P6 Rel 8.2 does not have the option to schedule automatically in the scheduling options. Instead, there is a new feature called Schedule Preview. Once this is selected, it will “automatically schedule” your project so that you can see results; however, the project is not really scheduled until you actually save the changes and schedule the project.

To turn on the Schedule Preview, from the Activities Window; click on the Actions menu and select Run, Schedule Preview or click on the icon If you do not want the changes you have made, click Cancel, or when you click Schedule you will be prompted on whether to keep the changes or not.

To turn Schedule Preview off, click on the Actions menu, and select Run, Schedule Preview or click the icon again.

The Schedule Preview icon is disabled if more than one project is open or if you do not have the Schedule project privilege for the open project.

If you are using a view that contains Filters, you will be prompted to remove the filters when you try to activate the Schedule Preview.

First, it’s important to update your schedule and change the data date on a consistent basis. If your schedule is not updated when the data date is changed and scheduled, then P6 will move any un-progressed activities that are now behind the data date, to the start of that data date.

Due to P6’s reliability on relationships, if a non-updated activity has been moved to the data date, then all successor activities will also move.

In the example below we see a small plan with no progressed activities. It has a data date of May 1, 2012. The start date is May 1, and the project end date is May 23, 2012.

If the schedule does not receive updates and the project is re-scheduled with a new data date, then the activities of that schedule will move out, extending the project. In the example below, the plan has been re-scheduled with a new data date of May 15. As you can see, P6 has re-calculated the project with a new start, May 15, and a new finish date, June 7, 2012.

You’re in luck! We recorded this valuable, 60-minute presentation and demonstration, so you can still benefit from our expertise and experience. Please visit our Webinar page, in order to view/download the video. What will you learn?

There are new features–such as enhanced customizable workflow, new project templates, 100% Web-based project portfolio management for all stakeholders, modern open-enterprise architecture, integration with Oracle ERP, BPM, BI Publisher, P6 Analytics, UCM, UPK and others, improved Web-based reporting capabilities, risk management within P6, mobile support, and much more!

P6 EPPM Rel 8 also helps your team to ensure alignment of your strategy, your execution, and your results–by eliminating unnecessary approval/decision delays, by easily providing realistic status and value reporting to stakeholders and regulatory bodies, and by removing obstacles to efficient decision-making and business performance.

You’ll easily extend project and portfolio management enterprise-wide–helping your people and resources to take on more work; customizing and scaling applications to meet the needs of the various roles, functions and skill levels involved with your project; and enabling fluid, end-to-end communication for individual insight, team productivity, and project success.

By achieving repeatable program and project success, you and your team will reduce the risk of cost and schedule overruns; identify major risk factors, as well as the effect of contingencies on costs and timelines; easily adjust portfolios and project plans when things change, and immediately assess the resource impact; optimize management of all resources for maximum ROI; quickly identify and deploy the most qualified and available people to project work; deliver quality projects and programs with fewer resources; and create achievable and actionable risk-adjusted, resource-optimized plans.

Want to learn more? Why not contact us to schedule a no-cost, two-hour Simplex HealthCheck?

P6 Rel 8 is a little different from previous versions. If you look at the screen shot below, you’ll see that the Project Detail Tabs are Budget Log, Codes, Description, Funding, General, Issues, Notebooks and Risks.

To set the Project Preferences, highlight the appropriate project in the EPS window, under the Projects section, right-click and select Set Project Preferences.

• Select Analytics to configure settings for storing historical data for use in P6 Analytics.
• Select Calculations to set the following:
  • How to calculate remaining and planned duration
  • To use Steps to calculate Activity % Complete
  • How to update remaining and at complete units and cost
  • Earned Value based on Project or User Primary Baseline
• Select Contract Management to link to a project in Contract Management.
• Select Defaultsto set following defaults:
  • Duration Type
  • Percent Complete Type
  • Activity Type
  • Calendar
  • Cost Account
  • Price/Unit
  • Auto-numbering for Activities
• Select General to set the WBS Code Separator and the Fiscal year beginning date.
• Select Progress Reporter to set how the Resource can update activities using Progress Reporter.
• Select Services to set the Summarization and Publication of the project.
• Click on Team Member Applications to set what fields those with a Team Member Application view and update.
• Click Save on each screen to save any changes.
• Click Save and Close when complete.

P6 Rel 8 allows a user to create a private calendar for the resource, or to create a Shared Calendar for multiple resources to share. The difference is that the Shared Calendar cannot be edited by the resources, while a personal calendar can.

To create a Resource Calendar, do the following:

• Select Enterprise Data from the Administer Drop-Down Menu
• Scroll to the Resources section and select Resource Calendars

• Highlight Personal Calendars and click Add to add a personal calendar.
• Highlight Shared Calendars and click Add to add a shared calendar.
• If you have created the calendar as Personal Calendar and now want it to be a Shared Calendar, highlight the calendar name and click on the two-person calendar icon.
• If you have created it as a Shared Calendar and want it to be a Personal Calendar, highlight the calendar name and click on the one-person calendar icon.
• On the Used By Tab, select the resource(s) who will be using this calendar.

There are two features that you can use together to identify In-progress Activities on a daily basis: Group and Sort, and Filters. First, using a layout displaying your WBS and activities, select Group and Sort from Layout Options. In the Group and Sort dialogue box under Group By, select Start. Then under Group Interval, select Day.

Next utilize and execute the default filter of In Progress. Under Layout Options, select Filter and check the box beside In Progress, and select OK to execute. 

Your final product will provide a daily synopsis of In-Progress Activities.

If you want to see daily activities regardless of activity status, then simply turn off, or do not create, a filter. 

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher comes as a Restricted-use License (RUL) within Primavera Contract Management 14. The RUL allows users to view, schedule and execute reports within the application. If you were going to create or modify reports, then you would need to purchase a license of BI Publisher.

Level-of-Effort activities are used for ongoing tasks dependent on other activities. In other words, Level-of-Effort activities are used to track non-project work, such as clerical work and meetings. In addition, roles and resources can be assigned to a Level-of-Effort activity. A project manager who manages one project or multiple projects may be assigned 1 hour/day to Level-of-Effort activities in each project to complete administrative tasks.

The duration of Level-of-Effort activities is triggered by its predecessor and successor activities and its assigned calendar. When scheduled, the Level-of-Effort activity will stretch between the two, and when the duration on another activity moves, then the Level-of-Effort activity will respond by expanding or contracting in relation to the change.

Level-of-Effort activities are different from “hammocks.” Level-of-Effort activities may be similar in theory to a “hammock,” in that the Level of Effort stretches between a start and finish timeframe; however, Level-of-Effort activities summarize the latest start dates and earliest finish dates of its predecessors and successors. The “hammock” summarizes the earliest start dates and latest finish dates of its predecessors and successors.

To create a Level-of-Effort Activity:

• Open project; make sure you are in the Activity Window
• Make sure that view shown on Top is: Activity Table (and/or Gantt Chart)
• Make sure that view shown on Bottom is: Activity Details
• Add the new Level-of-Effort Activity (e.g. Project Meeting) and keep Duration as the default
• In the General Tab on Activity Details, change the Activity Type to Level of Effort

• In the Relationship Tab on Activity Details, anchor “Project Meeting” with predecessor and successor. Make sure the predecessor has a Start-to-Start relationship type and the successor has a Finish-to-Finish relationship type.

• If necessary, add your Roles and Resources to the Activity
• Finally, Schedule your Level of Effort Activity

As you can see the scheduled Level of Effort activity of Project Meetings now has a duration of 221 days because the activity has a predecessor from the beginning of the project, and a successor at the end of the project.

Yes, everything is in a different place administratively, but once you get used to it, Version 8 is actually much easier to use.

User Access

On the right side of the screen, there is a Menu Bar. From the Menu Bar, select Administer and you will see the following:

• Select User Access from the menu to create/modify users, the OBS, Global Security Profiles and Project Security Profiles.
• Instead of the privileges being lumped together, they have now broken it out by the area the privilege is associated with.
• At the bottom of the screen shot, there are tabs which allow you to set the profile’s security within each of the tabs. (Administration, Codes, Global Data, Resources, Templates, Views and Reports)

Enterprise Data

• Select Enterprise Data from the Administer Drop-Down Menu to set the various admin preferences and categories.
• These are now organized by the area affected. (Global, Projects, Activities, Resources, Risks, Issues and Documents). For example, Global Calendars are found in the Global Section and Project Calendars are found in the Projects Section.

Once you start working with P6 Version 8, you will see that it is much more intuitive than previous client versions were to administer.

There is actually an easy way to assign resources to activities that have unstaffed roles.

Within the Dashboards area there is a portlet called Open Requests for Resources. This would be the easiest way to see the open requests and assign resources to the activities. In order to use this, you must have created a Role Team. This team contains the roles that the resource manager is responsible for controlling.

To create a Role Team:

• Under the Resources Tab, select Manage Role Teams
• Click Create a Role Team
• Enter a Name for the Role Team
• Select the appropriate Radio Button for Current User or All Users
• Select the appropriate Roles to be included in the Team and click the Arrow Button pointing to the right
• Click Save

To add the Open Requests for Resources to a Dashboard:

• From the appropriate Dashboard, select Customize
• Check the Box for Open Requests for Resources
• Expand the information under the Open Requests for Resources
• Select the Radio Button for All Projects or Projects based on the Dashboard filter
• Select from the Drop-Down how to Organize the information
• Select the appropriate Role Team
• Select the appropriate Project Code (if applicable)
• Click Save
• Click on the Layout tab to select where on the screen the portlet will appear
• Click Save and Close

To assign Resources to Unstaffed Roles:

• From the Open Requests for Resources Portlet, select the appropriate Role
• A screen will appear displaying all activities for the Role that are unstaffed within the project
• Select the activities to assign the resource with a checkbox
• Click Assign Resources
• Select the appropriate resource and click Assign