Third Step in Schedule Development with Primavera P6: Review/AnalyzePosted on June 28, 2012 by Hill-PCI Group

The following is a continuation of a series that we are doing on lessons learned using Primavera P6™. If you missed the early post, please click here.

Using Primavera P6™ to review and verify data input (Schedule self-check)

After inputting the data in Primavera P6™ and prior to distributing any draft schedule layout or reports to the team, the Planner / Scheduler should do a self-check of the data input and logic.  When performing the schedule calculation (Tools menu, Schedule) a log report (shown in Figure 5 from Primavera P6™) identifying calculation settings and potential schedule issues can be created and reviewed.

Items in Primavera P6™ that should be reviewed are open ends (activities without Predecessors and/or Successors), dangling relationship ties (Start-to-Start and/or Finish-to-Finish ties without a Successor and/or Predecessor), incorrect and non-overlapping lag ties (Start-to-Start lag

that exceeds the activity duration or Finish-to-Finsh lag that exceeds the successor duration would result in gaps in the sequence), out-of-sequence progress (incorrect logic based on actualized progress), actual dates in the future (actual status after the Data Date), incorrect times (start/finish times not set according to the calendar day start/finish times), activities on the data date (verify predecessor logic), excessive float values (based on Contract Duration and allowable float), and negative float (verify cause and responsibility as well as contractual requirements for demonstrating and supporting work impacts).  New activities should be reviewed for durations and relationships, as well as impact to the overall plan.  The construction Planner / Scheduler should review the critical path and near critical path in Primavera P6™ to make sure they are reasonable.  The entire schedule should be reviewed to identify any areas of concern such as constructability issues and stacking of trades.   Standard and customized Primavera P6™ filters (Activity Window, View menu, Filters) and reports can be used to check for many of these items.  It is extremely helpful to use Claim Digger and / or a third party review software such as Schedule Analyzer for the Enterprise to assist in the self-check review. The Planner / Scheduler should identify any questions and items of concern and review them with the appropriate team members.

Compare current Primavera P6™ upate to previous update

It is useful to compare the current Primavera P6™ update to the previous update and / or Contract Schedule.  “The schedule assessment is usually reported using a schedule plot (e.g., a bar chart) showing the planned (i.e., target) and actual schedule activity status.” [1]

In Primavera P6™, the Planner / Scheduler can create a comparison layout by assigning the appropriate baseline(s) (Project menu, Assign Baseline) and selecting the Baseline bars (View, Bars) and Baseline data columns.  The Planner / Scheduler must be aware that varying Baseline Types (Project Baseline versus User Baselines – Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary) will allow for varying levels of data (Primary will allow for more data than Secondary. Likewise, Secondary will allow for more data comparison than Tertiary).

“Schedule performance variance may be expressed as either the amount of time or the percent of the planned duration that the schedule is ahead or behind.” [1]

In Primavera P6™ the earned value calculation settings (Admin Preferences menu, Earned Value) will determine how variances are calculated.   The Primavera P6™ options are: At Completion values with current dates, Budgeted values with current dates and Budgeted values with planned dates. In a standard comparison of current and baseline data, it is recommended that “Budgeted values with current dates” option

be used.  The Primavera P6™setting for this is global, not project specific, and affects all projects in the Primavera P6™ database.

A useful comparison schedule layout in Primavera P6™ (shown in Figure 6) includes the following columns: Calendar, Activity ID, Activity Name, Start, Finish, Baseline Start, Baseline Finish, Original Duration, Actual Duration, Remaining Duration, Baseline Actual Duration, Baseline Remaining Duration, Total Float, Free Float, Baseline Total Float, Baseline Free Float, Variance Baseline Start Date, Variance Baseline Finish Date, Predecessors, Successors, Critical.  This layout in Primavera P6™ should include the current schedule and baseline schedule bars to graphically display variances from the Baseline.

Review Logic Reports / Layouts and Changes made in Primavera P6™

The Planner / Scheduler should provide the team with logic reports and layouts as “the schedule will also be assessed to determine if the logic for the remaining work is still valid (e.g., is the actual performance now out of sequence).  This observation, along with cost, resource, productivity, and work process and performance assessments (i.e., trends) will be used in the forecasting process to evaluate the plan and schedule for remaining work, and to address trends and changes.” [1]

The Planner / Scheduler and team should review the logic and changes made during the update in Primavera P6™; these can be quickly identified

through the use of Claim Digger (Tools, Claim Digger) and / or third party software such as Schedule Analyzer for the Enterprise.

Finalize and Maintain Baseline (of this finalized update)

Once the entire team has reviewed and approved the draft update (this may take several drafts), the Planner / Scheduler should finalize the update.  The file should be maintained as a Baseline in Primavera P6™ (Project, Maintain Baseline, Save Copy), exported and backed up to a safe location. “The change management process, in integration with the forecasting process, results in a revised project control baseline against which performance will be measured and assessed for the remaining project.” [1]

The fourth step in Schedule Development with Primavera P6  will be coming out next week.

About Us:  Hill-PCI Group is your premier Enterprise Construction Software and Services Provider with experts in PMWeb and Primavera P6™. If you have questions about this Primavera P6™ article or PMWeb, please feel free to send your inquiry here.