We received a comment asking “is it possible to “roll up” or summarize physical % complete values at the Work Breakdowns Structure (WBS) element level?” Let’s explore this question. Primavera P6 Professional has three different percent complete types for measuring the progress of activities: duration, units, and physical. The ‘duration % complete’ type is the […]
Microsoft Project and Deadlines
Need to know how to insert Microsoft Project deadlines into your schedule? Let’s say that your customer has told you what date your project deliverables are due. The good news is that your schedule is on target to complete before this date. However, you still want to highlight the requested completion date on your schedule. […]
Primavera P6 Resource Curves
I recently had a former student ask me how to apply a custom P6 resource curve to cost loading a task. Let’s take a look at this question. If you have a task that has a non-uniform cost loading Primavera P6 Professional has numerous default curves, including a bell-curve shape, which you can apply to […]
3 Things To Do To Get More Out Of Deltek Cobra Reporting
Do you want to get more out of the Deltek Cobra reporting capabilities? Deltek Cobra is a mature, incredibly capable Earned Value engine. As such, it has a ton of capabilities and other tools you could be using right now. How much are you really taking advantage of? This is true of the Microsoft Office […]
How To Run Deltek Cobra 8 and Cobra 5 On The Same PC
When a new release of Deltek Cobra comes out, it can be challenging to just simply try it out without a test machine. As with any version of software, bugs can be an issue. So far in my early use of Deltek Cobra 8.0, I have not run into any bugs, however, it’s always a […]
How to Update Budget/Forecast Details in Cobra Project Details Screen
One of the new capabilities Deltek Cobra 8 offers its users, is the easier interface and updating capabilities in the Project Details screen. Here we will walk you through cutting and pasting the time phased forecast details to excel and back into Deltek Cobra 8 for updating budget and forecast. Under the projects Navigation pane […]
The 14-Point Schedule Assessment and the Baseline Execution Index (BEI)
Many project managers look to Earned Value Management (EVM) values to predict whether or not their project will complete on time. Recently, the Baseline Execution Index (BEI) has been popularized as a schedule completion early warning metric. Let’s discuss. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) developed a 14-point assessment for gauging the quality or soundness […]
Options for Handling Out-of-Sequence Progress in Primavera P6
In some industries, out-of-sequence progress occurs more frequently than not. Nevertheless, it happens on even the best and most well thought out schedules created by the most experienced and skillful schedulers. The simple fact is that projects take on a life of their own once they get started, and people don’t necessarily follow schedules; rather […]
Displaying a Prime Period Gantt Chart Bar in Primavera P6
Your quality assurance inspection can take place over a specified ideal date range. Here we look at how to display this prime period date range window of opportunity along with the forecasted inspection date on the Gantt chart. Scenario Your project’s government Contracting Officer (CO) plans to be onsite the last week in September. You […]
5 Difficult Conversations for PMO Leaders To Have
Difficult Conversations For the leader of a Project Management Office, much of the working day is taken up with operational issues and ensuring that projects, programs and portfolios are operating as they should. From time to time you’ll have to face difficult conversations to ensure that you can still deliver those projects, programs and portfolios […]