Maggio 2020

Put plainly, project status reports are difficult to write. It is a fact that project managers in different industries can come together and agree upon. But while it can be difficult to put together a document that has the right tone for the audience, has the pertinent information discussed at the appropriate depth, and can be functional rather than just informational, project managers are tasked with doing exactly that throughout the life-cycle of a project. That is why mastering this technique is so crucial. But it’s the one that no one ever teaches you how to do. If you feel like you

We all want to be and feel productive everyday. Somedays you feel like Thor, knocking off the tasks like he swings Mjilnor to bash bad guys. And other days, it’s more like you’re stuck in “Ground Hog Day” – endlessly repeating the same tasks over and over to no end, seeming to get nowhere. Maybe it’s time to check your productivity system. What tools are you using to stay on top of that endless todo list? How are you avoiding distractions? Do you schedule time for the things that matter most? Or are just stuck in trying to please everyone while getting nothing

Comparing two Primavera P6 schedules is one of the most fundamental things that we should be able to as a savvy scheduler. If you’ve ever wanted to know what happened between Month 3 update schedule and Month 4, then this article is for you. Which are the best tools for comparing Primavera P6 schedules? I’m going to go review and test out 4 P6 schedule comparison tools, in depth, to help you make the right decision. How important is it to be able to compare 2 P6 schedules? Well, let’s discuss. Perhaps you work for an Owner and the Contractor is

Independent contractors are constantly seeking out and proposing bids in hopes of landing a construction job. Whether it is a small or large project the landscape is very competitive and requires a lot more than just presenting a proposal and knowing that you’re remarkable at what you do. To help get you in the right lane when pursuing a private or public construction project, here are 4 common construction bidding errors and tips on how you can avoid them. 1. Unsuitably priced The final bid price is what determines

There are three different methods of calculating the actual progress of activities: Duration Percent Complete, Units Percent Complete, and Physical Percent Complete. The

This article belongs to a series of articles about units percent complete fields of Primavera P6. As explained in the previous article on the Duration % Complete, there are three percent complete fields for each activity: Duration % Complete Units % Complete Physical % Complete. We’ve already covered Duration % Complete and <a title=”Schedule % Complete in Oracle

There are many different methods for calculation of actual progress in Primavera P6.  These methods involve using many fields and settings, including: Duration % Complete Units % Complete Physical % Complete Activity % Complete Performance % Complete Percent Complete Type Earned Value settings of the WBS Elements I will

When I first started learning planning and Primavera P6, I thought I had it all figured out. But it wasn’t until I sat with a client and tried to explain what I was showing him that I realized I still had a long way to go. This video tutorial walks you through 5 Things about Critical Path Analysis in P6 that I wish someone would have told me earlier on as a planner. But fret not! You can learn these Primavera P6 Critical Path Analysis tips now and forego the pain and suffering I’ve had to endure. 😉

The number of project scheduling and planning terms out there can be overwhelming. Interpreting and communicating a plan can become a task in itself if you are not up-to-date with the planning jargon. So here is a list of 70  Project Scheduling terms every planner should know for smooth sailing – check out the glossary below to brush up on your terms. If you have any terms that are essential and not listed – feel free to leave a comment below with the term and

A “Level of Effort” Activity in Primavera P6 is a special activity type with unique qualities for duration. Primavera P6 will calculate the duration of a Level of Effort Activity based on dates from its predecessor(s) and successor(s). Let’s dive into some specifics about Level of Effort activities in general because they are not specific to Oracle Primavera P6 but are common tasks in project management. What are Level of Effort Activities for? You might already know that Level of Effort activities are designed to represent support work on a project. This is work that does

We all know how versatile Primavera P6 is as a planning, scheduling and project resource management tool. P6 can handle incredibly detailed project schedules where you can plan and track thousands of work tasks by the hour. But Primavera P6 is also an ideal tool for creating high-level project plans and schedules. High-level resourcing is the process of planning your resource needs across a high-level project plan. What is a high-level project plan? You’ve probably heard the term Level 4 schedule or Level 5 schedule. According to <a

It can get difficult to analyze the mountain of schedules you’re responsible for and our good friend Jerome Ijachi Odeh pulled together a list of 10 Must-Have Primavera P6 Layouts….ones you probably should be using everyday. So to help you take advantage of P6’s powerful layout features (like these ones we’ve already told you about), here is a little sneak peek of 10 must-have Primavera P6 layouts you should be using in Primavera P6 with the

If you do a quick google on keywords <Primavera calendars change>, you’ll end up with quite a few results that show you how to use Primavera’s Fill-Down feature to change the activity calendar of all the activities in a project. But I think the fill-down piece is only the first step in changing activity calendars. What about durations? Changing an activity’s calendar in Primavera can actually alter the activity’s duration. It’s

Primavera P6 Milestone Activities in any schedule usually represent the most important deadlines, deliveries, start ups or drop-dead dates for a project. These are undeniably dates that you’ll want to stay on top of and keep close at hand in case you’re asked for a report or to check on the health of the project. But it can be difficult to search for milestones in a large construction schedule, and at the least it may take a few clicks to <a

Every planner knows that WBS and Code Structure are essential elements needed to successfully maintain a Primavera P6 schedule network. But what about your Primavera P6 Activity Names? A sometimes overlooked schedule quality issue is the use of well articulated activity descriptions.  Planners who began their career in P3 or earlier versions were limited to 48 characters in the activity description. This has created an industry habit of abbreviations and acronyms that at times may only be understood by a small group of individuals

As you know Primavera P6 has a lack of graphical features so often we schedulers need to export everything to other software packages (mostly Excel) to produce an understandable schedule and graphs. I always had a problem when I export P6 resource assignment data to Excel with the standard exporting feature on P6 until I found a way to leverage the Reports feature. Here you can use the current screen to develop a report and instead of making it a text report, we can have it <a

You stepped into work today and were suddenly whisked away to a meeting, only to hear that you will be taking over full responsibility for someone else’s project plan and schedule. Whether you like it or not you will have to tackle understanding this new schedule. So what now!? Before you freak out in a quiet little corner, breathe and take the first steps of trying to understand as much as you can of the Primavera P6 schedule you’ve just been handed. Here are 4 tactics that you can utilize to avoid getting overwhelmed when taking over someone else’s schedule, whether

When it comes to onboarding P6 schedulers, most companies are in a rush. The demands of working in a projectized world lead to feeling like we’re always 3 steps behind where we want to be; effectively productive. And when we’re onboarding our newly hired P6 scheduler, sometimes we have tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture. Here are some recommendations you can use during your onboarding process to help your newly hired P6 scheduler land in their role and get productive, while not forgetting the long-game. Let’s break it down into 30-day phases where each phase has its own

Working in project management requires careful attention to detail, inexplicable hands-on training, and credibility. However, planners and schedulers in project management roles often find themselves unable to provide proof of their accomplishments beyond previous roles as project managers. To meet the growing demand for a streamlined, predictable means of ensuring a project manager’s credibility, Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was created. Ultimately, PMP certification is an examination of your past and current abilities as project manager, which gives reliability

In today’s post, I want to talk about the Primavera P6 Update Baseline feature. Are you using it right? Should you be using it at all? I want to dive into that and talk about Project Change Management while we talk about the P6 Update Baseline feature.  What is the Problem with Update Baseline? Okay. So number one Update Baseline; If you’ve done any digging, you know it’s fraught with errors and

A new version of Primavera P6 Professional has recently dropped: Primavera P6 v21, and I’m here to tell about what’s new, what’s great and what’s not. I feel it’s my heartfelt duty to schedulers everywhere to unpack these yearly updates and highlight all of the features that are changing or improving, or are still broken. I love to do it, and I’ve been doing it for years. Here is the yearly schedule of releases for on-premise users of

Primavera P6 Professional is likely the most-used construction project management software package around today. Now at version 21.12, project controls planners & schedulers use Primavera P6 Professional to manage construction projects big and small around the globe. The Primavera P6 download process will let you download a free trial of Primavera P6 Project Management. And we’ll take you through the Primavera P6 download and install process step-by-step.   Here’s what you’ll need to get started with

Here in Primavera-land it seems like eLearning is the new norm! We’ve seen many traditional Primavera P6 training providers launch online Primavera P6 training courses or some sort of Primavera P6 eLearning this year. Quick brag….Plan Academy has some of the best, most comprehensive courses you’ll find! From a learner’s perspective, this is a great opportunity as there are now many more options for learners who want <a

WRENCH-TIME [average hours/shift that a craftsperson spends directly working to execute construction, maintenance or shutdown activities]. It’s estimated that a worker spends on average only 3.5 hours actually working during a ten-hour shift; this is a startling figure. With industry already lacking in skilled labor, wouldn’t it make sense to try and increase worker performance? The savings of indirect support (travel, tools, safety, living allowance, etc.) in themselves would save millions in