Are you looking for some Primavera P6 training books or PDFs? We’ll be honest: there aren’t that many good ones around. That might change in the future, as project management is a growing sector and Oracle Primavera is established as one of the best products to manage complex programs. Meanwhile, here is our roundup of what Primavera P6 training books are available.
1. Oracle Primavera P6 Version 8: Project and Portfolio Management
This guide to P6 by Daniel L. Williams and Elaine Britt Krazer is relatively old but still relevant. Extensively reviewed, it is written by two Primavera experts supported by technical editors, so as far as quality goes, this is our top pick.
It’s clear, easy to follow, logically put together and includes a lot of screenshots so you can follow along. It also covers integrations, so if you are trying to connect your project management tools to Oracle EBS, JD Edwards, or PeopleSoft, you’ll be covered.
It is available as an ebook as well as a print book, and via O’Reilly so if your company has a subscription to their resources, you can go and read it today. At over 300 pages, you could be reading for some time!
2. Construction Scheduling With Primavera P6
This book by Jongpil Nam starts with an overview of schedule management, which helps set the software in a project management context of how you would use it for work. It goes on to cover schedule planning and set up, schedule maintenance, analysis and reporting and then has a useful section on schedule-related claims, plus a handy appendix of acronyms.
It has a specific focus on construction, so includes a brief discussion of FIDIC and dispute resolution. However, if you are completely new to construction project management, you might find this book too advanced for you. You won’t be able to learn the profession directly from a textbook, but that’s not unusual. Project management in construction, engineering and many government domains is a highly practical role that is best taught by experienced professionals. Combine that with on-the-job experience and you’ll soon find your feet.
3. Primavera P6 Professional Fundamentals Instruction Manual
We think our course book is one of the best out there for helping you to learn this career-enhancing software.
As a PDF Primavera book, it’s searchable and easy to use when you need it. We’ve tried and tested course delivery over many years, so we can guarantee that it includes the features and menus you’ll be using the most often.
The manual is available to all of our students. We have relevant course materials for each of our Primavera classes, so you will always get access to the knowledge you need for the stage you are in. As an added extra, students receive exercises inspired by real-life project scenarios, so you can use your new knowledge to practice using the tools.
4. Oracle Primavera P6 Professional User Guide
Available as a PDF, this is Oracle’s guide to their popular software.
It’s a weighty tome at 294 pages and it sits alongside the administration guide for the tool. The book covers EPPM and the P6 Professional databases, so you’ll read about both. If you only have one in your environment, you’ll need to pick and choose which sections are relevant to you.
The book is good, comprehensive and an official take on what you need to know to operate the project management software. However, it’s a pretty dry read and it includes details of a whole host of features you might not need to use for your daily work. Use the search function or the clickable contents page in the PDF to quickly find what’s relevant to you.
As with many software user guides and professional manuals, it’s always good to have access to the official source. We recommend grabbing a copy of this but not making it your main reference.
5. 99 Tricks and Traps for Oracle Primavera P6 PPM Professional Updated for Version 21 – The Casual Users Survival Guide
This book, by Paul Harris, includes some good tips. If you already have a basic level of Primavera knowledge, you can boost your skills with the info in here. The screenshots and details mean you don’t need to have Primavera in front of you to see how to use the features.
If we were being picky, we’d say that the infrequent typos and book layout made this one a difficult read. It’s available as an ebook and print version so regardless of how you like to consume your reading material, you will be able to find a copy. The author has written a wide range of Primavera books so if this isn’t relevant, check out his other works.
Have you found other great Primavera P6 training books? Get in contact and let us know!