After creating our Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the next logical step in the project creation process is to create our activities in Primavera P6 EPPM. Quite often, a skilled scheduler who has been involved in the project creation process is required to define these activities. Developing a realistic schedule requires comprehensive estimated planned durations that correspond with correct activity definitions. Let’s take a closer look at how to create activities in Primavera P6 EPPM.
Entering Activities and Corresponding Durations
Below in Figure 1, we have our demonstration Primavera P6 EPPM project with our corresponding WBS components. We select ‘Activities’ and the ‘Columns’ tool.
Figure 1
In the ‘Customize Columns’ all our WBS elements are displayed. By selecting ‘Columns’ we adjust the columns selected in the dialog, as in Figure 2.
Figure 2
Right-clicking on the WBS element ‘Pipe Repair & Improve’, we select ‘Add Activity’ as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3
By selecting the ‘General’ tab in the bottom screen, we can enter the high-level activities ‘Project Start,’Project Management’ and ‘Notice to Proceed’ in the Activity Name field, as in Figure 4.
Figure 4
We use the ‘Activity Name’ field, in the ‘General’ bottom view for typing in the activity name and not the new cell that appears in the WBS/Activity view. In the ‘Activity Type’ field we select ‘Start Milestone’ from the drop-down menu, as seen in Figure 5 below.
Figure 5
We right-click on ‘Notice to Proceed’, to bring up the ‘Add Activity’ menu and we type in ‘Project Start’ in the General bottom view under the ‘Activity Name.’ In the bottom details section under the ‘General’ tab, we select our ‘Duration’, as in Figure 6.
Figure 6
Using the ‘Activity Type’ drop-down menu we set ‘Project Start’ as another Milestone. We repeat the process for the ‘Project Management’ activity, but this time we select ‘Level of Effort’ for the ‘Activity Type.’ In the bottom details section under the ‘General’ tab, we select our ‘Duration’, as in Figure 7.
Figure 7
We move onto the next WBS element, the ‘Demolition Piping’ and by following the same process, we describe all the activities for this deliverable. After naming an activity, we take care to enter the corresponding estimated durations using the ‘General’ tab, under the ‘Durations’ section, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8
We continue with all the WBS elements of ‘Installation Piping’, ‘Installation Thrust Block’ and ‘Quality Assurance’ adding the activities and estimated durations for each of the deliverables until our WBS activities are complete.
Adding a Name Description with the ID Code
We want to clarify our activities further by adding a name description with our ID code. We select the ‘grouping’ icon in the top ribbon, and under ‘Display Text in Bands Using’ we check the ‘ID/Code and Name/Description’, as in Figure 9.
Figure 9
Our resulting WBS schedule with our associated activities is displayed in Figure 10.
Figure 10
Upon review of our schedule by the project team, we are informed by the Quality Control department, that an activity ‘Inspect Pipe Insulation’ has to be added under the Insulation Piping WBS element to our schedule.
Inserting an Activity After the Schedule is Completed
As we want to include ‘Inspect Pipe Insulation’ after ‘Insulate Piping’ we right-click on ‘Insulate Piping’ to select ‘Add Activity’. Under the ‘General’ tab in the bottom ‘Details’, we type in the ‘Activity ID’ (1082), the ‘Activity Name’(Inspect Pipe Insulation) and the duration, as in Figure 11.
Figure 11
Our final schedule is displayed with our additional activity in Figure 12.
Figure 12
Summary
Sound scheduling knowledge and experience are often required to create a high quality schedule as activities, relationships and durations need to be correctly defined. Activity definition is an important part of the scheduling process, as the schedule forms a central part of the project process.
Using this method to create activities in Primavera P6 EPPM is a fairly straightforward process. Just enter the activity type and name in under the ‘General’ tab in the bottom details section, then add your estimated duration for the activity.
If you need to insert an additional activity once your schedule is completed, manually type in the activity name and ID.