Primavera P6 Manual - CNS - Free Sample PDF

Creating a Primavera P6 Schedule
Prepared by
Bill Pepoon, Managing Partner

Construction Science, LLC
2013 Construction Science, LLC 1

Overview
Introduction
Creating a new Project
Adding Activities
Activity Types
Calendars

Overview
Activity Codes
Activity Logic
Scheduling
Custom Layouts & Views (Formatting)
Additional Information

Introduction
Data Structures in P6
EPS (Enterprise Project
Structure)
Centralized Management of
multiple projects
Categorizes work in the

Organization: A hierarchy of
projects or a grouping of projects
within departments
Projects represent the lowest

level of the EPS
Every project in the organization

must be included in an EPS

Introduction
OBS (Organization Breakdown Structure)
A Separate global hierarchy reflecting the

management structure
One OBS for the entire organization
Used to control access to projects and

data
An OBS element/person will be

responsible for each node/project within
the EPS

Introduction
Work Breakdown Structure (Company Name) EPS
Acts as a continuation for the Project A Project B Project C

individual projects in the EPS
The WBS is a Project-Specific

Structure. Each project has its own
Project B (WBS Level 1)
WBS that further breaks down the
work in that project. WBS Node 1 WBS Node 2 WBS Node 3
Activity 1
The project is the highest level of
the WBS. Activities are the lowest Activity 2
level of the WBS

Creating a New Project
Creating a New EPS
1. Enterprise Command Menu

Enterprise Project Structure
2. Click Add
3. Specify EPS ID & Name
4. Change the EPS position in the

hierarchy using arrows
5. Modify Display Options

To Create a new Project
Select the EPS to

which you want to add
the new project
Click Add OR Right-
Click the EPS Add
Type Project Data
Project ID
Project Name
Planned Start Date
Must Finish By :
Contract Finish Date
Responsible Manager
in the OBS
Rate Type: Price/Unit

In the Defaults Tab,
Choose the Auto-
Numbering preferences
Use Smart IDs to

denote activitys
information. E.g.
PH1F2C001 : Phase 1,
Floor 2, Concrete
Works

To open the Project:
Select the Project in the

Home Page
Click on the
"Activities" tab in the
Directory Toolbar
OR
Right-Click on the
Project "Open
Project"

Adding Activities
1. Click on the
Activities icon in the
Directory Toolbar
2. Right-Click where you
want to insert the new
activity "Add"
OR
Click the "Add" icon
and follow the Wizard
steps
OR
Click "Insert"

Adding Activities
You can also, Cut, Copy,
Paste and Delete activities
using the Command Bar

Activity Types
In P6, an Activity Type can be either:
Task Dependent
Resource Dependent
Level of Effort
Start Milestone / Finish Milestone
WBS Summary

Activity Types (Task)
Task Dependent Activity
Scheduled only according to the Activity's calendar
When you want to control the Activity's duration yourself
Activitys Resources are scheduled according to the Activity's

Calendar
Use this Activity Type for all construction / physical activities

Activity Types (Resource)
Resource Dependent Activity
Scheduled according to the calendars of assigned resources
Resources are scheduled according to their own calendars
Used when several resources are assigned to the same

activity, but may work separately, or when availability can
affect Activity's duration

Activity Types (Level of Effort)
Level of Effort Activity
Commonly known as Hammocks
Has a duration which is determined by its dependent
activities, from the earliest start of its predecessors to the
latest finish of its successors
Should be linked to its predecessors with a SS, and to its
successors with a FF
Overhead-type activities are typically Level of Effort, e.g. Site
Cleanup
Can be used for monitoring purposes, e.g. "Project Duration"
Activity Types (Level of Effort)
Level of Effort Activity
(Cont'd)
Predecessors: 02 & 03 Predecessors

Successors
Successors: 04 & 05

Activity Types (Milestone)
Start Milestone/Finish Milestone
A zero-duration activity with no resources
Used when an activity is intended to signify the

commencement/completion of a significant stage, rather than
a physical work product
Examples : Notice to Proceed, Substantial Completionetc

Activity Types (WBS Summary)
WBS Summary Activity
Has a duration which is determined by a group of activities

that share a common WBS level.
The Activity's duration will equal the overall duration of

activities assigned to the same WBS level.
Resources that drive activity dates cannot be assigned to WBS

summary activities.

Activity Types
To change the Activity Type:
1. Select the activity & show

activity details
2. Click the "General" tab
3. Choose the appropriate

activity type from the drop
down menu

Creating Calendars [Enterprise Calendars]
1. Enterprise Command Menu

Calendars
2. Choose Global
3. Click Add to create a new calendar

or Modify to edit an existing one
4. Choose the Calendar that you want

to use as a template for new Projects
5. Modify the Work Week
6. Double-click to add work/non-work

days
7. Check in the Default Box to make

this the default Calendar for all
future projects
Creating Calendars [Enterprise Calendars]
8. In the main Calendars window,

choose Project
9. Add the Global Calendar that was

created in Step 3 above
10. Holidays will be inherited

automatically
11. Go back to the Home Page, Right-

Click on the new project
Project Details
12. In the Defaults Tab, choose the

new Calendar from the drop down
menu

Creating Calendars
To Assign a Calendar
1. Select the Activity.
2. From the General

tab, select the
appropriate
Calendar.

Activity Coding Structures
In addition to the WBS, you can group, filter,

summarize and sort activities using Activity Codes
You can use Activity Codes in lieu of, or in
combination with the WBS
E.g.: Phase, Area, Work type, Specification Division,
Subcontractoretc

Activity Coding Structures [Enterprise Activity Codes]
Create the Activity Coding

structure:
Enterprise Command Menu

"Activity Codes"
P6 provides 3 types of Activity

Codes:
Global: can be assigned to
activities in all projects
EPS: can be assigned to
projects within the EPS
Project: can only be assigned to
activities in the opened project


structure (Contd):
Note the difference between the

Activity Code and Activity Code
Values


structure (Contd):
1. In the main Activity Codes

Window select "EPS"
2. Click "Modify"
3. A new window will appear, add
the new code & new codes name
4. Close the window
5. Select the new code from the drop-
down menu
6. Add new values to the code

Assigning Activity Codes
1. Show the Project details by

clicking on the "Show/Hide
Bottom Layout" in the
"Layout Options" toolbar
2. Click the "Codes" tab
3. Click "Assign"

5. From the top bar, choose
the coding level from
which you want to assign
codes, whether Global,
EPS or Project
Note: To assign from the
Global codes, make sure
the display Filter is set to
All values
6. Select the code you want

to assign

To add/change the Code
Assignment of multiple
activities:
Highlight activities that

you want to add/change
their code assignments
Click on "Activity
Codes" icon on the
"Command Bar
Select the appropriate

code

Adding Logic Relationships
1. Show the Project details by

clicking on the "Show/Hide
Bottom Layout" in the
"Layout Options" toolbar
2. Click the "Relationships"

tab
3. Click "Assign" to add

Predecessors / Successors
4. Select the Predecessor /

Successor from the list

New logic relationships are
Finish-to-Start by default.
To change the relationship
type, double click in the
"Relationship Type" field
then choose the appropriate
type from the drop-down
menu.
You can only input the

Relationship Type & Lag.
Other fields are
automatically calculated by
the software.
To customize the displayed

columns, Right-Click
anywhere in the Predecessor
or Successor area.
To Add a Predecessor /
Successor to Multiple
Activities
1. Highlight all activities to

which you want to add the
predecessor / successor
2. Click on the "Predecessors"

or "Successors" icon on the
"Command Bar", as may be
appropriate
3. Select the common

predecessor / successor that
you want to add to the
highlighted activities
To link a Series of Activities
1. Ctrl-Click the activities in

the order you want them in
2. Right-Click "Link
Activities"
3. They are now linked in the

order they were selected

Scheduling
Now its time to calculate the Schedule

Click Tools Schedule
OR click F9
Select the Data date
Schedule the project after

each logic change for it to
take effect

Grouping & Sorting
Click on the "Group & Sort"

icon in the Layout Options
Toolbar
Double-click in the "Group

by" field to select the
grouping data item.
Double-Click on the Font &

Color field to modify the
format of the grouping bands

Grouping & Sorting
Mark "Show Group Totals"
to display the totals per data
item in the grouping bands
(e.g. total budgeted cost per
Area)

Grouping & Sorting
Click "Sort" to specify the

order of activities within each
group
When done, click "Apply" for

changes to take effect

Filters
1. Click on the "Filters"
icon
2. Click:
"New" to create a
new filter,
"Modify" to edit an
existing one, or
Copy/paste a global
filter under the "User
Defined" category to
modify it

Filters
3. Enter the Filter criteria; could
be any activity attribute: Code,
WBS or Resource assignment,
a Date, % completeetc.
4. Choose the Filter Parameter,

whether you want to filter to
show activities complying
with ALL or ANY of the
criteria.

Filters
5. Mark against the
filter(s) that you want
to apply
6. Select "All Selected

Filters" or "Any
Selected Filter" to
display activities that
meet ALL or ANY
criteria specified in the
selected filters
7. To revert to displaying
all activities, mark the
"All Activities"
checkbox

Customizing the Bar Chart
To Customize the Timescale
View Menu Timescale

OR
Click on the "Timescale icon in
the Layout Options toolbar
Enter the Timescale start
Enter the Timescale Interval
Use Timescale Type :Calendar

To customize the Bars:
View Menu Bars

OR
Click on the "Bars" icon in
the Layout Options toolbar
Mark the checkbox next to

bars you want to show
Modify the shape and color

of the selected Bar from the
Bar Style tab.

Under the Bar Labels Tab,
Click "Add" to select a Bar
Label, e.g. Activity Name,
Start & Finish Datesetc

You can add a new bar
style for a certain group of
activities, e.g.:
all activities with a certain
Activity code
1. Click "Add" or copy
another Bar
2. Enter the new Bars
style and criteria
3. Enter a Filter to
associate a group of
activities with the Bars
style

Click on the "logic lines"
icon to show logic
relationships in the Bar
Chart

Print Setup [File Menu Page Setup]
File Menu Page Setup
In the "Page" tab, make sure to

"Fit Timescale" to 1 page wide

In the "Footer" tab specify

Number of sections into
which the footer to be
divided
Which pages to show the
footer on
Data to be included in
each section
To enter Data into the footer Sections, select the section,

Select Data Item form the drop down menu click Add

In the "Options" tab

Specify:
Timescale Start
Timescale Finish
Data Items to be printed

Layouts [View Menu Layout]
To open or save layouts:

Click the View Menu Layout
To Create a new layout
1. Open an existing layout that

most closely resembles the
format of the new layout you
want to create
2. Choose View, Layout, Save As
3. Type a name for the new layout
4. In the Available To field, select

a user category, then click Save

Additional Information
For additional information and training please visit our

Primavera P6 training site:
www.primaverascheduling.com
Please contact lead instructor Bill Pepoon with any

comments or questions:
bpepoon@constructionscience.com
(916) 779-4145

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Creating a Primavera P6 Schedule

Bill Pepoon, Managing Partner

2013 Construction Science, LLC 1

2013 Construction Science, LLC 2

2013 Construction Science, LLC 3

Categorizes work in the

Projects represent the lowest

Every project in the organization

2013 Construction Science, LLC 5

OBS (Organization Breakdown Structure)

A Separate global hierarchy reflecting the

One OBS for the entire organization

Used to control access to projects and

An OBS element/person will be

2013 Construction Science, LLC 6

Work Breakdown Structure (Company Name) EPS

Acts as a continuation for the Project A Project B Project C

The WBS is a Project-Specific

2013 Construction Science, LLC 7

Creating a New EPS

1. Enterprise Command Menu

3. Specify EPS ID & Name

4. Change the EPS position in the

5. Modify Display Options

2013 Construction Science, LLC 9

Select the EPS to

2013 Construction Science, LLC 10

Use Smart IDs to

2013 Construction Science, LLC 11

Select the Project in the

2013 Construction Science, LLC 12

2013 Construction Science, LLC 14

2013 Construction Science, LLC 15

2013 Construction Science, LLC 17

Scheduled only according to the Activity's calendar

When you want to control the Activity's duration yourself

Activitys Resources are scheduled according to the Activity's

Use this Activity Type for all construction / physical activities

2013 Construction Science, LLC 18

Scheduled according to the calendars of assigned resources

Resources are scheduled according to their own calendars

Used when several resources are assigned to the same

2013 Construction Science, LLC 19

Predecessors: 02 & 03 Predecessors

2013 Construction Science, LLC 21

A zero-duration activity with no resources

Used when an activity is intended to signify the

Examples : Notice to Proceed, Substantial Completionetc

2013 Construction Science, LLC 22

Has a duration which is determined by a group of activities

The Activity's duration will equal the overall duration of

Resources that drive activity dates cannot be assigned to WBS

2013 Construction Science, LLC 23

1. Select the activity & show

2. Click the "General" tab

3. Choose the appropriate

2013 Construction Science, LLC 24

1. Enterprise Command Menu

3. Click Add to create a new calendar

4. Choose the Calendar that you want

5. Modify the Work Week

6. Double-click to add work/non-work

7. Check in the Default Box to make