Grouping

● A flexible way to
organize data into
categories that
share a common
attribute.
● Can be used to
create customized
layouts.
● Organized by
grouping bands.
Grouping

Activities can be grouped:

○ By hierarchical fields
(WBS, activity codes,
project codes).
○ By data fields (dates,
costs, Total Float,
other numeric data).
Can be used to:
○ Quickly view subtotal
data in grouping
bands.
○ View summary bars in
the Gantt chart.
○ Summarize data for
reporting purposes.
 Sorting

● Determines the
sequence in which
activities are listed within
grouping bands.
● Based on data item, you
can sort:
○ Alphabetically
○ Numerically
○ Chronologically
● Click on column header
to quickly sort ascending,
descending.

Sorted by Start date Sorted by Start date

Ascending Descending
 Filtering

● Determines which activities are displayed in a view.

○ Limit the number of activities displayed.
○ Focus on a particular group of activities. (Shown below, filtered
for activities where Donna Hansen is primary resource.)

Filter
 1
Managing Documents
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Add project documents.
● View documents.
● Edit document details.
● Assign documents to activities.
 Project Documents

● P6 provides document management capabilities that enable

you to store, organize, manage, and access documents.
○ Documents can be a project or activity deliverable that will be
turned over to the project’s end user or customer.
○ Documents also can be a reference for the purpose of
providing standards or guidelines for performing work.
● P6 can be configured with content repository software such
as Oracle Universal Content Management (OCM/UCM) for
more document management features.
 III
SECTION III
Assigning Resources
and Baselining
Understanding Roles and Resources
Assigning Roles and Resources
Project Workspace
Optimizing the Project Plan
Baselining the Project Plan
Importing and Exporting Data
 13
Understanding Roles and Resources
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Describe roles.
● View the roles dictionary.
● Describe resources.
● Identify the differences between labor, nonlabor, and
material resources.
● View the resource dictionary.
 Roles and Resources

Role: A job title or skill needed to Resource: The specific individual

complete an activity. used to complete the activity.

Project Manager John Brunner

 Roles and Resources

● Both are enterprise data – available for use across all

projects.
○ Both are usually defined by the application administrator.
● Roles are associated with resources according to their
function.
○ Each resource can also be assigned one primary role, which
defines the resource’s core skill or responsibility in the
organization.
● Roles can be placeholders in activity assignments until
specific resources are assigned to do the work.
Roles and Resources

Resource: Susan Arnold

Roles: Business Analyst, System

Architect

Primary Role: System Architect

 Relationship Between Roles and Resources

ROLES
RESOURCES

Senior
Software System Business Database
Engineer Architect Analyst Administrator

Susan
PRIMARY Arnold
ROLE

Ben
Diamond

ROLE

Jennifer
Boyle
 Resource Types

Labor (people)
● Resources and roles
● Measured in units of time.
● Generally re-used between activities/projects.
● Recorded in terms of price/unit (for example,
$50/hour).
Nonlabor (equipment)
● Measured in units of time.
● Recorded in terms of price/unit (for example,
$500/hour).
Material (consumables)
● Measured in units other than time (for example,
$5/sq.ft.).
 14
Assigning Roles and Resources
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Assign roles to an activity.
● Fill a role assignment.
● Assign a resource.
● Check resource availability.
● Send e-mails to assigned resources.
 Assigning Roles

● Roles can be assigned to project activities when you know

which skill sets are required but not which resources will
perform the work.
● Roles are useful for long-range planning.
 Assigning Roles
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Roles Dictionary Assign Role to Activity Replace Role with Resource

System Architect
System Architect System Architect
Susan Arnold

Business Analyst Business Analyst Ben Diamond

Business Analyst
 Assigning Resources

Assign by role:
● At least one role must be assigned to an activity.
● Replace role assignment with a specific resource.
● Replace single role assignments individually or multiple role
assignments simultaneously.
Assign directly from the resource dictionary:
● Labor resources without role assignments.
● Required method when assigning nonlabor and material
resources.
 Steps for Resource Management
Resource: Ben Diamond
Roles: Business Analyst,
Database Admin
1. Define resource in the Primary role: Business Analyst

resource dictionary. Max Units/Time: 8h/d

Rates: Commercial $32/h
GSA $29/h
Internal $26/h

2. Assign resources to
activities.

Ben Diamond

3. Analyze resources and

costs.
 Summarization

Resource usage data in P6 is based on summary data.

● Any changes made to assignments within a project are not
reflected until the project is summarized.
● You can choose to summarize projects automatically after
assigning resources.
15
Project Workspace
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Describe the Project Workspace.
● Add and remove portlets.
● Customize the Project Workspace.
 Project Workspace

● Home page for a project.

● Project manager (or designee) controls display of data.
● All project team members can view data.
● Data is specific to a single project.
● Information displayed in small data windows called portlets.
○ Portlets display a specific type of project information.
○ Some portlets can be customized.
 Security Access

The Project Workspace can be accessed by users associated

with a project by:
● Project Access — User is associated to the project
through the OBS.
● Project Resource Access — User is assigned to at least
one activity in the project as a resource.
● Project Owner — User is assigned this role in the
corresponding P6 field.
16
Optimizing the Project Plan
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Analyze schedule dates.
● Shorten a project schedule.
● Analyze resource availability.
● Resolve resource overallocation.
● Analyze project costs.
 Project Constraints

Successful projects must balance multiple constraints:

● Scope
● Quality
● Schedule
● Budget
● Resources
● Risk
 Optimizing the Project Plan

● Analyze schedule dates – Ensure that milestone dates

and project dates are achieved.
● Analyze resource allocation – Ensure that resources are
not overallocated.
● Analyze the cost budget – Evaluate project costs.
 Analyzing Schedule Dates

● Scheduled Finish date – Most important date in the

schedule:
○ Compare the Scheduled Finish date to the Must Finish By
date.
○ If the Scheduled Finish date is later than the Must Finish By
date, the project must be shortened.
○ Scheduled Finish date is calculated; it cannot be edited.
● Project deliverables should also be scheduled to finish by
the dates imposed by project sponsors.
○ Identify intermediate milestone dates and ensure that
schedule meets them.
 Shortening the Project

● Focus on critical activities.

● Refine duration estimates.
○ Break down long activities.
○ Assign additional resources to reduce duration.
● Use relationships to overlap activities.
● Apply/modify constraints.
● Change calendar assignments.
○ Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
○ Add exceptions to nonwork time.
 Analyzing Resource Allocation

● Determine which resources are overallocated.

● Identify activities contributing to resource overallocation.
● Remove overallocation from appropriate resources.
○ Replace the overallocated resource with another available
resource.
○ Increase the resource’s workweek.
○ Increase the hours/day that the resource works.
○ Assign additional resources to the activity.
 Analyzing the Budget

● Review budgeted costs for individual activities, WBS

elements, and the entire project.
● Confirm that costs are within budget.
 Summary Data

● Used to enhance performance and scalability of P6.

● Eliminates need to open all projects to view project-level
data.
● In some cases, summary data is displayed for an open
project.
● Run summarizer to ensure data is current.
● Examples of summary data:
○ Resource usage
○ Some columns on the EPS page
○ Some portlets on Project Workspace
17
Baselining the Project Plan
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Create a baseline plan.
● Display baseline bars on the Gantt chart.
● Modify display of bars on the Gantt chart.
● Convert a project to a baseline.
● Restore a baseline.
 What is a Baseline?
Current bar
Baseline bar
● A copy of the project plan used
as a basis for comparison when
evaluating the progress of an
updated project.
○ Create a baseline before
updating a schedule for the first
time.
● Provides a target against which
a project’s cost, schedule, and
resource performance can be
tracked.
 Baseline Types

There are two different types of baselines in P6:

● Project Baseline – Each project can have only one project
baseline. The project baseline will be the same for all users.
● User’s Primary Baseline – For each project, each user
can choose their own primary baseline to use for
comparison.
 Question

True or False: A baseline can be used to compare planned

dates of an activity to the actual dates of an activity.
1. True
2. False
18
Importing and Exporting Data
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Describe the process of importing and exporting data.
● Export a project.
● Import a project.
 Import and Export Formats

You can import and export files in the following formats:

● P6’s XML Format
● Microsoft Project XML
IV
SECTION IV
Project Execution
and Control
Methods of Applying Progress
Executing the Project Plan
Managing Issues
Analyzing the Updated Project
Portfolios and Dashboards
 19
Methods of Applying Progress
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Describe methods for applying progress to a project.
 Updating a Project

● After a project has started, actual project data should be

updated regularly.
● Updates can be monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly depending
on project length and the precision of project control.
● A variety of methods can be used for updating the project.
● A single method need not be used exclusively. Multiple
updating methods can be used within a single project.
 Updating a Project

Consider these factors when deciding on a method:

● Data precision: The degree to which project data is exact
(based on manual data entry) or estimated (based on
automated calculations).
○ Is project data entered manually?
○ Is project data automatically calculated and applied?
● Internal or external: The extent to which individuals other
than the project manager are empowered to update project
data.
○ Do other persons – resources, for example – update project
data?
Spectrum
SpectrumofofUpdating
UpdatingMethods
Methods
 Auto Compute Actuals

● Updates activity dates, expenses, and

resource utilization according to project plan –
however, enables you to select which
elements are computed automatically
● Internal update
● Data precision: Estimated
 Auto Compute Actuals

● Values are computed based on element you select for auto

compute:
○ If activity is selected, P6 calculates the actual dates, percent
complete, remaining duration, and actual and remaining units
for all assigned resources and activity expenses.
○ If just resource or expense is selected, P6 calculates the
actual and remaining units for all of the resource’s
assignments.
● Doesn’t affect successor activities outside of status period
until project is scheduled.
 Link Percent Complete
With Actuals
● Project-level setting computes units based on
Duration % Complete
● Internal update
● Data precision: Units and costs estimated based
on exact Duration % Complete
 Link Percent Complete
With Actuals
● Based on Budgeted Units/Time, application
calculates Actual Units and subtracts from
Budgeted Units
● Example: 10-day activity with 80 Budgeted Units
(8 h/d)
○ 2 days progress (Duration % Complete = 20%)
○ Actual Units automatically recalculated to 16h
○ Remaining Units automatically recalculated to 64h
 Manually Update
Activities, Expenses, and Resources
● Manually enter values for each element.
● Internal update
● Data precision: Exact
 Timesheets

● Resources record hours worked.

● Manager approves / rejects timesheets and then
applies actuals
● External update
● Data precision: Exact
 Timesheets

● Resources record hours worked against

activities.
● Primary resource also can mark activities started
or finished and update Remaining Duration.
● After approving / rejecting timesheets, manager
applies actuals.
○ Only statused activities are recalculated.
○ Does not affect activities not in the status period.
○ Activities within the status period that are not
progressed are pushed out to new data date.
 Delegating Status Updates

Project updates can be delegated to external

resources, such as subcontractors. Methods include:
● Reflection project
○ Reflection project is updated by subcontractor,
resource, or individual designated as Activity
Owner.
○ Can status activities, update resource
assignments
○ Project manager has ability to view and then
approve/reject updates before merging reflection
project into source project.
○ Available in P6 Professional only.
● Import updated project
○ Copy of project updated by another individual and
then imported.
 Questions

● Which update method(s) do you use?

● What are advantages and disadvantages?
20
Executing the Project Plan
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Use Progress Spotlight.
● Update the status of completed activities and activities in
progress.
● Reschedule the project.
 Updating a Project

Once a project has started, actual activity information should be

updated at regular intervals.

● Schedule dates and durations

● Resource usage

● Expenses
 Data Date

The data date is the date up to which actual performance data

is reported and the date from which future work is scheduled.
The data date always starts at the beginning of the day.

History Data Date Remaining Work

 The Updating Process

Standard project update procedures should be established,

including how data is collected and how often it is updated.
● Create a baseline plan (optional).
● Identify the new data date.
● Enter activity progress.
● Report resource use and costs to date.
● Reschedule using the new data date.
21
Managing Project Issues
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● View project-related issues.
● Create an issue.
● Group issues.
● Display issues in chart form.
 Issues

● Known problems within a project plan that require attention

or corrective action.
● Issues can be project-wide.
○ Lack of skilled resources
○ Equipment breakdown
● Issues can be activity-specific.
○ Finishing late
○ Total float exceeds acceptable threshold
 Issue Forms

● Template for creating an issue.

● Form must be assigned to the project.
● Contain customized fields.
● Ensure consistency and standards across organization.
 22
Analyzing the Updated Project
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Analyze schedule dates, resource availability/allocation,
and project costs.
● Identify areas where the project is falling behind schedule or
exceeding planned costs.
● Make changes necessary to address variances.
● Understand the importance of analyzing a project after
every status update.
 Steps for Analyzing the Updated Project

1. Perform a baseline analysis.

■ Compare current plan to baseline plan to analyze
variances.
■ Compare calculated Finish and Must Finish By dates.
2. Make changes to restore important schedule milestones.
■ Focus on critical activities.
3. Perform a resource usage analysis.
■ Identify availability or allocation issues.
■ Adjust resource assignments to resolve issues.
4. Perform cost analysis.
■ Compare Total Cost to the Original Budget.
Questions to Determine How to Adjust a Schedule

● Can the Finish date of the project slip?

● Can the scope of the activity/project decrease?
● Were the planned hours over- or under-estimated?
● Can any relationships between activities be changed?
● Can additional resources be assigned?
● Can resources work overtime?
 Shortening the Project

● Focus on critical activities.

● Refine duration estimates.
○ Break down long activities.
○ Assign additional resources to reduce duration.
● Use relationships to overlap activities.
● Apply/modify constraints.
● Change calendar assignments.
○ Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
○ Add exceptions to non-work time.
23
Portfolios and Dashboards
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Create a dashboard.
● Add and remove dashboards.
● Filter data to display in portlets.
● Create a portfolio manually.
● Create a portfolio using a filter.
 Dashboards

● Each dashboard is like a personalized homepage.

● Multiple dashboards can be displayed.
● Dashboard data based on a filter can pertain to:
○ A single project
○ Multiple projects
○ A portfolio
● Dashboards can be shared with other users.
 Comparing Functionality
of Dashboards and Project Workspace

Feature Dashboards Project Workspace

Dashboard content determined
by dashboard filter (single
Data Source Selected project only.
project, multiple projects, or
single portfolio).

One Project Workspace per

Number Multiple dashboards per user.
project.

Yes. Individuals can customize Yes. Usually only by the project

Customizable
their own dashboard. manager.
If you have the privilege to create
Automatically shared with
dashboards, you can make them
Shared project resources. It cannot be
accessible to all or a group of
shared with all users.
users.
 Portfolios

A group of projects organized by criteria specific to your needs.

The following are examples of portfolios:
● Projects you manage
● Projects starting in the current fiscal year
● Projects over a specific budget amount
● Projects involving a certain department
 Ways to Create Portfolios

There are two types of portfolios:

● User – Created for a single user
● Global – Created for all users

There are two ways to create a portfolio:

● Manual – Manually add projects. Will not change unless
you manually modify the portfolio.
● Filtered – Create filters that automatically place projects in
a portfolio. Refreshing the filter will remove projects that no
longer meet the filter criteria and add new projects that do.
 Question

What type of data would you display on a dashboard?

 V
SECTION V
Project Closeout
and Advanced Topics
Project Templates
Managing Risks
Managing Multiple Projects
Advanced Scheduling
Using P6 with Spreadsheets
24
Project Templates
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Create a template from a project.
● Create a new project from a template.
● Tailor a project by adding a WBS from a template.
 Templates

● A template is a project that can be used as a basis for a

new project, enabling you to:
○ Create new projects quickly with less data entry.
○ Re-use best-practice projects.
● Templates can be created anew or based on an existing
project.
○ When based on existing project, customize template by
selecting project attributes such as activities, relationships,
assignments, expenses, etc.
25
Managing Project Risks
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Define a risk and understand how risks can impact a
project.
● Create project risks.
● Assign a risk to an activity.
● Develop a risk response plan.
 Risks

Any potential event or condition that could have a negative or

positive impact on project objectives.
● Usually external factors not generated by the project itself.
● Also known as threats, warnings, imperatives, escalation
notices, or jeopardies.
○ Positive risks are classified as opportunities and their impacts
as rewards.
● Risk examples:
○ A seasonal weather event that disrupts construction activities.
○ A labor strike or work stoppage.
○ Saving time and money by reusing design work from a
previous, similar project (opportunity/reward).
 Risk Enterprise Data

Used to create risk categories, risk thresholds, and risk scoring

matrices that are standard across an organization.
● Risk Categories – Used to classify risks across multiple
projects to identify risk trends across the organization and
within individual projects.
● Risk Thresholds – Used to rate the impact of risks to a
project and to create risk scoring matrices.
● Risk Scoring Matrices – Used to perform qualitative risk
analyses.
● Risk User-Defined Fields – Used to track information about
risks that may not be provided by standard risk fields.
 Risk Categories

● Classification of risk types, customized to specific project or

business, used to organize project risks.
● Analyze the types of risks occurring and identify trends
within the project or across multiple projects.
● Help manage risks more effectively over the long term.
 Risk Thresholds

● A range of values (monetary, time, quality, technical, etc.)

used to rate the impact of a risk to a project.
● A risk that meets or exceeds a defined threshold requires
attention and might require a response action.
● Thresholds are the inputs used to create risk scoring
matrices. Thresholds necessary for a risk scoring matrix:
○ Probability: Likelihood of the risk occurring.
○ Tolerance: Acceptability or manageability of the risk on a
project.
○ Schedule: Amount of time by which the risk will increase or
decrease the project schedule.
○ Cost: Cost impact if the risk occurs.
○ User-defined thresholds may also be included.
 Risk Scoring Matrix

● A qualitative analysis tool used to calculate the impact of

risks on a project.
● Includes threshold values that are used in the calculation of
a risk score.
○ Risk score provides an overall rating of a risk and helps
determine if the risk should be addressed during the course of
the project.
● A risk scoring matrix must be assigned to a project in order
to perform a qualitative analysis of the project’s risks.
 Risk User-Defined Fields (UDFs)

● Track data specific to your organization:

○ Additional activity data (delivery dates, purchase order
numbers, etc.).
○ Additional resource data (rate type, performance gradings,
etc.).
○ Additional cost data (profit, variances, revised budgets, etc.).
● Risk UDFs are global and can be used across all projects.
 Risk Register

Identify and manage risks for projects and across the

enterprise.
● Contains the risk enterprise data – categories, thresholds,
matrices, and UDFs – needed to rate risks and to perform
qualitative risk analyses.
● Create project risks and map them to the specific activities
that they impact.
● Determines the combined impact of risks on project costs
and the scheduled completion date.
● Helps you create response plans with specific response
actions to mitigate or otherwise address each risk.
 Risk Response Planning

After you have identified risks that pose a serious threat to a

project and need to be addressed:
● Create a response plan for each risk.
● Assign response actions to reduce the risk’s negative
impact on the project.
● Promote the most favorable outcomes.
26
Managing Multiple Projects
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Open a project’s dependent projects.
● Filter and apply progress to multiple projects.
● Schedule multiple open projects.
● Monitor critical activities.
 Benefits of Using Multiple Projects

● Ability to break down larger projects into phases or smaller

projects while maintaining inter-project relationships.
● Ease of use when individual organizations are updating
schedules separately.
● Ability to keep sensitive financial information confidential
when working with multiple organizations.
● Social or government requirements may require separate
smaller projects or phases of a larger project.
27
Advanced Scheduling
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Calculate multiple float paths when scheduling.
● Explain the difference between scheduling logic options.
● Describe a calendar’s effect on lag.
 Critical Path
● Series of activities that determines a project’s minimum total
duration and completion date.
● Defined either by Total Float or longest path in project network.
 Question

Can a project have more than one critical path?

1. Yes
2. No
Multiple Float Paths
 Scheduling Out-of-Sequence Activities

Retained Logic
Preserves original
relationship between
activities.

Progress Override
Disregards original
relationship between
activities.
 Calendar Effect on Lag

5 day workweek

7 day workweek
 2
Using P6 with Spreadsheets

8
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Export data from P6 into a spreadsheet application.
● Create an import template.
● Import data from a spreadsheet application into P6.
 Importing and Exporting Spreadsheets

● Import data saved in an .xls file from a spreadsheet

application such as Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc.
● Create an import template to expedite the import process.
● Export data into an .xls file, which you can then view, edit or
disseminate outside of P6.
● P6 allows you to import or export the following in .xls
format:
○ Activity data
○ Resource data
VI
SECTION VI
Appendices

Updating the Project Using Timesheets

Case Study Solutions
 A
Updating the Project Using Timesheets
 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

● Describe methods for updating the project schedule.
● Describe the data date.
● Review timesheets.
● Approve/reject timesheets.
● Apply actuals.
 Updating a Project

Once a project has started, update schedule information and

resource usage at regular intervals.
● Update daily, weekly, or monthly depending on length of
project and frequency of forecast adjustments.
● Methods:
○ Approve and apply timesheets.
○ Enter information manually.
■ Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and
cost, nonlabor costs.
■ Apply actuals to project.
○ Auto compute actuals.
■ Progress of activities automatically calculated according to
original schedule.
Timesheet Approval Process
 Data Date

The data date is the date up to which actual performance data

is reported, and the date from which future work is scheduled.
The data date always starts at the beginning of the day.

History Data Date Remaining Work

 Applying Actuals

Applying actuals is a process in which the hours from

timesheets are applied to activities.
● Select a new data date.
● New data date is used to calculate actual durations of
activities in the status period.
○ Actual duration equals the number of work periods between
the activity’s Actual Start and the new data date.
 Applying Actuals

Applying actuals to a project differs from scheduling a project.

● Applying actuals: Only activities that have been statused
are recalculated.
○ Enables you to focus on activities that may cause the project
to be delayed.
○ Does not affect activities not in the status period.
● Scheduling: All activities are scheduled based on durations
and relationships.