 1600 hour
g) Piping Hydro testing - 5000 meter and 2800 hour
h) Piping Touch up Painting Work- 300 field diameter-inches and 2000 hour
i) Insulation – 2000 meter and 4500 hour
Area-B’s work scope and quantities are grouped as
a) Piping fabrication -1,500 diameter –inch and 8,000 hour
b) Pipe rack fabrication- 60 ton and 2200 hour
c) Equipment Access platform fabrication- 10 ton and 900 hour
d) Tie-in installation work – 12 tie-ins and 1,800 hour
e) Pipeline erection work – 450 diameter-inch and 6,000 hour
f) Equipment Installation work- 10 EA and 2000 hour
g) Piping Hydro testing - 7000 meter and 3500 hour
h) Piping Touch up Painting Work- 450 field diameter-inches and 3000 hour
i) Insulation – 3000 meter and 6000 hour
Note: The estimated man hours are illustration purpose only in order to calculate the weightage of each WBS element. The estimated man hour is calculated based on productivity rate and estimated work quantity from their hierarchical levels. The productivity rate would be different depending on project nature and geographical location.
Step-3 Develop The Detail Progress Tracking Systems/Sheets
The detail Progress Tracking System/Sheets are developed based on WBS described in Step-1. These are
(a) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Piping Fabrication(b) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Steel Fabrication
(c) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Steel Erection
(d) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Tie-in Installation
(e) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Pipeline Erection
(f) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Piping Hydrotesting(g) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Equipment Erection Work
(h) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Piping Touch up Painting
(i) The Detail Tracking Sheet for Piping Insulation
Step-4 Integrate all Tracking Sheets to Overall Progress Summary
1. Copy “Progress summary by Project Area table” of each discipline and paste it into a worksheet.2. In put data from tracking sheet to summary sheet by paste link; Go to Copy data from each
tracking sheet as Yellow shading area >> Paste special >> Paste link at overall progress summary sheet. ( OR) You may integrate all tracking sheets and Overall progess summary sheet into one file if you can play with excel. Paste link method is used to get data update automatically for this post.
3. Insert the column name” Weighting (overall)” and “Overall Progress” as described Green hatching area.
4. Overall weighting of each discipline and area is calculated from man hour of that area and construction discipline by total project man hour.
5. Overall progress of each discipline and area is derived from individual progress x overall weighting of that particular area and discipline.
6. Sum up overall progress described on item 5), finally, you will get overall progress for all disciplines and areas. See figure below.
Procedure for creating discipline/trade wise manpower histogram using P6 export data is similar to the post How to generate S curve/histogram from Primavera, P6 - Part 1 to 3. You should have resource loaded plan to export manpower data from P6 to prepare resource loaded histogram chart. The following steps are a guide to produce manpower histogram;
1. Open the selected project that you need to export data 2. Select the Assignments tag on the Directory or go to Project on the menu bar and go to
Resource assignments. You will see then Activity resource columns such as Activity ID, Activity Name, Resource ID Name, Start and Finish by default. There is Remaining Units column in Resource Usage spreadsheet field column by default.
3. As resource name (discipline wise) needs to be shown in Activity resource columns, you need to customise default view. To do so, go to View on the menu bar>>Columns>>Customize.
4. Look for Resource Name in General tag in Available options box. Select Resource Name into Selected options box.
5. Select Budgeted Units and Actual Units in the spreadsheet field columns if you want to see budget and actual data. You will get remaining early and late manpower data if select Remaining Earl Units and Late Unit. In this tutorial for instance, I just selected the budgeted units.
6. To see budgeted units, go to Resource Usage Spreadsheet area and right click>>select Spreadsheet fields>> Select Budgeted Units.
7. To set resource usage hour per period, go to Resource Usage Spreadsheet area and right click>>select Timescale>>select month/week (to show weekly data) from date interval drop down list.
8. Go to View>> Group and sort by>> Customize and tick on Show Grand Totals, Show Summaries only to see summary data.
9. Go to View>> filters and add the Resource ID names that you want to export data.
10. Make sure the data is organized as you like to display in excel sheet in order to reduce rework after exporting to excel. To do that, stay at the Resource Assignment view, go to View on the menu bar > Group & Sort by > mark on Show Grand Totals and Show Summaries Only box just to display overall level and discipline level summary resource data overtime.
11. Finally you will get resource loading data ready to export to excel as shown in figure below. Manpower field names such as Coded welder, Hot Work Sentry, Trade Assistant, Pipe fitter/Boilermaker and Rigger are displayed in the Resource Name column. Man hour distribution data is shown in the resource usage spreadsheet field.
12. To export, go to activity resource assignment area >> select all>>copy and paste to excel. The man hour distribution will vary according to time scale. Suppose if the time scale is set up by (month/week), the data is weekly man hour data. If you want to convert the weekly manhour to weekly manpower , that feature is available in P6. The periodic average manpower can be calculated using the spreadsheet option box by selecting "Calculate Average" and entering working hours per week.
13. Finally you can create Histogram Chart using that excel data.
Two and Two Isn’t Four?Using the store financial option in Primavera P6
can give you a great tool for managing and reporting your earned value information. This
feature allows you to store your actual, planned and earned value information by your financial periods. This information is then available for
reporting, and tracking. However, occasionally, your data can get "lost". You may notice when
you sum the individual period data, including your 'this period' data, it doesn't equal your cumulative data. The data is stored in the database but not showing in any period. To fix this, you will need to go
to the projects view and click on the calculations tab. Then uncheck the link actual and this period costs option (your project will need to be open), and recheck it. This will recalculate by subtracting all stored financial periods from the cumulative values for planned, earned and actual. This will relink the
values and put any differences in the 'this period' fields.
Posted at 10:54 PM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
9/9/2011
How Can There Be This Many Percent Complete Options!
How Can There Be This Many Percent Complete Options!
A friend who is moderately new to Primavera P6 recently wanted to add percent complete to her activity layout. She was somewhat overwhelmed with the number of choices available. Here is a
simplified look at what percent complete can mean in the Primavera world.
Activity Percent Complete - There are three options for activity percent complete. Each of these percent completes is calculated and available for each activity, the selection in the General tab
indicates which one is tied to activity percent complete.
» Duration % Complete will calculate the activity percent complete as (Original Duration-Remaining Duration)/Original Duration*100. This can work for level of effort type work.
» Physical % Complete requires the user to update the percent complete manually. This allows you to reflect the technical percent complete of a task regardless of the duration. This percent complete should be based on an objective measure of the task's progress. Steps can be used
to track individual components of an activity to help you calculate this.
» Units % Complete will calculate the activity percent complete by taking the actual units ((labor and non-labor)/(actual units (labor and non-labor) + the remaining units (labor and non-labor))*100. This will work for activities where the expenditure of resources against the
forecast accurately reflects the progress of the task.
There are also other percent completes you can show in layouts and reports. Some of the more commonly used of these are:
» Performance % Complete is used to calculate earned value. This is calculated based on settings in the Earned Value tab of the WBS. It can be based on the activity percent complete, 0/100 or
50/50, milestones or a custom percent complete.
» Schedule % Complete shows how much of the activity should be completed based on the baseline's duration.
» Cost % Complete is calculated as (Actual Total Cost/At Complete Total Cost)*100.
» Cost % of Planned is calculated as the (Actual Total Cost/BL Total Cost)*100
» Steps % Complete shows the WBS percent complete based on the WBS Milestones that are assigned.
So, make sure when you are reporting percent complete in Primavera, you understand which value you are reporting and what it represents, and it can save you unnecessary problems.
Posted at 8:39 PM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
8/1/2011
Troubleshooting Spread Data in P6Another frequent question I hear from Primavera P6 users concerns time distributed, or spread, data
and why it behaves the way it does. Here are a few things to think about when looking at spread data. First, there are several types of spread data available, make sure you understand what you are looking at. For example, an issue can be caused when someone is reporting what they believe to be the BCWS or baseline spread and instead are reporting the current budget spread for example. Cost and spread
information available includes:
» Budget – Spread of the current budget across the planned dates
» Planned – Spread of the baseline budget across the baseline dates (planned or current depending on your settings
» Actual – Spread of the actual cost/units across either the current schedule dates or the stored financial periods, depending on your settings
» Remaining – Spread of the remaining cost/units across the current schedule
There are a number of things that can impact the spread data or cause unexpected results. Here are the most common:
» Because P6 spreads costs based on units per time, if there are no units assigned, the associated cost will be spread in the first period of the activity.
» The budgeted spread and possibly the planned spread (depending on settings) will use the planned dates, which may or may not equal your current dates.
» If you store actual data using financial periods, you will need to ensure you are spreading financial period actual cost, not just actual cost. Spreading actual cost will take the total actual
cost and spread in over the duration to date.
» Using future bucket planning, using a resource lag, or editing resource dates will impact your spread.
» Primavera offers a lot of flexibility and valuable information concerning resource spreads, but there are a lot of variables which impact that data, so be sure and always double check the
information before using it for decision making or submittal to your client. For more information about Primavera, PM training and project management/controls and process improvement, log on to www.managementsolutionsllc.com or call us at 865-963-0400. We have the expertise to
help you succeed.
Posted at 4:01 PM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
7/20/2011
The Many Date Fields of PrimaveraOne of the questions I get most from P3 or MSP users who start using P6 is "What in the world are all
these date fields, and what do I do with them?" Here is a brief overview of what the Primavera P6 dates fields are and what functions they perform.
The first thing to understand is P6 has separate dates for activities and resources. The dates you see depends upon the view you are in. If you are in the activity view, you will see activity dates. If you are in the resources window of the activity view or in the resource assignments view, you will see resource
dates. These dates can be synced together, so that as one changes so does the other, or managed separately depending on your settings.
There are several fields for start and finish dates. You need to be sure you understand what each one represents and ensure you are reporting and managing the information you intend to.
» Start/Finish: The current start/finish dates based on schedule logic and resource availability. This is the equivalent of the Early Start/Finish dates in P3.
» Planned Start/Finish: For activities or resources which do not have actual dates, these are equal to the start/finish dates. Once an activity has an actual date, the dates hold at what they were at that point in time. Where this comes in play frequently is your spend plans. If a project has no baseline, or if the settings are to use baseline planned dates, the planned spread (BCWS) is
spread using the planned dates, not the current dates.
» Actual Start/Finish: The dates on which an activity or resource actually started or finished. Where actual dates have occurred, the Start/Finish dates are equal to the actual dates.
» Early Start/Finish: The earliest date the remaining work for the activity or resource can start/finish. This causes some confusion among P3 or MSP users who generally consider the
early start to be the earliest start for the entire activity, not just the remaining work. The Early dates generally equal the Remaining Early dates unless you have leveled the project
maintaining the early dates. For completed activities, the calculation is still run based on the schedule logic, but the dates do not reflect the actual dates and can cause confusion when
reported on a schedule.
» Late Start/Finish: The latest date the remaining work for the activity or resource can start/finish with impacting project completion. The Late dates generally equals the Remaining Late dates
unless you have leveled the project maintaining the late dates. For completed activities, the calculation is still run based on the schedule logic, but the dates do not reflect the actual dates
and can cause confusion when reported on a schedule.
» Remaining Early Start/Finish: The earliest possible dates the remaining work can occur based on logic and resource constraints. These will generally equal the Early dates, unless you have
leveled the project maintaining the early dates. When the activity is complete, remaining dates are blank.
» Remaining Late Start/Finish: The latest possible dates the remaining work can occur before impacting project completion. These will generally equal the Late dates, unless you have
leveled the project maintaining the late dates When the activity is complete, remaining dates are blank.
Posted at 11:31 AM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
5/10/2011
The “Why” in Project ControlsAs I grow into this role of project controls specialist, I realize how important the analysis part of my job
is. Analysis in project controls is providing a qualitative explanation via quantitative terms. In other words, explaining the "why" with the "how." A real life example of this is for one of my projects, a spend plan (generated from Primavera) was submitted to the client several months ago before a
baseline was established. Recently, I was asked to submit a revised spend plan. However, just issuing the new spend plan would not benefit the project manager. Therefore, I created a rudimentary Excel
chart comparing the two spend plans side by side and analyzing the schedules tied to both (obviously, the schedule had evolved significantly while we were waiting for the baseline). I talked to several
technical experts on the projects regarding the justifications for schedule delays and documented my findings for the project manager. I also included an assessment of the initial budget compared to the
revised budget so that she could easily see how the changes in funding affect the spend plan. The result was a basic analysis, but saved the project manager time in reviewing historical data and
generating the analysis herself. And consequently, I learned that I really like exploring the quantitative side of projects controls. I enjoy the "why" aspect and perhaps have found my niche in this field. We
will discuss analysis more in depth in future blog posts.
Posted at 11:04 AM by Denise M. Hoomes | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
3/8/2011
Baseline Comparisons Round 2In the last post, Denise talked about her need to show baseline comparison information. Primavera P6 allows for easy display of baseline comparison information. Once the baseline has been attached in
Primavera, you can show columns which show the baseline dates and the finish variance from the current schedule. You can also set up bars using baseline dates to graphically compare schedules.
Primavera v6 allows a project baseline and up to 3 user specific baselines which can be used to compare multiple schedules. Use this capability to display to management or clients not only baseline
comparisons, but also what if comparisons and month to month comparisons.
Posted at 4:40 PM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
2/4/2010
Understand Your P6 Spend Plan
I had a colleague who recently ran into a project spend plan issue which caused him a needless and painful amount of explanation and resubmittals to the client. He developed a good schedule and cost
loaded with the approved estimate and ran a baseline spend plan out of Primavera's Enterprise software and submitted this to the client. Unfortunately, the spread which he submitted didn't reflect the project
baseline dates. Don't misunderstand me, Primavera can quickly and easily provide a spend plan based on your schedule. However, you need to be
aware of exactly what you are looking at (and submitting). There are several things which you need to check when you use the
spend plans:
If you are using a project without a project baseline, Primavera will use your
resource planned dates to generate a budgeted spread. This may or may not
reflect your activity dates. If your project has a project baseline, baseline spreads can use either planned or current dates,
depending on your settings. Be aware of whether you are reporting budgeted spreads, remaining spreads or baseline spreads.
Each of these represents valuable information, but make sure you know which one your plan is using and that it is appropriate what you are trying to show.
You must have units entered to spread your costs. If there are no units, the spread will default to the beginning of the spread period.
Posted at 5:48 PM by Cherie Chance | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
1/24/2010
Flexibility Is Key in Project ControlsJust recently, I have been tasked with setting up a preliminary schedule for my first real project (by the way, all of my high school English teachers are cringing because I used passive voice. That's the coolest part about working with engineers now – passive voice, schmassive voice). I have worked on other projects, but they have all been in
conjunction with another, more seasoned project controller. The nature of this project is demolition and deconstruction with a lot of complicated facets. I, along with Cherie's help, worked on getting the WBS set up for this project. We got everything just right, all of the activities in place, to find out that the project manager wanted
to go in a different direction. So, we created a new project, with a new WBS, new activities and resource loaded it. I proudly presented this at our team meeting later that week. By the end of the meeting, I realized that the WBS
would be changing yet again. Let me point out here that the project manager on this effort is actually awesome to work with and has been very flexible. Speaking of flexibility, that brings me to my point in this week's post. I realized very quickly, that flexibility is a huge asset in project controls because things (i.e. activities, WBS's,
budgets, and even baselines) change. I think this is one of things I actually like most about project controls because it keeps you on your toes.
Posted at 3:10 PM by Denise M. Hoomes | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
1/14/2010
The Expert and the Newbie: Project Controls 101
Allow us to introduce ourselves: my name is Denise Hoomes and I am a junior project controls specialist. I have been working in project controls for about a year and a half and feel only slightly less
overwhelmed now than when I first started. Fortunately for me, the company I work for employees several experts in the field. One of them is Cherie' Chance, PMP. Cherie' has been working as a project controller for over 20 years and is one of the best. She is an excellent teacher and I can guarantee that
she can figure out a work around for almost any issue with Primavera (and if you've ever worked with it, you know it's a very powerful tool but perhaps not the most intuitive
software invented). Unfortunately for Cherie', she has been assigned the difficult task of mentoring me. My hope is that you will see two different perspectives woven throughout these posts: one from a
beginner's perspective and another from a seasoned perspective and that both perspectives are beneficial to you. Join us on this journey!
Posted at 7:05 PM by Denise M. Hoomes | Category: Primavera Tips | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)