Dashboards is a feature in Primavera P6 EPPM that displays various plots and tables of a portfolio of projects. The key is knowing how to create a portfolio so you know what projects you are looking at when the dashboards are displayed. Dashboards are front and center in the Primavera P6 EPPM interface. They are […]
Who Needs Scheduling Best Practice Training?
“I’ve been using my scheduling tool for years. I know critical path method inside out, and I’ve built and managed numerous major schedules. So why would I need to attend a scheduling best practice training course?” Good scheduling professionals may have the above mindset – and rightly so. They have learned by experience to operate very […]
How Deltek Acumen Will Help Prevent DCMA Surveillance Audits
About a year ago we wrote about the new DCMA surveillance approach based on metric based analysis to determine the need and areas of focus for surveillance audits. In an attempt to bring more efficiency to the surveillance process, DCMA defined a series of metrics in relation to all ANSI 32 criteria. The goal is […]
DCMA 14-Point Assessment and High Duration Tasks
Does your schedule have excessively high duration tasks? The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) says activities longer than 44-days (approximately 2-months) are not ideal, and should be limited. The quality of schedules is certified by the DCMA 14-point assessment. Schedules that meet or exceed the assessment have a significantly greater opportunity for success. The high […]
Addressing Critical Path Issues in Primavera P6 Using a 7-day Workweek Calendar
If you’ve modeled your concrete cure time as a task in Primavera P6 Professional having a unique 7-day workweek calendar you may have found that your critical path in certain instances becomes discontinuous or disjointed. There is more than one approach to modeling lag, (e.g. concrete cure time) in Primavera P6. It is possible to […]
Upgrading Primavera P6 Professional with an SQLite Database
Since Primavera released P6 R8.4 back in October of 2014, a standalone installation of P6 Professional can use a small, simple, SQLite database. This was an excellent change in the Primavera P6 standalone package because previously you had to either setup a Microsoft SQL Server Express database, or install the somewhat technically demanding Oracle XE […]
The DCMA 14-Point Assessment and Negative Float
Total float is a measure of how long an activity may delay without delaying the entire project. Positive and zero total float are acceptable. Negative float, however, means your schedule is already behind, which is not good if you’re still at the planning stage. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) 14-point assessment inspects project schedules […]
Monitoring Deadline Dates in Primavera P6 Professional
Projects come with deadlines; it’s a fact of life. And most likely you want these deadline dates displayed on your Gantt chart, alongside the schedule projected completion date. Yes, this is possible in Primavera P6 Professional. If you want your missed deadline to generate negative total float in the activities table you should refer to […]
Visible Schedule Time Buffers
To make schedule time buffers visible or not? This maybe a vexing project management question. Yes, whether or not to hide your time buffer can be a difficult choice. If you hide the buffer, you may feel bad because you are being less than honest. When you choose to hide buffer, you are intentionally not […]
Deltek Cobra Report Definitions
Unlock the Secrets of Report Output Control in Deltek Cobra I’m often asked how to change the default behavior of Deltek Cobra reports. In this video I’m going to show you how to perform two of the most commonly requested changes from default report behavior in Deltek Cobra. The first is how to run an […]