PrimaveraP6IntroductoryCourse

Preparedforthe

PrepareandPresentedby

December2014

Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

TableofContents
AccessingtheMnDOTP6Database)....3
EPS(EnterpriseProjectStructure)4
HowtoWorkwithintheEPS5
CreatingaProjectLibrary...7
WorkBreakdownStructure(WBS)...8
ImportingandExportingFiles...10
CopyandPasteFiles.....................................................................................................................13
UserPreferences.15
Baselines16
Calendars..19
CustomizingViews....21
ActivityDetails ..22
Scheduling(Calculate) .....23
Filtering24
GroupingandSorting.25
Reports 25
CreatingaSchedule.26
ReviewingContractorBaselineSchedules..33
ReviewingContractorUpdateSchedules.38
ClaimDigger..41

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Minnes
sota Department Of
O Transp
portation
n
Primavera
a P6 Introductory Course

AccessingtheMn
nDOTP6Database
TherearetwowaystogetintoMn
nDOTsP6dataabase.P6canbbeaccessedbyyeithergoingtthroughWebpo
ortal
usingaawebbrowserrortheCitrixsshortcuticonlistedonyourccomputersdessktoptaskbar.

AccesssingP6UsinggCitrixIcon
Before
ethestartofth
hisclass,ITsho
ouldhaveassiggnedtheCitrix
xiconontoyou
ur
CitrixShortcuticon
compu
uter.IfyoudonotseetheCittrixicon,dono
otworry;P6caanbeaccessed
dinthe
second
doption(discu
ussedbelow).Ifyoudoseeth
heCitrixicon,pplaceyourmouseover
itandleftclick;selecctApplicationss,thenPrimave
eraTools,and thenclickonPP6Client
ouhaveclicked
donP6ClientP
Production,theeP6LoginWin
ndow
Production.Onceyo
opup.Enteryo
ourcredentialss,whichwillbe
ethesameasyyourMnDOTA
ADcredentialsaandclickOK.
willpo
P6Client

P66ClientProducctionLoginWin
ndow

AccesssingP6UsinggWebportal
Itispo
ossibletologin
ntoCitrixusinggyourinternettbrowser,pre ferablyusingInternetExplorrerwhenonth
he
MnDO
OTnetwork.Ifyyouareonthe
eMnDOTnetwork,intheinteernetbrowserfield,typeinWebportalorrthe
directaddresshttp:///webportal.do
ot.state.mn.us//andclickent er.ThiswillbringyoutotheCitrixWebporrtallog
nandenteryou
urcredentialsaastheywould betologintotheMnDOTneetwork.
inpage.ClickLogOn

der,andthencclickonP6Clien
ntProduction.TheP6Client
Oncelloggedin,clickkonthePrimavveraToolsfold
Productionwindowwillpopandth
heloginproce
esswillbethessameasdescriibedabove;en
nteryourAD
ntialsandlogintoP6.
creden

WebportalLogin
n
PrimaaveraToolsFollder

P6C
ClientProductio
on

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

EPS(EnterpriseProjectStructure)
EPSorProjectsWindow
TheEPSisthehierarchicalstructureofMnDOTsdatabaseofproject
schedules.Thelayoutbelowisanexampleofhowtheinformationcanbe
displayed.ThecoloredtiersaredifferentlayersoftheEPS.Thewhitetier
istheschedules.Toopenaprojectscheduleclickonthedesiredschedule,
thenrightclickandchoseOpenProject.

Sandbox
AsandboxisanareawithintheEPSthattheusercanplacecopiesofschedulesto
evaluatewithabilitiesortostorecopiesofpreviousupdates,etc.Asandboxcanbe
createdforindividuals,officesorevenprojects.Ausermustbeassignedaccesstoa
sandboxiftheyneedtodomorethanreadaschedule.Accessisgainedthrough
CentralOffice.Morediscussioniscontainedlaterherein.

EPSLayouts
Layoutscanbeviewed,filteredandgroupedbymanydifferentcategories.ThreewaystoorganizetheEPSis
toclickbyexpressivechoicesorbyshortcuts.TheexpressivechoicewouldbetoclickViewthenGroupand
Sortandthenmakeyourchoice.Theshortcutwilltakeyoudirectlytothelastpopupoftheexpressive
method;simplyclickthedesirediconordrawdowntriangle.
ExpressiveCommand

Filter/OrganizeIcons

LayoutDrawdownShortcut

CreatingtheEPSandSubsequentTiers
Auserssandboxcangetclutteredastheycreateandcopyschedulesover
time.InordertomanagetheirP6environmentausercanhaveEPStiers
addedtotheirsandbox.However,onlyCentralOfficepersonnelcanaddatier
totheEPS;todosocontacttheSharedServiceCenter.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

HowtoWorkwithintheEPS
NavigatingwithintheEPS
TheEPSiswhereyoucanfindprojectinformationsuchasthestartdate,datadate,mustfinishbydateand
projectedfinishdateallononescreen.Otherinformationincludesthedefaultsettingsandcriticaldefinition
choice.AllthisinformationislocatedwithintheProjectDetailWindow.IfyoudontseeaDetailWindowat
thebottomofthescreen,thenplaceyourcursorinthecenteroftheEPS;rightclickandselectProjectDetails.
OnceyoudotheProjectDetailsWindowwillappear.
RightClickProjectDetails

ProjectDetailsWindow

AddingorRemovingColumns
Theusercanalsoaddandremovecolumnsthatare,orarenot,displayedwithintheEPS.Placeyourcursorin
themiddleoftheEPSandrightclickandselectColumnsthenselectCustomize.Thereisalsoashortcuticon.
Usethedirectionalarrowstoadd,removeandplacethecolumns.

ColumnsIcon

RightClickColumns

ColumnsWindow

ApplyingFilters
Theusercanfilterprojectsonamultitudeofchoices,forexampleyoucanfilterbyMnDOTPrimeContractor
orbyDistrict.TodosoplaceyourcursorinthemiddleoftheEPSandrightclickandselectFilterBythenmake
yourchoice.ThereisalsoaShortcuticon.TheusercancustomizeafilterorselectfromasetofDefaultor
Globalfilters.Filtershavethreecategories;Default,GlobalandUserDefined.Thissectiononlyaddresseshow
togettothepointofbeingabletofilter.Theactualfilteringdiscussionwilltakeplacelaterherein.

FilterIcon

RightClickFilterBy

FilterWindow

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

ContractorSchedules(Readonly)
AMnDOTusertypicallyonlyhasanabilitytoreadacontractorschedulewhichisknownasReadOnly
access.TheusercannotcalculateormodifythescheduleifthecontractorisassignedastheResponsible
Manager.Theusercanreviewthescheduleandreviselayoutstosuittheirneeds.Toopenacontractor
scheduletheuserwillneedtobeassignedaccessbyCentralOfficetodoso.Accesscanbegrantedusingthe
scheduleaccessformlocatedoniHUB.

ContractorSchedules(EvaluatewithAbilities)
Toevaluatewithabilitiesistobeabletocalculate,alterormodifyascheduleandtoperformtechniqueslikea
WhatIfAnalysis.Thisbulletonlyaddresseshowtogettothepointofbeingabletoevaluatewithabilities.
Theactualevaluationdiscussionwilltakeplaceintheseconddayofthiscourse.

Toevaluatewithabilitiestheuserwillneedtomakeacopy,notareflection,ofthescheduletobe
reviewedandplacethatcopyintheuserssandbox.Itisveryimportantnottocreateareflection;a
reflectioncanbeverydetrimentaltothecontractorsliveschedule.

AnotheroptionwouldbetoexportthescheduleandthenimportitintoastandaloneversionofP6.
Exportingwillbediscussedlaterherein.
Ifyoudoawhatifanalysisyouneedtodosofromacopiedschedule.Ifyoudontwantthe
contractortoseetheanalysisthentheusermustchangethecopiedschedulesResponsibleManager
codeandtheMnDOTPrimeContractorprojectcode.Afteryouhavecopiedthescheduletoevaluate
followthesesteps:

1.

2.

ChangingtheMnDOTPrimeContractorCodeWhenintheEPSmakesurethebottomof
thescreendisplaystheprojectdetails.Select
thecopiedscheduleandclickontheCodestab
withintheProjectDetailWindow.Theuser
shouldseethreecolumnstitledProjectCode,
CodeValueandCodeDescription.TheMnDOT
MnDOTPrimeContractorCode
PrimeContractorCodeneedstobechangedto
NAforNonApplicable.

ChangingtheResponsibleManagerCodeTheschedulemustbeopenedtomakethis
change.OnceopenmakesureyouareintheEPS(Projects)andnottheactivities.Ifyouare
intheglobalEPSlayoutyouwillseeacolumntitledResponsibleManager.Doubleclickon
theResponsibleManagercellof
thecopiedscheduleanda
windowwillpopup.Scroll
downthiswindowandselect
theappropriatechoice.
ResponsibleMangersLocation

3.

ChangetheScheduleStatustoWhatifStatusisfoundinProjectDetailsofEPS.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

CreatingaProjectLibrary
P6EnterpriseviaaSandbox
ThecurrentcontractorpracticewithintheMnDOTP6
Enterpriseisforcontractorstocreatetheirscheduleand
haveitbetheonlyactiveversionthatcanbefullyaccessible
onMnDOTsP6Enterprise.Eachsubsequentscheduleis
savedasabaselinewithintheactiveschedulesothat
historicaldatacanbeviewedanddigested.Thisisnotan
optimalmeanstoreviewapastscheduleinanimpact,delay
orclaimsituation.Itissuggestedthatyoupushtohavea
ProjectSandboxcreatedfortheusertobeabletostorea
copy,notareflection,ofeachupdatesothatafully
accessibleversionisavailable.Ifyoudoyoushouldslightly
alterthenameofeachcopiedversiontoidentifytheupdate
number,forexampleaddBL08(Nov14)tothetitle
description.AlsoremembertochangetheResponsible
ManagerandContractorCodeasdiscussedearlierherein.

ExampleofaProjectLibrary

P6Standalone
Thecontractorstypicallywillexporttheupdatescheduleasa.xerfileandincludeitwiththesubmittal
package.IftheydothisandtheusercannotmaintainasandboxlibraryontheP6Enterprisethentheusercan
importthe.xerfileintotheP6standalone,iftheyhaveaccesstoone,andmaintainalibrary.Ifthe.xerfile
submittedbythecontractorisinaversionthatdoesnotmatchtheusersP6standalonethentheusercango
intotheP6Enterpriseandexportthescheduleintheversionthatdoesmatchtheirneeds.Exportingand
importingwillbediscussedlaterherein.

WindowsExplorer
Ifneitheroftheaboveareoptionsthenitishighlyrecommendedthattheusercreateaprojectfilein
Windowstostoreallthecontractorsubmitted.xerfiles.ItisfurthersuggestedthataMnDOTuserexporta
versionofeachupdatetobestoreddirectlyfromP6EnterprisetotheMnDOTserversothatafileexistthat
hasneverlefttheMnDOTnetwork.AlthoughtheruleisthatimportingintotheP6Enterpriseisnotallowed
havinga.xerfilethatneverlefttheMnDOTnetworkmaymakeiteasier,andlessfearfulforIT,toallowthe
.xerfiletobeimportedbackintotheP6Enterpriseshouldanimpactoraclaimarise.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

WorkBreakdownStructure(WBS)
WBSExplained
TheWBSisahierarchyofWorkthattypicallydefinesaprojects
propertiesinanorganizedstructure.Thisstructureisbrokendowninto
tiersandsubtiersthatshapetheapproachtoaccomplishingtheprojects
goals.Indesignittypicallywillbetieredbyfunctionalgroupsor
deliverables.Inconstructionitistypicallytieredtoreflectthe
phasing/stagingandroadwayalignmentsoftheproject.

ExampleofWBSTiers

WBSWindow
InordertoviewtheWBStheprojectyouwanttoviewmustbeopened.YoucanusetheWBSWindowto
create,viewandeditanopenedprojectsWBS.Youcangroup,sort,customizecolumnsandopenandsave
WBSlayouts.TherearetwowaystodisplaytheWBSWindow;clickbyexpressivechoicesorbyshortcut.
TheexpressivechoicewouldbetoclickProjectthenWBS.TheShortcut,ontheleftsideofyourscreen,will
takeyoudirectlytothelastpopupoftheexpressivemethod;simplyclickthedesiredicon.

WBSIcon

Expressive Command

WBSWindow

TheusercanalsomodifytheWBSWindowbyaddingorremovingcolumns.Justfollowthesamesteps
discussedintheHowtoWorkwithintheEPSsection.AddingtierswillbecoveredintheCreatingaSchedule
sectionlaterherein.

WBSCodeStructure
TheWBScodestructureconsistsofmultiplealphanumericorjustnumericdigits
thatrepresenteachtier/layeroftheWBSdiscussedanddisplayedabove.Each
tierisseparatedbyadecimalpoint.Thefirsttierrepresentstheprojectitself.
Eachtierthereafterisseparatedbythedecimal.Theusercanchangethecode
valueforeachdigitbyclickingontheleveltobechangedandchangingthecode
valuewithintheWBScodecellorthedetailwindowscodecell.

WBSCode

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

CopyingWBSStructureandActivitieswithinandbetweenSchedules
Iftheuserhasasectionoftheschedulethatisrepresentativeofanothersectiontobecreatedtheeasiestand
quickestwaytocreatethenextsectionistocopyandpastetheexistingsectionfromwithintheWBSWindow.
Doingsowillbringinallcodes,activitiesandlogic.Todothisfollowthesesteps:

1.

2.

ClickontheWBStieryouwishtocopy.Iftherearesubtierstothetieryouarecopyingthe
subtiersandcontentswillbecopiedaswell.Onceontheselectedtierplaceyourcursor
overtheselection,rightclickthenclickCopy.
Clickonthetieryouwantthecopiedtier(s)placed.
Onceontheselectedtierplaceyourcursoroverthe
selection,rightclickthenclickPaste.Threewindows
willpopupwithcheckboxchoices.Checkorun
checkthechoicesyouwantordontwant.Reference
theCopyFilessectionofthisclass,laterherein,for
moreinformationonWindowNo.2.Thethree
windowsareasfollows:

SecondPopUpWindow

FirstPopUpWindow

ThirdPopUpWindow

MovingWBSTierswithintheWBS
TheusercanmovetheWBStiersbyselectingthetiertomoveandusingtheblockarrows
locatedwithinthetoolbarontherightsideofthescreen.Thechoicesareup,down,leftor
right.Iftheselectedtierhassubtiersthenthosesubtierswillmovewiththeselectedtier.
TheWBScodevalueswillchangeautomaticallyasyoumovefromtiertotier.IftheWBS
codevalueisnotwhattheuserdesiresthenthevaluecanbechangedasdescribedearlier
herein.Itisagoodpracticetomakesurethetiersnumericalvaluesmatchthenumerical
placement.Forexample,atiercodeof8canbeplacedbeforea4.Misplacedtiervalues
canmisplacethedesiredlocationwithinreportsorexportedfiles.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

Importing/ExportingFiles
ImportingFiles
MnDOTpolicydoesnotpermitanyusertoimportfilesintotheMnDOTP6Enterprisesystem.Userswhohave
accesstoastandaloneP6systemtheycanimportthere.Themainconcernwithdoingsoistomakesurethe
.xerfiletobeimportedwasexportedinaversionthattheP6standalonewillsupport;thefilemustbethe
sameversion,orolder.ToimportonaP6standalonefollowthesesteps:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

ImportFormat(1)
ClicktheexpressiveFilecommandandthenclickImport.TheImport
FormatWindowwillpopup.Selectthetypeoffilebeingimportedand
thenclickNext.

ImportType(2)
TheImportTypeWindowwillpopup,selecttypeandthenclickNext.
Projectisthemorelikelychoiceyouwilluse.

FileName(3)
TheFileNameWindowwillpopup.Clickonthedrawdownboxandyou
willbeplacedintoWindowsExplorer.ChasedownthroughExplorerthe
locationofyour.xerfileaclickonthedesiredfile.Youwillbetakenback
tothefilenamewindow,clickNext.

TheImportProjectOptionsWindowwillpopup.You InsertProjectOption(4a)
EPSTiers (4b)
shouldseethefileyouselectedfromWindows
ExploreexceptthatitwillbereferredtoastheProject
ID.Makesurethecheckboxischecked.TheImportTo
cellshouldbeempty.Clickthedrawdownboxinthis
cellandtheEPSwillpopup.DoubleclickontheEPS
nodeyouwishthefiletobeplacedandthenclickNext.

UpdateProjectOptions(5)
TheUpdateProjectOptionsWindowwillpopupwithdefault
configurationsalreadyintheLayoutNamecell.JustclickNext.

TheFinishWindowwillpopup,clickFinish.
Finish(6)

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

ExportingFiles
Inordertoexportaprojectscheduletheschedulemustbeopened.Theusercanexporttheprojectschedule
inthefollowingformats:

PrimaveraPM(XER)
PrimaveraContractor(XER)
PrimaveraP6(XML)
Spreadsheet(XLS)
PrimaveraProjectPlanner(P3)
MicrosoftProject(XML2002/3,XML2007,XML2010orMPX)
UN/CEFACT(XML)

MnDOTsP6EnterprisewillnotallowanexportationofPrimaveraProjectPlanner(P3).Astandaloneversion
ofP6willaslongasthemachinethatthestandaloneversionisonhasacopyofP3orwasupgradedfromP3.
However,P3willnotoperateonanymachineusingWindows7ornewerunlessP3isputonthemachineviaa
verticalmachinerunningunderanolderversionofWindows.
TodayscoursewillonlydiscussexportingaPrimaveraPM(XER)file.
1.

WiththescheduleopenedclickFilethenclickExport.

FileExport(1)

2.

TheExportFormatWindowwillpopupfortheusertochoosethetype
offormattoexport.Forourdemonstrationpurposesclickthe
PrimaveraPM(XER).Ifyouneedtoexportanolderversionthen
clickonthedrawdownarrowinthecelltotherightoftheselected
choice.Whenyouhaveselectedtheappropriatechoice,clicktheNext
button.

ExportFormat(2)

3.

TheExportTypeWindowwillthenpopup;chooseProjectthenclick
theNextbutton.

ExportType(3)

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

4.

TheProjectsToExportWindowwillpopup.Ifonlyonescheduleis
openedthentherewillbeonlyonechoice.Ifmultipleschedulesare
openthenmultiplescheduleswillappear.Choosetheone(s)youwant
toexportbyclickingonthecheckboxnexttoeachname.Makesure
thescheduleyouwanttoexportistheonlyschedulewiththeexport
boxchecked,andthenclicktheNextbutton.

5.

TheFileNameWindowwillpopup.Afilepathmayalreadybeshown
inthefilenamecell.Thiscelliswhereyoutelltheprogramwhereto
savetheexportfileandwhatnametogive.Clickonthedrawdown
boxwithinthecellandtheSaveFileWindowwillpopup(notshown).
Makesureyoutellitwhereyouwanttosenditandnameit.Be
carefulbecausethepreviousfilenameyouexportedwillautomatically
appearandyouwillwanttochangeit.OncechangeclickSave.This
stepwilltakeyoubacktotheFileNameWindow;clickFinish.

6.

TheExportResultWindowwillpopup.Ityousuccessfullyexported
thefileitwilltellyou;clickClose.

ProjectstoExport(4)

FileName(5)

ExportResult(6)

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

CopyandPasteFiles
Step1

Step1Select/Copy

TocopyanexistingscheduleyouneedtobeinProjectsandtheEPS
page.Findthefileyouwanttocopyandclickonthetitle.Placeyour
cursoroverthefile,rightclickthenclickCopy.Althoughuser
restrictionsmorethanlikelywouldpreventsuch,donotcreatea
reflectionschedule.Iftheuserweretocreatesuchandcommitthe
changesitwouldaltertheactiveschedulewhichwouldbeextremely
detrimentalifitwereanactivecontractorschedule.

Step2

Step2Paste

TopastethecopiedfilescrolltotheEPSlocation/tierwhereyouwantthe
copiedfiletobeplaced,sayyoursandbox.Thesandboxinthisexampleis
ConstructionScheduleTraining.ThenclickontheEPStierband,rightclick,click
Paste.

Step3
TheCopyProjectsOptionsWindowwillpopup.Typicallyallthecheckboxes
willbealreadycheckedasadefault.Reviewyourchoicestoconfirmthe
appropriateitemswillbecopied.Ifyouarenotsurethencheckthemall.The
Baselinecheckboxwillbetheonethatmayneedmoreattentionorthought.If
thescheduleyouarecopyinghaspreviousversionssavedwithinitasbaseline
thenyoumaywanttocheckthisbox.IfyoudoselectthisoptiontheCopy
BaselinesWindowwillpopup.Ifyoudontchecktheboxitwillnotpopup.

Step4
IfcheckedtheCopyBaselineWindowwillshowalltheprevious
versionsthataresavedwithinthescheduleyouarecopying.An
activeschedulecanhavesavedcopiesinexcessthanwhatcanbe
copied;youwillbeonlyallowedtocopythreesavedbaselines.If
thisisthecasecheckthethreeorlessyouwanttobringinwithyour
copiedscheduleandclickOK.

Step5

Step3CopyPasteOptions

Step4CopyBaseline

Step5CopyWBSOptions

ThenextwindowtopopupwillbetheCopyWBSOptions.Allthecheck
boxeswillbecheckedbydefault.Itisrecommendedtoleavethemall
checkedandclickOK.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

Step6
TheCopyActivityOptionsWindowwillpopup.Allthecheckboxeswillbepopulatedbydefault.Mostshould
beselfexplanatoryandshouldbeleftchecked.ThetwothatmayneedsomeexplanationaretheOnly
betweencopiedactivitiesandtheStepscheckboxes.Sometimesscheduleshavelogicallinkswithother
schedules.ThisisnottypicalwiththeMnDOTconstructionprojectsbutiswiththeMnDOTpreconstruction
schedules.Iftheschedulebeingcopiedhaslinkswithotherschedulesandtheuserwantsthoselinkstobe
maintained,thenuncheckthisbox.Butif
Step6 CopyActivityOptions
bothlinkedschedulesarebeingcopiedat
thesametimeitshouldbeokifthisbox
werechecked.
ItisagoodpracticetoalwayshavetheSteps
boxchecked.Stepsareabreakdownofan
activityintomultiplefeats(steps).For
example,constructingapierisdoneinthree
steps,footer,pierandcap.Anactivitymight
simplystateConstructPierbutmightbe
brokendowninstepswithintheactivitywithintheschedule.ThisisnotacommonpracticewithMnDOT
ContractorsbuthasbeenintroducedinMnDOTspreconstructiondesignschedules.

Step7ResponsibleManagerCode

Step7WBSResponsibleManager

Itisveryimportantthatwhenausercopiesaschedulethatoncecopiedthe
userchangetheResponsibleMangercode.Todothistheschedulemustbe
opened.ThiswasdiscussedintheHowtoWorkwithintheEPSportionof
thisclass.ItcanalsobedoneintheWBSWindow.
WhenintheWBSaddtheResponsibleManagercolumnintothedatatable
area.Withinthecolumndoubleclickontheparent(top)tierandtheSelect
ResponsibleManagerWindowwillpopup.ScrolltofindtheusersOBSname
anddoubleclick.Aquerywindowwillpopupaskingifyouwantassignthisnew
managertoalltheWBSelementsoftheschedule,clickYes.

Step7bWBSAssignQuery

Step8MnDOTPrimeContractorCode
ItisveryimportantthatwhenausercopiesaschedulethatoncecopiedtheuserchangetheMnDOTPrime
Contractorcode.Todothistheschedulemustbeopened.ThiswasdiscussedintheHowtoWorkwithinthe
EPSportionofthisclass.

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Minnesota Department Of Transportation

Primavera P6 Introductory Course

UserPreferences
TimeUnits
ThetypicalMnDOTscheduleusuallyisdisplayedinwholedays.P6schedulesandthecalendarswithinare
basedonhours.Thiscanandmorethanlikelywillvisuallyaffectthedisplay,nottheaccuracy,ofnumeric
valuessuchasremainingdurationsandfloat.Thereareanumberoffactionsthatwillcausearemaining
durationand/orfloattogofromawholevaluetoafractionalvalue.Ifanyonefactionoccursthenthe
numberswillbecalculatedtodecimals.Thiscansometimesmakethereadingoffloatdisplayedasawhole
numberhardtofollowthroughaschedule.Ifafloatvalueisfractionedanddisplayedasawholenumberthe
displaywillberoundedupordownwhilethetruevalueremainsintact.Thiscanmakeadisplayedzerofloat
appearascriticalyettheactivitybardisplayedasgreenversusred.Anotherexampleisifafilterofallcritical
activitieswererunanyactivitydisplayedaszerobuttrulyvaluedat.49willnotbeincludedinthefilterwhen
theuserisexpectingittobeincluded.

HowtoDisplayTimeUnits
Timeunitscanbedisplayeddowntotwodecimalpoints.TodosoclickontheexpressiveEditcommandand
thenclickUserPreferencesorusetheShortcutIcon.Ifyoudonotinitiallyseeuserpreferencethenclickon
thedoubledownarrowtoexpandthewindow.
TheUserPreferenceWindowwillpopup;clicktheTimeUnittab.UndertheDurationFormatsectionofthis
windowchangethedecimalvaluefromzerototwobyclickingonthedecimaldrawdownarrow.Thiscanalso
bedoneforunitsoftime.

ExpressiveCommand
TimeUnitTab
UserPreference
Icon

Dates

DatesTab

SinceP6isbasedonhoursdifferingclocksettingsbetweencalendarsisoneoftwomain
culpritsoffracturedvalues.Thiscancauseafinishtostartrelationshiptofinishand
startonthesameday.Howdatesappearcanhelpexposewhyfloatmaybefractioned
orwhyfinishesandstartsoccuronthesameday.Datescanbedisplayedinamultitude
ofwaysincludingthetimeofday.Tochangehowdatesaredisplayedfindyourwayto
theuserpreferencewindowasdescribedaboveandclickontheDatestab.

Currency
Thecurrencytabwithinuserpreferenceswillturnonoroffdecimalvaluesandthedollarsign.Usingthe
currencytabwillfollowthesameguidanceaslistedabove.SelecttheappropriatesettingsandclickClose.

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Primavera P6 Introductory Course

Baselines
Baselines
Therearetwofunctions,eachwithmultiplesteps,toworkingwithabaseline.
o
o

Function1MaintainBaseline
Function2AssignBaseline

Function1(MaintainBaselines)
Onceaschedulehasbeenacceptedasthebaselineacopyofthatacceptedscheduleneedstobesavedasa
baselinewithintheacceptedschedulebeforeanychangesaremadetotheacceptedschedule.Thefirstthing
todoistoexportanxerfileasdiscussedearlierandmakeacopyofthescheduletobekeptintheproject
library.
Tosaveand/orconvertaschedulewithinaschedule,whetherabaselineorupdate,andregardlessofthe
acceptability,followthesesteps:
1.

2.

3.

4.

StepF1(1)Expressive Command
ClickontheexpressiveProjectcommandandselectMaintain
BaselinesorusetheShortcutmaintainbaselineIcon.
Icon

TheMaintainBaselineWindowwillpopup,clickAdd.
StepF1(2)MaintainBaseline

TheAddNewBaselineWindowwillpopup.Thisiswheretheuser
StepF1(3)AddNewBaseline
needstobecarefulwiththeirdecision.Therewillbetwochoices,
saveorconvert.Iftheuserchosessavethereisnorepercussion.
However,ifthechoiceistoconvertthereisarepercussion.Whena
scheduleistaggedtobeconvertedtheconversionprocesswill
removethetaggedschedulefromtheEPS.Sobeforeyouconvertmakeacopyofthescheduletobe
convertedasinstructedearlierhereinandthenselectthecopiedversionforconversion.

IfyouchooseconvertthentheSelectProjectWindowwillpopup. StepF1(4)SelectProjecttoConvert
TheuserwillseetheentireEPStowhichtheyhaveaccess.Scroll
throughtheEPSuntilyouseethecopiedprojecttobeconverted;
doubleclickonthatprojectanditwillstarttheconversionprocess.

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Function2(AssignBaselines)
Savingand/orconvertingascheduletoabaseline(Function1)doesnotmakeitaccessibleasabaseline.The
userneedstoassignthefiletobeviewedasthebaseline.Therearethreebaselineslotsthattheusercan
assignwithintheactivescheduleforcomparison;thePrimary,SecondaryandTertiary.TypicallyMnDOT
constructiononlyusesone,thePrimary.Toassignfollowthesesteps:
1.

Toassignaprimarybaselinetheactivescheduleneedstobeopened.
ToassignthebaselineclickontheexpressiveProjectcommandand
thenclickAssignBaselines.OrusetheAssignBaselineShortcuticon.

StepF2(1)Expressive Command

Icon

2.

TheAssignBaselineWindowwillpopup.Therearetwocellsthatneed
tobepopulated.ClickontheProjectBaselinedrawdownarrowand
thenclickonthedesiredschedule.PopulatethePrimarycellunderthe
UserBaselinesectionofthewindow.ClickonthePrimarydrawndown
arrowandclickonthedesiredschedule.ClickOK.

StepF2(2)AssignBaseline

DisplayBaselineDatainGanttArea
TheusercanreadthebaselinedataintheGanttarea,thedataareaorbycreatingacustomizedreport.In
ordertoseeacomparisonbarintheGanttareatheuserneedstoaddthebaselinebarasaselectedbarfor
viewingoropenapresetlayout.Therearethreewaystoaddabar;expressivecommandandtwoShortcuts.
TheexpressivecommandistoclickView,andthenclickBars.ThefirstShortcutistoclicktheBariconlocated
inthetoptoolbarandtheotherShortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithintheGanttareaandrightclick,then
clickBars.
BarsIcon

Expressive Command

GanttAreaShortCut

AfterclickingoneoftheabovetheBarsWindowwillpopup.
ClickonthePrimaryBaselinecheckbox,andthenclickOK.Ifyou
wanttoviewallthreebaselinesthenclickSecondaryBaseline
andTertiaryBaselinecheckboxes.

BarsWindow

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DisplayBaselineDataintheDataTable
Inordertoseebaselineinformationinthedataareatheuserneedstoaddtheappropriatecolumnstoopena
presetlayoutwithsuchinformation.Therearethreewaystoaddcolumns;expressivecommandandtwo
Shortcuts.TheexpressivecommandistoclickView,andthenColumns.ThefirstShortcutistoclickthe
ColumniconlocatedinthetoptoolbarandtheotherShortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithinthedataareaand
rightclick,thenclickColumns.

ColumnsIcon

Expressive Command

DataAreaShortCut

Baselinecolumnscanbeaddedbyexpandinganyoftheavailablechoicestoopentheavailabledata.Lookfor
aBL,BL1,BL2orBL3designation.Clickonthedesiredchoiceandthenclicktherightarrowinthemiddleto
moveitintotheSelectedOptionsinnerwindow.TheBLdesignationisforBaselineInformation,theBL1isfor
PrimaryBaselineinformation,BL2isforSecondaryBaselineinformationandBL3isfortheTertiaryBaseline
information.Thedifferentdesignationswillonlyappeariftheappropriatetypeofbaselinehasbeenassigned
asdiscussedearlier.

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ColumnsWindow

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Primavera P6 Introductory Course

Calendars
P6Enterprise
TherearethreetypesofcalendarswithinP6;Global,ResourceandProject.Theresourcecalendarisrarely
usedonMNDOTprojects.Thereareanumberofdetrimentsforacontractorusingaglobalcalendar,for
example,ifachangeismadetothecalendarbysomeoneotherthanthecontractortheirproject(s)will
unknowinglybeaffected.Therefore,itishighlyrecommendedthatallcontractorschedulesusetheproject
calendars.Thisisalsorecommendedfortimeandtrafficschedules.TheMnDOTw/StandardHolidaysisthe
defaultcalendar.Thismeansthatforeveryaddedactivitythisdefaultcalendarwillautomaticallybeassigned
totheactivity.ThedefaultforaprojectcanberevisedfromwithintheEPSProjectsWindowlocatedonthe
defaultstabintheDetailsWindow.ForinstructionsonhowtodosopleasereferbacktotheHowtoWork
withintheEPSsection,navigating,ofthistutorial.

AccessCalendars
ToaccessthecalendarsclickontheexpressiveEnterprisecommandandthenclickCalendars.TheCalendar
Windowwillpopupwhichiswheretheuserwillfindthethreetypesofcalendars.Theglobalcalendarswill
containpredefinedMnDOTcalendars.Theprojectcalendarswillcontainprojectspecificcalendars.
CalendarsWindow

ExpressiveCommand

AddCalendars
Whenascheduleisfirstcreatedtherearenoprojectcalendarstoselect,followthesestepstoadd:
1.

2.

ClickAdd.TheSelectCalendarToCopyFromWindowwillpopup(below).Thelistingofcalendars
withinthiswindowistheglobalcalendars.Findthecalendarthatbestfitsthetypeofcalendar
needingtobecreatedanddoubleclickonit.

ThechosencalendarwillbeaddedtotheprojectcalendarwithanameofNewCalendar(bottom
middle).Changethenametoadescriptionofyourchoice.

3. ThenmakesurethisnewcalendarisstillselectedandclickModify(bottomright).

Step3Modify
Step2 ChangeName
Step1SelectCalendartoCopy

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ModifyaProjectCalendar
Afterclickingmodifyintheabovestepthenewcalendarwillappear.Theusershouldseethedaysofthe
calendar.Dependingonthecalendarthatwascopiedsomedays
ModifyWindow
willbeshadedandsomewont.Theshadeddaysarenon
workdayswhichtypicallyrepresentSundays,Saturdays,holidays
andweathercontingency.Tochangeanonworkdaytoa
workdayorvisaversasimplydoubleclickonthedaytoberevised.
Arevisednonworkdaywillturnwhitewhichsimplyindicatesthat
itwasrevisedfromanonworkdaytoaworkday.Itisalso
referredtoasanexception,asinanexceptionwasmadeforthis
day.Iftheuserwishestoavoidtheindicationofanexception
thentheyshouldconsidercopyingasevendayorfivedaycalendar
andthenaddingtheirownnonworkdaysorselecttheexception
andclickthestandardbutton.Doingsocanbetidiestovera
multiyearprojectbecauseitwillhavetobedoneforeverymonth
foreveryaddedcalendar.

ViewingAdjustingWorkingHours(ClockTimes)
Eachcalendarfunctionsbythehourandnottheday.Itisnotuncommonforthedesignatedworkinghours
withinacalendarandbetweencalendarstobemissedmatched,particularlyincontractorschedules.Thisis
onecauseoffloatfracturingdiscussedearlierintheUserPreferencessection.Itisalsoacauseforactivities
withafinishtostartrelationshipbetweenthemtofinishandstartonthesameday.
DetailedWorkHours
Whattypicallyhappensisonecalendarmayenditsdayat4PMwhileanotherends
at5PM.Thiscanalsooccuronadailybasis.Itisrecommendedthateachday,of
eachcalendarissettoworkthesamedesignatedhours.Somemaysaytheyare
planningtoworkatenhourshiftversusaneighthourshift.Ifthisisthecaseitis
recommendedtohaveaneighthourandatenhourcalendarandshouldbe
discussedbetweentheparties.ATimeandTrafficschedulemaywanttoconsider
calendarswithdifferingshifts.IfnotalreadyviewableclicktheDetailedWork
Hours/Dayfoundatthetopofeachcalendar.Scheduledhourstoworkarenot
shaded.Tochangethehoursdoubleclickonthe30minuteintervalboxthatyou
wouldliketochange.

WeatherContingency
Themostcommonway,andnowsometimesspecifiedway,toincludeweathercontingencywithinthe
scheduleiswithinthecalendarsasnonworkdays.SomecontractorshavepushedforalloftheSaturdaysona
sixdaycalendartobenonworkdaysrepresentingtheweathercontingency.Ifthisisthecaseitis
recommendedthatnoteverySaturdaybedesignatedasanonworkday.Thenonworkdaysinthiscase
shouldbespreadovertheweekwithsome,butnotall,beingallowedtofallonaSaturday.Some
specificationsnowprohibitaSaturdaytobedesignatedasaweathercontingencyday;socheckthespecs.

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CustomizingViews
Columns

EditColumns

Forinstructiononhowtoaddand/orremovecolumnsinthedatatablearea
ofyourviewpleaserefertotheHowtoWorkwithintheEPS(Navigating)
andBaselines(HowtoRead)sectionsofthistutorial.Thetitle,widthand
datapositionofacolumncanbeedited.Openthecolumnwindowandclick
EditColumn;theEditColumnWindowwillpopup.Makeyoureditsand
clickOK.

Bars

BarsWindow

ForinstructiononhowaccesstheBarWindowpleaserefer
totheBaselines(HowtoRead)sectionsofthistutorial.
WiththeBarWindowopenedtheusercanselectthebars
toappearintheGanttareabyclickingthedisplaycheck
boxinthefirstcolumnoftheBarWindow.Torevisethe
barstyle,settingorlabelclickontheappropriatetab
withintheBarWindow.Theusercanalsocreateabarby
clickingtheAddbutton.

TimeScale
Therearethreewaystoaccessthetimescaletomodify;expressivecommandandtwoShortcuts.The
expressivecommandistoclickView,andthenTimeScale.ThefirstShortcutistoclicktheTimeScaleicon
locatedinthetoptoolbarandtheotherShortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithintheGanttareaandrightclick,
thenclickTimeScale.

TimescaleIcon

Expressive Command

GanttAreaShortCut

AfterclickingoneoftheabovetheTimescaleWindowwillpopupwhichwillpermittheusertoedittheheader
andscaleappearance.Ordinaldatescanbeshownfortimeandtraffictodepictthenumberofmonthsifa
startdateisnotknown.
TimescaleWindow

Tostretchorshrinkthetimescalehoveryourcursorover
thetimescaleuntilitchangestoamagnifyingglass,hold
downtheleftmousebuttonanddrag;righttozoomin
andlefttozoomout.

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ActivityDetails
ActivityDetails
Offersthemostactivitybasedinformationwithinawindowthatisorganizedbytabs.IftheActivityDetail
Windowisnotdisplayedtherearethreewaystodoso;expressivecommandandtwoshortcuts.The
expressivecommandistoclickView,andthenclickShowonBottom,andthenclickDetails.Thefirstshortcut
istoclicktheDetailiconlocatedinthetoptoolbarandtheothershortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithinthe
DataTableareaandrightclick,thenclickDetails.

ActivityDetailsIcon

ExpressiveCommand

DataTableAreaShortcut

TheActivityDetailWindowcanbecustomizedtoshow14differenttabs.Place
yourcursorinthetabarea,rightclickandthenselectCustomizeActivityDetails.
Someofthetabsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,General,Statusand
Relationships.Toaddorremovefromviewselectthetabdescriptionandmove
betweenAvailableTabsandDisplayedTabs.Toviewanactivitysdatawithin
theActivityDetailWindowthesubjectactivityneedstobeselectedwithinthe
DataTablearea.Thecommonlyusedtabsaregeneral,statusandrelationships.
BelowisaviewoftheStatusandRelationshiptabs.

CustomizeActivityDetails

StatusTab

RelationshipsTab

TomovefromonerelationshiptothenextclickonthedesiredactivityandclicktheGoTobutton.Assigning
andremovingrelationshipswillbediscussedlaterherein.

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Scheduling(Calculate)
HowtoSchedule(Calculate)theProject
Theusermusthaveaccessrightstoscheduletheproject.Iftheuserisanoncontractorentityandtheir
accessrightsarerestrictedtheymorethanlikelywillnotbepermittedtoscheduleacontractorsactive
schedule.Tobeabletoscheduletheprojectforanindepthreviewmakeacopyofthescheduleandplaceit
inyoursandbox.ThewaystocalculatethescheduleincludeexpressivecommandandShortcuts.
ScheduleIcon

KeyboardShortcut

ExpressiveCommand

F9

TheScheduleWindowwillpopup.IftheuserwantstoviewtheschedulelogreporttheLogtoFilecheckbox
atthebottomoftheScheduleWindowneedstobechecked.Someoftheinformationthislogwillprovide
includes:
ScheduleWindow

SchedulingSettings
Statistics
MissingPredecessorsandSuccessors
OutofSequenceActivities
ActualDatesGreaterthanDataDate
CriticalActivities

CalculationTypes

ScheduleOptions

Therearethreecalculationtypes,retainedlogic,progressoverrideand
actualdates.Thetwocommonlyusedtypesareretainedlogicand
progressoverride.Somespecificationswillspecifywhichcalculationisto
beused.ToverifythecalculationinusepressF9andtheSchedule
Windowwillpopup,andthenclickOptionsandtheScheduleOptions
Windowwillpopup.
Thedifferencebetweenthetwotypesisthatprogressoverridewillignoreprecedinglogicassociatedwith
predecessorsthatarenotcomplete.Retainedlogicwillensurethatremainingdurationsofincomplete
activitiesareincludedinthecalculationofanydownstream
ScheduleOptionsCalculationTypes
succeedingactivitiesevenwhencompletedactivitiesliebetween
them.

CriticalDefinition
Therearetwoareastodefinecriticality;theEPSsettingtaborthe
ScheduleOptionsWindow.Youcandefineittoavalueorby
longestpath.ThedefinitionwillaffectthebarintheGanttwhich
canbedefinedtomisleadinaPDFsettingifnotlookedatclosely.
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Filtering
FilterWindow

GlobalandDefaultFilters
Therearethreecategoriesoffiltering,default,globalanduserdefined.The
defaultandglobalfiltersarepresettosingulartypeofconditions.Theuser
canchoosemorethanonefilteratatime.Forexampleiftheuserwantsto
filteroutallnotstartedactivitiesandinprogressactivitiesthensimplycheck
theappropriatefiltercheckboxes.Theonecatchwithselectingmorethan
onefilterisachoicetobemadeatthetopoftheFilterWindow.Thechoice
istoshowallselectedfiltersoranyselectedfilter.Thepresetfilterscannot
bemodifiedintheircurrentcategorybutcanbecopiedandpastedintothe
userdefinedcategoryandmodifiedtherein.

ThewaystoopentheFilterWindowincludeexpressivecommandand
Shortcuts.TheexpressivecommandistoclickView,andthenclickFilterBy.ThefirstShortcutistoclickthe
FiltericonlocatedinthetoptoolbarandtheotherShortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithintheDataTablearea
andrightclick,thenclickFilters.

FiltersIcon

ExpressiveCommand

DataTableShortcut

UserDefinedFilters
Withthefilterwindowopenedtheusercancreateafilterby
clickingtheNewbutton.AnotherFilterwindowwillpopupwitha
defaulttitleof(UntitledFilter)forthefilteryouarecreating.Take
thefollowingstepstocreateyourfilter:

Name:Selectthedefaultnameinthefilternamecelland
typethedesireddescription.
Parameter:ChoseAlloftheFollowingorAnyofthe
Following.Thiscanmakeadifferenceintheoutput.
Parameter:Clickthedrawdownarrow,scrolltofinditem
tofilterandselect.
Is:Clickthedrawdownarrowandselectequation.
Values:Enteravalue.Ifitisarangethenenterthelow
valueintheValuecellandthehighvalueintheHigh
Valuecell.
Parameter:Ifmultipleparametersareneededthenclick
theAddbuttonandrepeatabovesteps.

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FilterWindowClickNew

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GroupingandSorting
GroupingandSorting
ThisisthefunctionthatorganizesyourdisplaytoreflecttheWBS,whichisthemostcommondisplay.The
waystoopentheGroupandSortWindowincludeexpressivecommandandShortcuts.Theexpressive
commandistoclickView,andthenclickGroupandSortby.ThefirstShortcutistoclicktheGroupingicon
locatedinthetoptoolbarandtheotherShortcutistoplaceyourcursorwithintheDataTableareaandright
click,thenclickGroupandSort.

Group/SortIcon

ExpressiveCommand

DataTableShortcut

TheGroupandSortWindowiswheretotalswithintheWBS
bandscanbeturnedonoroffbycheckingoruncheckingthe
ShowGroupTotalscheckboxintheupperlefthandcorner.
Themiddlesectionofthiswindowiswheretofindthe
groupingfunction.ClickontheGroupBycellandchoices
willappear.Scrolldowntofindthedesireditemtogroup
by,saytheWBS,anddoubleclick.Anothernicefunctionis
HideifEmpty.ManytimesthescreenwilldisplayWBS
bandswithnoactivities.Ifyoudontwanttoseetheempty
bandschecktheHideifEmptycheckbox.Tosortthedata
clickontheSortbuttonandtheSortWindowwillopen.

GroupingandSortingWindow

Reports
Reports

ExpressiveCommand

MnDOThascreatedsomeusefulreportswithjustafewclicksofthemouse.The
ActivityLogicreportlistsallactivitiessortedbyActivityIDandanotherlogicreportis
groupedbyWBS.Theseareveryusefulreportsforreviewinglogic.Inordertoruna
reporttheprojectmustbeopened.Togenerateareporttheexpressivecommandis
toclickTools,andthenclickReportsandReportsagain.TheShortcutis
toclicktheReporticonlocatedintheleftsidetoolbar.

ReportsIcon

TheuserisnowinthereportsectionofP6.Findandclick
onthedesiredreport.Thenrightclick,andthenclickRun
andthenclickReport.TheRunReportWindowwillpop
up;clickOK.

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CreatingaSchedule
CreateaTimeandTrafficSchedule
Therearemanystepstocreatingaschedule.Theyalldonthavetobeinarigidorderbutsomestepscansave
timeandworkifcertainstepsaredonebeforeothers.
Step1(Mandatory)
TocreateascheduletheuserneedstocontacttheMnDOTSSC(SharedServiceCenter)andrequestthemto
addascheduleShellwithintheEPS.MakesureyouinformtheSSCthatthisisforacontracttime
determinationschedule.TheSSCP6AdminTeamwillcreatethescheduleshelltoensurethatadministrative
protocolsarefollowed.Theshellisanemptyschedulefortheusertobuildtheirschedule.Certainproject
informationwillneedtobeprovidedtotheSSC:astowhatinformationasktheSSC.TheSSCisintheprocess
ofpreparingaproceduresdocumentforthisstep.
Step2EPSReview
WhileintheEPSclickonthescheduleandreviewtheProjectDetailsGeneralandDatestabs.Thedatetabis
whereyoucanadjusttheProjectPlannedStartdate.
Itissuggestedthatyouleavethemustfinishbydateblankatthistime.Doingsowillallowforaneasier
compressionoftheschedulelaterintheprocessifsoneeded.Itwilleliminatethelikelihoodofnegative
floatassociatedwithmultiplecriticalpaths.Itwillbeeasiertocompressonelongestpathversusmultiple
criticalpaths.
Step3CreateProjectCalendars
TheP6Enterprisecurrentlycontainsglobalconstructioncalendarsthatcouldbeusedtoaddtheproject
calendarsbutisnotrecommendedatthistime.CautionTheexistingglobalconstructioncalendarsasof
November2014showsignsofincompletenesssomakesureyoureviewforappropriateconstruction
holidays.DonotincludeallMnDOTholidaysbecausenotallMnDOTholidaysareobservedbycontractors.
Additionally,itisgoodpracticetoextendallcontractorholidaysatleastoneyearbeyondtheanticipated
finish.
Eachcalendar,exceptasevenday,willneedtoincludeweathercontingency.Itisrecommendedthatthe
weathercontingencymatcheswhatthecontractorwillberequiredtouse.CautionTheexistingglobal
calendarsasofNovember2014showsignsofincompletenesssomakesuretoreview.Itisalsogood
practicetoextendallcontingenciesatleastoneyearbeyondtheanticipatedfinish.
Itisrecommendedthatthefollowingcalendarsbeaddedtotheschedule.Thecalendarsshouldbebasedon
aneighthourdaysomakesureeachcalendarsclockhasthesamestartandfinishtime.

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FiveWorkday
SixWorkday
SevenCalendarDay
Seasonal(restrictedbywinter)
Weekend
Anyspecialtieswithdaterestrictions(Overlay,Paving,etc.)
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Ifactivitydurationsaretoberesourcedrivenwithintheschedulethentenhourdaysorgreatercalendars
couldbeaddedtotheschedule.However,thisstepisrecommendedtooccuronlyafteracompressionneed
arises.Schedulecompressionwillbeaseparatestepdiscussedlaterherein.
Step4Defaults
NowthattheprojectcalendarsarecreatedtheuserneedstogobacktotheEPS,selectthescheduleandclick
ontheDefaulttab.Oneofthedefaultsettingsisthecalendarthatnewactivitieswillbeassigned.Thedefault
calendarcellislocatedontherightoftheprojectdetailwindow;clickonthecalendarcelldrawdownbox.

EPSProjectDetails DefaultTab

SelectDefault
ProjectCalendar

TheSelectDefaultProjectCalendarWindowwillpopup.Theusermayneedto
changethedisplayedchoicefromglobaltoproject.Todoso,clickthetriangleinthe
upperleftcornerandthechoiceswillappear;clickonProjectCalendars.Thelistingof
allprojectcalendarswillappear.Itisrecommendedthatthedefaultbesettothe
ProjectFiveWorkdayCalendar.Doubleclickonthechosencalendar.
Step5CreatetheWBS
AgoodWBSisoneofthemostefficientwaystoorganizeandworkwithintheschedule.TheStaging/Traffic
ControlsPlansareagoodsourcetobasetheWBS.SowiththescheduleopengototheWBSpage.
TherewillalreadybeatieralreadyintheWBS.Thistoptierrepresentsthescheduleitselfandcanonlyhave
tiersplacedthereunder.Toaddthenexttierplaceyourcursorwithinthedatatableareaandrightclickand
thenclickAddorusetheShortcutIconontherightsideofthescreen.
TheWBSnamewilldefaultto(NewWBS)whichtheuserwillneedtorevisetothedesireddescription,for
exampleProjectMilestones.ThefirstsubtieristypicallyusedforProjectMilestones.
Assubsequenttiersareaddedtheycanbemovedup,down,leftorright.Whentwoormoresubtiersare
presentthedirectionalblockarrowsontherightsideofthescreenbecomeusable.
TheWBScodewillautomaticallybecreated.WhentiersaremovedtheWBScodeisautomaticallychanged.If
thetiersaremovedtheusermayneedtomanuallyadjusttheWBSCode.Todosodoubleclickonthe
respectivetierscodeandrevise.ThiscanalsobedoneintheGeneraltaboftheWBSDetailWindowatthe
bottomofthescreen.
TheWBScouldbecreatedtoitsfullestplatformduringthissteporasyouaddactivities.Itismoreofa
preferencebutcreatingtheWBSasyouaddactivitiesdoeshaveafewadvantageswhicharediscussedinStep
8.

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Step6AddingActivitiesCodes
Activitycodescanbeausefultoolbutisnotanabsolutenecessity.Codeswilllettheuser
filterspecificaspectsoftheschedulebutcanbecomeamaintenanceburdeniftoo
elaborate.Acodedictionarywillneedtobecreated.Tocreatethedictionaryclickthe
expressiveEnterprisecommandandthenclickActivitiesCodes.Amessagewillpopup
tellingtheuserthatnocodeshavebeendefinedandtopressthemodifybuttontoadd
projectactivitycodes,clickOK.

ExpressiveEnterprise
Command

AfteryouclickOKtheActivityCodesWindowwillpopupwhichiswhereyouwillseethe
modifybutton.TheuserneedstomakesurethatProjectisselectedinthetoprow
ofthewindowandthenpressModify.OncemodifyisclickedtheActivityCodes
DefinitionProjectWindowwillpopup;clickAdd
andanewcodewillappearforwhichthe
descriptionwillneedtoberevised.

ActivityCodesDefinition
Window

ActivityCodesWindow

Step7AddingActivities
Oneofthemoreimportantaspectsofanactivityistohaveanaccurateoriginalduration.Dependingonthe
stageofdesignthecontractdrawingsmayhavequantitiesthatanactivitysdurationcanbedeterminedby
dividingquantityoveraproductionrate.Unfortunatelythedrawingsneverprovidequantitiesbasedon
specificareasduringspecificstages.Sotheuserwillmorethanlikelyneedtocalculatequantitiesfor
individualactivities;themosttimeconsumingpartofcreatingaschedule.
ToaddanactivityplaceyourcursorovertheWBStierforittoresidein;rightclickandclickAdd.Anactivity
willappearwithadefaultActivityID.Thenewactivitywillhaveadefaultoriginaldurationoffivedaysanda
descriptionthatwillneedtoberevised,forexampleRemovalsStage1Mainline.Theoriginaldurationcan
bechangedasyouaddtheactivityorafter.Itisamatterofpreferencebutchangingtheactivitynamecanbe
donefromacolumnwithinthedatatableareaorfromwithintheactivitydetailswindowsstatustab.
Toaddthenextactivityjustrightclickandthenclick
Add.Thesameprocesswilloccurasitdidforthe
firstactivity,namethisoneGradingStage1
Mainline.Repeatthisprocessuntilyouhave
createdastringofactivities(otherwiseknownasa
fragnet)whichinthiscaserepresentstheworkflow
fromremovalstotrafficmarkings.

AddedActivitiesPriortoAddingLogic

Step8AddingLogic
Theactivitiesneedtohavelogicaddedforwhichthereareanumberofways;thistutorialwillcovertwo.One
isfromwithintheactivitydetailwindowatthebottomofthescreenandtheotherfromwithintheGanttarea.

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ActivityDetailWindowToassignandremovelogichavetherelationshiptabopen.Therewillbea
predecessorsideandasuccessorside.Eachsidehasanassignandremovebutton.Clickthepredecessor
assignbuttonandtheAssignPredecessorWindowwillpopup.Findtheactivitytobethepredecessorand
doubleclick.Followthesameprocessforsuccessors.Toremovelogicmakesurethetietoberemovedis
selectedandclicktheremovebutton.

RelationshipTab
PredecessorSide

AssignPredecessor
Window

GanttAreaTheusercanaddalogictiebyfloatingtheircursorwithintheGantt
areaoneitherendofanactivityandwhenthecursorchangestoasingleheaded
crookedarrowpresstheleftmousebutton,dragandreleaseattheeitherendof
theactivitytobetiedtoo.Cautiondonotclickthemouseona
Logic
doubleendedarrow.Doingsowillchangetheactivitysduration.
Icon
ToseethelogicdisplayedintheGanttareaclickonthelogicShortcut
Icon.

ActivitieswithLogic

Itissuggestedthattheschedulebecalculatedasfragnetsareadded.Thiscanhelptoavoidmissinglogic.
Ifactivitycodesaretobeuseditisrecommendedtheybeaddedastheactivitiesareaddedorattheendof
creatingafragnet.ThiswayifthefragnetistobecopiedintoanotherWBSthecodeswillbecopied
therewith.Toassignactivitycodesopenthecodetabwithintheactivitydetailwindow.Italsoisbasedonan
assignandremovebuttonprocessasdiscussedinassigninglogic.
Step9CopyActivities(optional)
Aftercreatingaroadwayorbridgefragnettheusercancopyafragnetversusrecreatingfromscratch.For
example,aroadwaywillhavegrading,Class5,curb,pavingandtrafficmarkingsconstructedinthatorder.
Insteadofrecreatingafragnetforthesametypeofworktheusercancopysuchfragnetandadjustas
needed.Typicaladjustmentsincludeoriginaldurationsandphasinglogic.Wewilldiscusstwoways;from
withintheactivitiesscreenandfromwithintheWBSscreen.
ActivitiesScreenIftheWBSiscreatedtoitsfullestplatformthencopyingactivitiesorafragnetofactivates
fromwithintheactivitiesscreenisthewaytoprecede.Followthesesteps:

Fromwithinthedatatableareaselecttheactivitiestobecopied
Withinthedatatablearearightclick,thenclickCopy
ClickontheWBStierthattheactivitiesaretobeplaced.IftheWBStierisnotdisplayedcheckthe
hideifemptyfunctionintheGroupingandSortingwindowdiscussedearlierherein.

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ClickPasteandtheCopyActivityOptionWindowwillpopup.Bydefaultallcheckboxesshouldbe
checked.Itissuggestedtoleavethemcheckedunlessthereisanitemthatisnotwantedtobe
copied.ClickOK.
TheRenumberActivityIDsWindowwillpopup.Itissuggestedtohavethefirst(top)choiceselected
withanincrementoften.ClickOKandtheactivitieswillbeplacedintotheselectedWBStier.All
thatremainstobedoneistorevisedescriptions,durationsandoutlyingrelationships.
ActivityOptionsWindow

RenumberActivityIDWindow

WBSScreenIftheWBSisbeingcreatedasthescheduleisbeingbuiltthencopyingactivitiesfromwithinthe
WBSscreencansavetimeandwork.Forexample,ifthereisaStage1tierwithtwosubtiersandtheStage1
tieriscopiedandpastedtobecometheStage2tierthenallsubtiers,activitiesandlogicincludinglogic
betweencopiedtierswillremainintact.Followthesesteps:

FromwithintheWBSdatatableareaselecttheparenttiertobecopied
(FigureWBS1)
StillfromwithintheWBSdatatablearearightclick,clickCopy
Selecttheparenttierofthetiercopied,rightclickandthenclickPaste
(FigureWBS2)
TheCopyWBSOptionsWindowwillpopupwithallcheckboxeschecked
bydefault,clickOK(FigureWBS3)
TheCopyActivityOptionsWindowwillpopup,clickOK.Thisisthesame
windowdiscussedintheActivitiesScreendiscussionabove.
TheRenumberActivityIDsWindowwillpopup,clickOK.Thisisthesame
windowdiscussedintheActivitiesScreendiscussionabove.
Thenewtierwillappearwithahyphenatednumberinthedescription.
RevisethedescriptiontoreadasStage2
MovetheStage2tierbelowtheStage1tierusingthedirectionalblock
arrowsontherightsideofthescreenastheybecomeusable.
Makeallnecessarylogictiesbetweenstagesandanyotherneeds.

FigureWBS1

FigureWBS2

FigureWBS3

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Step10Constraints
Constraintsareagoodtoolforinterimcontractualmilestonedatestobemet.Itisrecommendedthatthe
StartOn,FinishOn,MandatoryStart,andMandatoryFinishtypeconstraintnotbeused.Toadda
constraintselecttheappropriateactivity,usuallyamilestonetypeactivity,andselecttheStatustab
withintheActivityDetailsWindow.TheconstraintsassignmentsareinthelowermiddleoftheStatustab
window.
Step11CheckforMissingLogic
Thereareanumberofwaystocheckformissinglogic;columnsinthedatatablearea,theschedulelog
report,orviewingtheactivitydetailrelationshiptab.Theeyepleasing
UsingLogicColumns
wayisbycolumns.
Iftheschedulelogreportisthechoicethentheuserwillneedto
calculatetheschedulepriortoreviewingtoensurethatthelatestdata
isbeingviewed.RefertotheScheduling(Calculate)sectiondiscussed
earlierhereinforaccessinstruction.
Step12ScheduleCompression
Iftheoveralldurationofthescheduleisexcessiveorendsatthebeginningoftheconstructionseasonthe
schedulemayneedtobecompressed.Theapproachofthistutorialplacedallactivitiesonthefiveday
workweekcalendarworkinganeighthourday.Therearewaystocompresstheschedulewithout
arbitrarilydoublinguponresources,workingdaysinexcessofeighthoursorworkingasixdayweek.
Step12.1(RunLongestPath)Compressingthescheduleshouldbedonebycompressingthelongest
path.Thefirststepistorunthelongestpathfilteravailablewithinthedefaultfilterselections.
Step12.2(AddingCrews)Theapproachtotheschedulewasbasedononecrew.Theleastcostly
compressionistoaddcrewstothelongestpath.Thefeasibilitydependsonthesizeandconfinesofthe
project.Asforanexampletoaddingacrew;ifthelongestpathcontainedatendaydrainageactivityand
theworkareaconfinesallowedroomforanothercrewthentheusercouldcopythetendaydrainage
activity,revisethedescriptiontohighlightCrew1and2,reviseeachdurationfromtentofiveandassign
thesamelogicastheoriginaltendayactivity;thusfivedaysremovedfromthelongestpath.Recalculate
thescheduleandrerunthelongestpathfilter.Repeatthismethodbutdonotthrowcrewsataschedule
withoutconsiderationofavailabilityandfeasibility.Keepthenumberofcrewstoaminimum.
Step12.3(ExtendedWorkweek)Thenextcompressionmethodisplacinglongestpathactivitiesonasix
dayworkweek.Thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanallthelongestpathactivitiesneedtobeplacedonasix
dayweekbutonlythosethatwillgetyoutoanacceptableprojectfinish.Toreviseanactivityscalendar
selecttheactivitytoberevisedandopentheGeneraltabintheActivityDetailWindow.Theactivity
calendarcellislocatedintherightsideofthewindow.Clickthe
GeneralTabinActivityDetailWindow
drawdownboxanddoubleclickonthesixdaycalendar.Recalculate
thescheduleasacalendarchangeismadeandrerunthelongest
pathfiltertoseehowfaritwascompressed.Ifnotenoughthen
placemorelongestpathactivitiesonthesixdayworkweek.

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Step12.4(ExtendedDays)Iftheentirelongestpathwasplacedonasixdaycalendarandtheoverall
durationisstillexcessivethentheusermaythinkaboutrevisingdurationstoreflectatenhourworkday.
Ifthescheduleisresourcedriventheusercouldcreatetenhourdaycalendarsandrevisethenewlongest
pathactivitiestothenewtenhourdaycalendars,betheyfiveand/orsixworkdays.Butresourcedriven
durationswerenotdiscussedhereinsoinliuethereoftheusercouldrevisetheactivityoriginalduration
tobebasedonatenhourday.Forexample,ifanactivitywastoworkfiveeighthourdaysitsoriginal
durationwouldberevisedtofourtenhourdays;onedayremovedfromthelongestpath.Sincethisisa
manualchangeitissuggestedthatanoteofthechangeberecordedwithintheNotebooktabofthe
ActivityDetailesWindow.

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ReviewingContractorBaselineSchedules
Baselines
Thereisnomagicalordertoreviewingabaselineschedule.However,atopdownreviewcansavethe
reviewertime.Atopdownapproachconsistofreviewingthehardsetrequirementsbeforereviewingthe
details.Anothertimesaveristoprovideacompletereviewwitheveryresponse.Themoreinformation
providedtypicallyresultswithfewerreiterations.Thereviewerneedstobeawareofanytimelimitsfor
providingaresponsetothecontractor.Thefollowingstepsareasuggestivetopdownapproach:
Step1ContractualDates
IfitisacalendardayprojectthenmakesurethenumberofdaysmatchesthenumberperContract.Ifitisa
datecertaincontractthenmakesurethelastdayinthescheduledoesnotexceedthatspecifiedforbothearly
andlatefinishdates.Alsoreviewallinterimcontractualmilestonedatesandclosuresforinclusion.
ManyMnDOTcontractshaveaSubstantialCompletionrequirementfollowedbyaFinalCompletion
requirement.Mostcontractorsmakeuseofdateconstraintstolockthesedatesintotheschedule.
Constraintsarealsousedforinterimcontractualmilestonedates.However,theyarenotalwaysused
correctly.
Anothermeanstolockinthelatestdateallowedpercontract,sayFinalCompletion,istheuseoftheMust
FinishBydatelocatedwithintheEPSProjectDetailWindowunderthedatestab.
Constraintsshouldnotbeallowedtobeusedonanyactivitythatisnotaspecifieddatewithinthecontract.
Also,forlogicreasons,thefollowingconstraintsshouldnotbeused:

StartOn
FinishOn
MandatoryStart
MandatoryFinish
AsLateAsPossible

DefaultConstraintFilters

Aneffectivewaytoexposeconstraintswithinthescheduleisto
runafilter.P6hastwodefaultconstraintfilters;HasFinish
ConstraintandHasStartConstraint.Openthefilterfunctionandcheckthecheckboxforboth.Makesure
nootherfiltersareselected.AlsochecktheAnySelectedFilteratthetopofthefilterwindow;thenclickOK.
Forcontractualreasonswhenaconstraintormustfinishbydateisuseditshouldbetheexactdatespecified
withinthecontract,notthedayafter.
Step2ReviewCalendars(Workdays,HolidaysandWeatherContingency)
Exceptforasevendaycalendarallprojectcalendarsshouldincludetheappropriateworkdays,contractor
holidaysandweathercontingency.Ifthespecificationsidentifyspecificcalendarstheneachoneshouldbe
includedwithintheschedule.Thespecificationswillspecifyaminimumnumberofdays,orapercentageof
days,thataretobeincludedasweathercontingencydays.
Thefollowingsuggestionsshouldbeconsideredwhenreviewingholidaysandweathercontingency:
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Holidaysshouldnotbecountedasadayofweathercontingency
Saturdaysonafivedayworkweekcalendarshouldnotbeconsideredasweathercontingency
Weathercontingencyneedstomeettheminimumrequired
Weathercontingencyshouldnotexceedafactoroftwoabovethespecifiedminimum
Theselectednonworkdaysrepresentingweathercontingencyshouldbeconsistentmonthtomonth
andbetweenallcalendars.
Contingencyandholidaysshouldbeincludedforoneyearaftersubstantialcompletion
Weekendcalendarsshouldnotincludeweathercontingency
WeekendNoContingency

FiveDayw/WeatherContingency

SixDayw/WeatherContingency

Step3ReviewtheWBS
TheWBSwilltypicallymirrorthetrafficcontrolplansand/orSpecificationS1806.ComparetheWBStothe
documentstoensurethatallphasesandalignmentsareaccountedfor.Phasesarealmostalwayssegregated
bytheWBS.SomecontractorsarestillcreatingaWBSviaactivitycodes.Thisisapastpracticefrom
PrimaverasP3applicationandisnotrecommended.
Someroadwayalignmentsmaybecombinedbasedonhowtheywillbeconstructed.Ifcombinedmakesure
eachisclearlyidentifiedwithintheWBSdescription.AnothertypicalWBSsegregationisroadwayversus
bridges.ThiscanmakeforacleanvisualoftheWork.
SomecontractorsliketousemilestonetypeactivitiesforthestartandfinishofaWBSsection.Theyhavea
propensitytotieallincominglogictothestartmilestoneandalloutgoinglogictothefinishmilestones.
AnotherpropensityistotieallWBSStaging,viathe
MilestoneswithinaWBS
milestones,totoplevelStagingMilestones;asin
FinishStage1asapredecessortoStartStage2.The
reviewershouldpushfortheremovalofthese
milestones.Ifnotremovedthereviewerneedsto
ensurethatifaStage1WBSworkareadoesnotneed
tobecompletedbeforestartingStage2thenthis
typeofWBSlogicshouldberemoved.Evenafter
theirremovalthereviewerneedstoconfirmthatthis
logicmindsetstilldoesnotexist.

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Step4ReviewSchedulesContentandLevelofDetail
ContentItisnothardforitemslikeutilityrelocations,lightingandTMStobeleftoutofaschedule.These
aretangiblepartsoftheprojectandconsumetimethatneedstobeaccountedforbeforesucceedingwork
commences.Thespecificationsanddrawingindexes,aswellasquantitytabulations,makeforanicechecklist.
DetailAllworkitemsshouldbeaccountedforwithintheschedule.SpecificationSections1803and1806
needtobecomparedtotheschedulescontents.Thespecificationmaydictatealevelofdetail.Thelevelof
detailisabalancingact;toolittlewillmakereviewingimpactsdifficult;toomuchcanmakeschedule
maintenancedifficult.Thefollowingareexamplesofdetailissues:

Durationlimitationslimitingdurationstonolessthanfivedaysdoesnotbodewellforweekend
work.Italsocausesfloatsequestration.MnDOTspecificationssometimeshavelimiteddurationsto
nolessthanfivedaysunlessotherwiseauthorizedbytheEngineer.Itisrecommendedthatthe
Engineerallowfordurationslessthanfivedays.

ExcessiveStepsCombingworkcomponentscaneliminateexcessivedetail.Forexample,itisnot
recommendedthattherebeanactivityforFormConcreteFooting,oneforInstallReinforcementin
Footing,oneforPourFooting,oneforCureandoneforStripFooting.Itisrecommendedthatan
activitybecreatedforFRPFootingfollowedbyanactivitytoCureandStripFooting.FRPisan
industryacronymforForm,ReinforceandPour.

InsufficientStepsAnactivitytitleBridgeSubstructureisinsufficientdetail.Itcanmaketracking
progressdifficultandmakeforreviewingimpactschallenging.

Step5ReviewActivityCalendarAssignments
AddedColumntoDisplayCalendarAssignments
Allactivitiesneedtobereviewedforpropercalendar
assignments.Itisnotthereviewerspositiontosaythatan
activityshouldbeonafivedayversusasixdaycalendarbut
thereviewershouldmakessurethatagradingactivitywas
notinadvertentlyassignedtoabridgecalendar.Thereviewer
shouldalsolookforactivitiesonaglobalcalendarand
confirmifthatisthecorrectintent.Theuseofglobal
calendarsonaconstructionprojectlevelisnot
recommended.Aneasyandeyepleasingwaytoreview
calendarassignmentsistoaddacolumntothedatatable
area.

Step6ReviewFloat
Thespecificationstypicallydictatelevelsofcriticalandnearcriticalfloat.Ifthecriticalandnearcriticalfloatis
excessivethenthatisaclearindicationthatlogictiesexistwheretheyshouldnt.Themostcommonarelogic
tiesbetweendifferentstageswherethestagingdoesnotrestrictthefinishofanareabutthelogicdictates
such.

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Ifthereisahighleveloffloatthentheworkmorethanlikelyhasnotbeensequencedinconsiderationof
resources.Forexample,sevenbridgesallstartingandfinishingonthesameday.
Ahighlylinearschedulewillhaveahighercriticalandnearcriticalbase;forexampleatenmilemilland
overlayshouldbegivenconsiderationregardingfloat.
P6canorganizefloatbyvalueswhichwillpermitthereviewertoviewthefloatinanumericorder;sayzeroto
100.OrthereviewercancopyallactivitiesandpastethemintoExcelforanalysis.Ifaschedulehasahigh
amountofmilestonetypeactivitiesitisrecommendedthattheyarenotincludedwithintheanalysisoffloat
becausetheydonotaccountfortangiblework.
ToorganizebyfloatopentheGroupandSortWindow,changetheGroupBycelltonone.Clicksortandthe
SortWindowwillpopup,drawdowntheFieldName,selectTotalFloatandthenclickOKandOKagain.

GroupandSortWindow

SortWindowwithFieldNameOpened

Step7ReviewLogic
Thelogicforallactivitiesshouldbereviewed.Lookforthefollowingwhenreviewinglogic:

Lookforactivitieswithnopredecessorsorsuccessors.Everyactivityexceptthefirstshouldhaveat
leastonepredecessor.Everyactivityshouldhaveatleastonesuccessorexceptthelastactivity.
Lookformissingtangiblelogic.Forexample,istheapproachslabapredecessortothetrafficrail?
Lookforlogicthatdoesnotmakesense.Forexample,istheapproachslabapredecessortoan
overheadsignbaseforasignnowhereinthevicinityoftheslab?
Lookforlargelags.Somelagsarelegitimate.
Lookfordateconstraints.Contractuallyimposeddatesareacceptablebutthosethatarenotwill
artificiallydiminish,sequester,availablefloatwhichisprohibitedbycontract.Anasterisk*nexttoa
dateinthedatecolumnwillsignifytheuseofaconstraint.Ifitisnexttoanearlydatethenanearly
constraintisbeingused;ifnexttoalatedatethenalateconstraintisinuse.
Lookforexcessivegenericdurations.

TheSSChascreatedlogicreportsthatcanassistinthisprocess.PleaserefertotheReportssectionearlierin
thistutorialforprintingthelogicreports.Oneofthereports,ActivityLogicReport(seebelow),isorganizedby
activityIDandtheother(seebelow)isorganizedbytheWBS.Boththesereportshavethesubjectactivityin
boldprintwiththepredecessorsandsuccessorslistedbelow.Theyidentifytherelationshiptypebutnotthe
lag.ThesereportsalsocontainanOwnercolumnwhichisnotapplicableforcontractorschedules.
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MnDOTBaselineReview:RelationshipsbyWBSReport

Step8ReviewLogic
RunClaimDiggeronallresubmittedbaselines.

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ReviewingContractorUpdateSchedules
Updates
Anupdatedscheduleisproducedfromeitherthebaselineorthepreviousacceptedupdateschedule.The
updatewillincludeactivitiesthatreflectprogressandplannedwork.Allprogressconsistsofactualdatesto
theleftofthedatadate.Plannedworkconsistsofplanneddatestotherightofthedatadate.Theupdateis
alsoatoolthatcanidentifyissuesbeforetheybecomeimpacts.Thefollowingstepsareaguidetoreviewing
anupdate.
Step1MakeaCopyandSchedule(Calculate)
Itissuggestedthatacopyoftheupdatedschedulebemadeandusedtoreviewtheupdate.Thiswillpermit
therevieweraccesswithoutlimitations.IfneededpleaserefertotheCopyandPasteFilessectionearlier
withinthistutorial.
Withthecopiedscheduleopenedtheusershouldmakesurethedatadateiscorrectandschedule(calculate)
theschedule.IfneededpleaserefertotheScheduling(Calculate)sectionearlierwithinthistutorial.
Step2RunClaimDigger
ClaimDiggerwilllistmostofthechangesmadetotheschedule.OnepotentialchangethatClaimDiggerdoes
notdiscloseischangestothecalendarsnonworkdaysorworkdays.UsingClaimDiggerwillbediscussedlater
herein.
Step3ReviewScheduleChanges
Alllogicchangesshouldbeidentifiedandexplainedbythecontractorwithintheirnarrative.Unfortunately
thisiswheremostcontractsarelax.Eveniflistedandexplainedbythecontractorthereviewerneedsto
revieweachchangethemselvesanddetermineiftheyareacceptableornot.
OpentheClaimDiggerreportandselectdesireddataandpasteintoanExcelspreadsheet.Thedatacanbe
sortedandorganizedtobetterunderstandthechangesthatweremade.Thereviewercanrecordnotesthat
coincidewitheachchangewhichmakesforgoodnotekeeping.
Changesarenotlimitedtorelationships.Theyalsoincludeitemslistedbelowandcanpresentjustasmuch
effectasrelationshipchanges:

Originaldurationchanges
Calendarassignmentchanges
Addedactivities
Deletedactivities
Descriptionchanges
Lagchanges

Addabaselinecolumnandbarofthepreviousscheduleforcomparison.Placethecolumnssidebysideof
likedatasuchastotalfloat.

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Step4Confirmation
ContractualDatesAnupdatereviewneedstoconfirmthatthecontractualdatesaremaintained,i.e.,isthe
projectstillonschedule.Shortofapendingexcusabledelayand/ortimeextensionitisnotrecommended
thatanupdatebeacceptedifitcontainsnegativefloat.MnDOTspecificationshavetypicallyaddressed
requiredactioninsuchcircumstances.
ActualDatesItisimportantthatallactualdatesbereviewedtothefullestpotential.Doingsoprovidesfor
anaccurateasbuiltrecordwhichisimportantandwillsavetimeifatimeissuearises.Anydiscrepancies
betweenthecontractorandMnDOTshouldbereconciled.
ConfirmProgressOverstatedprogresspresentsaddedtimeandfloat;aheadofschedulewhenyouarenot.
Understatedprogressconceals,sequesters,availabletimeandfloat;behindschedulewhenyouarenot.
Inaccurateprogressalsohindersreviewsofpotentialimpactswhichcanalterafairoutcomeforeitherparty.
Adaymightnotseemlikealotbutitcouldbeworththousandsofdollars.
WeatherAsdiscussesearliertheschedulescontainweathercontingencywhichistimereservedfordayslost
toinclementweather.Anaccuraterecordingofdayslosttoweatherorlingeringweathereffectsthataffected
productionisimportantasbuiltdata.Thereviewerneedstocomparethedaysofactualweatheroccurrences
thatimpactedproductiontothedaysofplannedweathercontingency.Somecontractorswillgoinandrecord
theactualswithinthecalendarsbyeitherturningaworkdayintoanonworkdayoranonworkdayintoa
workday.Thereviewerneedstocompareeachcalendarforthechanges.ClaimDiggerwillnotprovidethis
information.

DiminishingFloatComparison
ProjectionsTheschedulecanprovideforesighttopotential
issues.Astimepassesandworkdoesnotstartthefloatwill
diminishandeventuallyturnnearcritical;tendaysorlessof
float.Toviewthediminishingfloatbetweenthecurrentand
previousupdateinstallacolumnforthebaselinetotalfloat
(BL1TotalFloat),placeitnexttothecurrenttotalfloat
columnandrunafilterofallactivitieswithtendaysorlessof
float.ThegraphictotherightgivesanexampleofWorkthat
hasnotprogressedasplannedandisanimminentimpact.

Step5ReviewOutofSequenceEvents
Primaveradefinesanoutofsequenceeventasworkcompletedforanactivitybeforeitisscheduledtooccur.
Inaconventionalrelationship,anactivitythatstartsbeforeitspredecessorcompletesshowsoutofsequence
progress.Thereviewerneedstoreviewalloutofsequenceevents.Alistingoftheeventscanbefoundinthe
schedulelogreport.RefertotheScheduling(Calculate)sectiondiscussedearlierherein.Thebestwayto
analyzetheeffectsoftheseeventsisfromwithinP6.
Outofsequencelogiccancauseamissinglinkbetweentangiblepartsoftheschedulewhichifnotcorrected
canleadtoinaccuratefloatandplanneddates.

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Step6ReviewNarrative
Areviewofthenarrativeisjustasimportantasareviewoftheschedule.Thereviewerneedstoensurethat
nocontradictingstatementsarecontainedtherein.Ifthenarrativecontainsanoticeofanimpactorlooming
impactthenthereviewerneedstoensurethatthenoticeisaccurateandrespondaccordingly.
SomerecentMnDOTspecificationsrequiretheuseofaMnDOTcreatednarrativeformthatcanbefoundat
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/const/tools/contracttime.html undertheheadingPrimaveraP6.Specificationswill
typicallyspecifywhatistobeincludedanddiscussedwithinthenarrative.
Step7EvaluatewithAbilitiesRestoreChanges(Optional)
Manytimesanupdatesubmittalwillcontainlogicchanges.Someofthechangesmayhavebeenfor
correctingoutofsequenceeventswhileothersweretomaintainprogressthatotherwisewasimpactedand
nonexcusable.Restoringallchangeswillrevealanyimpact.Itisrecommendedthatthisbedonefrom
anothercopyoftheupdate.Restorationofchangesisamanualprocess.Itwillrequireeverychangelistedin
ClaimDiggertobemanuallyreversed.Oncethechangeshavebeenrestoredtheuserwillneedtocalculate
theschedule.
Ifmanuallyrestoringthechangesistoocumbersomethentheotheroptionistocopythepreviousupdateand
enterallconfirmedprogressandthencalculatetheschedulewiththecurrentdatadate.
Ifnegativefloatappearsuponschedulingthereviewercananalyzetheimpact(s)andestablishresponsibility.
Iftheimpactsaredeemedcontractorcausedthentheyshouldbeincludedwithinthereviewcommentstobe
senttothecontractor.ThisreviewprocessshouldnotbeconfusedwithaWhatIfanalysis.Thisprocessisa
reviewofunauthorizedchanges.
WhatIfAnalysisEvaluatewithAbilities(Optional)
AWhatIfAnalysisisnotnecessarilyastepinreviewinganupdate.Itisaprocessthatcaninformauserofan
outcomeofanypotentialissuethathas,ormay,ariseandwhattheramificationsaretotheprojectschedule.
Issuescanbeaddingscope,deletingscope,suspensions,impactsandotheritems.ToperformaWhatIf
AnalysistheuserneedstomakeacopyofthetargetedschedulepertheinstructionsintheCopyandPaste
Filessectionearlierwithinthistutorial.
Oncethescheduleiscopiedtheprocessisnothingmorethanmodifyingtheschedulebyadding,deletingor
modifyingactivitiesthatrepresent(s)theissue(s)tobeevaluated.Toaddordeleteactivitiesintheschedule
followSteps7through12intheCreatingaSchedulesectionearlierwithinthistutorial.

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ClaimDigger
ClaimDiggerisanancillaryprogramwithinP6thatisatooltocomparechangesmadebetweenschedules.Claim
DiggercanproduceareportinaHTMLorCSVfileformat.ItcanalsoproduceanASCIITextFile.Itis
recommendedthattheuserselectstheHTMLfiletoworkwith.
ToaccessClaimDiggerclicktheexpressiveToolscommandandselectClaimDigger.The
ClaimDiggerWindowwilltakemoretimethantypicaltopopup.

Expressive Command

TheClaimDiggerWindow(Figure1)hasaSelectReviseProjectsectionandaSelectOriginal
ProjectorBaselinesection.Theselectwindowmayautomaticallyplacetheopenedproject
whenClaimDiggerisopened.Ifthisisthedesiredproject,fine.Ifnotthenclicktheupper
mostcelloftheselectwindowandtheSelectProjectWindowwillpopup(Figure2).The
revisedprojectcelliswhereyouwouldtypicallyplacethecurrentupdate.
TheSelectProjectWindow(Figure2)willcontaintheEPS
structureinanexpandableandcollapsibleformat.Toexpandor
collapseclickonthe+orboxofthedesiredEPS;theavailable
projectswillappear.RepeatthisprocessintheSelectOriginal
ProjectWindow.Thisiswhereyouwouldtypicallyplacethe
previousscheduletobecomparedagainstthecurrentschedule.

Figure1 ClaimDiggerWindow

ThenextstepistoclicktheOutputFiledrawdownbox(Figure1).
TheSaveWindowwillpopupsogivethefileanameandlocation
astowhereyouwantittobesavedtoo.
Figure2SelectProjectWindow

TheClaimDiggerWindowhasanadvancedbuttoniftheusershouldchoose
tobeselectiveonthedatatobecompared.Clickontheadvancedbutton
andtheAdvancedProjectComparisonOptionsWindow(Figure3)willpop
up.Thiswindowhasnumerouscheckboxestoselectorunselectthedesired
choices.Allboxesarecheckedbydefault;clickOK
YouwillnowbebackintheClaimDiggerWindow.Clickcompareandthe
comparisonwillstart.Tofindtheoutputfilegotowhereyousavedit.
DatawithintheHTMLfilecanbecopiedandpastedintoExcel.

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Figure3 AdvancedProjectComparisonOptions

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