Primavera P6 Tips Part 2- How To De-progress A Schedule In P6

GOAL

This post explains how to remove progress from a schedule in P6 so that all percent completes are zero and there are no actuals.

SOLUTION

Please perform the following steps to remove the progress from your project in the order that they appear in this list:

1. Choose Enterprise, Projects and select the Calculations tab.   Choose to "Link Budget and At Completion for not started activities" and "Reset Remaining Duration and Units to Original".

If the Calculations Tab is not showing, it needs to be added.  Go to the Projects view and right-click in the details section at the bottom. Choose 'Customize Project Details'. Then select the Calculations option on the left and bring it over to the right. Then click OK.

2. Choose View, Columns and add the columns for Actual Labor Units, Actual Nonlabor Units.
3. Choose Tools, Schedule and set the data date equal to the Project Start Date and schedule. To find the Project Start date, choose Enterprise, Projects. Click on the Dates tab and note the Planned Start date.
4. For the first activity in the list, set the Actual Labor Units to 0. Highlight the activities in this column and choose Edit, Fill Down.
5. For the first activity in the list, set the Actual Nonlabor Units to 0. Highlight the activities in this column and choose Edit, Fill Down.
6. Choose Tools, Global Change and run the 1st Global Change. This will set the Actual Material Units to zero.
7. Run the 2nd global change which sets the activity status to Not Started.

1st Global Change:

Subject Area:
Activity Resource Assignments

If:
Resource Type equals Material

Then:
Actual Material Units = 0

2nd Global Change:

Subject Area:
Activities

If:
Where Activity Status is not equal to Not Started

Then:
Activity Status equals Not Started

If this process is not used you may encounter the following error:

"Cannot set status to Not Started if activity has actuals."

3rd Global Change:

Add duration to activities by running global change for Not Started activities

Subject Area:
Activities

If:
Where Activity Status is equal to Not Started

Then:
Remaining Duration = Original Duration

Reference: Oracle P6 Support

Primavera P6 Tips Part 1-How to Filter Out Activities That Are Not in the Baseline

Simply Run the  below filter:

BL Finish Date = Blank 

BL Start Date = Blank

You have to use both the start and finish if there are Milestones. This filter will show activities that are not in the Baseline. 

To show only activities that are in the Baseline use "Is not equal to"

Why Schedule Risk Analysis is required for projects?

The Value

As part of the project management process, a project schedule will be defined, typically using the Critical Path Method (CPM) technique, that identifies the activities (tasks) that need to be performed to fulfil the project objectives, how long each activity is expected to take, the order in which the activities must be performed, and often the resources required to perform the work.

The trouble with the CPM technique is that it does not take into account uncertainty and because of this it tends to be inherently optimistic in the forecast it provides for project completion.

By understanding the effect of uncertainty, both in terms of estimate uncertainty (lack of knowledge) and event uncertainty (random external threats and opportunities), we can focus our estimating and management effort on activities that are likely to have the largest effect on the project outcome. This reduces management effort and cost and allows us to make commitments that are more realistic and achievable.

CPM is  Optimistic

There is always uncertainty associated with activity execution. There may be less uncertainty associated with work that has been performed before and is well understood, but it is still there. Machines fail, staff have good days/bad days, and weather happens. Consider the following example where we can assume our estimates are good, uncertainty is equally likely to have a beneficial vs detrimental impact, and historically our average actual execution time is in line with estimates.

If each activity takes 5 days to execute, the project should complete at the end of day 10. However, what happens if Activity A takes 6 days to complete? As good project managers we will observe the overrun and we can focus our efforts to bring Activity B in early. If we are successful the project may still complete on day 10.

Now consider those same two activities executed in parallel:

If again, each activity takes 5 days to execute, the project should complete at the end of day 5. However, what happens if activity A takes 6 days to execute? The project completion will slip to day 6 and there’s nothing we can do to Activity B to improve the situation. In fact, if B has any effect at all, it will only be to delay the project further.

Let’s tabulate the possible outcomes of activity A and B in our parallel example:

Activity A	Activity B	Project Completion
On-Time/Early	On-Time/Early	On-Time/Early
Late	On-Time/Early	Late
On-Time/Early	Late	Late
Late	Late	Late

From the table we can see that, even assuming symmetrical uncertainty on the two individual activities, we only have a one in four (25%) chance of the project finishing on-time or early.

Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) using Monte Carlo Simulation

CPM uses a single estimate for activity duration. A better model would use a range of estimates that reflect the possible variation in execution for each activity. These are called Three Point Estimates. There is often concern that obtaining a range of estimates for every activity will be arduous and time consuming. This doesn't have to be the case. In fact, an initial analysis of the project using generic estimates for all activities (e.g. ±25%) can usually identify good candidates for more detailed analysis using historical data, expert opinion, or perhaps confidence (or lack thereof) in the original estimate expressed during risk workshops.

Schedule Risk Analysis will then simulate the execution of the project many times, using durations sampled from the range specified for each activity, and produce a range of dates over which the project may finish.

Schedule Risk Analysis will then simulate the execution of the project many times, using durations sampled from the range specified for each activity, and produce a range of dates over which the project may finish.

The histogram bars shows the chance of the project (or activity/milestone) finishing on a specific date.

The cumulative S-Curve shows the probability of finishing by a specific date.

The chart shows we only have a 2% chance of achieving the 13 November 17 finish date suggested by CPM.

Based on this chart we might commit to deliver on 05 March 18 because this gives us  (80%) chance of success.

Sensitivity analysis can identify the top contributors to uncertainty in the project/deliverable outcome.

By focusing management effort on activities listed on the SRA report, management time/cost can be reduced and the chance of project success increased.

Summary

Schedule Risk Analysis can be an easy way to ensure commitments are realistic and improve your chance of success while reducing project costs. Embracing risk can improve confidence and ultimately profitability.