Tips Tricks with Version Six (Client)

Don Louser PMP, PMA Consultants LLC

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2
 What we have for you today...
• What’s New in Client v. 6.0 (Slides 1-20)
• Use of Indicators (Slide 21)
• Global Changes – De-status the Schedule (Slides 22-26)
• Global Changes – Change WBS from Filters (Slide 27)
• Export and Importing Projects (Slides 28-39)
• Project details that are often forgotten (Slides 40-42)
• Renumbering Activities (Slides 43-45)
• Building your Schedule – Making a List (Slides 46-47)
• Building your Schedule - Linking Shortcuts (Slide 48)
• The Schedule Report (Slides 49-52)
• Lag Calendars (Slides 53-54) 3
What we have for you today (cont.)...
• Fragnets (Slides 55-58)
• Coding and WBS Shortcuts (Slides 59-63)
• Finding and Filtering Activities (Slides 64-65)
• Roles and Resource Loading (Slides 66)
• Schedule Crashing Basics (Slides 67-68)
• Advanced Layouts For Communication (Slides 69-71)
• Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting (Slides 72-76)
• Exporting and Importing Layouts/Reports (Slide 77)
• Add Bar-charts & Graphics to Reports (Slides 78-83)
• Working with Baselines (Slides 84-91)
4
What’s New – Reflection Projects
• Power with Simplicity !!!
• A Reflection is a Copy of a Project that enhances Your Ability to
“What If” or Update Your Project
• Same Name – What If – Internal Link to Source – Baseline –
Timesheet Data – Activity Owner
• “Activity Owner” make changes via .xer or Web
• Review & Change or Merge As Is (Check Boxes)
• Merge Will Not remove Activities, Resource Assignments, WBS
Elements, Work Products & Docs, Expenses, Issues or Risks if
deleted from Reflection

DEMO
5
What’s New - Create Reflection Project

6
Making Changes to Reflection Projects
• Use to test Scenarios or Update Project

• Send w/Project Specific Layout to Others to Update

• Import/Export just like any other Project file

• Activity Owner – designate Owner w/Required Web

License & Privileges to Update/Change

• Admin or Project Superuser gets last shot to

Review/Correct before merging back into Source Project
• Merge Will Not remove Activities, Resource Assignments, WBS
Elements, Work Products & Docs, Expenses, Issues or Risks if
deleted from Reflection 7
Merging Reflection into Source Project
• Close all Projects

• Go to Projects Table – Select Reflection Project

• Right Click – Merge Reflection into Source Project

8
Merging Reflection into Source Project

9
Merging Reflection into Source Project

10
Merging Reflection into Source Project

11
What’s New – Future Bucket Planning

• Redistribute Even Distribution of Budgeted Units

• Editable Security Privilege

• Duration Type Must be Fixed Duration & Units, or Fixed

Duration & Units/Time

• Use Resource Spreadsheet or Resource Assignment

• In Future Bucket Period type or change Values as

Needed

12
What’s New – Future Bucket Planning
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 TOTAL

Even Spread 8 8 8 8 8 40
Future Bucket 8A 8A 4A 10R 10R 40

•Assuming Daily TS – P5 spread evenly

•Actual levels of work may vary
•Example shows 20 A units in 3 days
•Remaining needs to be adjusted
•Two remaining buckets reflect adjustment
•Activity Adjusted must have Fixed Duration & Units, orFixed
Duration & Units/Time
•Use Resource Spreadsheet to adjust future bucket period 13
Edit Future Bucket Security

14
What’s New – Group & Sort Dialog
• New Checkbox for Show Group Totals, Shrink Vertical Bands

SHOW PIX & EXPLAIN

15
What’s New - Search in Pop-Up Dialog and Type Ahead in
Drop Down

SHOW PIX & EXPLAIN

16
What’s New - Copy Baselines
• Checkbox in Copy Project Options

• Copy Baselines Dialog

# Copies Controlled by New Setting in Admin Preferences

17
Admin preferences Setting for Copying Baselines

18
What’s New - Role Limits
• Similar to Limits for Resources

• Effective Date and Max Units/Time

19
What’s new – Project Specific Layouts (Yeah!)
• Layout with Filter when Project Exported

• Reduces Need for Global Layouts

• Only Global and Layout Filters will Restrict Use

• Expanded & Collapsed Bars & Row Height Setting when switching between layouts
and Windows (Yeah!)

20
Use of Indicators

21
Useful Global Changes –
De-Status the Schedule

Re-create a Baseline, Copy an Existing Schedule

that has Been Progressed
Project Detail Calculations Tab =

Any Actual Units that Exist Must be set to 0

• See Actual Units Slide

Run 2 Global Changes to Reset Activities to Not Started

• See De-Progress GCs

Make any Needed Changes and Reschedule

Skip
22
Useful Global Changes –
De-Status the Schedule (cont.)

Actual
Work
Units

Go Back

23
Useful Global Changes –
De-Status the Schedule (cont.)

De-Status
the GC’s

Go Back

24
 Errors?
Sometimes...

An Activity may have a Unit without a

Resource Assigned...

25
Useful Global Changes –
De-Status the Schedule (cont.) Set Cols
for All
Units

Delete
Manually,
or Use
the Fill-
Down
Feature

26
Useful Global Changes –
Change WBS Based on Filters

27
Exporting and Importing Projects

Primavera PM/MM (.xer)

MS Project

Project Planner (P3)

Spreadsheet (.xls)

Primavera Contractor 4.1 (.xer)

28
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)

1. Select Items for Export

2. Separate Sheet for Each Item 29

Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

3. Select a Project (it must be open)

30
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

4. Establish Templates for each Item

31
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

5. Certain items are mandatory, and you can filter & sort

32
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

6. Select any or all templates

33
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

7. Select the file path and name

34
Exporting and Importing Projects – Spreadsheet (.XLS)
(cont.)

8. Confirm before you finish

35
Exporting and Importing Projects (cont.)

One Worksheet Per Subject

36
Exporting and Importing Projects (cont.)

Caution! – Don’t Edit this Sheet

37
Importing Projects

Importing is a Snap!

38
Importing Projects (cont.)

39
Project details that are often forgotten

40
Project details that are often forgotten

41
Project details that are often forgotten

42
Renumbering Activities

Many GCs like Intelligent IDs

CSI Code – Bldg – Floor

Establish UDF (Activity) or Activity Code

Put in Column in Layout

Type Codes in Column

Use Global Change

Codes Become Activity IDs

43
Renumbering Activities (cont.)

Leave Blank

44
Renumbering Activities (cont.)

For those a bit more familiar with (GC’s)

Create Activity Code

Add Activity Code column in Layout

Fill Column

Create GC’s that add suffix for Bldg & Floor

45
Building your schedule – Making a list

46
Building your schedule – Making a list

47
Building your schedule – Linking shortcuts

<Ctrl-Click> the
order to link the
activities, then
<right-click> your
mouse and choose
“Link Activities.”
They are now
linked in the order
you clicked on
them.

48
Building your schedule – The Schedule Report
When you schedule your project, don’t forget to choose “Log to file” and
click on the ellipsis to specify the location of the “schedule.txt” file.
Always view the log to spot errors.

49
Building your schedule – The Schedule Report

50
Building your schedule – The Schedule Report

51
Building your schedule – The Schedule Report

52
Lag Calendars and Schedule Result - Version 5.0

+ =
53
Lag Calendars Reschedule

This has been

changed in v
6.0 to default to
the predecessor

+ =

? 54
Fragnets

• Time Saving – why recreate the wheel?

– Building a Single Schedule
– Modifying Many Schedules
• Create New or Modify Existing
– New = As You Would New Project
– Modify = Delete from Existing
• WBS is the Key to Integration

55
 2 Projects
Fragnets (cont.)
Move to 2 WBS elements

Modify a template with a Fragnet

To Here
From Here

56
 Fragnets (cont.)
Objective – Add 22 new Activities in Template
to 2 WBS Nodes

• Copy the Template as Fragnet, Delete All Activities

Except those to Remain in Planning & Design
WBS Nodes
• Add the 22 New Activities & All Links to Fragnet
• Open Template & Fragnet
• Delete All Activities in Planning & Design Template
WBS Nodes
• Select & Copy All Fragnet Activities
57
Fragnets (cont.)
• Paste into one of the empty Template Nodes
(Preserves all Links)

• Control-Click all Activities to be moved to other Node

• <Ctrl-X> (Cut)

• <Ctrl-V> (Paste) into other Node

• Re-establish any Links from 2 Nodes to others

• Use Template to create new Schedules

58
Coding and WBS Shortcuts
Here is one person’s Layout

59
Coding and WBS Shortcuts (cont.)

60
Coding and WBS Shortcuts (cont.)

61
Coding and WBS Shortcuts (cont.)

Here. the work is

organized by WBS1
and Level

62
Coding and WBS Shortcuts (cont.)

Here, the work is

organized only by
Level

63
Finding and Filtering Activities

Unleash the power of Find with <Ctrl-F>

64
Finding and Filtering Activities (cont.)

65
Roles and Resource Loading

• Roles are placeholders for Resources that are not yet

assigned.
• Roles allow teams to be assigned quickly to project
activities, once the resource team is identified.
• Only resources for roles that are unfilled are shown in
the assign resources for roles dialogue box.
• <Shift-Click> and <Ctrl-Click> can be used to select
the activities being assigned resources by roles.
• A project team could be assigned to all of the
project’s activities at once.
66
Schedule Crashing Basics

28 Days
Total Duration

67
Schedule Crashing Basics (cont.)

Assume We Need to Reduce Duration by 5 Days

28 Days Total
Duration

68
Advanced Layouts to
Enhance Communication

• User Defined Fields

• Bring in Related Data from Other Sources
• Tabular + Graphic Presentation

69
Advanced Layouts to
Enhance Communication (cont.)

User Defined Schedule Data

Random Data

70
Advanced Layouts to
Enhance Communication (cont.)

71
Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting

72
Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting

73
Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting

74
Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting

75
Advanced Gantt Chart Formatting

76
Exporting and Importing
Layouts and Reports

.plf filename
extension

77
BC1

Adding Barchart Graphics to Reports

1. Create a layout that you want to print in your report

2. From the tool menu or print preview, choose Publish
3. Choose the directory for the report
4. Open a notebook topic and insert the graphic
5. Include that notebook topic in your tabular report
6. Run the report

78
Slide 78

BC1 Please doublecheck first bullet. Thanks, BC

Bill Camarda, 10/17/2006
Adding Barchart Graphics to Reports (cont.)

Publish to HTML

From the Tool menu or Print

Preview, choose Publish

79
Adding Graphics to Reports

80
Adding Graphics to Reports (cont.)

Click on the
Picture Icon,
and browse for
a graphic file to
insert into the
Notebook topic

81
Adding Graphics to Reports (cont.)

82
83
Working with Baselines

Baselines are an established method of tracking progress and measuring results

When you first begin using Baselines, you may see some strange results that are difficult to diagnose

Baselines can refer to either the Current Project or another Project

How can you know which, without opening?

84
Working with Baselines (cont.)

Sort

Add a
Baseline
Column
? Why Alpha Prefix?

Sort by BL
Baseline Code
Project Name
Date
Resp

85
Working with Baselines (cont.)

Is the Current
Schedule
Ahead or
Are we a year Behind the
ahead? Original Plan?

86
 Working with Baselines (cont.)
Something is Wrong?

Summarized
Dates

MAGIC!

87
Working with Baselines (cont.)

Perform a
Global
Change
on a
Baseline

88
 Working with Baselines (cont.)

Here are
the
PL Strt = Start (Milestone): If = SM, Then, PS = Start
details...
2

89
Working with Baselines (cont.)

Here are
the changes

90
Questions?

91