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TIPS & TRICKS

Editing Project Finish Dates

Q: How do I edit the Project Finish Date once the project is created?

A: The Project Finish Date (located on the Dates tab in the Projects window) is calculated from the last finishing activity in the project and is not editable in that window.  Therefore, the only way to change the Project Finish Date is to modify the schedule itself (changing logic, calendars, constraints, etc.) to make the activities finish earlier or later.

Scheduling a Different Data Date

If you’re opening more than one project and would like to schedule a different data date, you won’t be able to change it from the schedule dialogue box. To do this, go to the projects window, insert a Data Date column, change one data date to the desired date, and FILL DOWN.

Exporting Projects

Q: I have a contractor that is running an older version of Primavera and needs to view a schedule. How can I make this happen?

A: If you have a contractor, vendor, or customer that is using an older version of Primavera or another project management tool and needs to view a schedule you can simply export the project by following these easy steps:

1. Open the desired project to be exported
2. Go to File > Export
3. Choose the format including desired program and version. For Primavera Contractor and Primavera PM/MM, there are now several options for versions.
4. For Microsoft Project, select the file type
5. Export type should be Project
6. Click Next (These fields will show you the file to be exported)
7. Click Next
8. Do not try to save the file to your C drive or any other local drive on your computer. Try saving to a network drive (in this example, the file is saved to the M: drive)
9. Click Finish

Grouping a Resource Profile by the Manager Resource Code

Last month we learned what resource codes are and how to create one. We created a resource code called "manager", so this month, let's expand that to grouping a resource profile by the manager resource code. This view makes for a great capacity planning report because it allows you to see a rollup of all the limits for the resource under the manager's name simply by clicking on the manager's name in the profile.

To group by the Manager Resource Code that was created last month, you will

1. Open a project
2. Click on the Activities button in the Directory bar
3. Turn on the resource profile in the bottom layout
4. Choose the Directory bar in the resource list on the left side of the resource profile
5. Click on the Select View and then choose Resource
6. Click on the Group and Sort By
7. Choose the Manager Resource Cose as the first option to group by
8. Click on OK
9. You should now see your resources grouped by the Manager name in the resource list
10. Click on the Manager's name in the list and you will see the rollup information displayed in the Profile view on the right of the screen

Creating Resource Codes

Q: What are Resource Codes and how do I create one?

A: Primavera provides you resource codes (just like Project and Activity Codes) that allow you to group, organize, filter and sort your resource dictionary. The resource codes also allow you to sort and group in the Resource Profile and Resource Assignments views. Here is a step-by-step way for creating a resource code (we will be assigning a resource code name of "Manager"):

1. Click on Enterprise in the menu bar, and choose Resource Codes.
2. Click "Modify".
3. Click "Add".
4. Type "Manager" as the new resource code name.
5. Click "Close".
6. At the top, you will see "Manager" in the drop down.
7. To add names to the manager resource code, click on the "Add" button.
8. Click "Close" in the resource code window after adding all of the names.
9. Assign the appropriate manager resource code to the resources in the resource dictionary. 
10. While still in the resource dictionary, click on the Display Option bar and choose "Group and Sort". 
11. Click on Customize and place the Manager Resource Code as the first option to group by.
12. Your resource dictionary should now be grouped by the code.

If you would like to go back to how the resource dictionary was originally grouped, click the Display Option bar again and choose "Group and Sort", then "Default".

Things You Should Know When Creating an OBS/EPS

Q: What are some things I should know when creating an OBS and/or EPS?

A: For starters, the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) is a hierarchical based structure that can represent your organization, but to keep it simple we recommend to have it mirror the EPS. The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) is also a hierarchical based structure that represents how your projects are organized.

The EPS and OBS are combined together on the EPS structure, project folder and WBS level through the responsible manager field. The Responsible Manager is the OBS and determines which users can gain access to the Project. When you create a user, you have to give them Responsible Manager assignments in order for them to see projects.

It is recommended that your OBS and EPS have a one-to-one relationship when initially building your OBS.  Later on your OBS may become more complex than your EPS.  If a user has a Responsible Manager assignment (OBS) that is not tied to an EPS, Project or WBS level, they will not see any projects when they log into the Primavera Client or Web application.

Automatically Calculate Percent Complete

Q: How can I more accurately calculate my percent complete?

A: It is pretty common for managers to be uncomfortable with the "guesstimate" given for percent complete. When weighted, the Primavera steps feature becomes very useful to drive the percent complete in a way that is more quantifiable and less subjective. Generally, steps are a way to track deliverables or any sub-activity without adding activities and complexity to your schedule. Also, any group of steps that are repeated often (such as a typical document workflow) can be made into a step template for use on all such activities. To have each step automatically drive physical percent complete for the activity:

1. Right click on the last column and select “Customize Column Headings” to open the columns within the step tab.
2. Select the Step Weight and Step Weight Percent columns.
3. Click the right arrow button on the middle frame and move these columns into the view.
4. Click OK. (The new columns should appear on the steps tab.)
5. Now, define each step by the weight or importance it carries toward the overall completion of the activity. (If the setting on the calculations tab at the project level is checked to “Activities with steps drive percent complete", the cumulative physical percent complete is automatically calculated.) You may want to ensure the Physical Percent Complete column is viewable in the activity table or that this activity is set in the general tab to the Physical Percent Complete Activity Type. If you do not weigh them, then each step carries equal weight (i.e. if you have ten steps then each one counts 10 % of the total physical percent complete).

Determine Resources Needed for a Project

Q: What is the best way for me to determine the resources needed for a project?

A: Users often want to be able to see the number of people a project will require in order to be completed when using P6 for managing resources. Using the Resource Allocation capabilities of P6 will allow you to achieve this.

Start by building your project schedule with the required roles to do the work.  Next, turn on the Resource Profile in the bottom layout view.  Then click on the Display Option bar in the Resource Profile view to go to the Role Profile options.  Click on the Graph Tab and go to the bottom of the window. Then click in the check box next to Calculate Average.  Type in the number "40" (representing a typical work week 40 hours per week) in the Divide Intervals Total by section.  Type the unit of measure that you would like to use in the Unit of Measure field (i.e. Full Time Equivalents (FTE), People, etc). Finally, click "OK" and your resource profile will tell you the number of people needed.

Global Calendars

Q: How can I get rid of old calendars and codes while I am not sure in which projects they are being used? I don't want to break the line."

A: You can create a report that will show any activity code assignments and which project they've been assigned to but, unfortunately, there is no place in the Activity Code menu's to tell if an activity code has been assigned. Therefore, creating a report to display the specific CF is the way to go. One other way is to use a tool such as InfoMaker or Crystal Reports to directly access the database to extract the information, which is a bit more involved.

To open the calendar window, first go to Enterprise and then Calendars (from the Menu Bar). Confirm that you have the "Global" radial button selected (at the top left) and then highlight the calendar in question. Now select the "Used By" button on the right and a window will display any projects that calendar is being used by.

Copy & Paste Role of Resources

Q: Is there a way that I can just copy/paste roles or resources from one activity to another (or several others)?

A: Technically, no, but here's an alternative:

First, select the activity that has the resources you want to copy. 

Then select one of the resources from the “Resources” tab of the Details screen.  (Even if the first one is highlighted, select it again just to make sure that you are active in the resources screen.)

Next select “Ctrl-a” (for all), or use the Shift or Ctrl keys to select the activities you want to copy. 

To open that window, click the “Add Role” or “Add Resource” button. All of the roles/resources you selected should now be highlighted. 

Finally, select the activity or activities you want to copy these into (again using the Shift or Ctrl keys for multiple activities) and click the “Assign” (+) button. 

What Data Am I Viewing? (in P6)

Q: While working in P6, I sometimes get confused as to what information is on my screen. How can I quickly figure out what data I am currently viewing?

A: Your data can be sorted, filtered or grouped while in Primavera P6. This feature is very helpful because it allows the user to focus only on the data that they need at that time. In order to find out what data is currently on screen (and what perhaps is missing), try this 4-step process:

Step 1: In the blue title bar at the top of the screen, make sure that the appropriate project or projects are currently open

Step 2: In the silver bar under the menus, check the Navigation bar to make sure that the appropriate screen is showing

Step 3: On the left frame of the screen in the thin grey bar at top of the table area, check the layout options bar to see which layout is currently selected

Step 4: To the right of the layout options bar, check the filter bar to make sure that the appropriate filter is applied.

These four steps will ensure that you are viewing the data you need for the task at hand.

Must Finish by Date

Q: What options do I have for adjusting my "must finish by date"?

A: The project Must Finish by Date defaults to 12:00am (as opposed to the end of the day as is commonly assumed).  This can cause incorrect Total Float (as the deadline is essentially the day before the date a user selects).  Users have two options: 
    1)  Select the "next" day when choosing the project Must Finish by Date. Example:  The project has a deadline of June 15th.  If the user selects June 16th for the Must Finish by Date, the software will assign that date but at 12:00am (which is the same thing as the end of the day of the 15th since no work takes place between the end of the day of the 15th and 12:00am on the 16th).
    2) The user can simply change the the time of the Must Finish by Date.  Go to Edit, User Preferences and select the Dates Tab.  From here choose to show time.  Now the user can change the time when they are assigning the Must Finish by Date in the Projects window.  The default end of the day of P6 is 5:00pm (unless new calendars have been created).

We suggest option 2 as this more accurately portrays the true Must Finish by Date whereas option 1 could cause confusion to team members not familiar with the time issue.

Dissolve Feature

A: To do this you will want to use the Dissolve feature. Simply select the activity to be deleted, choose Edit, Dissolve (or Right Click, Dissolve) to delete the activity. The activity will then be deleted and its previous predecessor and successor will be linked together.

Global and Project Activity Codes with the Same Name

Hot Keys

A: Here is a quick list...

Edit Menu
Cut Activity	Ctrl+X
Delete Activity	Del
Find	Ctrl+F
Paste Activity	Ctrl+V
Fill Down a Set of Common Activity Codes, Dates, Calendars, etc in the Columns	Ctrl+E
File Menu
Commit	F10
Exit	Alt+F4
New Project	Ctrl+N
Open Project	Ctrl+O
Print	Ctrl+P
Refresh	F5
Close All Open Projects	Ctrl+W
Help Menu
Contents and Index	F1
Insert Menu
New Activity	Ins
Toolbar Menus
Edit Menu	Alt+E
File Menu	Alt+F
Help Menu	Alt+H
Tools Menu	Alt+T
View Menu	Alt+V
Tools Menu
Schedule Now	F9

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