Not all Primavera P6 users are aware that you can create a rather useful driving predecessors logic report in P6.
Understanding the relationships between activities is important for good sound scheduling practice. In particular, you may want to know which activity predecessor among several predecessors is driving the successor. It may be difficult, even on small projects, to specify a particular activity’s driving predecessor. Primavera P6 Professional, however, has a robust reporting feature that can generate a project schedule driving predecessors report.
Creating a Driving Predecessors Report in Primavera P6
This article will show you how to create a project schedule driving predecessor report.
Below, in Figure 1, is our demonstration project.
Figure 1
Let’s proceed and create a driving predecessor report of this schedule. Click the reports icon in the enterprise tool group, Figure 2.
Figure 2
Select Edit | + Add, again, Figure 2. The report wizard pops up, click next, Figure 3.
Figure 3
In the select subject area dialog, Figure 4, highlight activities and click next.
Figure 4
In the select additional subject areas dialog, Figure 5, highlight predecessors and click the arrow to include predecessors in the selected subject areas.
Figure 5
Click next, Figure 6.
Figure 6
Make sure activities is highlighted and select columns in the configure selected subject areas dialog, Figure 7.
Figure 7
Include the options listed in Figure 8.
Figure 8
Now click group & sort, Figure 9, and group by WBS.
Figure 9
Do not show totals, and do not display ID/Code. Click sort, Figure 10, and sort start and finish ascending.
Figure 10
The filter is as displayed in Figure 11.
Figure 11
In Figure 12 we edit the activity name column to read, predecessor name.
Figure 12
Now highlight predecessors in the configure selected subject areas dialog, and click columns, Figure 13.
Figure 13
Add the columns displayed in Figure 13. Click next, Figure 14.
Figure 14
In Figure 15 we give the report an appropriate title, and click next.
Figure 15
In the run report generated dialog click to run report, Figure 16.
Figure 16
Toggle print preview and click OK, Figure 17.
Figure 17
The resulting driving predecessor report is displayed in Figures 18 and 19.
Figure 18
Figure 19
Figure 19 displays that activity remove equipment is the driving predecessor of substantial completion. Finally, we save the report, Figure 20.
Figure 20
Summary
It does require effort, but generating a stakeholders’ driving predecessor’s report is feasible in Primavera P6 Professional. The report lists predecessors of each activity, the relationship type, and whether the respective predecessor is driving. It is also convenient to list the lag associated with each predecessor.