Migrating

from P3 to P6™
Copyright © Primavera 1999 - 2007. All rights reserved.

While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this document, Primavera assumes no
liability resulting from any omission or inaccuracies in this document or from use of the information obtained
herein. Primavera reserves the right to make changes to any products described herein to improve reliability,
function, or design, and reserves the right to revise this document and to make changes from time to time in
content hereof with no obligation to notify any person of revisions or changes. Primavera does not assume any
liability arising out of the application or use of any product described herein; neither does it convey license under
its patent rights or the rights of others.

Please send your comments to:

Primavera Systems, Inc.

Three Bala Plaza West
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Telephone: 1-610-667-8600
FAX: 1-610-667-7894
World Wide Web site: http://www.primavera.com

Computer Software Copyrights: The Primavera software products described in this document may not be
copied, reproduced, modified, or distributed in any manner without Primavera's express written permission.

Use and Disclosure Restrictions: The software described in this document is the property of Primavera
Systems. It is furnished under a license agreement and may be used and/or disclosed only in accordance with the
terms of the agreement.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights: If the Software is acquired for or on behalf of the United States of
America, its agencies and/or instrumentalities (“U.S. Government”), it is provided with RESTRICTED
RIGHTS. The Software and accompanying documentation are “commercial computer software” and
“commercial computer software documentation,” respectively, pursuant to 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 227.7202, and
“restricted computer software” pursuant to 48 C.F.R. 52.227-19(a), as applicable. Use, modification, repro-
duction, release, performance, display or disclosure of the Software and accompanying documentation by the
U.S. Government are subject to restrictions as set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to 48 C.F.R. 12.212,
52.227-14 (Alternate III), 52.227-19, 227.7202, and 1852.227-86, as applicable.

Trademarks: Primavera, the Primavera sundial logo, P3, P3e, P3e/c, Primavera Enterprise, Primavera Evolve,
Primavera Expedition, Primavera Project Planner, Primavera TeamPlay, Primavision, PrimeContract, and
SureTrak are either trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Primavera in the United States and/or
in other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Certain products included in the software require the following disclosures:

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on
an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.

See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

*****

The Apache Software License, Version 1.1

Copyright (c) 2000 The Apache Software Foundation. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the
following conditions are met:

1 Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer.
2 Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3 The end-user documentation included with the redistribution, if any, must include the following acknowl-
edgment:
"This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation
(http://www.apache.org/)."

Alternately, this acknowledgment may appear in the software itself, if and wherever such third-party
acknowledgments normally appear.

4 The names "Apache" and "Apache Software Foundation" must not be used to endorse or promote products
derived from this software without prior written permission. For written permission, please contact
[email protected].
5 Products derived from this software may not be called "Apache", nor may "Apache" appear in their name,
without prior written permission of the Apache Software Foundation.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE APACHE
SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

*****

Copyright 1994-2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the
following conditions are met:

■ Redistribution of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer.
■ Redistribution in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

Neither the name of Sun Microsystems, Inc. or the names of contributors may be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

This software is provided "AS IS," without a warranty of any kind. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDI-
TIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE
HEREBY EXCLUDED. SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. ("SUN") AND ITS LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE
LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY LICENSEE AS A RESULT OF USING, MODIFYING OR
DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS DERIVATIVES. IN NO EVENT WILL SUN OR ITS
LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUE, PROFIT OR DATA, OR FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND
REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO
USE THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SUN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES.

You acknowledge that this software is not designed, licensed or intended for use in the design, construction,
operation or maintenance of any nuclear facility.

*****

Portions copyright (c) Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Copyright (c) 2002-2006 JGoodies Karsten Lentzsch. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the
following conditions are met:

■ Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer.
■ Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
■ Neither the name of JGoodies Karsten Lentzsch nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or
promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

*****

Printed in the United States of America

 vii

Table of Contents
Preface .........................................................................................ix
About this Book.....................................................................................................x
Primavera Documentation .....................................................................................xi
Where to Get Support......................................................................................... xiii

Part 1: Before You Begin

Welcome to P6................................................................................3
What Is P6?...........................................................................................................4
Why Move to P6? ..................................................................................................8
Roles and Responsibilities....................................................................................13
Your Strategy for Implementing P6.................................................17
Set Your Goals and Business Objectives ................................................................18
Develop an Implementation Strategy.....................................................................20
Assess Needs .......................................................................................................22
Communicate the Plan .........................................................................................27
About the Implementation Process .................................................29
Understanding Data Structures in the Project Management Module........................30
Connecting Data Structures..................................................................................32
Process Overview for Structuring Data..................................................................33

Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Quick Reference Cards..................................................................37
Where Do I Find? .........................................................................47
File Menu............................................................................................................48
Edit Menu ...........................................................................................................49
View Menu..........................................................................................................50
Format Menu.......................................................................................................52
Tools Menu .........................................................................................................54
Data Menu ..........................................................................................................57
Terms and Fields ..........................................................................59
viii Table of Contents

Comparing Terminology ......................................................................................60

Understanding Dates in P6 ...................................................................................61
Tips and Tricks ............................................................................65
Understanding Activity Types...............................................................................66
Understanding Duration and Percent Complete Types ...........................................69
Creating Hammocks in the Project Management Module........................................73
Using Autocost ....................................................................................................76
Creating a P3 Report in the Project Management Module .......................................90
Using Global Change ...........................................................................................97
Grouping Activities by Resource in the Project Management Module ....................105
Stacking Multiple Resource Bars in a Profile ........................................................106
Displaying the Activity Network..........................................................................109
Reversing Changes in the Project Management Module ........................................111

Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Planning for Conversion.............................................................. 115
Why Plan for Conversion? ..................................................................................116
Considerations for Conversion............................................................................117
P6 Considerations for Conversion.......................................................................134
Setting Up the EPS ............................................................................................136
Setting Up the Resource Hierarchy .....................................................................141
Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module .............. 143
Running the Import Wizard................................................................................144
How the Project Management Module Converts P3 Data......................................156
Advanced Conversion Options ...........................................................................159
Before and After Conversion Example .................................................................163
Index......................................................................................... 181

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Preface ix

Preface
In this preface P6 is comprehensive, multiproject planning and
control software, built on Microsoft SQL Server
About this Book
and Oracle databases for project management
Primavera Documentation
scalability. The Primavera solution includes the
Where to Get Support
Project Management module, which can stand
alone for project and resource management or be
used with companion products. The Timesheets
module enables Web-based team communication
and time keeping, the Methodology Management
module stores methodologies as templates for new
projects, and the Primavera Web application
allows users to access portfolio, project, and
resource management data via the Internet.

Migrating from P3 to P6
x Preface

About this Book

This book is an essential guide in helping you move your existing
projects from P3 to P6. This manual is organized as follows:

Part 1: Before You Begin Provides an overview of the

components that make up the Primavera solution. It discusses
what your company needs to do to start an implementation
process, including guidelines for setting business objectives and
developing a strategy. Read Part 1 to gain an understanding of the
data structures in P6 and the processes for building those
structures.

Part 2: Getting Started in P6 Assists you in getting started

quickly in the Project Management module. Pictorial steps for
completing common project management tasks are provided such
as, managing baselines. This part also lists commands in P3 and
maps each to its corresponding command in the Project
Management module. You can reference a list of terminology
differences between the two products, as well as tips and tricks for
getting the results you want in the Project Management module.

Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6 Describes how to convert

your existing P3 projects to the Project Management module of
P6. A checklist of considerations for preparing your projects in P3
before you convert is provided, along with how to set up some
structures in the Project Management module. Part 3 also explains
what happens to data once it is converted from P3 to the Project
Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Preface xi

Primavera Documentation
P6 roles are described in the Primavera documentation consists of printed manuals, online
Roles and Responsibilities
section of the Welcome to P6 manuals, and online help systems. You can access online
chapter of this manual. documentation by inserting the Primavera Documentation CD-
ROM in your workstation’s CD-ROM drive. In the
\Documentation folder on the CD-ROM, open the appropriate
industry-specific documentation folder, then double-click the
applicable PDF file to view the information using Adobe Acrobat
Reader (provided on the Documentation CD-ROM). The
following table describes the manuals and help systems, and lists
the recommended readers by role.

Title Description
Primavera Administrator’s Guide This guide explains how to set up the Primavera server and database, and the
components; it also provides an overview of all the components in the Primavera
solution. The guide describes the workflow required to administer the Project
Management module, including setting up security and configuring global
preferences. The network administrator/database administrator and project controls
coordinator should read this guide.

Project Management This guide explains how to plan, set up, and manage projects in a multiuser
Reference Manual environment. If you are new to Primavera, start with this guide to learn how to use
the software effectively to plan and manage projects. When you need more detail,
refer to the Project Management module Help. The project controls coordinator,
program manager, project manager, resource/cost manager, and team leader
should read this guide.

Methodology Management This guide explains how to establish methodologies, or project templates, using the
Reference Manual Methodology Management module. Methodologies enable your organization to
gather its “best practices” and reuse them to create custom project plans in the
Project Management module. If you are new to the Methodology Management
module, start with this guide to learn how to use the software to create base, plug-
in, and activity library methodologies. When you need more detail, refer to the
Methodology Management module Help. The project controls coordinator, program
manager, project manager, resource/cost manager, and team leader should read
this guide.

Migrating from P3 to P6
xii Preface

Title Description
Primavera Web application Web- The Primavera Web application Web-based Help describes how to create and
based Help manage projects, review resource allocation and requirements, and evaluate
budget, performance and ROI for project portfolios. The operations executive,
project controls coordinator, program manager, business unit manager, project
manager, resource/cost manager, and team leader should read this Help.

Timesheets Web-based Help Timesheets Web-based Help describes how to use the Timesheets module to enter
and update time spent on assignments. Team members should read this Help.

Software Development Kit (SDK) This documentation describes how to use the SDK to connect to the project
Web-based documentation management database. The tables, fields, and stored procedures that you can
access through the SDK are described. Examples are also provided to show how
you can use the SDK to perform several basic tasks, such as creating a new project
or assigning a resource to a project activity. The network administrator/database
administrator and project controls coordinator should read this documentation,
which is available by opening the \Program Files\Common Files\Primavera
Common\PMSDK\Doc folder, then double-clicking the INDEX.HTML file to open the
Table of Contents page.

ProjectLink Help ProjectLink help describes how to utilize ProjectLink to manage projects using both
the Project Management module and Microsoft Project.

Distributing Information to the Team

The online documentation can be copied to a network drive for
access by project participants. Each team member can then print
only those portions that specifically relate to his or her role in the
organization.

The documentation assumes a standard setup of the product,

with full access rights to all features and functions.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Preface xiii

Where to Get Support

If you have a question about using Primavera products that you or your
network administrator cannot resolve with information in the documen-
tation or Help, contact Primavera Customer Support at the times and
locations listed below.

Please provide your Primavera product serial number when contacting

Primavera. Each interaction is logged to help Primavera resolve your
questions quickly.

Office Time Zone Hours Telephone FAX E-mail Address*

Bala Cynwyd, ET 8:00–8:00 +1-610-668-3030 +1-610-667-0652 [email protected]
Pennsylvania, (Mon–Fri)
USA 9:00–2:00
(Sat)
London, GMT 8:30–6:30 +44-20-8563-5555 +44-20-8563-5543 [email protected]
England, UK (Mon–Thur)
8:30–5:30
(Fri)
Hong Kong GMT +8 8:00–5:00 +852-2111-8299 +852-2111-9477 [email protected]
(Mon–Fri)
*Primavera's Web site at http:/www.primavera.com/customer/index.asp provides support and product information,
such as knowledgebases, file downloads, user group and newsgroup information, and a product enhancement
request form.

In the United States, Primavera periodically and randomly

monitors technical support calls to ensure that you receive the
highest quality support.

All Primavera products are backed by comprehensive support and training.

To request product literature in the United States, contact your local

dealer, call Primavera at 1-610-667-8600, or send your request via e-mail
to [email protected]. In the United Kingdom, call 44-20-8563-5500
or e-mail your request to [email protected].

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Part 1
Before You Begin

In this part Welcome to P6

Your Strategy for Implementing P6
About the Implementation Process
R ead this part to learn more about Primavera’s approach to
managing projects and the components in P6. This part also
defines the various company-wide project management roles,
explains how these roles can use P6 to achieve their project
goals, and provides an overview of the data structures used to
successfully manage and control projects.
 Welcome to P6 3

Welcome to P6

In this chapter Primavera Systems provides a suite of products

for supporting the needs of varying levels of an
What Is P6?
organization that manage small or large numbers
Why Move to P6?
of projects at one time in different locations.
Roles and Responsibilities
Read this chapter to learn about the components
that make up the P6 solution, and the many
benefits from moving from P3 to P6. The roles
typically found in the Construction and
Engineering industry are also outlined, along with
their responsibilities and how they might use P6.

Migrating from P3 to P6
4 Part 1: Before You Begin

What Is P6?
P6 is project, cost, and resource management software that enables
organizations to make informed decisions and improve their
ability to deliver programs and projects on time and on budget
through the capture and reuse of best practices. P6 creates a
collaborative environment through its set of integrated
components with easy-to-use, personalized interfaces for all
project stakeholders.

P6 uses standard Windows interfaces, client/server architecture,

Web-enabled technology, and scalable, network-based (Oracle
and Microsoft SQL Server) databases. Choose to use one or more
of the following components in the P6 solution:
■ Project Management
■ Methodology Management
■ Timesheets
■ Primavera Web application
■ Software Development Kit (SDK)
■ Integration API
■ Claim Digger
■ ProjectLink

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 5

Project Management The Project Management module

integrates traditional project management with resource and cost
management. It is ideal for single-project users, as well as
organizations that need to simultaneously manage multiple
projects and support multiuser access across job sites or the entire
organization.

The Project Management module also provides centralized

resource management, which includes resource timesheet
approval and the ability to communicate with project resources
who use the Timesheets module, Primavera’s Web-based
timesheet management application. With the Project Management
module, you can also match people with roles and proficiency
levels, and then use that information to assign tasks effectively.

Migrating from P3 to P6
6 Part 1: Before You Begin

Methodology Management The Methodology Management

module is a system for authoring and storing methodologies, or
project plan templates (which are similar to P3’s fragnets but much
more powerful). By using the Methodology Management module,
your organization can gather its “best practices” and store them in
a central location. This allows project managers to create custom
project plans by selecting, combining, and tailoring templates,
rather than starting from scratch for each new project. In this way,
your organization can continually improve and refine
methodology activities, estimates, and other information with each
new project.

Timesheets The Timesheets module is a Web-based interproject

communication and timekeeping system. As a team-level tool for
project participants, it helps project participants focus on the work
at hand with a simple cross-project to-do list of their upcoming
assignments. It also provides views of project changes and
timecards for management approval. Because project participants
use the Timesheets module to enter up-to-the-minute information
about their assignments and record time against their workloads,
project managers can make crucial project decisions with the
confidence that they have the most current information possible.

Primavera Web application The Primavera Web application is a

Web application that provides browser-based access to project,
portfolio, and resource data across the enterprise. Every Primavera
Web application user can customize a Personal Workspace
dashboard to create an individualized and focused view of the
specific projects and categories of project data that are most
relevant to their role in managing projects and resources. Project
Workspaces and Workgroups extend the model of customizable,
focused data views by enabling designated project team members
to create a uniform team view of data that relates to one specific
project or to a subset of activities within a project. Navigation
menus provide access to a wide range of data views and features
that enable Primavera Web application users to manage their
projects from initial concept review and approval through to
completion.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 7

Software Development Kit The Software Development Kit

(SDK) enables you to integrate the data in the project management
database with external databases and applications. It provides
access to the schema and to stored procedures that encapsulate
business logic. The SDK supports the Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC) standard and ODBC-compliant interfaces,
such as OLE-DB and JDBC, for connecting to the project
management database. The SDK must be installed on any
computer that needs to integrate with the project management
database.

Integration API The Primavera Integration API is a Java-based

API and server that enables developers to create client code that
can seamlessly access Primavera’s project management
functionality. The Integration API is not part of P6, however it
may be useful to P6 users.

ProjectLink ProjectLink is a plug-in that enables Microsoft

Project (MSP) users to work in the MSP environment while being
connected to P6's enterprise features. The functionality enables
MSP users to open/save projects from/to the Project Management
database from within the MSP application. Moreover, MSP users
have the ability to invoke P6's resource management within the
MSP environment. ProjectLink benefits organizations that have a
substantial amount of project data stored in MSP but require some
users to have the additional functionality and optimized data
organization available within Primavera applications.

Migrating from P3 to P6
8 Part 1: Before You Begin

Why Move to P6?

Large business owners may have hundreds of engineering and
construction projects underway at one time to create the new
products that build their future. General contractors have projects
that help contribute to the same goals as those of business owners.
These projects cross normal business hierarchies and chains of
command, making project management an organization-wide,
cross-disciplinary challenge.

The pressure to complete projects on time and within budget, and

maintain a competitive edge is driving organizations to develop
and implement project management processes. They are moving
away from a traditional functional structure to a multiple-project
organization that must achieve clear, but urgent, goals using
limited, shared resources, and they need the fastest payback from
those projects to realize potential revenue.

P6 enables organizations to budget, prioritize, plan, and manage

multiple projects while optimizing shared resources. It provides
comprehensive information on all projects in an organization, from
top management summaries to detailed plans by project.
Individuals across all levels of the company can analyze, record,
and communicate reliable information and make timely, informed
decisions that support ontime project delivery.
By putting the right tool in the right hands, P6 enables an organi-
zation to
■ Make strategic business decisions
■ Control the minute details necessary to finish projects
■ Understand current resource demands, set priorities, and
evaluate long-term resource requirements
■ Reorganize projects to fit shifting priorities without sacrificing
quality
■ Improve communication

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 9

■ Report across projects

■ Manage by exception
■ Utilize early warning indicators

Same processes—new environment As an existing user of P3

you can take comfort in knowing that much of the functionality
and processes you will follow in P6 remain the same as those you
are familiar with in P3—for example, you schedule projects in P6
just as you would in P3. The focus, however, changes from a single
user environment to a multiuser, role-based environment. In P3,
individual projects are managed separately by one or more project
managers, each with their own set of codes, resources, calendars,
reports, and so on. This process may work fine in many
circumstances, but when many projects and programs need to be
managed at the same time, upper management needs a way to
assess their progress and relationship to one another at a higher
level.

Because P6 supports thousands of programs and projects in a

single database repository, management can maintain a better
grasp on all the projects and resources within the organization,
while individual project managers can review just the data that is
relevant to them.

Migrating from P3 to P6
10 Part 1: Before You Begin

In the standalone environment of P3, the project manager and/or

project control engineer is responsible for collecting data, entering
it into the program, tailoring and running reports for different
audiences, and analyzing the data, which can be a time-consuming
process. The multiuser environment of P6 eliminates this
bottleneck by having defined roles with shared responsibilities and
accountability. Individuals can record progress using Timesheets,
Mobile Management, the Primavera Web application, or the
Project Management module, which then can easily update the
project database; project managers can schedule, review, and
analyze data in P6, while upper management can review reports in
summarized format across all projects using a project website, the
Primavera Web application, or the Web Portfolio Management
module.

Latest technology While P3 has used the extremely reliable

Btrieve database engine since 1985, its 16-bit technology is
quickly becoming outdated. P6 is built using the platform of the
future. Project data is stored in a central project database that
resides on a server running Microsoft SQL Server, MSDE, or
Oracle. This type of relational database management system offers
many advantages over the file structure system used in P3. For one,
not all projects are managed separately—because data is stored in a
central database, rather than on the user’s PC, P6 enables
managers to access project data anywhere, at any time. Cross-
project analysis, including resource usage and project summaries,
is also possible.

In addition, a database structure provides better data security.

Tables in a database on a central server cannot be as easily
manipulated as individual project files on a user’s PC. Database
tables also let you maintain a huge number of records that contain
the data for all projects, facilitating organization-wide project
management and scalability.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 11

P6 also provides Internet technology through the Primavera Web

application. The Primavera Web application is an easy-to-use Web
site that allows users, particularly managers, to access live or
summarized project data via the Internet. They can view “front
page news” about critical projects and establish the charter for
new projects. Along with the Primavera Web application, project
managers can publish project data to a website as a way to
disseminate status.

When you need to integrate project data with other applications,

use the Primavera Software Development Kit (SDK). It provides
access to the schema and business logic. The SDK supports the
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard and ODBC-
compliant interfaces, such as OLE-DB and JDBC, for connecting
to the project management database. You can also use the
Primavera Integration API to create client code that can access the
Project Management module’s functionality.

Standardization and organization P6 enables you to standardize

processes and projects. Use the Methodology Management
module to build and store a central repository of project plan
templates for later use. These templates encompass your
industry’s or company’s best practices for accomplishing common
processes. For example, you may have a standard bid process or
design process that can be defined as a methodology and imported
into P6 as project plans. Using the same methodology for similar
projects enables repeatability and better comparisons of success or
failure across projects.

Data structures are discussed in Repeatable and efficient data management can also be
more detail in the Under-
standing Data Structures in the accomplished through global data structures. P6 lets you set up a
Project Management Module hierarchical structure for all projects (EPS), along with structures
section of the About the Imple-
mentation Process chapter. for work responsibilities (OBS), resources, project codes, activity
codes, costs, and calendars. Organizing data globally not only
saves time in data entry, but it provides the consistency necessary
for cross-project summaries and analysis.

Migrating from P3 to P6
12 Part 1: Before You Begin

Support Primavera provides you with the tools to centralize and

utilize the diverse skills and dispersed information that exists
across your organization. Primavera has a long and established
relationship with their existing P3 customers, especially in the
construction industry, which you can continue to rely on. We
want to make your migration from P3 to P6 a smooth and
successful transition. You will still receive the same worldwide,
certified “world-class” customer support to which you have
become accustomed. In addition, Professional Services has
developed a proven methodology for implementing P6 in
organizations, along with Web-based training and service packages
to help you every step of the way.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 13

Roles and Responsibilities

The following section describes the organizational roles as they
typically apply to the construction industry and modules in P6.
Roles may vary or overlap, depending on the organization.

Network administrators Network administrators configure an

organization’s network environment (local- and wide-area
networks) for optimal performance with P6. They install and
maintain the server and client components in P6. They manage
user access to project data and develop and maintain a
comprehensive security policy to ensure that project and
methodology management data is protected from unauthorized
access, theft, or damage.

Network administrators ensure that the hardware and software

supporting P6 function reliably by
■ Setting up and maintaining the network to ensure reliable
connections and the fastest possible data transfer
■ Creating and maintaining accurate lists of network resources
and users so that each has a unique network identity

Database administrators Database administrators (DBAs) are

responsible for setting up, managing, and assigning access rights
for the Primavera databases. They set and oversee rules governing
the use of corporate databases, maintain data integrity, and set
interoperability standards.

Database administrators ensure reliable access to the Primavera

databases by
■ Installing, configuring, and upgrading database server
software and related products as required
■ Creating and implementing the databases
■ Monitoring database performance and tuning as needed
■ Planning for growth and changes and establishing and
maintaining backup and recovery policies and procedures
Migrating from P3 to P6
14 Part 1: Before You Begin

Program managers Program managers are responsible for

strategic planning and ongoing performance analysis. They use
the Primavera Web application and the Web Portfolio
Management module to identify and monitor problem areas in
current project and analyze past projects to apply lessons learned
when planning future projects.

Program managers may be responsible for

■ Initiating, prioritizing, and budgeting projects
■ The profit/loss for a specific business unit
■ Funding and go/no-go decisions about projects

Project controls engineers Project controls engineers are

responsible for ensuring that P6 is properly implemented and that
it operates smoothly.
In the construction environment, program managers and project
controls engineers often take on the responsibilities of the network
administrator and/or the database administrator in the initial
installation and configuration of P6. They also play a key role
during implementation by
■ Working with owners and program/project managers to
structure project, OBS, and resource hierarchies, set up basic
calendars, and define company-wide custom fields and codes
in the Project Management module
■ Working with the network administrator to create user
accounts and user groups for P6
■ Assigning security rights to users in P6
■ Implementing and maintaining database security, including
creating and maintaining users, roles, and privileges for the
databases

The role of project controls engineer can be designated to one or

more appropriate project managers in your organization.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Welcome to P6 15

Project managers and schedulers Project managers and/or

project schedulers are responsible for managing multiple small,
repetitive projects or a single, complex project. They use the
Project Management module and/or the Primavera Web
application to

■ Add projects to the database

■ Determine resource requirements for a project
■ Perform cross-project analysis
■ Perform baseline analysis
■ Manage projects to on-time and on-budget completion
■ Plan projects before they are funded

They may also perform detailed financial analysis of projects,

handle project billing, and integrate financial information within
the company.

Crew foreman Crew foremen manage the work for a project that
may or may not be a portion of a larger project. They are managers
who produce work and manage a team, and they often use Mobile
Manager, Primavera Web application, and the Timesheets module
to prioritize short-term tasks or objectives, typically when the
duration is less than the planning period of the project.

Crew members Crews are trained in a specific skill required on a

project. They work with their manager to develop activities and
durations for incorporation into the schedule. Once activities are
added to the schedule, crew members update them using Mobile
Manager, the Primavera Web application, or the Timesheets
module to indicate the work they performed during designated
accounting periods.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 17

Your Strategy for Implementing P6

In this chapter Company-wide project management is a

systematic way to organize, prioritize, plan,
Set Your Goals and Business
Objectives and manage your projects and resources. To
Develop an Implementation ensure good results, up-front planning and
Strategy coordination are essential. This chapter
Assess Needs discusses some of the steps necessary to
Communicate the Plan implement P6 properly. It is not intended to
provide you with a complete implementation
plan, but will introduce you to key concepts,
such as the need to set business objectives,
develop an implementation strategy, assess
needs, and communicate the plan once it is
defined.

Migrating from P3 to P6
18 Part 1: Before You Begin

Set Your Goals and Business Objectives

In most engineering and construction companies, though their
scope and duration may vary, projects tend to have similar goals:
improve quality, reduce costs, increase productivity and revenue,
reduce delivery time, and streamline operations. Often, the
ultimate goal is to gain a competitive advantage. P3 has been
successful at managing projects so far, but controlling these
projects is becoming increasingly difficult, especially if they are
planned and run by project teams that are distributed across
multiple locations. Organizations need to ensure that each team
stays on track with its projects without losing sight of company
objectives.

Company-wide project management using P6 enables project

teams to plan and control their work while providing a
continuous, centralized understanding of progress and perfor-
mance. More than likely, you have project management goals
defined for P3. To begin the process of implementing P6, you
might want to broaden these goals to focus on the multi-user, role-
based environment. For example, specific objectives could include
■ Providing the project office with access to dynamic project
status information that they can use to make timely, informed
decisions
■ Improving efficiency of resource use by properly allocating
skilled labor, communicating methodologies, and forecasting
resource needs more accurately
■ Improving productivity across the project team as a result of
continuous collaboration
■ Improving communication with all project participants
through the use of integrated, organizational-wide products
that put project information on individuals’ desktops
■ Increasing accountability by making consistent, summarized
project status information available to top management
■ Increasing quality and client satisfaction through the use and
reuse of best practices
Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 19

■ Enabling maintenance of performance data on completed

projects to confirm estimating metrics, generate new or revise
existing templates, and collect job cost data.
■ Integrating with other business systems to provide a total
information system

These goals are specific to project management. You may include

additional goals that are particular to your company or industry.
For example, one specific objective for a construction company
may be to complete the inspection process in a more timely
manner. Use best practices from your industry as a guide to setting
your goals.

Migrating from P3 to P6
20 Part 1: Before You Begin

Develop an Implementation Strategy

Implementing P6 successfully requires that an appropriate
“culture” be established within your organization. Instead of
having many independent projects with no ability to aggregate and
control them, you can now have a consolidated, organized project
information system.

Creating the culture requires an understanding of the data and

how it flows, and the roles and responsibilities of individuals as
project participants and managers. Your challenge will be to create
an open environment in which all these participants share data and
performance information.

You may decide you need You wouldn’t think of allowing construction workers to work on a
help with your implemen- job site without designating a field manager to oversee the work,
tation from Primavera
Consulting or one of our
nor would you implement a new project without assigning a
business partners. Contact general contractor. The project management environment is best
Primavera Systems for created by your own project controls engineer, who would
more information. perform an equivalent function—if you don’t have such a person,
you need one. Designate one person or a team of people to plan
and coordinate the implementation. The responsibility of this
team will be to develop an implementation strategy that includes
helping participants understand the organizational project
management approach, and teaching them how it differs from
managing with P3.

Assessing needs is discussed in While the implementation strategy will be specific to your
more detail in the next section,
Assess Needs. organization, it will most likely include a needs assessment as one
of the first steps. Even though you are already using project
management software, take the opportunity to analyze and
determine your company’s business requirements, along with
system requirements and the processes necessary to fulfill those
requirements. You will also need to determine how to structure
data to facilitate those processes. It is important to document the
processes and procedures that you define.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 21

To ensure that data is flowing as planned, create a prototype. Use

real project data to set up structures in a test database and run your
processes through a typical work cycle. The prototype should
include all components of P6 you’ll be using, along with any
interfaces to external applications. Develop a plan that identifies
all the possible scenarios to test. Include a method for collecting
test data and a way to resolve issues. Use this step to make sure
your system requirements are sufficient to meet the needs of all
users.

A prototype can be followed by a pilot program, where you

establish a small group of users to work with P6 in their
environment. They can be introduced to the software using
familiar project data while performing their daily work tasks. More
than likely, the pilot users will identify flaws in the processes and
have suggestions and questions. Make refinements and changes
based on their feedback. You may also want to begin internal
training programs at this time, using your pilot group of users.
Ongoing performance monitoring should continue during this
stage and adjustments made as necessary.

When the pilot program is satisfactory, a rollout of P6 to your

entire company can begin. This step involves installing the client
software on all necessary desktops and populating the database
with project data. You should develop a rollout schedule and get
the appropriate approvals. Be sure to include the lessons learned
from the pilot testing. Communicate the rollout schedule to ensure
its success.

Migrating from P3 to P6
22 Part 1: Before You Begin

Assess Needs
A needs assessment is a crucial step to a successful P6
implementation. It will provide the basis for the entire system
design, how it will operate, and who will use it.

Assessing needs can range from an evaluation of the corporate

culture to analyzing hardware/software requirements to reviewing
existing processes and developing new ones. Most of your
information will come from interviewing key personnel. Meet with
representatives from all areas of the company who participate in
the project management process, from the owners to the
individuals doing the actual work. Ask questions about the tasks
they need to perform and the project information they need to
know to do their jobs effectively.

Determine corporate culture As mentioned, understanding the

corporate culture plays an important role in any major
implementation. You need to know ahead of time whether your
company is ready, willing and capable for the change. Evaluate
your company’s state of readiness for company-wide project
management. For example,
■ Does your organization have a clear understanding of project
management?
■ Are they familiar with computers and software?
■ Are standard processes in place for managing projects?

If the answer to these questions is No, include a training program

in your implementation plan. Depending on the degree of
readiness, you may also need to address issues that involve
preparing employees mentally for dealing with change.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 23

Define hardware/software requirements Review the system

requirements necessary to run P6. Then, conduct interviews with
your Information Technology (IT) personnel, or those respon-
sible for maintaining network integrity and new hardware/software
installations to inquire about the current technical environment.
Include questions, such as
■ Do you have servers or hardware in place? If so, what kind?
■ Do you have UNIX or Windows machines in place?
■ How are remote locations managed?
■ Do you have separate servers for development and
production?
■ Are you running Oracle or SQL server on one or more
servers? If so, which version?
■ Are you running any other database software?
■ Do you have a LAN and/or WAN in place?
■ Do you have mobile user requirements?

Answers to these types of questions will help you determine your

hardware specifications. Be sure to identify items such as database
server requirements, application server requirements, LAN
requirements, and PC requirements. This step should be
performed early in the process, since you may need to order new
equipment or upgrade existing software before installing P6.

Define integration requirements At the same time you examine

hardware requirements, review any integration requirements.
■ Will you be interfacing with ERP software, such as SAP?
■ Will custom integration to an existing financial system or asset
management system be required?
■ Do you have resources who are skilled to develop necessary
interfaces or are consultants required?

Migrating from P3 to P6
24 Part 1: Before You Begin

If you are integrating P6 with third-party applications or legacy

systems, you should identify interface points that provide
continuous flow of data while minimizing data loss.

Define how data is structured To manage projects successfully

in P6, you first need to set up data structures for your organi-
zation, projects, resources, and costs. You may also want to define
special codes to help you organize and report on data more effec-
tively. To structure data properly, review how you handle data
currently along with how you want to handle it. For example,
■ How do you group projects? How many levels of projects do
you have?
■ Are projects cross-departmental? Do they have multiple
locations?
■ What is your typical project scope, size, and cost?
■ How many projects are you managing at one time?
■ What is your organizational structure?
■ How do you group resources? Are resources assigned to
projects as groups or individuals? Are resources shared across
projects?
■ Do you track skills for each resource?
■ Do you have a work breakdown structure already in place?
■ Do you have a need for multiple calendars? Do resources need
calendars?
■ What types of reports do you use? How often are they
produced?

When you answer these types of questions, you can define the
necessary data structures, such as the project hierarchy,
organizational breakdown structure, and the work breakdown
structure.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 25

Determine current procedures/processes To define how data

will flow in P6, you need to understand how your business
operates. Look at your current processes and procedures and
modify them to suit your project management objectives. Making
decisions early about process changes saves time and money.
Answer the following types of questions when you analyze
business processes.
■ Do you have a project methodology in place? If so, is it
working?
■ What is the life cycle of a project?
■ What are the determining factors in deciding if a project is go
or no-go?
■ How are decisions made regarding project selection and
budgeting?
■ Is your budgeting/planning process top-down or bottom-up
oriented?
■ How do you estimate and track costs?
■ Do you have a Project Management Office or something
similar?
■ What time reporting mechanism do you use?
■ How do you track and measure progress?
■ How do project participants get work assignments?
■ What is your process for communicating project information
to others?
■ What information do you require or expect from the project
management process?
■ Who controls security? What security is required for project
information? Do you need to restrict data access on a group or
individual basis?

Migrating from P3 to P6
26 Part 1: Before You Begin

Refer to the Planning for Define project conversion requirements Since you are moving
Conversion chapter for a
checklist of considerations for your projects from P3 to P6, you need to consider how and when
P3 and P6. Refer to Importing to convert this data. Part 3 of this book helps you with this
P3 Projects to the Project
Management Module for steps process.
on using the Import wizard.
These are just some of the questions that need to be answered. As
a result of your interviews and analysis, you should have a clear
understanding of how your project processes flow.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Your Strategy for Implementing P6 27

Communicate the Plan

The only way to achieve a successful P6 implementation is for
people to accept and use the system. Any new system or business
process means a change to the way people are currently doing their
jobs. Employees who are affected by the change need to know
what to expect. Top management also needs to know what is going
on if they are to provide support and commitment.

Communicate the implementation plan early and repeat it often.

You need to set expectations and manage them continuously,
being careful to avoid disappointing, frustrating, or surprising
people.

There are many ways to communicate the implementation plan.

You could introduce the plan at a company meeting along with a
demonstration of P6 to show how it will benefit the entire
organization. Explain any changes to business processes that
might occur and what it means to individuals. Define a timeframe
so everyone knows when the changes will happen.

Let people use the software and experiment hands-on to increase

their comfort level when it comes time for them to make the
change. Publicize commitment by ensuring that the
implementation team has support and by providing training
programs and seminars. Provide a method for all levels of the
organization to address concerns, questions, and suggestions.

If you foster a challenging workplace that can develop individual

careers along with open communication, those individuals will
want to make the process successful.
Read the following chapter, About the Implementation Process, to
learn about the data structures and how they fit together in P6.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 About the Implementation Process 29

About the Implementation Process

In this chapter An important part of your implementation is
determining how to map your business
Understanding Data Structures in
the Project Management Module processes into the Project Management
Connecting Data Structures module to support your objectives. To do this,
Process Overview for Structuring first you need to set up data structures in the
Data Project Management module. Read this
chapter to learn about these structures, how
they fit together, and how data flows between
them. This chapter also provides overviews of
the processes for implementing data structures
and managing projects.

Migrating from P3 to P6
30 Part 1: Before You Begin

Understanding Data Structures in the Project

Management Module
The Project Management module contains many data structures to
support your project management needs and business processes.
Well-defined structures make entering data faster and easier; they
enable you to organize and summarize data more effectively.
Review the following definitions to help you better understand the
data structures in the Project Management module.

Enterprise project structure (EPS) The EPS is a hierarchy that

represents the breakdown of projects in a company. Nodes at the
highest, or root, level might represent divisions within your
company, phases of projects, or other major groupings that meet
the needs of your organization, while projects always represent the
lowest level of the hierarchy. Every project in the organization
must be included in the EPS.

Resource hierarchy The resource hierarchy represents the

people, materials, and/or equipment used to perform work on
activities. The resource hierarchy includes the resources across all
projects in the organization. Resources are assigned to activities in
the Project Management module and can be set up to use the
Timesheets module to report actual workhours.

Work breakdown structure (WBS) The WBS is a hierarchical

arrangement of the products and services produced during and by
a project. In the Project Management module, the project is the
highest level of the WBS, while an individual activity required to
create a product or service is the lowest level. Each project in the
EPS has its own WBS.

Organizational breakdown structure (OBS) The OBS is an

outline of managers responsible for the projects in your company.
There is one OBS for the entire organization. It is used to control
access to projects and data.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 About the Implementation Process 31

Project, activity, and resource codes In addition to the EPS,

WBS, and resource hierarchy, you can also create coding
structures. Codes allow you to categorize projects, activities, and
resources that have similar attributes; you can group, sort, filter,
and summarize based on these codes.

Calendars Calendars define standard workdays and the available

number of hours in each day, along with holidays, vacations, and
other nonworktime. You can create global, project-specific, and
resource-specific calendars. Calendars are assigned to activities
and/or resources; they determine start and end dates during
scheduling and resource leveling.

Migrating from P3 to P6
32 Part 1: Before You Begin

Connecting Data Structures

The following diagram illustrates how the data structures relate to
each other in the Project Management module.

The EPS categorizes work in your company. Projects belong to EPS nodes. Each project
has its own WBS that further breaks down the work in that project. Activities are the
lowest level of the WBS. Additional structures include resources, roles, calendars, and
cost accounts, which are assigned to activities. The OBS represents the responsible
managers in your company and can be assigned at the EPS, project, and/or WBS level.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 About the Implementation Process 33

Process Overview for Structuring Data

The hierarchical structuring of data serves as the foundation
before the addition of actual project data. The following sequence
is suggested for setting up the main structures:
1 Set up the EPS, which is the hierarchical structure that
identifies company-wide projects and enables organization
and management of those projects in your organization.
2 Set up the OBS, which is the hierarchical arrangement of your
company’s management structure, either as roles or
individuals.
3 Set up a resource hierarchy that reflects your organization’s
resource structure and supports the assignment of resources to
activities.
4 For each project, set up the WBS, which is a hierarchical
arrangement of the products and services produced during
and by a project.
Project controls engineers, working with program managers and
project managers, structure the EPS and OBS hierarchies. An EPS
can consist of multiple root nodes, which enable particular types
of projects to be grouped together, such as project templates or
high-risk projects. Within each root node, you can further break
down an EPS into multiple EPS nodes to categorize the types of
projects.
The WBS acts as a continuation of the EPS for the individual
projects in the enterprise. A WBS provides organization and
control of project and activity information through a hierarchy of
WBS elements. When you create projects, the Project
Management module automatically creates a WBS element at the
same hierarchy level and with the same name as the project. the
Project Management module enables you to set anticipated project
dates, budgets, and spending plans for a WBS at a high level to
indicate when the work should occur and how much its planned
budget and monthly spending should be. You can use the pre-
established budget amounts and funding information you set for
WBS elements for their project and activity counterparts.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Part 2
Getting Started in P6

In this part Quick Reference Cards

Where Do I Find?
Terms and Fields
Tips and Tricks
T his part provides information for helping you get
started quickly in P6. Refer to the Quick Reference Cards
chapter for easy graphical steps to accomplishing
common tasks in the Project Management module.

When you want to find your favorite P3 features in the

Project Management module, see the Where Do I Find?
chapter. This chapter maps P3 menus to their
corresponding commands in the Project Management
module.

The Terms and Fields chapter can be used as a reference

for comparing terminology and looking up field
definitions.

Read Tips and Tricks to understand some key Project

Management module concepts and learn how to use
advanced features such as Autocost and Global Change.
 Preface 37

Quick Reference Cards

In this chapter P6 is a comprehensive product that provides

the right set of tools for meeting project
Reviewing Activity Data
management needs at every level of an
Working with Network Logic
organization. P6 is the next generation project
Customizing the Activity Table
management solution. It provides the same
Customizing the Gantt Chart
features and functions as P3, plus many more.
Creating Target Projects
Comparing Baselines to the Use this chapter as a quick start guide to using
Current Schedule
some of your favorite P3 features in P6.

Primavera Project Planner Professional

 Reviewing Activity Data

The Activity forms are now called Activity

Details. Click Layout, Show on Bottom,
Activity Details to display the detail tabs,
as shown below.

The Status tab enables you to

review schedule data and
durations. You can also assign two
constraints per activity.

Use the General tab to

specify the activity type Logs are now called notebooks, which can
and assign a WBS value. be categorized by topic. You can also use
HTML editing features, such as formatting
text and inserting pictures or documents.
 Working with Network Logic

Point and drag between predecessor and successor

activities to define relationships. Double-click a
relationship line to review, edit, or delete it.

Similar to the PERT layout in

P3, you can visualize the
network logic for your
project using the Activity
Network view in the Project
Management module.
Choose Layout, Show on
Top, Activity Network. Select
the WBS element on the left
side to display its activities
on the right side.

Click Layout, Show on

Bottom, Trace Logic to
follow one or more activity
paths in your project.

Click Layout, Activity Network,

Activity Network Options to
customize the activity boxes and
layout options, such as adjusting the
spacing.
 Customizing the Activity Table
Drag and drop columns to rearrange them. Adjust
column width by dragging the column lines right or left.

Choose Layout, Columns to customize the columns in the

Activity Table or Gantt Chart. Data items are categorized.
To show them as a flat alphabetical list, click Available
Options, Group and Sort By, List.

Click to change
the column titles.

You can format the display of

dates. Choose, Edit, User
Preferences, Dates. For
example, show or hide hours.
 Customizing the Activity Table Double-click
each row to
Click Layout, Group and Sort to Select the data item for grouping. If customize the
group activities into bands. the item is hierarchical, you can indent font type, size,
each level that you choose to show. and color for
grouping
bands.

Click to select
multiple
columns to
sort in
ascending,
descending, or
hierarchical
order.

For grouping bands, choose to show

the title of the band, such as Project,
WBS, or Activity Code. You can also
show the ID/code and/or the name/
description. For example, Conv
Conveyor System.

The Project Management

module automatically sizes
activity rows. To customize row
To select which grouping band you want to size, choose Layout, Table
collapse or expand in the current layout, Font and Rows, or you can
based on the grouping bands displayed in manually adjust individual
the layout, choose Collapse To. rows by dragging the
horizontal row line up or down.
 Customizing the Gantt Chart

Drag the top row of the timescale to

move forward or backward in time.

Drag the bottom row of the timescale

right or left to expand or compress
the display.

Right-click anywhere in the bar area

and choose Timescale to customize
the timescale.

Click to
change the
Highlight intervals of time and/
font style,
or add text to the Gantt Chart by
size, and
choosing Layout, Attachments,
color of the
Curtain, Add Curtain or Layout,
timescale
Attachments,Text.

You can modify the

date format to show
fiscal or ordinal dates
along the timescale.
 Customizing the Gantt Chart

Show/hide relationship Click the Bars icon or right-click in the bar area and
lines choose Bars to customize the bars in a Gantt Chart.

Choose the timeframe and a filter for

each bar definition.

Choose the shape, color, and

pattern for the selected bar along
with any start and end points.

The Bar Labels tab

lets you show data
items on bars, such
as dates,
notebooks, and
Click the Options button on the Bars dialog box user-defined fields.
to show/hide relationship lines and a movable
legend.
 Customizing the Gantt Chart

Choose to display the selected bar when the

grouping it belongs to is collapsed. You can
also show the selected bar as a summary bar,
and show its nonwork time as a neck.

Click the
Options
button on the
Bars dialog
box to
customize the
style, size,
You can choose to display the collapsed bars on the grouping and color of the
band as one bar or display the individual bars, moving them as Data Date line
close to the grouping band as possible, under the correct on the Data
timescale date in the bar chart. Date tab.
 Creating Target Projects

When baseline projects are Target projects are now called baselines.
defined, one project must be
Choose Project, Maintain Baselines to
designated as the primary
create or designate baselines for the
baseline. Choose Project, currently open projects. You can create
Assign Baselines to select a
multiple copies of a project.
baseline to use as the project
baseline. You can designate
as many as three active
projects to compare to the
current project.

Assign a baseline type that

categorizes its purpose.

Baseline types are

predefined by the Click Add to create a copy of the
administrator. Choose current project as it exists today,
Admin, Admin including schedule, cost, and
Categories. quantity data. You can also choose
to convert an existing project from
the EPS to a baseline.
 Comparing Baselines to the Current Schedule

Current bar Baseline bar

Compare the current
schedule to one or
Choose columns of more of the three
baseline data to baselines on a Gantt
display in the Activity chart. Choose to
Table. display the bars in the
Bars dialog box.

Be sure to change the row

number to display the baseline
The prefix BL (primary baseline), BL2 (second baseline) or
bar below the current bar.
BL3 (third baseline) precedes the baseline data items.
Choose to show baseline data for schedule dates from one
or more of the three active baselines for a project. For cost
and quantity data, you can show only data from the
primary baseline.
 Where Do I Find? 47

Where Do I Find?
In this chapter The P3 features to which you are familiar can be
found in P6. The following tables list options on
File Menu
the P3 menus and indicate where you can find
Edit Menu
them in the Project Management module. You can
View Menu
refer to the online Help for the latest feature
Format Menu
information.
Tools Menu
Data Menu

Migrating from P3 to P6
48 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

File Menu
The following table lists the commands on the File menu in P3
version 3.x and the corresponding commands that access the same
or similar feature in the Project Management module of P6.

Option in P3 Choose in the Project Management module

New File, New

Open File, Open

Close File, Close All

Project Overview Enterprise, Projects

General Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Dates tab

Targets Project, Maintain Baselines

Project Codes Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Codes

tab (assign)
Enterprise, Project Codes (define)

Page Setup File, Page Setup

Print Preview File, Print Preview

Print File, Print

Print Setup File, Print Setup

Save as Web Page Tools, Publish, Project Web Site

Tools, Publish, Activity Layouts
Tools, Publish, Tracking Layouts

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Where Do I Find? 49

Edit Menu
The following table lists the options on the Edit menu in P3 and
their corresponding location in the Project Management module.

In the Project Management module,

Option in P3
choose
Cut Edit, Cut

Copy Edit, Copy

Paste Edit, Paste

Edit Activity Double-click in cell

Fill Cell Edit, Fill Down

Delete Edit, Delete

Dissolve Activity Edit, Dissolve

Find Activity Edit, Find

Select All Edit, Select All

Unselect Click anywhere

Relationships Double-click relationship line

Link Activities Edit, Link Activities

Migrating from P3 to P6
50 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

View Menu
The following table lists the options on the View menu in P3 and
their corresponding location in the Project Management module.

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

PERT Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Show on
Top, Activity Network.
Trace Logic View, Show On Bottom, Trace Logic
Zoom Zoom icons on Activity toolbar

Layout Project, Activities

New Modify the existing layout, then Save As
Open View, Layout, Open
Save View, Layout, Save
Save As View, Layout, Save As
Transfer View, Layout, Open, Import/Export button
Delete View, Layout, Open, Delete
Options n/a

Activity Form Project, Activities. Then, choose, View, Show on

Bottom, Activity Details.

Activity Detail View, Show on Bottom, Activity Details

Budget Summary tab
Codes Codes tab
Constraints Status tab
Cost Expenses tab or Resource tab (assign)
Custom Data Layout, Columns, then select User-Defined data
Dates n/a
Log Notebook tab
Predecessors Predecessors tab or Relationships tab
Resources Resources tab
Successors Successors tab or Relationships tab
WBS General tab

Resource Profile Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Show on

Bottom, Resource Usage Profile.
Select Resource Hierarchy
Display Resource Usage Profile

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Where Do I Find? 51

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Resource Table Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Show on
Bottom, Resource Usage Spreadsheet.

Relationships Project, Activities. Then, click the Layout Options

bar and choose Bar Chart Options.

Progress Spotlight View, Progress Spotlight.

Toolbar View, Toolbars

Attachment Tools Project, Activities. Then, click View, Attachments,

Curtain, Add Curtain or Attachments, Text.

Current Users File, Open, Users button

Migrating from P3 to P6
52 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Format Menu
The following table lists the options on the Insert menu in P3 and
their corresponding location in the Project Management module.

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Columns Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Columns
For all other views, choose View, Columns, Customize.

Bars For activities, choose Project, Activities. For projects,

choose Enterprise, Projects, Then, choose View, Bars.
Endpoints Bar Style tab
Patterns Bar Style tab

Selected Bars Use filters

Summary Bars For activities, choose Project, Activities. For projects,

choose Enterprise, Projects. Then, choose View, Bars,
Options. Select the Collapsed Bars tab.

Organize For activities, choose Project, Activities, then choose

View, Group and Sort. For all other views, choose View,
Group and Sort By, Customize.

Reorganize Now Tools, Reorganize Now

Filter For activities, choose Project, Activities, then choose

View, Filters. For projects, choose Enterprise, Projects,
then choose View, Filter By, Customize.

Summarize Double-click group title band in Activities window. Be

sure Summary Bars are displayed in Bars dialog box.

Summarize All Tools, Summarize (for projects)

Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Collapse All.

Timescale Project, Activities. Then, choose View, Timescale.

For projects, choose Enterprise, Projects, then right-
click anywhere in bar area and choose Timescale.

Sight Lines With Gantt chart displayed, choose View, Bars, then
click the Options button and select the Sight Lines tab.

Row Height View, Table Font and Row

Screen Colors View, Table Font and Row

Fonts View, Table Font and Row

Dates Edit, User Preferences, Dates tab

Activity Box Configuration With the Activity Network displayed, choose View,
(PERT only) Activity Network, Activity Network Options, Activity Box
Template tab.

Relationships (PERT only) n/a

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Where Do I Find? 53

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Trace Logic (PERT only) With Trace Logic displayed, choose View, Bottom
Layout Options.

Migrating from P3 to P6
54 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Tools Menu
The following table lists the options on the Tools menu in P3 and
their corresponding location in the Project Management module.

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Schedule Tools, Schedule
Options Options button

Level Tools, Level Resources

Prioritization Tools, Level Resources (activities)
Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, General tab
(projects)

Report Log to file option (complete analysis report not

available)

Global Change Tools, Global Change

Trial Run Choose Apply Change to run report. Choose Commit
Change in report.

Update Progress Tools, Update Progress

Store Period Performance Tools, Store Period Performance

Tabular Reports Reports window. View, Group and Sort By Report

Group. Or, Tools, Reports, Reports

Schedule Report Group: Schedule

Resource Report Group: Resource Usage

Cost Report Group: Cost, Report Group: Cost &

Schedule

Report Writer Select a report, then click Modify

Production Tools, Reports, Run Batch

Options Tools, Reports, Reports. Then, click Run Report.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Where Do I Find? 55

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Graphics Use Project, Activity or Tracking Layouts
Bar Gantt Chart
Timescaled Logic Gantt Chart with relationships turned on
Pure Logic Activity Network (Activities window)
Resource & Cost Resource Usage Spreadsheet, Resource Usage
Profile (Activities window)
Resource Analysis (Tracking layouts)
Activity Usage Profile

Options n/a

InfoMaker From Windows, choose Start,

Primavera, InfoMaker.

Web Publishing Wizard Tools, Publish, Project Web Site

Tools, Publish, Activity Layouts
Tools, Publish, Tracking Layouts

MPX Conversion Utility File, Import, then select Project (Import Type), MPX
format
File, Export, then select Project (Export Type), MPX
format

Project Utilities
Copy Enterprise, Projects, then choose Edit, Copy.
Delete Enterprise, Projects, then choose Edit, Delete.
Merge Open multiple projects simultaneously
Summarize Tools, Summarize
Back Up File, Export, then select Project (Export Type), XER
format
Restore File, Import, then select Project (Import Type), XER
format
Targets Project, Assign Baselines
Update Project, Maintain Baseline, Update
Import File, Import
Export File, Export

Fragnet Use the Methodology Management module

Migrating from P3 to P6
56 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Options
Autocost Rules Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Calculations tab

Default Global Calendar

Summarization (resources)
Percent Complete columns
(projects)

Earned Value
Admin, Admin Preferences, Earned Value
Activity Inserting
Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Defaults tab

Critical Activities
Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Settings tab

Set Language
Tools, Set Language
Change Password
Edit, User Preferences, Password
Default Activity Codes
Enterprise, Activity Codes, Global option
Project Check in/
File, Check In
Checkout File, Check Out

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Where Do I Find? 57

Data Menu
The following table lists the options on the Data menu in P3 and
their corresponding location in the Project Management module.

Option in P3 In the Project Management module, choose

Calendars Enterprise, Calendars

Week Starts On Admin, Admin Preferences, General tab

option

Shifts for resource Enterprise, Resource Shifts

limits option

Activity Codes Enterprise, Activity Codes

Project Codes Enterprise, Project Codes

WBS Project, WBS

Copy Copy command
Structure Admin, Admin Preferences, General tab (default
for new projects)
Enterprise, Projects, Project Details, Settings tab
(selected project only)

Resources Enterprise, Resources

Limits Units and Prices tab
Prices Units and Prices tab
Shift limit tables Units and Prices tab

Resource Curves Enterprise, Resource Curves

Prorate Modify, Prorate button

Cost Accounts Enterprise, Cost Accounts

Custom Data Items Enterprise, User Defined Fields

To transfer dictionary items in the Project Management module,

use the Copy/Paste commands. To print dictionary items, use the
Report Wizard.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Terms and Fields 59

Terms and Fields

In this chapter Although the project management concepts
remain the same between P3 and P6, P6 does use
Comparing Terminology
some different terms. This chapter lists the name
Understanding Dates in P6
of the field or function in P3 and its new name in
P6. Items that use the same name across products
are not listed.

You can also review definitions for the various

date fields in the Project Management module,
along with definitions for all the activity data
items.

Migrating from P3 to P6
60 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Comparing Terminology
Review the following alphabetical list of changes in terminology
between P3 and P6.

Name in the Project Management

Name in P3
module
Activity columns Activity Table

Activity Form Activity Details

Activity logs Notebooks

Bar Chart Gantt Chart

Costs (lump sum) Expenses

Custom data items User-defined fields

Estimate at Completion (resource) At Completion units

Estimate to Complete (resource) Remaining Units

Fragnets Methodologies

Hammock activity Level of effort activity. See Creating

Hammocks in Project Manager in the
Tips and Tricks chapter for more
information.

Independent activity type Resource dependent activity type

PERT Activity Network

Resource lag Original lag/remaining lag

Resource Profile Resource Usage Profile/Activity Usage

Profile

Resource Table Resource Usage Spreadsheet/Activity

Usage Spreadsheet

Target Baseline

Task activity type Task Dependent activity type

WBS activity type WBS Summary activity type

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Terms and Fields 61

Understanding Dates in P6
The Project Management module includes many new date fields.
The following table describes each type of activity date that you
can include as columns in the Activity Table.

Date Field Definition

Start The current start date of the activity. Set to the remaining start date until the activity is started,
then set to the actual start date. An ‘A’ after the Start value indicates that it is the Actual Start;
an ‘*’ indicates that a Start constraint is applied to the activity.

Finish The current finish date of the activity. Set to the activity planned finish date while the activity
is not started, the remaining finish date while the activity is in progress, and the actual finish
date once the activity is completed. An ‘A’ after the Finish value indicates that it is the Actual
Finish; an ‘*’ indicates that a Finish constraint is applied to the activity.

Actual Start The date on which the activity actually started.

Actual Finish The date on which the activity actually finished.

Early Start The earliest possible date the remaining work for the activity can begin. This date is
calculated by the Project Management module based on activity relationships, schedule
constraints, and resource availability.

Early Finish The earliest possible date the activity can finish. This date is calculated by the Project
Management module based on activity relationships, schedule constraints, and resource
availability.

Late Start The latest possible date the remaining work for the activity must begin without delaying the
project finish date. This date is calculated by the Project Management module based on
activity relationships, schedule constraints, and resource availability.

Late Finish The latest possible date the activity must finish without delaying the project finish date. This
date is calculated by the Project Management module based on activity relationships,
schedule constraints, and resource availability.

Planned Start The date the activity is scheduled to begin. This date is set equal to the early start date by the
Project Management module, but can be updated manually by the project manager. This
date is not changed by the Project Management module once you apply an Actual Start date.

Planned Finish The date the activity is scheduled to finish. This date is set equal to the early finish date by
the Project Management module, but can be updated manually by the user. This date is not
changed by the Project Management module once you apply an Actual Finish date.

Migrating from P3 to P6
62 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Date Field Definition

Remaining Early The date the remaining work for the activity is scheduled to begin. This date is calculated by
Start the Project Management module, but can be updated manually by the user. Before the
activity is started, the Remaining Early Start is the same as the Planned Start. This is the
start date that Timesheets module users follow.
Remaining Early The date the remaining work for the activity is scheduled to finish. This date is calculated by
Finish the Project Management module, but can be updated manually by the user. Before the
activity is started, the Remaining Early Finish is the same as the Planned Finish. This is the
finish date that Timesheets module users follow.

Expected Finish The date the activity is expected to finish. Typically, this date is entered in the timesheet
module by the primary resource. When scheduling your projects, you may choose to use or
ignore the Expected Finish dates.

Constraint Date The date for which the activity’s constraint applies. Depending on the constraint type, this
date could be a start or finish date. For example, for a Finish On constraint, the constraint
date is the date on which the activity must finish. If the activity does not have a constraint, this
field will be empty.

Before an activity has progress, the Project Management module

schedules the early start date similar to P3—the earliest possible
date the activity can begin based on network logic, constraints,
and resource availability. The planned start is set equal to the early
start, and in turn, the current start and the remaining early start
dates are set equal to the planned start, which means all calculated
start dates are the same when an activity has no progress. When
you record an actual start date for an activity, the Project
Management module sets the current start date equal to the actual
start date. The planned start date is not changed, unless you
change it manually, and the early start date is calculated. The
remaining early start date is the same as the early start date, unless
you change in manually.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Terms and Fields 63

The Project Management module calculates the Start,

Planned Start, Early Start, and Remaining Early Start
dates as the same when the activity has no progress.

With progress, the Start date is set equal to the recorded

Actual Start date. The Planned Start date remains the
same, and the Early Start and Remaining Early Start
dates are calculated.

Field Definitions
You can quickly display field definitions for columns displayed in the
Activity Table using the Hint Help in the Project Management module.
Choose View, Hint Help. Then, click View, Columns. When you click on
a data item in the Columns dialog box, a popup description for that data
item will display. To turn off Hint Help, choose View, Hint Help again.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 65

Tips and Tricks

In this chapter While many of the features and functions in the
Project Management module work the same as in
Understanding Activity Types
P3, there are some differences. This chapter
Understanding Duration and
Percent Complete Types discusses considerations for conversion and gives
Creating Hammocks in the Project you some tips and tricks for getting the results you
Management Module want in the Project Management module.
Using Autocost
Creating a P3 Report in the
Project Management Module
Using Global Change
Grouping Activities by Resource
in the Project Management
Module
Stacking Multiple Resource Bars
in a Profile
Displaying the Activity Network

Migrating from P3 to P6
66 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Understanding Activity Types

The Project Management module uses different types of activities
to reflect varying schedule situations—similar to P3. Each activity
must be assigned an activity type. Choose from five types of
activities that describe a specific function, along with the calendar
designation for scheduling.

Set activity type on the General tab of

the Activities window.

Hammock activities are The following table maps each activity type from P3 3.x to its
similar to the level of effort corresponding activity type in the Project Management module. A
activity. Refer to the
Creating Hammocks in the
description of each Project Management module activity type and
Project Management when you might use it follows the table.
Module section later in this
chapter for more infor-
mation. Project Management module
P3 3.x Activity Type
Activity Type
Task Task Dependent

Independent Resource Dependent

Start Milestone Start Milestone

Finish Milestone Finish Milestone

Meeting Resource Dependent

Start Flag Start Milestone

Finish Flag Finish Milestone

Hammock Level of Effort

WBS WBS Summary

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 67

You can set the default ■ Choose task dependent when you want to control the duration
activity type for new activ- of the activity yourself (that is, no resources are assigned), or
ities in your projects.
when one or more resources assigned to the same activity can
Choose Enterprise,
Projects, then choose work according to the same calendar. The activity is
View, Show on Bottom, scheduled according to the activity’s calendar, not the
Project Details. Click the resource calendars. For example, you may have an activity to
Defaults tab. cure concrete; you know how long the task takes and the
addition of resources won’t complete the task any earlier. You
would designate this activity as task dependent.
In the Project Management module, you can choose whether to
allow new resource assignments’ durations to drive the
activity’s duration and dates, or to allow the resources’
durations to be independent of the activity. See Before and
After Conversion Example in Part 3 for more information.

■ Choose resource dependent when you want to schedule each

resource according to his/her own time schedule, or resource
calendar, not the activity calendar. The assigned resource
availability determines the start and finish dates of the activity.
Typically, you use this type when multiple resources assigned
to the same activity can work independently, or when avail-
ability can affect the activity’s duration. For example, an
activity that requires an Inspector may be delayed if that
resource is assigned to multiple projects or is on vacation.
■ Choose start milestone or finish milestone to indicate that the
activity marks the beginning or end of a major stage in the
project. Milestones have zero duration. They can have
expenses assigned to them, but not resources. In an office
building addition project, examples of milestones might
include Project Definition Complete, Structure Complete, or
End Bidding Process.
■ Choose level of effort to indicate that the activity’s duration
depends on its predecessor and/or successor activities. A level
of effort activity is usually one that is ongoing, such as clerical
work, change management, or project management tasks. For
example, site cleanup could be considered a level of effort
activity; it occurs repeatedly and is dependent on the
completion of a phase.

Migrating from P3 to P6
68 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

■ Choose WBS Summary to indicate that the activity is a

summary-level WBS activity. A WBS Summary activity repre-
sents a group of activities that share a common WBS level.
The summary-level WBS activity enables roll-ups of dates for
the activity group. The duration of a WBS Summary activity
extends from the start of the earliest activity in a group to the
finish of the latest activity. WBS codes control which activities
are part of a WBS Summary activity; the Project Management
module incorporates any activities that share a component of
the WBS Summary activity's WBS code into the WBS
Summary activity. For example, all activities whose WBS
codes begin with A (A.1, A.1.1, A.1.2, etc.) can be part of one
WBS Summary activity whose WBS code is A. At a lower
level, all activities whose WBS codes start with A.1 (A.1.1,
A.1.2, etc.) can be part of a WBS Summary activity whose
WBS code is A.1.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 69

Understanding Duration and Percent Complete Types

Each activity in the Project Management module uses a duration
and percent complete type to determine certain calculations when
updating.

Set the duration and percent

complete type on the General tab of
the Activities window.

Duration type The duration type determines whether the

schedule, resource availability, or costs are most important when
updating activities. The duration type applies only when you have
resources assigned to the activity.

To help you understand the effects of the duration type, you

should first review how the Project Management module
calculates resource data. The following equation must hold true
regardless of which data you update:

Remaining Units (resource) = Units/Time x Remaining Duration (activity)

For example, if you have a resource assigned to an activity for 8

hours per day for 5 days, the remaining units or work effort is
calculated as 40 hours. The duration type enables you to control
which variables of this equation are calculated when you change a
value.

Migrating from P3 to P6
70 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

■ Choose fixed duration and units/time or fixed duration and

units to indicate that the schedule is a limiting factor in your
project. The activity’s duration does not change, regardless of
the number of resources assigned when you modify or update
activities. You usually choose this duration type when you are
using task dependent activities. An example of a fixed duration
activity might be preparing drawings in a highway
construction project; you know that the design engineer only
has a certain amount of work to do during a specified timep-
eriod.
• When you update the remaining duration for the activity,
you can choose to have the Project Management module
calculate either the remaining units or the units per timep-
eriod. If you want to recalculate the remaining units and
keep the units/time for the resource constant, choose fixed
duration and units/time. The Project Management module
uses the equation:
Remaining Units = Units/Time x Remaining Duration

• If you want to keep the remaining units constant instead

and recalculate the units/time, choose fixed duration and
units. The Project Management module uses the equation:
Units/Time = Remaining Units / Remaining Duration

■ Choose fixed units/time to indicate that resource availability is

the most critical aspect of your project. In this case, the units/
time or rate of the resource remains constant, even if the
activity’s duration or work effort changes. You most often use
this duration type when you are planning resource dependent
activities. For example, you have an engineer who can only
work 4 hours/day.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 71

■ Choose fixed units to indicate that the budget (units or cost) is

a limiting factor; that is, the total amount of work is fixed.
When you update activities, the work effort required to
complete the activity does not change, even if the activity’s
duration or the resource rate changes. Typically, you would
use this type in conjunction with resource dependent
activities. Increasing resources can decrease the activity
duration. For example, if flooring and carpeting needs to be
installed for an office building, you have a fixed amount of
work, but adding resources to complete the installations
simultaneously could reduce the time it takes.

Considerations for conversion The following table shows how

resource assignments in P3 3.x convert to duration types in the
Project Management module.

Duration Type in the Project

P3 3.x Resource Assignment
Management module
If all resource assignments on the task are Fixed duration & units/time
non-driving AND Freeze Resource Units per
Timeperiod is marked on Autocost rules

If all resource assignments on the task are Fixed duration and units
non-driving AND Freeze Resource Units per
Timeperiod is NOT marked on Autocost
rules

If any resource assignment on the task is Fixed units/time

driving AND Freeze Resource Units per
Timeperiod is marked on Autocost rules

If any resource assignment on the task is Fixed units

driving and the Freeze Resource Units per
Timeperiod is NOT marked on Autocost
rules

Percent complete type Define the percent complete type for an

activity based on how you will report progress.

Migrating from P3 to P6
72 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

■ Choose Duration if activity progress can most easily be

reported based on original and remaining duration. For
example, if you have a 10-day activity that has 5 days
remaining, it is 50% complete. The percent complete is calcu-
lated as
[(Original Duration - Remaining Duration) / (Original Duration)] x 100

■ Choose Units if activity progress is best reported according to

the accomplished work effort (units) and how much work
remains. The activity’s percent complete is calculated from the
actual and remaining units. For example, if an activity has an
assigned resource with 40 hours of work to complete and the
resource has actually completed 20 hours with 20 hours
remaining, the activity is 50% complete.
■ Choose Physical if activity progress is most accurately
described by personal judgment. In this case, you manually
enter the percent complete for the activity.

You can set the default Converting from P3 If you have the P3 autocost rule set to Link
percent complete and Remaining Duration and Schedule Percent Complete, when you
duration type for new activ-
ities in your projects.
import activities from P3 to the Project Management module they
Choose Enterprise, are assigned the Duration % complete type, which specifies that
Projects, then choose the activity’s percent complete is calculated from the original and
View, Show on Bottom, remaining durations.
Project Details. Click the
Defaults tab.
If the percent complete and the remaining duration are not linked
in P3, when you import activities into the Project Management
module, all activities are assigned the Physical % complete type.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 73

Creating Hammocks in the Project Management Module

In P3, hammock activities are used to monitor the elapsed
beginning-to-end duration of a group of activities. Duration for the
group of activities is based on its assigned predecessors and
successors. While the Project Management module does not have
hammock activities, you can use the Level of Effort (LOE) activity
type to create simple hammock-like activities. The LOE activity
type is used to represent activities that are ongoing such as, project
management tasks, reviews, and meetings.

For example, you can create a LOE activity in the Project

Management module that duplicates the P3 hammock activity
shown in the following figure.

Create a level of effort activity in the Project Management

module In the Project Management module, choose Project,
Activities. Add an activity and assign it the Level of Effort activity
type in the General tab. Assign the appropriate duration type,
percent complete type, and activity calendar.

Migrating from P3 to P6
74 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Assign LOE
activity type

Use the Predecessors and Successors tabs or the Relationships tab

to assign the LOE activity only start to start predecessors and
finish to finish successors.

Assign the LOE activity’s predecessor Assign the LOE activity’s

using only the start to start successor using only the finish to
relationship type. finish relationship type.

When you schedule, the Project Management module calculates

the duration for the LOE activity by measuring the timeperiod
from the earliest early start date of the predecessor activities to the
latest late finish date of its successor activities, based on the
assigned calendar. The following figure illustrates the same
hammock activity from P3 in the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 75

Additional notes for using LOE activities Review the following

information regarding how LOE activities differ from hammock
activities:

■ A hammock activity expands to “umbrella” the activities

encompassed within it. A LOE activity acts like a “filler”
activity—it compresses to fit between activities.
■ Hammocks are not scheduled using their own calendar. A
LOE activity uses its assigned calendar during scheduling.
■ A hammock activity’s duration is calculated as the earliest
early start of its predecessors to the latest early finish of its
successor activities. A LOE activity’s duration is calculated
from the latest early start of its predecessors to the earliest late
finish of its successor.

To duplicate a hammock activity as a LOE activity in the Project

Management module, you should only assign one predecessor
to the LOE activity and one successor activity from the LOE
activity.

Migrating from P3 to P6
76 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Using Autocost
P3 uses Autocost rules to determine how resource and cost
variables are calculated. The Project Management module also
provides resource/cost calculation rules similar to Autocost. You
can also model most of the Autocost rules using the Project
Management module’s activity and duration types.

The following figure shows the Autocost rules from P3 3.x. The
following paragraphs describe how to map each Autocost rule
from P3 3.x to its corresponding function in the Project
Management module.

Rule #1–Link remaining duration and schedule percent

complete The Project Management module always links the
remaining duration and the schedule percent complete for an
activity when it has the Duration percent complete type. When
you convert activities from P3 3.x, they are automatically assigned
the Duration percent complete type, indicating that the activity’s
percent complete is calculated from its original and remaining
durations.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 77

If you update the activity’s remaining

duration, the Duration % is automatically
updated. Labor units are updated based on
the settings of other rules.

If you want to unlink the percent complete from the remaining

duration, you should set the percent complete type to Physical,
which means that you manually enter percent complete and
remaining duration for each activity.

The Project Management Rule #2–Freeze resource units per day In the Project
module refers to estimate Management module you can choose to freeze or not freeze the
to complete (ETC) as
Remaining Units. The
resource units per time by setting the appropriate duration type as
estimate at completion shown in the following table. Keep in mind that the Project
(EAC) is now called At Management module uses the same fundamental equation as P3 to
Completion units. balance resource values when you update.

Remaining Units (RU)- Units/timeperiod (UPT) x Remaining Duration (RD)

Migrating from P3 to P6
78 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

For this resource setting in Set to this duration type in the

Comments
P3: Project Management module:
Freeze resource units/timeperiod Fixed duration and units/ Freezing the UPT in P3 is the same as fixing the
(for nondriving resources) timeperiod UPT in the Project Management module. A
nondriving resource means you want the units
calculated based on the duration, so you would
also fix the duration. RU = UPT X RD.

Do Not Freeze resource units/ Fixed duration and units Not freezing the UPT in P3 is the same as
timeperiod (for nondriving holding the RU constant in the Project
resources) Management module (UPT = ETC/RD). A
nondriving resource means you want the units
calculated based on the duration, so you would
also fix the duration.

Freeze resource units/timeperiod Fixed units/time Freezing the UPT means that either the RD or the
(for driving resources) RU can be recalculated. A driving resource
indicates that the RU determines the RD, so both
of these variables are changed. In this case, you
would simply fix the UPT in the Project
Management module.

Do Not Freeze resource units/ Fixed units When resource units per timeperiod are not held
timeperiod (for driving resources) constant and the resource is driving, indicating
that the RD is calculated based on the resource
units and UPT, you want to fix the units.

When you convert projects from P3 to the Project Management

module, the Project Management module looks at your existing
resource assignments and Autocost Rule #2 and sets the
appropriate duration type. Refer to Understanding Duration and
Percent Complete Types earlier in this section for more information.

Rule #3–Add actual to ETC or Subtract actual from EAC In the

Project Management module you can also choose to add actual
units to the remaining units, or you can subtract the actual units
from the estimate at completion. Set this rule at the project level.
Choose, Enterprise, Projects. Choose Display, Show on Bottom,
Project Details to show the Details tab. Display the Calculations
tab and choose a project from the upper pane.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 79

Choose to add or subtract

the actual units or cost when
updating.

Choose Add Actual to Remaining Units or Costs to have the

Project Management module calculate a new at completion value
when the remaining units or the actual units changes:

At Completion Units = Remaining Units + Actual Units

Choose Subtract Actual from At Completion to have the Project
Management module calculate a new remaining units value when
the at completion or actual units change:

Remaining Units = At Completion Units - Actual Units

Using the new remaining units, the Project Management module

recalculates the units per timeperiod as:

Units per Timeperiod = Remaining Units / Remaining Duration

Or, the remaining duration can be calculated as:

Remaining Duration = Units/Timeperiod / Remaining Units

Migrating from P3 to P6
80 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

When the activity duration type is set to Fixed Duration and

Units/Timeperiod, the Project Management module always uses
the Add rule, regardless of the Add/Subtract setting—similar to
freezing the units per timeperiod in P3. The Subtract rule must
recalculate either the units per timeperiod or the remaining
duration (as indicated in the previous equations), which
contradicts the Fixed Duration and Units/Timeperiod duration
type that indicates you do not want the duration and the units per
timeperiod to change.

When you apply actuals in the Project Management module

(without using timesheets from the Timesheets module), the
Subtract Actuals from At Completion rule is always used to
calculate the remaining units.

Converting projects from P3 The Project Management module

converts the Autocost setting for the Add/Subtract rule to the
same setting in the Projects, Calculations tab in the Project
Management module. The Allow Negative ETC option in P3 is
not supported in the Project Management module.

Rule #4–Allow negative ETC The Project Management module

allows you to specify negative budgeted, actual, and remaining
units and cost for activities with Fixed Duration types (Fixed
Duration & Units or Fixed Duration & UPT). The Project
Management module indicates a negative value with a minus sign.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 81

You can assign the price/ Rule #5–When quantities change, use current unit prices to
unit for the resource using recompute costs: Budget, Actual to Date, Estimate to
the Units & Prices tab in Complete The Project Management module has a similar setting
the Resources window. that enables you to recalculate costs associated with a resource
when its quantities change. Choose Enterprise, Resources. Show
the detailed tabs at the bottom of the screen by choosing Display,
Details. Select a resource from the resource hierarchy, then choose
the Details tab. Mark the option to Recalculate Costs from Units if
you want the Project Management module to calculate costs based
on quantity changes for that resource. You must also have defined
a price/unit for the resource.

You can also change this setting for the resource at the activity
level if you display the Cost Units Linked column in the Activities
window, Resources tab. To display the Cost Units Linked
column, in the Resources tab, right-click on any column
heading and select Customize Resource Columns. In the
Columns dialog, right-click anywhere in the Available Options
section and select Group and Sort By, List. From the list, select
Cost Units Linked and click the right arrow to move it to the
Selected Options section. Click Apply, OK.

The Project Management module uses the following equations:

Budgeted Cost = Budgeted Units x Price/Unit

Actual Cost = Actual Units x Price/Unit
Remaining Cost = Remaining Units x Price/Unit
At Completion Cost = Remaining Cost + Actual Cost

Migrating from P3 to P6
82 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

For each resource, specify whether

you want to calculate costs from
unit changes.

To display costs for the resource, choose the Resource tab in the
Activities window. Right-click anywhere along the column titles to
customize the columns. You can add columns to show the cost
data for each assigned resource.

Right-click along the title bar to

choose additional columns in the
Resources tab. You can show
columns for resource cost data.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 83

Use the Status tab to review the activity’s

total costs. Click the dropdown arrow to
change the display from units to costs.

When you choose to update costs based on resource units, you

can also update units based on changes to costs by marking the
Update Units when Costs Change on Resource Assignments
option on the Calculations tab. To keep the calculations similar to
P3 3.x, you would clear this option.

Clear this check box to keep existing

P3 3.x functionality in the Project
Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
84 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Rule #5–Use the update percent complete against budget to

estimate Actual quantity to date, Actual cost to date You can
set a similar option in the Project Management module that
enables you to use the Duration percent complete to automatically
update the actual units and actual costs on resource assignments.
Choose Enterprise, Projects. Display the Calculations tab, then
select a project from the upper pane.

This option corresponds to

Autocost Rule #5 in P3.

When you mark this option, the Project Management module links
the Duration percent complete to actual values.

Actual Units = Budgeted Units x Duration % complete

Actual costs are also updated if you have the option set to
recalculate costs based on units in the Resources window.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 85

In this example, a Duration % equal to 50

was entered. The Actual Units were
updated as 96 x 50% = 48.

The newly calculated actual units for the activity are then
distributed to the assigned resources, as shown in the following
figure.

1. The actual units are based on Duration type and 3. A new At Completion is calculated
are distributed equally between the resources, so by adding the remaining units to the
each resource is updated with 24 hours. actual units.

2. This activity has the Fixed Duration

and UPT duration type assigned, which
indicates that the remaining units are
calculated as RU= UPT / RD.

Migrating from P3 to P6
86 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

The Recalculate Actual Units and Costs when Duration %

Changes setting only applies when the Percent Complete type is
set to Duration. If an activity is assigned the Units Percent
Complete type, the actual units are automatically calculated for
you the first time you update.

The table listed under Rule In addition, the setting to update actual units/costs when the
#2 earlier in this section Duration percent complete changes type does not apply to any
correlates the Duration
type in the Project
activity whose Duration type is set to Fixed Units or Fixed Units
Management module to per Timeperiod. These two cases are similar to having driving
the resource assignment in resources in P3 3.x. When you have resources that drive the
P3 3.x. duration of an activity, the most accurate update method is to
update each resource’s actual to date and remaining units, rather
than having the actual units calculated for you based on a percent
complete at the activity level. (This condition is the same as having
Autocost Rule #1 set to link the remaining duration and schedule
percent complete with driving resources in P3—P3 does not allow
you to change the activity’s percent complete or remaining
duration when the resource is driving.)

When you apply actuals in the Project Management module

(either from Timesheets module timesheets or by marking the
Auto Compute Actuals setting), the Project Management
module uses these actuals, rather than the actuals calculated
from the Recalculate Actual Units and Costs when Duration %
Changes settting.

Converting from P3 When importing projects from P3 3.x to the

Project Management module, the Project Management module
looks at how you have Autocost Rule #5 set in P3. If you have both
the actual quantity to date and actual cost to date options marked
to recalculate based on the percent complete, then the Project
Management module marks the Recalculate Actual Units and
Costs when Duration % Changes setting in the Projects window,
Calculations tab. If only one or neither option is marked in P3,
then the Project Management module leaves the Recalculate
Actual Units and Costs when Duration % Changes setting blank in
the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 87

Rule #6–Link actual to date and actual this period This rule in
P3 converts to a similar rule in the Project Management module.
Choose Enterprise, Projects, Calculations tab. If you mark the
Link Actuals and Actuals this Period Units and Costs option and
change either the actual or actual this period for an activity or
resource, the Project Management module updates the other
value. If you clear this check box, changing one value has no effect
on the other. At the end of each accounting period, reset the actual
this period values for units and costs for all activities and resource
assignments using the Period Closeout command on the Tools
menu.

This option corresponds to This option corresponds to

Autocost Rule # 7 in P3 3.x. Autocost Rule # 6 in P3 3.x.

Rule #7–Link budgeted to EAC for non-progressed activities

In the Calculations tab, you can set a similar option in the Project
Management module that enables you to link the budgeted
amount to the at completion amount for activities that have not
started. Choose Enterprise, Projects, Calculations tab. If you mark
the Link Budget and At Completion for Not Started Activities
check box, choose how to distribute the actual units on an activity
when its actual start or finish is removed. You can choose to reset
the original duration and units to equal the remaining duration
and units. Or, to keep the calculation similar to P3 3.x, you can
reset the remaining duration and units to equal the original
duration and units.

Migrating from P3 to P6
88 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Rule #8–Calculate variance as Budget-EAC, EAC-Budget The

Project Management module does not calculate a variance
between the budgeted amount and at completion amount.
However, you can set the current project as a baseline and
calculate a variance between total costs.

Perform schedule calculations during each schedule compu-

tation The Project Management module performs calculations
during schedule computations. Choose Tools, Schedule,
Advanced button. Select the Recalculate resource costs after
scheduling option.

Schedule “nondriving” resource assignments Resources that

do not drive the dates of the activity they are assigned to are
considered to be nondriving. You can define resources as driving
or nondriving by default in the Projects Window, Project Details,
Resources tab. When scheduling nondriving resources, the
Project Management module applies the following rules:

■ When scheduling on the forward pass, if the activity has any

driving resource assignments, the Project Management
module will calculate the early start date of the activity as the
earliest Early Start date of all driving resource assignments.
Once the Early Start of the activity is calculated from the
driving assignments and relationships, all nondriving
resources are scheduled on or after this date using its
assignment duration. The Early Finish dates of the nondriving
assignments can fall earlier or later than the Early Finish of the
activity.
■ When scheduling on the backward pass, the Late Start date of
the activity and all nondriving resources is calculated as the
earliest Late Start date of all driving resource assignments.
Once the Late Start date of the activity is calculated from the
driving assignments and relationships, all nondriving
resources are scheduled on or after this date using its
assignment duration. This means the Late Finish date of the
nondriving assignments can fall later than the Late Finish date
of the activity to which they are assigned.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 89

■ The finish dates of the nondriving resource assignments can

fall later than the latest calculated Early Finish date of the
project, which is driven by the activity dates.
■ If no driving resources exist on the activity, the activity dates
are used as the calculated dates for the nondriving resources.

Migrating from P3 to P6
90 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Creating a P3 Report in the Project Management Module

P3 provides reports and graphics that enable you to communicate
detailed or summarized information about your projects. You
determine the content, format, order, and selection of activities,
among other options. The reports are preformatted, yet flexible,
providing project data covering schedule, resource, and cost
information.

Many of the reports you are familiar with in P3 can be found in the
Project Management module as default global reports. Choose
Tools, Reports, Reports to view the list of reports available in the
Project Management module.

You can easily add a wide-variety of new reports or modify existing

reports using the Report Wizard in the Project Management
module. Wizard reports are created by selecting a base table and
fields to view, combined with options for grouping, sorting, and
filtering. You can easily modify a report as you’re building it, and
you can modify reports that were previously created by the Report
Wizard.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 91

The Edit Global Reports security privilege is required to create,

run, and save a report from the Report Wizard.

Create a schedule report Schedule reports provide a list of

schedule data showing activity IDs, descriptions, durations, float,
and early and late schedule dates. You can customize reports to
show additional data on separate lines, such as budgets, resources,
predecessor/successor activities, and logs.

The Classic Schedule Report (SR-01) in P3 displays basic

schedule information and is sorted by Early Start and Total Float.
A similar report is found in the list of global reports in the Project
Management module. You can modify the report or create a new
one using the Report Wizard. This section shows how to use the
Report Wizard to create a new schedule report that duplicates the
report in P3.

Migrating from P3 to P6
92 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Choose Tools, Reports, Reports. Click Add to run the Report

Wizard. Select New Report, then click Next.

Choose the subject area that includes the information you want to
display in the report. To create a schedule report that contains
activity durations and dates, select Activities. Click Next.

Mark this
checkbox to limit
the subject areas
to data that may
be distributed
over time.

Choose additional subject areas to include in the report. The

additional areas available are based on the subject area selected in
the previous screen. Click Next.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 93

You cannot add additional subject areas to time-distributed

reports.

Configure the display options for each Subject Area. Click

Columns to select the activity data to display for the selected in the
report. The Columns dialog box contains all fields available to you
based on the selected Subject Area.

Migrating from P3 to P6
94 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Select these fields to

duplicate the SR-01
report in P3.

Select a subject area to

choose its columns, and
to define its group, sort,
and filter options.

Click Group and Sort to determine the order in which data is

listed in the report. Clear the items in the Group and Sort dialog
box so the report is not grouped. In the Group and Sort dialog
box, click Sort to order the information by Early Start, then Total
Float. Click Filter if you want to limit the activities displayed in the
report. Otherwise, click Next.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 95

Type a title for your report. The title appears centered at the top of
the report.

Migrating from P3 to P6
96 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Click Run Report and choose to view the report in Print Preview,
send directly to a printer, publish as an HTML file, or print to an
ASCII text file. Then, click Next, Save Report to save the report
for future use.

You must click Save Report to

include the report in your list of
global reports. If you do not click
this button, the report will not be
saved for future use.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 97

Using Global Change

Global Change is a powerful P3 feature that allows you to change
data for many activities in a single process. You can still take
advantage of this functionality in P6. Similar to P3, use If, Then,
and Else statements to determine the changes you want to make.
Read this section to learn how to build a Global Change
specification in the Project Management module. Differences
between P3 and the Project Management module are also
highlighted.

In the Project Management module, open the project whose data

you want to modify. Choose Tools, Global Change. The Project
Management module provides several sample specifications, many
of which duplicate those in P3. Global Change specifications are
available to all projects.

Specifications can be
made available to you—
the current user, all users,
or to a another specific
user.

Choose an existing specification and click Modify to review its

definition. For example, the following figure compares the same
Global Change specification from P3 and the Project Management
module regarding increasing costs by ten percent for resources.

Migrating from P3 to P6
98 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

In P3, use If statements to

select the field engineer
resources whose duration is
greater than zero.

A Then statement increases

the budgeted cost by 10% by
multiplying the current
budgeted cost by 1.1.

First choose a subject area— Double-click the Value field

activities, activity resource to choose a resource from
assignments, or project the resource hierarchy.
expenses.

In the Project
Management module,
create a similar If
statement to select
the data to modify.
The parameters you
can choose are based
on the subject area.

Define the same

Then statement that
you used in P3.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 99

Create a Global Change specification to assign activity code

values The following example demonstrates how to define a new
Global Change specification for assigning an activity code value to
activities in a school construction project. First, open the project
and choose Enterprise, Activity Codes to add a new activity code
and associated values. In the Activity Codes dialog box, choose
Modify, then Add to add a new classification.

Add a new activity code definition

and specify the maximum length
for its values.

Click Add to define code values for

the selected activity code.

Once the activity code is defined, display the Activities window

and choose Tools, Global Change to define a specification that
assigns the code value to activities. Choose New to create a new
specification. Click anywhere in the If, Then, or Else area of the
Modify Global Change dialog box, then choose Add to define the
criteria.

Migrating from P3 to P6
100 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Choose a Subject area and use

the If section to select the data
that you want the global change
to affect. Leave this area blank to
change all activities in the open
project.

Double-click the Parameter field to display a list of available

parameters to change for the specified subject. The Parameter/
Value field corresponds to the parameter you selected. In this
example, you can double-click to display the code values defined
for the District code and choose the one you want.

In the Project Management module, the Change button on the

Modify Global Change dialog box acts the same as P3’s Trial Run
command. Click Change to run a Global Change report that
details the activities, assignments, or expenses affected by the
change, including the old and new values. If you are satisfied with
the results, choose Commit Change at the bottom of the report to
apply the changes.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 101

Click to apply
the changes
shown in the
report.

You can create a layout that includes columns for activity codes for
review.

The activity code

value has been
globally assigned to all
activities in the School
Addition Project.

Migrating from P3 to P6
102 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Comparing functions The Project Management module contains

many of the same functions as P3’s Global Change feature. The
functions are displayed in the Parameter/Value dropdown list of
the Modify Global Change dialog box when an appropriate data
item is specified in the Parameter field. The following table
compares the functions.

Function in the Project

Function in P3 Purpose
Management module
RIGHT(item, x) RightString(field name,#) Extracts a specific number of
characters from any data type,
where field is the name of the
field and # is the number of
characters to extract, starting with
the last character.

LEFT(item, x) LeftString(field name,#) Extracts a specific number of

characters from any data type,
where field is the name of the
field and # is the number of
characters to extract, starting with
the first character.

SUBSTR(item, x, y) SubString(field name,#,#) Extracts a specified number of

characters (y) from a data field
starting at a specified position (x),
where field is the name of the
field.

DAY(date) Dayof Week(date field or Returns the day of the week for
date) the specified date, resulting in
Monday, Tuesday, and so on.

DATE(date) CurrentDate/Time Supplies the current system date.

A date field must be specified in
the Parameter field.

STDATE(date) Not required The Project Management module

converts date fields to text strings
whenever necessary.

LTRIM(field) Not required The Project Management module

does not include leading blank
spaces in fields.

RTRIM(field) Not required The Project Management module

does not include trailing blank
spaces in fields.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 103

Additional notes on using Global Change Read the following

guidelines for using Global Change in the Project Management
module. See the Project Management Reference Manual or online
help for detailed information.

■ You can enter custom text, dates, or numbers to modify data.

For example, if a text data item such as, Activity Name, is
selected in the Parameter field type, you can specify text in the
Parameter/Value field. Choose Custom from the dropdown
list. You are then prompted to enter the desired text. If a date
field were specified in the Parameter field, the Custom
parameter would prompt you to enter a specific date.

Choose Custom in the

Parameter/Value field
when you want to add
text.

■ You can combine text strings or concatenate using the

ampersand (&) operator, similar to P3. Specify the text you
want to concatenate within quotation marks in the Value field.

Migrating from P3 to P6
104 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

■ The Project Management module does not use temporary

variables. Instead, use user-defined fields as temporary place
holders. User-defined fields are similar to P3’s custom data
items. You can define user-defined fields in the User Defined
Fields dialog. Choose Enterprise, User Defined Fields. User-
defined fields can be displayed as columns in the Activity
Table and in reports.
■ You can use arithmetic equations to change numeric data such
as quantities, costs, and durations. Use addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division to calculate new values.
■ Security privileges are required to use Global Change. You
must be assigned the global privilege, Edit Global Change
Definition to create, edit, and delete Global Change specifica-
tions that are available to all users. You must also be assigned
the project privilege, Run Global Change, to apply Global
Changes to currently open projects along with having access
to the data that you are changing.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 105

Grouping Activities by Resource in the Project

Management Module
In P3, you can group activities by resource in the Bar Chart, using
the Format, Organize command. You can also group by resources
in the Project Management module.

Group by resource in the Activities View In the Project

Management module, choose View, Group and Sort. In the Group
By field, select Resources. Then click OK.

Migrating from P3 to P6
106 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Stacking Multiple Resource Bars in a Profile

In P3, the Resource/Cost Profile displays a histogram that tracks
use or cost per timeperiod. You could combine several resources
into one profile, but still see individual use or cost for each
resource. The stacked profile lets you focus on summarized and
individual use at the same time. You can also stack resource bars in
the Project Management module.

For example, the following figure compares the same resource

usage profile options from P3 and the Project Management
module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 107

In P3, these selection

statements create a profile
containing three stacked bars.

Use different colors to

identify each resource. Stack bars in
descending or
ascending
order.

In the Project
Management
module, create
similar filters to
view a combination
of resources in the
profile. Click OK
and choose a
pattern and color to
identify each
resource filter. the
resource filter.

Double-click the
Value field to
choose a resource
from the resource
hierarchy.

Migrating from P3 to P6
108 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Format the resource settings for the stacked histogram In the

Project Management module, display the Resource Usage Profile
in the bottom pane of the Activities window. Click the Layout
Options bar, choose Show on Bottom, Resource Usage Profile.
Next, click the Display Options bar and choose Stacked
Histogram. Then click the Display Options bar and choose
Resource Usage Profile Options. Click the Data tab, then specify
the type of data to display in the profile and the way it will be
represented. Click the Graph tab to select additional display
options for the profile. You can also right-click in the Resource
Usage Profile area and choose Resource Usage Profile Options.

View a legend Click anywhere in the profile to display a legend

that identifies each stacked bar and shows the use or cost value for
the time-period where you clicked.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 109

Displaying the Activity Network

The Pure Logic diagram is a useful feature in P3. It shows the
sequential relationships between activities in a project without
consideration of time. Similarly, you can display the Activity
Network, in the Project Management module, to show a project as
a diagram of activities and relationships, according to the work
breakdown structure (WBS).

Display the Activity Network in the Activities Window In the

Project Management module, choose View, Show on Top, Activity
Network.

Click to view the

activity network.

Choose the Activity Network box template When customizing

boxes, you can specify particular fonts and colors, set spacing and
positioning, and copy styles from another layout. Right-click on
the Activity Network and choose Activity Network Options. Click
the Activity Box Template tab.

Migrating from P3 to P6
110 Part 2: Getting Started in P6

Click to define the activity

box organization.

Click to display a
list of predefined
activity box
templates.

Click to customize the Click to

selected activity box’s customize the
font and colors. selected activity
box template.

You can add rows for inserting new fields and determine how high
and wide the field cells should occupy within the activity box.

Click to add data

items to the box.

Double-click in the field to

choose the data item to
add to the box.

Additional information on displaying the Activity Network See

the Project Management Reference Manual or online help for
detailed information.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Tips and Tricks 111

Reversing Changes in the Project Management Module

Refer to the Project In the Project Management module, you can undo changes made
Management module Help for
additional information on using to project data. Choose Edit, Undo to change information back to
the Undo feature. its pre modified value in the Activities view and Resource Assign-
ments view. Undo stores each action performed in the Activities
window and Resource window in sequence, beginning with the
most recent action performed. The following actions will clear the
Undo history in the Project Management module:
■ Summarizing data
■ Auto scheduling
■ Updating Progress
■ Applying actuals
■ Refreshing data
■ Creating projects
■ Opening and closing projects
■ Importing
■ Logging in as a different user
■ Changing portfolios
■ Opening the Project Portfolios, User Preferences, Admin
Preferences, and Time Approval dialog boxes
■ Exiting the application

You can only undo modifications in the General, Status,

Resources, and Relationships tabs of Activity Details.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Part 3
Converting P3 Projects to P6

In this part Planning for Conversion

Importing P3 Projects to the Project
Management Module
R ead this part to learn how to convert your existing P3
projects to P6. Planning for Conversion provides a
checklist to consider in P3 and the Project Management
module before you convert.

The Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management

Module chapter takes you through the steps of using the
Import wizard to convert your projects. It includes
sections on how P3 data converts to the Project
Management module along with a project “before and
after” conversion example.
 Planning for Conversion 115

Planning for Conversion

In this chapter Because you are moving from a single user, single
project to a multiuser, multiproject environment,
Why Plan for Conversion?
planning before conversion is essential. You can
Considerations for Conversion
think of it as moving from a two-dimensional
P6 Considerations for Conversion
product to a three-dimensional product. To take
Setting Up the EPS
full advantage of P6’s global capabilities, you will
Setting Up the Resource
Hierarchy want to review your existing projects and
processes and evaluate any necessary changes.
This chapter discusses what you need to consider
before converting your projects and how to set up
some structures in the Project Management
module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
116 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Why Plan for Conversion?

The Import wizard in the Project Management module is a
powerful tool that enables you to move your P3 projects into the
Project Management module. Using options in the Import wizard,
you determine where you want converted data to reside in the
Project Management module, how you want to handle duplicate
information, and how some data should be calculated once it is
moved into the Project Management module. Planning before
conversion ensures that project and resource hierarchies and other
global structures, such as activity and project codes, are organized
in a meaningful way and can eliminate rework once projects are
converted.

The following sections provide a checklist of items and decisions

to consider for P3 and the Project Management module before you
convert your projects. To produce the results you want in the
Project Management module, you should make these types of
decisions before you run the conversion process. You can also
fine-tune data in the Project Management module after the
conversion is completed.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 117

Considerations for Conversion

For additional information on Review this section before you convert P3 projects to P6. It
how the Project Management
module converts P3 data, refer suggests items you should consider in P3 for the most successful
to the next chapter, Importing and smooth transition to the Project Management module, and
P3 Projects to the Project
Management Module. how the Project Management module converts the P3 data.

Projects
■ Decide which projects in P3 you want to convert to the Project
Management module.
■ Clear yourP3 project of any errors. You can run the
PFXW.EXE file located in the //P3WIN/P3PROGS directory
before converting your project.
■ Decide whether the projects within the project group should
be converted as individual projects or combined into one large
project. If you mark the option in the Import wizard to create
separate projects, when the project group is converted to the
Project Management module, an individual project is created
for the project group and for each subproject. For example, in
P3, the project group APEX contains three subprojects,
AUTO, BLDG, and CONV. This group is converted to four
individual projects. Before the import, create an EPS node to
select as the location for the converted projects. You could use
the project group name as the EPS node name.

If the project group contains no activities, a separate project is

not created in the Project Management module. For example, if
APEX does not contain any activities, only three projects are
created in the Project Management module: AUTO, BLDG, and
CONV.

If you mark the option in the Import wizard to combine

projects, when the project group is converted to the Project
Management module, one project is created. The project is
named according to the project group name and each
subproject becomes a WBS level in the Project Management
module project.

Migrating from P3 to P6
118 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

■ The total float option may need to be changed depending on

whether or not you are combing projects when converting
your Project Group. From the Tools menu select Schedule,
then click Options. In the Advanced tab of Schedule/Level
Calculation Options, locate the Project Group Scheduling
section. If you are combining projects when converting, select
Project Group to base the total float on the end date of the
project group. If you are not combining projects when
converting, select Each Project to base the total float on the
end date of each project.
■ Consider how you want to organize your projects once moved
to the Project Management module and where the converted
projects should reside. In the instance where the project group
contains no activities (as described in the previous bullet), you
may want to add an EPS node for the project group and
import its subprojects into that EPS node. Refer to Setting Up
the EPS later in this chapter for more information.
■ The projects you convert must be restored and they must be
multiuser.
■ If converting a SureTrak project, you must save the project in
the Concentric (P3) format.
■ The P3 user “Everyone” must have Read Write or Read Only
access to the projects being converted; otherwise, you will
need to install P3 on the machine where you are converting
projects.
■ Verify that the project to be imported uses either a daily or an
hourly planning unit. Weekly and monthly projects are not
supported—you must first convert the planning unit in P3
before you import the project to the Project Management
module.

Resources and Costs

■ Consider how you want to organize resources once moved
into the Project Management module and where the imported
resources will be placed. Refer to Setting Up the Resource
Hierarchy later in this chapter for more information.
Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 119

■ The Project Management module contains one master

resource pool across all projects. A sample resource hierarchy
is provided when you install the Project Management module.
When you import a project, the resources are imported to the
location in the hierarchy you specify in the Import wizard. If
duplicate resource IDs are encountered during the import
process, you can choose how to resolve each conflict by
modifying the import configurations in the Import wizard.
■ Verify each resource’s unit of measure in P3 and how it will
convert to the Project Management module.
• The Project Management module classifies resources as
labor, nonlabor, or material. Any resource in P3 with a unit
of measure equal to most variations of a time unit, such as
h, hr, hour, mh, d, day, md, w, week, m, month, and so on,
is converted as a labor resource. Any resource in P3 with a
unit of measure equal to the following will also convert as a
material resource:
feet,ft,ft.,sqft,cyds,cyd,cyd.,yard,yrd,yrd.,yrds,yd,yd.,yds,
yds.,inch,ton,tons,in,in.,lf,lnft,lft,ea,each,unit,u

This default list is defined in the PRMCONVERT.INI file.

All other resources are converted as nonlabor. Labor units
are displayed as hrs/day. You can change the display unit by
choosing Edit, User Preferences, and then clicking the
Time Units tab in the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
120 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

In the Project Management

module, you can define units
of measure abbreviations in
Admin, Admin Categories.

• You can change the classification in the Project

Management module after the conversion if the resource
has not yet been assigned to activities.
• You can modify the PRMCONVERT.INI file to add more
resource unit of measure abbreviations to the list. Refer to
Advanced Conversion Options in Importing P3 Projects to
the Project Management Module.
• If importing a daily project, verify how you want resource
assignments to be handled.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 121

Although the Project • All time-based calculations in the Project Management

Management module module are based on hourly units. If your project in P3 is
performs all calculations
internally using hours, you
planned in days, the Project Management module refers to
can choose how to display each resource’s unit of measure to determine how to
time units. By default, the convert resource assignments. If the resource unit of
Project Management measure is equal to most variations of an hourly time unit,
module displays durations
in days and resource units such as hr or mh, the Project Management module assumes
in hours. Choose Edit, the resource assignment is based on hours and converts it
User Preferences, Time as-is. If, however, the resource unit of measure is something
Units.
other than hours, such as day or d, the Project Management
module assumes the resource assignment is in days and
multiplies all resource values by a factor of eight (assuming
8 hr/day). In this case, decide whether eight is the correct
multiplier. You can change the multiplier in the
PRMCONVERT.INI file. You can also modify the list of
unit of measure abbreviations that the Project Management
module refers to during the conversion. Refer to Advanced
Conversion Options in Importing P3 Projects to the Project
Management Module for more information.
• For resources that have a blank unit of measure, use the
Import wizard to decide how to handle the assignments.
You can choose to convert the resource assignments in days
or hours. If you choose hours, the Project Management
module retains the resource values as-is. If you choose
days, the Project Management module multiplies all
resource values by a factor of eight (assuming 8 hr/day).
You can change the multiplier in the PRMCONVERT.INI
file. Refer to Advanced Conversion Options in Importing P3
Projects to the Project Management Module for more infor-
mation.

Migrating from P3 to P6
122 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

The Project Management

module looks at the Units
field for resources in the
P3 Resource Dictionary to
determine how to convert
resource assignments.

■ Resources assigned to milestone activities in P3 become

expenses in the Project Management module. The resource
name is used for the expense name, and the resource’s
budgeted cost is the expense’s budgeted cost. The first
resource found on the milestone becomes the primary
resource in the Project Management module.
■ Decide whether resource units and costs should be linked
when converted to the Project Management module. During
the Import process, you are prompted to calculate costs for
resource assignments based on the price per unit, or you can
retain the current cost values.
■ Decide how to convert lump sum costs. A lump sum cost in P3
is any activity that has a monetary cost associated with it, but
has either just a cost account or a resource with no unit
amounts assigned. During the Import process, you are
prompted to import activities with only a budgeted cost as an
expense or a resource assignment with a budgeted cost.

The conversion process creates additional levels in the

resource structure for P3 3.x hierarchical resources. The
Project Management module supports only maximum limits for
resources. Normal resource limits are not converted.

■ In P3, the estimate to complete can be a negative value to

account for cost overruns on an activity. All negative cost
values import to the Project Management module as expenses,
so the cost overruns can be tracked.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 123

For additional information on Resource curves

how resource assignments are
converted, see the ■ You can specify the allocation of resources and costs over the
Understanding Duration and duration of an activity using resource curves. All resource
Percent Complete Types in the
Tips and Tricks chapter of Part curve definitions assigned to the projects being exported from
2. P3 are imported into the Project Management module. The
curve name is prefaced by the P3 3.x project name in the
Project Management module (e.g., APEX - Triangular). The
resource curve assignments are also imported.
P3 divides the activity’s duration into 11 increments (points)
from 0 through 100 percent. Each increment indicates
resource use. The value for 0% represents the amount of
resource already used when the activity begins; the value for
10% represents the usage between the start and 10%
completion. Curves in the Project Management module are
defined using 21 points. The first point from P3 3.x imports
directly into the Project Management module. The other 10
curve values are split in half and rounded to the nearest 10th.
For example:
P3 3.x Bell Shape 0 1 3 8 15 23 23 15 8 3 1
Project Management module Bell Shape: 0 .5 .5 1.5 1.5 4
4 7.5 7.5 11.5 11.5 11.5 11.5 7.5 7.5 4 4 1.5 1.5 .5 .5
Activity IDs
■ In P3, numeric activity IDs are right-justified. In the Project
Management module, all activity IDs are left-justified. Activity
IDs in the Project Management module can include alpha and
numeric characters. When you import a P3 project that uses
numeric activity IDs into the Project Management module,
they are left-justified. In the Project Management module,
activity IDs can have a maximum of 20 characters.

Migrating from P3 to P6
124 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

■ In P3, alphanumeric Activity IDs are unique when you add an

underscore to the beginning of the ID. For example, the
Activity IDs ABC and _ABC are unique in P3 but are not
unique in the Project Management module. When you import
a P3 project that uses underscores in an Activity ID, the
Project Management module adds two underscores to the
beginning of the ID. For example, the P3 Activity ID _ABC
would import to the Project Management module as ___ABC.
Activities
■ All time-based calculations in the Project Management
module are based on hourly units. When converting a daily
project, the Project Management module multiplies activity
durations, total float, free float, and relationship lag by a factor
of eight (assuming an 8 hr/day). If your projects are based on a
different rate, such as ten hours/day, you can change the daily
multiplier in the PRMCONVERT.INI file. Refer to Advanced
Conversion Options in Importing P3 Projects to the Project
Management Module for more information.

If you change the daily multiplier to some value other than eight,
you should also change the value used to calculate the hours/
day in the Project Management module. For example, if your P3
project has activities and resources that are planned using ten
hours/day, then you should also change the hours/day setting in
the Project Management module to ten. In the Project
Management module, choose Admin, Admin Preferences, Time
Periods to change this setting.

■ Decide whether you want the Project Management module to

schedule the imported project once the process is complete.
For example, if your P3 project has specific dates set for activ-
ities with no relationships, you may not want to calculate the
schedule immediately when the Import process completes.
You can choose this option in the Import wizard.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 125

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

■ In the Project Management module, a WBS must exist and all
activities must be assigned to a WBS code. If no WBS exists in
the P3 project, the Project Management module creates a
WBS root node and names it PROJ, where PROJ is the P3
project name. All activities are assigned to this WBS code.
■ The WBS value assigned to an activity must exist in the P3
WBS dictionary or the WBS assignment will not import into
Project Management.
■ Decide whether you want the project’s entire WBS dictionary
from P3 imported to the Project Management module. If no
activities are assigned to a particular WBS branch, you can
choose not to import it during the Import wizard.
■ Decide whether you want to import the WBS code from P3 as
an Activity Code or WBS structure in P6 during the
conversion process. Refer to Advanced Conversion Options in
Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module for
more information.
Project codes
■ The Project Management module contains a global project
codes dictionary which is available to all projects in the
company. You can assign a project code value to projects for
each project code you create. All 10 project codes defined in
the P3 project and their assignments are imported.

If the import option “Merge sub projects” is marked in the Import

wizard, the project codes and values assigned to the master
project are imported.

Migrating from P3 to P6
126 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Activity Codes

This may be a good time to ■ The Project Management module contains global and project
evaluate your project activity codes. Global activity codes are provided with the
coding structures. You
might find that you can
sample data delivered with the Project Management module. If
eliminate some codes you choose to create separate projects (rather than combine
because of the hierarchical them) in the Import wizard, all activity codes, activity ID
structuring that the Project codes, and alias codes from P3 3.x import as global activity
Management module
provides. codes in the Project Management module, so they are available
to all projects. If you choose to combine subprojects into one
project to import, the activity codes, activity ID codes, and
alias codes import as project-specific activity codes.
■ When activity codes are imported into the Project
Management module, the P3 activity code description is used
as the activity code in the Project Management module. For
example, if the activity code name in P3 is RESP and the
description is Responsibility, then Responsibility is imported
as the activity code in the Project Management module. If
there is no description associated with an activity code, then
the four-character name is imported as the activity code.
■ Alias codes from P3 are not converted. However, Activity ID
codes are converted when merging the projects. If you want to
retain the Activity ID codes, but you choose not to combine
subprojects in the Import wizard, transfer the activity ID code
to an activity code in P3 prior to conversion. Decide whether
you want to build any ID codes into the Project Management
module as additional activity codes or project codes.
■ Verify that all activity code values assigned to activities in P3
are defined in the Activity Codes Dictionary; otherwise, they
will not be converted to the Project Management module.
Click the Refresh button in the P3 Activity Code Dictionary to
incorporate any new activity code values that have not been
validated into the Activity Codes dictionary.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 127

Activity Details
You can view activity details in the Activity Form. To access the
Activity Form, select View > Activity Form. For resource
assignment information, select the Res tab.

■ For activities that do not have an Actual Finish (AF) date,

determine if any activities have a Remaining Duration (RD) of
zero. If so, as an option, you can set the RD to 1 or set an AF
date.
■ For activities that do not have an AF date, determine if any
resource assignments have a To Complete value of zero. If so,
as an option, you can either set the To Complete value to 1 or
set an AF date for the activity.
■ Determine if any resource assignments have a Budgeted
Quantity greater than zero. If so, as an option, you can either
set the Budgeted Quantity to a value greater than zero or delete
the resource assignment.
■ For activities that do not have an Actual Start (AS) date,
determine if any resource assignments have an Actual To Date
value greater than zero. If so, you can either delete the Actual
to Date quantity or set an AS date. If you do neither, the
Project Management module will assign an AS date.
■ If Budgeted Quantity and Estimate at Complete are linked in
the Autocost Rules in P3 and activities do not have an AS date,
determine if any resource assignments have unequal values for
Budgeted Quantity and At Completion in the Project
Management module. If so, either set an AS date or make the
Budgeted Quantity and At Completion values equal.
■ For activities that do not have an AS date, Percent Complete is
set to zero. This action is recorded in the PROJtemp.log file,
where PROJ is the project name. The log file is created in the
user’s Temp directory during import.

Migrating from P3 to P6
128 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

■ For activities that do not have an AS date, determine if any

activities do not have equal values for the Remaining Duration
(RD) and the Original Duration (OD). If so, either enter an AS
date or make the RD and OD values equal. However, if the
Link Budget and At Completion setting is on, the Project
Management module will set the OD equal to the RD. This
action is recorded in the PROJtemp.log file.
■ Verify that all AS and AF dates are set to valid workdays. If the
AS or AF dates are set to nonwork days, the Project
Management module will use the next available workday as the
AS and/or AF values.
Hammocks and Milestones
■ Identify any hammocks that contain the same predecessor and
successor. If any hammocks do contain the same predecessor
and successor, you can add a milestone so that the relation-
ships convert. For example, assume a hammock has Activity
100 associated as a Start-to-Start (SS) predecessor and as a
Finish-to-Finish (FF) successor. In the Project Management
module, this is considered a loop. Therefore, you must break
the predecessor relationship between Activity 100 and the
hammock. To do this, add a milestone and set the milestone as
the predecessor to Activity 100. Then, link the milestone to
the hammock as an SS predecessor.
■ Verify that all hammocks have SS predecessors and FF
successors with no lag. If other relationships exist, they will be
deleted.
For detailed information about ■ Start and finish milestones are converted from P3 to the
the conversion options, refer to
the next chapter, Importing P3 Project Management module. In P3, a milestone can have
Projects to the Project multiple resource assignments. In the Project Management
Management Module
module, a milestone can have one primary resource with no
costs or units associated with the assignment. During
conversion, determine if you want milestones to have primary
resource assignments. Resources and costs assigned to
milestones will convert to expenses.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 129

Start and Finish Flags

■ Start and finish flags convert to start and finish milestones in
the Project Management module. Before conversion, make
sure all start flags have SS relationships with its predecessors,
and that all finish flags have FF relationships with its
predecessors. In P3, start and finish flags summarize the start
and finish of its predecessor, respectively, regardless of the
relationship type. In the Project Management module, the
converted milestones will schedule differently if the
predecessors do not have a Start-to-Start (SS) or Finish-to-
Finish (FF) relationship with the milestone.
Suspend and resume dates
■ In P3, a suspend date indicates that an activity is suspended at
the end of the specified day. In the Project Management
module, a suspend date indicates that an activity is suspended
at the beginning of the specified day. Due to this discrepancy,
actual and remaining durations are affected for daily projects.
Hourly projects are not affected.
For example, an activity suspend date of 05OCT04 (end of
the day) in P3 will import to the Project Management module
as 05OCT04 (the beginning of the day). In the Project
Management module, the actual duration for the activity will
be one day shorter than it was in P3 because P3 progresses the
work through the suspend date (while the Project
Management module suspends progress at the beginning of
the day).
Custom data items
■ P3 custom data items (CDIs) are converted to the following
user-defined fields in the Project Management module.

Project Management Project Management

P3 Custom Data Item
module Activity User module Resource User
Type
Field Field
Character (C) User Text User Text

Start (S) User Start Date User Start Date

Migrating from P3 to P6
130 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Project Management Project Management

P3 Custom Data Item
module Activity User module Resource User
Type
Field Field
Finish (F) User End Date User End Date

Numeric (N) User Integer User Integer

Precision (P) User Number User Number

■ If a user-defined field already exists in Project Management

with the same name as a custom data item in P3, the data type
of the user-defined field and the custom data item must match
to import the custom data item value assignments. For
example, if Purchase Order is a character CDI in P3 and an
integer in Project Management, the data in P3 will not import
into Project Management.
■ User-defined fields are global and are accessible to all projects
in Project Management. You can display converted activity
custom data items as columns in the Project Management
module Activity Table. In the Activities window (with an
Activity Table or Gantt Chart displayed on top), click the
Layout options bar, then choose Columns. Select the
appropriate user-defined fields from the list of Available
Options and add them to the layout.
You can also display your converted resource custom data
items as columns in the Project Management module. In the
Activities window, click the Layout options bar, then choose
Show on Bottom, Activity Details. Click the Resources tab to
display resource information. Right-click in the column area,
and choose Customize Resource Columns. Select the appro-
priate user-defined fields from the list of Available Options
and add them to the table.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 131

Cost accounts
■ Cost accounts and cost account assignments are converted
from P3 to the Project Management module. Cost accounts
are global across all projects in the Project Management
module. A sample cost account hierarchy is provided when
you install the Project Management module (if you install
sample data). When you import a project, the Project
Management module creates a branch for the project cost
accounts, and the project name is added to the beginning of
each cost account. The conversion appends the cost category
in P3 to the end of the cost account in the Project Management
module. For example, cost account 11101 from project APEX
creates the following branch in the Project Management
module:
• APEX
• APEX.11101
• APEX.11101.L

If duplicate cost accounts are encountered when you import a

P3 3.x project, you can choose how to resolve each conflict by
modifying the import configurations in the Import wizard.
Calendars
■ The Project Management module supports global, resource,
and project calendars. Global calendars in the Project
Management module apply to all projects. Sample global
calendars are provided with the Project Management module.
All activity calendars from P3 import as global calendars in the
Project Management module, so they are available to all
projects. Resource calendars from P3 are converted to
resource calendars in the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
132 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

The Project Management module does not support the ability

to designate repeating holidays. If you convert a daily P3
project, the repeating holidays from the P3 project are applied
directly to the global calendars in the Project Management
module. For example, if July 4 is a repeating holiday in P3, it is
designated as a nonworkday in the global calendars for each
applicable date from the project start date to the project finish
date in the Project Management module.
Constraints
■ The Project Management module supports two constraints
per activity. Review the following conversion table:
Project Management module
P3 Constraint Type
Constraint Type
Early Start (start no earlier than) Start On or After

Late Start (start no later than) Start On or Before

Early Finish (finish no earlier than) Finish On or After

Late Finish (finish no later than) Finish On or Before

Start On Start On

Expected Finish Expected Finish Date

Mandatory Start Mandatory Start

Mandatory Finish Mandatory Finish

Zero Total Float Not Converted

Zero Free Float As Late As Possible

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 133

Scheduling options
■ The following scheduling options convert to the Project
Management module:

P3 Project Management module

Show open ends as (Critical or Make open-ended activities critical
Noncritical)

When scheduling activities apply For activities started out of sequence

(Retained logic or Progress override) use (Retained logic or Progress override)

Calculate start-to-start lag from (Actual Calculate start-to-start lag from (Early
start or Early start) Start or Actual Start)

Calculate total float as (Most critical, Compute Total Float as (Start float,
Start float, or Finish float) Finish float, or Smallest of start float and
finish float)

■ In P3, relationship lag is always calculated using the

predecessor calendar. An advanced scheduling option in the
Project Management module enables you to choose the
calendar you want to use. This setting will default to
predecessor calendar for imported P3 projects.
■ In the Project Management module, float calculations for
subprojects converted as individual projects are always based
on the finish date of each individual project.
■ The Project Management module always rolls up resources
assigned to an activity, which then determine the activity’s
durations and schedule dates.
For detailed information, see Autocost rules
the Using Autocost section in the
Tips and Tricks chapter earlier ■ P3 provides automatic resource/cost calculation rules by
in this book. which it calculates costs and estimates resource use when you
update activities. These rules convert to the Project
Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
134 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

P6 Considerations for Conversion

The Import wizard makes the conversion of data from P3 to P6 as
simple as possible. Logical assumptions are made about mapping
data and options to give you the results you expect once in the
Project Management module, while also eliminating most of the
preparation work. To take full advantage of P6’s organizational
features, however, it is best to set up some global data structures in
the Project Management module before you run the Import
wizard. You should also optimize your database if necessary.

Project structure
■ The first structure you should establish is the enterprise
project structure (EPS). The EPS is a hierarchy that is used to
organize and manage the projects in your organization. During
the import process, you are prompted to select a location in
the EPS for the projects being imported. Refer to the Setting
Up the EPS section for more information.
Resource hierarchy
■ The resource hierarchy represents the people, materials, and/
or equipment used to perform work on activities. It includes
the resources across all projects in the organization. During
the import process, you are prompted to select a location in
the resource hierarchy for the resources being imported. Refer
to the Setting Up the Resource Hierarchy section for more
information.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 135

Notebook topics
■ The Project Management module provides notebooks, similar
to P3’s logs, which you can use to record information about a
specific project, WBS, or activity. For example, describe
processes, attach site or equipment pictures, and record
change decisions, comments, and/or lessons learned.
Predefined topics enable you to categorize the information.
Activity logs from P3 are converted to notebooks in the Project
Management module. During the import process, you are
prompted to create a new notebook topic for these converted
logs, or you can choose a predefined topic. Choose Admin,
Admin Categories, Notebook Topics in the Project
Management module.

This notebook topic was

automatically created
specifically for your P3
activity logs during Import.

Migrating from P3 to P6
136 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Setting Up the EPS

In P6, you organize your projects in a hierarchy called the
enterprise project structure (EPS). The EPS consists of nodes,
subdivided into as many levels as necessary to parallel a company’s
reporting and work needs. Projects exist at the lowest level of any
given node; each node can contain multiple projects. Every project
in the organization must be included in the EPS.

You can view schedule data by EPS, roll up data to any node,
allocate and review budget information, as well as customize the
columns of data shown. The EPS also enables you to evaluate
resource use across all projects and report on summary or detailed
data. Executive management can review data rolled up from
detailed projects in a summary format using the Web Portfolio
Management module.

This symbol indicates an EPS node, which is divided

into further nodes that contain projects.

Indicates a project, the

lowest level of a
branch

Indicates that this

node has more rolled
up nodes or projects

Indicates that this

level is expanded

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 137

It is best to set up a basic EPS before you convert projects from P3.
During the import process, you are prompted to select a location
in the EPS for the projects being imported.

The number of EPS levels and their structure depend on the

scope of your projects and how you want to summarize data.
Nodes at the high level might represent divisions within your
company, project phases, or site locations. Multiple levels enable
you to manage projects separately while retaining the ability to roll
up and summarize data to higher levels. Multiple levels are also
useful in organizations that require projects in varying
geographical locations.

When converting projects from P3, you may want to structure the
EPS based on your current project group/subproject structure.
For example, you could set up a simple EPS, as shown in the
following figure.

Or, you could organize the EPS according to projects by client, as

shown in the next example.

Migrating from P3 to P6
138 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

You could also take the opportunity to work with each area of the
organization to define requirements, some basic information, and
standards for projects. For example, requirements might dictate
that the EPS support
■ simple, repeatable, and efficient data management
■ accurate data summaries (roll up)
■ organizational-wide and project reporting
■ accountability by project
■ financial reporting

You could create a hierarchy based on your company’s needs and

use it to structure projects. Take advantage of the EPS’s multiple
levels to expand on P3’s two-level flat structure. For example, you
can review your existing P3 project codes and activity codes and
build the EPS based on them. The following example shows a
more detailed EPS.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 139

Area was one activity

code in the P3 project
that can now become a
branch in the EPS.
Management, Design,
and Construction were
values for the Area
activity code.

Set up the EPS In the Project Management module, choose

Enterprise, Enterprise Project Structure. You must define at least
one root level node; however, you can use more than one root level
node to distinguish different branches of the EPS. For example,
you could separate new projects versus converted P3 projects or
open projects versus closed projects. Use the EPS dialog box to
define these nodes.

Migrating from P3 to P6
140 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Select the node under

which you want the new
node to appear, then click
Add.

Define an ID and name for

each EPS node. You can
also assign the OBS
element responsible for
each node.

Click to move nodes up/down

or indent/outdent.

Once you build the structure, you can define additional

information about each node. Refer to the Project Management
Reference Manual for more details.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Planning for Conversion 141

Setting Up the Resource Hierarchy

The resource hierarchy in P6 enables you to organize resources
into meaningful groups. All resources for all projects across your
company must be defined in the resource hierarchy.

You can define

resources as generic
names, or you can
specify employee
names.

Although the import process automatically creates a root node

specifically for the resources being converted, you may want to set
up a basic structure before you import projects from P3. After you
have converted projects, you can fine-tune the resource
hierarchical structure, if necessary. For example, you can define
resource nodes for each project you are importing from P3 and
then modify the structure later to add appropriate nodes, such as
department, and move the resources into them.

Migrating from P3 to P6
142 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Create resource nodes

for the P3 projects you
will be importing.

Set up the resource hierarchy In the Project Management

module, choose Enterprise, Resources. Select the resource
immediately above and at the same level as the one you want to
add, then click Add. In the Resource wizard, specify a resource ID
and name for the node/resource. You can click Finish at this point,
or specify additional details using the Resource wizard.

At this point, you are ready to begin importing P3 projects to P6.

Read the following chapter for detailed steps.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 143

Importing P3 Projects to the Project

Management Module
In this chapter Project data from Primavera Project Planner (P3)
version 3.x can be converted and opened in the
Running the Import Wizard
Project Management module.
How the Project Management
Module Converts P3 Data
Read this chapter to learn how to use the Import
Advanced Conversion Options
wizard to move your P3 projects to the Project
Before and After Conversion
Example
Management module. Most data converts directly
from P3 to the Project Management module.
Where differences exist, this chapter describes
how the data is converted.

Migrating from P3 to P6
144 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Running the Import Wizard

The Import wizard guides you through the steps for importing P3
3.x projects to the Project Management module.

Select import type In the Project Management module, choose

File, Import. Choose Primavera Project Planner, then click Next.

Choose project group(s) to import When converting P3

projects to the Project Management module, you can import
multiple project groups (master projects) simultaneously or
import project groups individually. You should select multiple
project groups only when you want to import all subprojects
contained in those projects. You should import project groups
individually when you want to specify the subprojects to import.

The projects cannot be open in P3. The existing P3 projects

remain intact.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 145

The import wizard displays different screens and options when

you import a single project group versus multiple project
groups. Determine if you want to import single or multiple
project groups, then follow the corresponding instructions
detailed in this section.

To import multiple project groups:

In the P3 3.x Project Directory field, click the Browse button to
select the location of the projects you want to import, then select
the project groups to import. Click Next and skip to the next
section, “Specify import project options” on page 147.

To import a single project group:

In the P3 3.x Project Directory field, click the Browse button to
select the location of the projects you want to import, then select
the project group to import. Click Next.

Migrating from P3 to P6
146 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

The selected project group (master project and its associated

subprojects) is displayed on the next wizard screen. By default, all
projects (master project and subprojects) are selected for import.
Unmark the checkbox next to each project you do not want to
import. You do not have to import the master project.

Choose to combine subprojects or create separate projects for

each selected subproject. Mark the ‘Combine subprojects’ option
if you want to import the selected projects as one project rather
than separating them into individual projects. For example, in P3
3.x, the project group APEX contains three projects, AUTO,
BLDG, and CONV (as shown in the following figure). If you
select the ‘Combine subprojects’ option, the Project Management
module imports one project named APEX.

If the project group contains subprojects and you choose to

combine subprojects, you must select at least one subproject.

Mark the ‘Create separate projects’ option if you want to import

each selected subproject as an individual project. If you select this
option, you cannot import the master project. For example, in P3
3.x, the project group APEX contains three subprojects, AUTO,
BLDG, and CONV. This group is converted to three individual
projects (APEX is not converted). Before the import, create an
EPS node to select as the location for the converted projects.
Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 147

Mark to import the selected

projects as one project. If you
select this option, you must
select at least one subproject.
You do not have to select the
master project.

Select this option if you want to

import each selected subproject
as an individual project. If you
select this option, you cannot
select the master project.

Specify import project options Choose how the P3 3.x projects

should be imported. Beside each project name, click the Import
Action field, then click the down arrow to select the type of
import. Choose the Create New Projects option when moving
your P3 projects to the Project Management module. A new
project is created in the Project Management module.
Click the Browse button in the Import To field to select the level
of the EPS at which the project should be imported. To keep your
projects organized, it is best to set up a basic EPS before you
import projects, as discussed earlier in this chapter.

Migrating from P3 to P6
148 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Select the location in

the EPS for the
imported project.

If you are importing multiple project groups simulta-

neously, the wizard displays all project group names. If
you are importing a single project group and chose to
combine subprojects in the previous wizard screen, the
Project ID will always be the name of the project group
(master project), even if you do not import the master
project itself. If you are importing a single project group
and chose to create separate projects in the previous
wizard screen, each subproject is listed separately.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 149

Select location for resources For each project, select the level of
the hierarchy at which resources should be imported. Click in the
Import To field, then click the Browse button. Select the resource
under which to place all resources from the P3 project. To better
organize your resources, it is best to set up a basic resource
hierarchy before you import projects, as discussed in the previous
section. If you leave the field blank, the Project Management
module creates a root node named after the P3 project.

Select the location in

the resource hierarchy
for the selected
project’s resources.

Select location for activity logs P3 3.x activity logs are

converted to notes in the Project Management module. Notebook
topics are predefined categories in the Project Management
module that help to organize your project notes. Choose to create
a new notebook topic for the notes, or select from the existing list
of notebook topics. To display notes in the Project Management
module, in the Activities window click the Layout Options bar,
then choose Show on Bottom, Activity Details. Click the
Notebook tab.

Migrating from P3 to P6
150 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Choose update project options Select a layout configuration to

use when importing project data. The options specified in the
layout determine how the Project Management module handles
data in the import file that matches data in the database.You can
create and save several different configurations; however, only one
configuration can be used to import the file. Select Yes in the Use
field next to the configuration you want to use. Since you will be
creating new projects in the Project Management module from
your P3 projects, accept the default configuration.

Click to create a new

layout configuration.

Click to customize the

layout configuration.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 151

Modifying a Layout Configuration

The options specified in a layout configuration determine how
data is updated when projects are imported and duplicate data
exists. To modify these options, select the layout in the Update
Project Options dialog box, then click Modify.

Mark to delete relation-

ships to external projects,
activities, activity relation-
ships, and activity
resource assignments that
are in the project being
updated, but are not
included in the import file.

The import of activities, their

relationships, and their
resource assignments is
dependent on one another.
For example, if you choose
to update one of these
items, all three are updated
automatically.

Migrating from P3 to P6
152 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

The Modify Import Configuration dialog box lists the data types
for which you can set options. Mark the Delete checkbox next to a
data item to remove data that exists in the project you are updating
but is not included in the file you are importing. For example, if
several activities are defined in the project you are updating, but
are not included in the file to be imported, mark the checkbox in
the Delete column to remove the activities from the project being
updated.

The Delete field applies only to relationships to external

projects, activities, activity relationships, and activity resource
assignments. Global data types are not affected by this setting.

Select one of the following in the Action field to indicate how the
data type is updated:
■ Keep Existing Retains data in the existing project and does not
overwrite it with the updated data; adds new data if the record does
not exist.
■ Update Existing Overwrites data in the existing project with
updated data; adds new data if the record does not exist.
■ Insert New Retains data in the existing project and adds any new
data items. For example, if a new calendar was added in the P3 3.x
file, but you don’t want to change the existing calendars, choose
Insert New to add the new calendar to the existing project.
■ Do Not Import Retains data in the existing project and does not
import the updated data.

Calculate cost values Click Advanced in the Update Project

Options dialog box to display options specific to existing P3
projects regarding how you want to handle costs in the Project
Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 153

Choose if you want milestones

to have a primary resource
assignment.

■ Indicate whether you want the Project Management module to

recalculate the cost values from the unit prices and assigned
resource quantities.
For more information, see the ■ When importing a daily project that has resources with a blank
Considerations for Conversion
in the Planning for Conversion unit of measure in P3, choose to convert the resource assign-
chapter. ments in days or hours. If you choose hours, the Project
Management module retains the resource values as-is. If you
choose days, the Project Management module multiplies all
resource values by a factor of eight (assuming 8 hr/day). You
can change the multiplier in the PRMCONVERT.INI file.
Refer to Advanced Conversion Options in this chapter for more
information.
■ Choose whether to import resource assignments that only
have cost information (no quantity information) associated
with them as expenses or as resource assignments with a
budgeted cost.

Choose additional project options Use the Project Options

dialog box to specify the following additional options. Click Finish
to begin the import process.

Migrating from P3 to P6
154 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

This option only appears

when you are importing
multiple project groups.

Click to import the

P3 project.

■ Merge sub projects Decide whether the projects within the

project group should be converted as individual projects or
combined into one large project. Most likely, you will want to
keep your subprojects as individual projects so you can leave
this option blank. Marking this setting imports a project group
as one project rather than separating it into individual
projects. For example, in P3, the project group APEX
contains three projects, AUTO, BLDG, and CONV. Merging
the subprojects imports only one project named APEX with
all activities under that project.

Projects are merged automatically when your Import Type is

either Update Existing Project or Replace Existing Project.

When you merge subprojects, all activity codes convert to

Project Management as project activity codes. Otherwise, they
convert as global activity codes.

■ Schedule project after import When the import process is

complete, you can automatically calculate the schedule. Leave
this setting blank to not calculate the schedule automatically,
especially if you want to review or retain the dates that you
imported from P3.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 155

■ Import WBS codes as a global activity code Mark this

setting to import the WBS codes from P3 into P6 as global
activity codes assigned to the activities. The global activity
code name created, P3 WBS - Proj, where Proj is the name of
the project group in P3, will store the WBS values.
■ Import unused WBS codes Mark this setting to keep all the
WBS codes within each project, even if they are not assigned
to any activities. For unassigned WBS codes, the Project
Management module will create a WBS root node with one
level beneath it and name it PROJ.UNASSIGNED.

Migrating from P3 to P6
156 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

How the Project Management Module Converts P3 Data

Most data is converted directly from P3 to the Project
Management module. This section explains how data is handled
after it is imported into the Project Management module and a
direct match does not exist; it also identifies data that is not
converted. See Data not converted later in this section for
additional cases.
■ Durations, float, and lag All time-based calculations in the
Project Management module are based on hourly units. When
converting a daily project, the Project Management module
multiplies activity durations, total float, free float, and
relationship lag by a factor of eight (assuming 8 hours/day). If
your projects are based on a different rate, such as ten hrs/day,
you can change the daily multiplier in the
PRMCONVERT.INI file. Refer to Advanced Conversion
Options in the next section.

The duration, float, and lag information does not apply to hourly
projects.

■ WBS codes In the Project Management module, a WBS must

exist and all activities must be assigned to a WBS code. If the
imported P3 project uses a WBS, it is converted to the Project
Management module. If no WBS exists, the Project
Management module creates a WBS root node and names it
PROJ, where PROJ is the P3 project name. All activities are
assigned to this WBS code.

Because the Project Management module uses the WBS to

define a project structure, you should not assign the same

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 157

WBS code to different activities across projects within a

project group in P3. For example, if activity CS300 is part of
the Conveyor System project, it should not be assigned a WBS
code that belongs to the Automation System project. If the
conversion program encounters this situation, it duplicates the
assigned codes in both projects. To distinguish the projects,
the program and project names are added as a prefix to the
WBS code structure. For example, for the APEX project,
APEX.CONV.AM.01 and APEX.AUTO.AM.01 would be
included as branches in the WBS.
■ Target projects You can convert target projects just as you
would any other project; however, the target designators are
not converted. To designate a target project in the Project
Management module, choose Projects, Baselines. Click Add
and choose Convert Another Project to a New Baseline of the
Current Project. Select the converted target project as the
baseline for the current project.

Data not converted This section lists the data items that are not
converted from P3 to the Project Management module.
■ Layouts, filters, and Global Change, report, and graphic
specifications Layouts, filters, and Global Change and
report/graphic specifications are not converted with the
project; however, sample data is provided for these items in
the Project Management module.
■ Access rights Access rights are not converted in the Project
Management module. Your system administrator must set up
global and project profiles that determine privileges.
■ Financial periods and past period actuals In the Project
Management module, financial periods are global. Financial
periods and past period actual data are not converted to the
Project Management module because financial periods are
project-specific in P3. Choose Admin, Financial Periods, to
define financial periods in the Project Management module.
After you define financial periods choose Tools, Store Period
Performance, to store past period actuals per financial period.

Migrating from P3 to P6
158 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

■ Leveling options and leveling priorities Choose Tools,

Level Resources, to set options for leveling in the Project
Management module.
■ Aliases Aliases are not converted in the Project Management
module. If you want to include the P3 alias code in the Project
Management module, you can create a new activity code in P3
to represent the combined codes. Next, run a global change
statement that assigns the combined codes to the new activity
code. In the Project Management module, you can create
activity codes and arrange them hierarchically, to represent the
alias from P3.
■ Webster time data Time data entered through Webster for
Primavera is not supported in the Project Management
module. The actual values from Webster are imported into the
Project Management module as a lump sum value. If you will
be using the Timesheets module, all actual values are lost the
first time you use the Timesheets module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 159

Advanced Conversion Options

The Conversion utility provides additional options that you can
set in an .INI file. You can also use command-line parameters to
convert multiple projects at one time.

The PRMCONVERT.INI file is created in your Windows or

Winnt folder the first time an import is run. Add or modify any of
the following options to the file:

[Settings]
NoUI=[0,1] Choose 1 to remove the GUI screens when using
command line conversions. For example, if you are using a batch
file to perform many conversions, and you do not want any GUI to
show, select 1. The default setting is 0.

DailyMultiplier=[#] Select an integer to use as a multiplier when

importing daily P3 3.x projects. The default multiplier is 8. For
example, if a duration is one day in P3 and the daily multiplier is
set to 12, the duration in the Project Management module will be
12 hours. Similarly, if the resource unit of measure is something
other than hours such as, day or d, then the Project Management
module assumes the resource assignment is in days and multiplies
all resource values by this daily multiplier. It is recommended that
this value matches the value in Admin Preferences.

[WBS]
AutoSelect=[0,1] Choose 1 to enable the import process to
attempt to match the WBS with the project hierarchy structure. A
unique WBS branch will be created for each project within the
project group. The default setting is 1.

WbsAsActCode=[0,1] Choose 1 to enable the import process to

import all WBS codes as a global activity code. The global activity
code name created, P3 WBS - Proj, where Proj is the name of the
project group in P3, will store the WBS values. If this option is set
to 0, the WBS will import to the WBS structure in P6. The default
setting is 0.
Migrating from P3 to P6
160 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

[Resource Units]

The conversion process uses the unit of measure for resources in

P3 3.x to determine whether to categorize a resource in the Project
Management module as labor, nonlabor, or material. If a resource
in P3 3.x contains one of the following units of measure, it is
converted as a labor resource in the Project Management module:
h, h., hr, hr., hrs, hrs., hour, d, d., day, days, w, w., wk, wk., wks,
wks., week, m, m., mnth, y, y., yr, yr., yrs, yrs., year, md, md., mds,
mds., mh, mh., mhs, mhs.

If a resource in P3 3.x contains one of the following units of

measure, it is converted as a material resource in the Project
Management module: feet, ft, ft., sqft, cyds, cyd, cyd., yard, yrd,
yrd., yrds, yd, yd., yds, yds., inch, ton, tons, in, in., lf, lnft, lft, ea,
each, unit, u.

All other resources are converted as nonlabor. The unit of measure

conversion is not case-sensitive.

Labor=[unit of measure] Specify unit of measure strings to add

to the default labor list; use commas to separate each string.

NonLabor=[unit of measure] Specify unit of measure strings to

add to the default nonlabor list; use commas to separate each
string.

Material=[unit of measure] Specify unit of measure strings to

add to the default material list; use commas to separate each string.

In the following example, a1, test, and bbb will be added to the
default labor list above, hrs and hr. will be removed from it and
added to the nonlabor list, and lb, lbs will be added to the default
material list:

[Resource Units]
Labor=a1,test,bbb

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 161

NonLabor=hrs,hr.

Material=lb,lbs

BlankIsLabor=[0,1,2] Set to 0 to convert blank resource unit of

measure fields to nonlabor resources in the Project Management
module; set to 1 to convert blank resource unit of measure fields to
labor resources; set to 2 to convert blank resource unit of measure
fields to material resources. The default setting is 1.

HourlyAdd=[comma-delimited string] Specify resource unit

strings to be added to the default list of units treated as hourly.

HourlyRemove=[comma-delimited string] Specify resource

unit strings to be removed from the default list of units treated as
hourly.

DailyAdd=[comma-delimited string] Specify resource unit

strings to be added to the default list of units treated as daily.

DailyRemove=[comma-delimited string] Specify resource unit

strings to be removed from the default list of units treated as daily.

In the following example, the unit strings a1, test, and bbb are
treated as hourly units:

Migrating from P3 to P6
162 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

[Resource Units]
HourlyAdd=a1,test,bbb

The default string for Hourly =

h,h.,hr,hr.,hrs,hrs.,hour,mh,mh.,mhs,mhs.,
rh,rh.,rhs,rhs.,ph,ph.,phs,phs.

The default string for Daily =

d,d.,day,days,md,md.,mds,mds.,rd,rd., rds,rds.,pd,pd.,pds,pds.

[UOM Mapping]
UOM1=unit of measure=unit of measure string Specify the
units of measure used in P3 that are equivalent to the unit of
measure specified in the Admin Categories in the Project
Management module.

In the following example, all abbreviations of cubic yard listed in

the unit of measure string will convert to the standard cubic yard
(cu. yard) unit of measure defined in the Project Management
module:

[UOM Mapping]
UOM1 =cu. yard=cy, cuyd, cuy, kf

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 163

Before and After Conversion Example

After the conversion, you should validate your import results.
This section takes a sample project from P3 and uses the Import
wizard to convert it to the Project Management module. You can
see what happens to the data such as, activity codes, resources,
WBS, and custom data items once moved to the Project
Management module.The sample project being imported is called
P-3 Main Street Interchange Project and involves the road
construction of an interchange.

Before converting the project, the checklists outlined in the

Planning for Conversion chapter are considered.

Review the EPS in the Project Management module before

conversion Before the P3 project is converted, review the EPS in
the Project Management module to be sure that it includes a node
in the structure for the imported project.

A node was added for the

Main Street Interchange
Project under the State
DOT branch of the EPS.

Migrating from P3 to P6
164 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Review the resource hierarchy in the Project Management

module before conversion Similar to the EPS, review the
resource hierarchy in the Project Management module to confirm
the location for the imported resources. The quickest method is to
simply add a new node specifically for the imported project’s
resources. Later after the conversion, you can move the resources
into the appropriate branches for a global resource hierarchy.

A node was added to

accommodate the
imported resources for
the Main Street
Interchange Project.

Review the project in P3 before conversion The Main Street

Interchange Project in P3 is an hourly project that consists of 11
subprojects. Because the project is planned in hours, all durations,
lag, and resource assignments will convert as-is.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 165

Each grouping band

represents a
summarized
subproject.

Review the EPS after conversion The following figure shows

the Projects window in the Project Management module after
importing the P3 project. During the conversion, you marked the
option to create separate projects so each subproject imported as a
separate project. In the Project Management module, you must
open the projects before you can see data or activity bars. Choose
File, Open, and select the EPS node that contains the imported
projects to open them all at once, then click Open.

■ Did the project start and finish dates convert correctly? If you
converted a daily project, confirm that the start and finish
dates were converted.
■ Are the project code assignments correct? In the Projects
Window, select the Codes tab in the Project Details to check
the project code assignments for each project.

Migrating from P3 to P6
166 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

The EPS node previously

added to contain the
imported subprojects from
P3.

Review the resource hierarchy after conversion During the

import process, the resources from the Main Street Interchange
Project were placed under the node in the resource hierarchy that
was added specifically for them. The hierarchical structure from
P3 is retained.

Imported resources
from the P3 project are
placed under the node
designated in the
Import wizard.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 167

Review activity codes Since subprojects were not combined

during Import, all activity codes from P3 are imported as global
activity codes in the Project Management module. To verify the
activity code values are assigned to the activities in the Project
Management module, use the Group and Sort By feature to
organize the Activity View by the imported activity codes. The
following figures show the Activity Codes Dictionary from P3 and
the Project Management module.

The P3 project contains seven

activity codes, including, RESP,
AREA, MILE, ITEM, LOCN,
PHAS, and DB, with associated
values.

In the Project Management

module, choose Enterprise,
Activity Codes. Because the P3
subprojects were not combined,
activity codes are global. The
dropdown list shows the activity
codes imported from the P3
project.

Migrating from P3 to P6
168 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Review calendars All P3 base calendars convert to global

calendars in the Project Management module, as shown in the
following figure. After import, determine if the Project
Management module created new activity or resource calendars. If
so, confirm that the number of hours/day was set properly on each
calendar.

The project in P3 has four base

calendars in addition to the Global
calendar. In the Project
Management module, all converted
calendars show the P3 project name
as a prefix in the calendar name.

The holiday list from each P3 calendar is applied directly to the

associated calendar in the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 169

The holiday list for

Calendar 1 in P3
is applied directly
to Calendar 1 in
the Project
Management
module.

Review the WBS The WBS from your P3 project is converted to

the Project Management module. The following figure shows the
sample project’s WBS in P3.

The WBS in the P3

project consists of
three branches:
Manage Project,
Design Project, and
Construct Project.

Migrating from P3 to P6
170 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Each converted subproject in the Project Management module

uses the entire WBS from the P3 project if you chose to import
unused WBS codes in the Import wizard, as shown in the
following figure.

Choose Project, WBS to

display the WBS. The
same branches are used
for each subproject.

If you cleared the checkbox to import unused WBS codes during

import, then only those WBS nodes that are used for each
subproject are converted.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 171

Because this subproject

doesn’t use the WBS
branch, 1.2 Design
Project, it is not
converted.

You can use the Group and Sort feature to group the Activities
Window by WBS to confirm that the activities have retained their
WBS assignments.

Review custom data items P3 custom data items are converted

to user-defined fields (UDFs) in the Project Management module.
The sample P3 project has four activity custom data items and two
resource custom data items.

Activity custom data items in P3 Resource custom data items in P3

Migrating from P3 to P6
172 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

See the table in Considerations The type of custom data item determines how it converts to the
for Conversion in the Planning
for Conversion chapter for all Project Management module. For example, PLST is a Start (S)
custom data item conversions. type and PLFN is a a Finish (F) type—these custom data items
convert to a User Start Date and a User End Date in the Project
Management module.

If you combine subprojects when importing, some UDFs will not

import if there are UDFs with the same Title but different Data
Types. For example, assume Project 1 has a UDF named
Purchase Order Number with a Data Type of Number; Project 2
also has a UDF named Purchase Order Number but the Data
Type is Integer. Only one of these UDFs will be imported.

Choose the Activities

subject area, then select
user_start_date1 and type
a title for the converted
custom data item and any
others.

■ Did the custom data item from P3 convert to the user defined
fields in the Project Management module? Choose Enterprise,
User Defined Fields to view the user defined fields that have
been converted.
■ Are the proper values assigned to the activities and resource
assignments? You can display user defined fields as columns in
the Activity Table to make sure their values are properly
assigned to activities and resource assignments.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 173

Planned Start and Planned Finish are custom data

items imported from the P3 project as user-defined
fields in the Project Management module.

In the Columns dialog

box, choose Planned
Start and Planned Finish
from the User Defined
category.

Review cost accounts The Cost Accounts Dictionary and

assignments are converted from P3 to the Project Management
module. Cost accounts are global across all projects in the Project
Management module.

■ Are the cost accounts assigned to resources and expenses?

Choose Projects, Resource Assignments or Projects,
Expenses to validate the cost account assignments in the
Resource Assignments Window or the Expenses Window.

Migrating from P3 to P6
174 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Cost accounts from P3 Choose Enterprise, Cost Accounts to review

the imported project’s cost account structure in
the Project Management module.The project
name is added to the beginning of each cost
account. The cost category becomes part of
the cost account.

Contact Primavera customer Review activity data Activities are converted from P3 to the
support for information on
available tools you can use to Project Management module, along with their associated data.
compare some types of P3 and The following figure shows a portion of a building addition
P6 activity data.
project in P3 and after being imported to the Project Management
module. Durations, schedule dates, percent complete values, and
total float amounts are the same in each product.

■ Examine the Original Duration and Remaining Duration. If

you imported hourly projects, all durations should be in whole
hours. If you imported daily projects, all durations should in
whole days.
■ Examine the start and finish times after scheduling the project.
For daily projects, the early and late start dates should always
be at the beginning of the day; The early and late finish dates
should always be at the end of the day. For hourly projects, the
early and late start dates should always be at the beginning of
the hour; The early and late finish dates should always be at
the end of the hour.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 175

Schedule layout from P3

Schedule layout from the Project

Management module

Flag activities The Project Management module converts flag

activities as milestones. In P3, a start flag signals the start of an
activity or a group of activities. Its early start date is the earliest
early start of its predecessors. A start milestone, however, is
scheduled and begins on the next workperiod after the finish of its
predecessors. The following figure illustrates a start flag activity in
P3 and the Project Management module.

Migrating from P3 to P6
176 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

In P3, Activity B741 is a start

flag in P3. Its early start date is
the same as its predecessor’s
early start date.

In the Project Management module, Activity

B741 converts to a start milestone. Its early
start date is the first workperiod after its
predecessor is scheduled to finish.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 177

Setting Time and Duration Units

In the Project Management module, choose Edit, User Prefer-
ences to set how you want to format time units and durations for
display. For example, in an hourly project, you should format time
units and durations in hours. In a daily project, you will most
likely want to display time units and durations in days.
Specify the unit of time to display
for units and durations.

You can also format how to display

resource units/time. Choose Show as
Units/Duration to match P3.

For additional information on Reviewing resource assignments Resource assignments are

setting options for converting
resource assignments, see the also converted from P3 to the Project Management module.
P6 Considerations for Choose Project, Resource Assignments to validate the resource
Conversion in the Planning for
Conversion chapter of Part 3. assignments in the Resource Assignments view.

If you choose the Project Management module project-level

setting to allow resources to drive activity dates by default, the
Project Management module will roll up resource assignments to
determine activity durations and dates, regardless of activity type.

Migrating from P3 to P6
178 Part 3: Converting P3 Projects to P6

Mark the default setting in

the Project Details,
Resources tab to allow
resources to drive the
activity dates and
durations.

With this setting on, if you have a resource assigned whose

duration is greater than the activity’s duration, the activity dates
will not match those in P3. In the following example, the schedule
dates and duration for the activity differs because of its assigned
resource durations.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Importing P3 Projects to the Project Management Module 179

In P3, the early

dates are scheduled
based on the
activity’s assigned
duration and
calendar
assignment.

Activity duration
equals 50 hours.

This assigned resource

has a duration of 600
hours and is scheduled to
finish on 27APR02.

In the Project
Management
module, the activity’s
duration and start
and finish dates are
based on its assigned
resources. The
longest duration of
the resources, 600
hrs, is used as the
activity’s duration.

Migrating from P3 to P6
 181

Index
A Best practices 4, 6, 18
Access rights 157 Business objectives, setting 18
Activities 124
dates 61, 62 C
Activity codes 31, 126, 167 Calendars 31, 168
Activity data 174 base 131
Activity ID codes 126 global 31, 131
Activity IDs 123 project 31
Activity logs 135 resource 31
selecting location for import 149 Coding structures 31
Activity Network 109 Combining subprojects 117, 154
Activity table 40 Comparing baselines to the current schedule 46
Activity types Comparing terminology 60
understanding 66 Considerations for conversion 117
Actual Constraint, date 62
finish date 61 Constraints 132
start date 61 Corporate culture 20, 22
Advanced conversion options 159 Cost accounts 173
daily multiplier 159 Cost calculations 152
resource units 160 Costs 118
WBS code copy limit 159 Creating a P3 report in the Project Management
Alias codes 126 module 90
Autocost rules 76, 133 Creating target projects 45
rule #1 76 Crew 15
rule #2 77 Crew foreman 15
rule #3 78 Crew members 15
rule #4 80 Culture 20, 22
rule #5 81 Custom data items 129, 171
rule#5 84 Customer support xiii
rule#6 87 Customizing the activity table 40
rule#7 87 Customizing the Gantt Chart 42
rule#8 88
AutoSelect 159
D
Daily multiplier 159
B Daily project
Baselines 132, 157 importing resources 153
comparing to the current schedule 46 Data menu
182 Index

mapping to the Project Management module 57 Expected finish date 62

Data not converted 157 Expenses 67, 122
Data structures 24, 30
EPS 30
OBS 30
F
WBS 30 Field definitions 63
Database File menu, mapping to the Project Management
administrator xi, xii module 48
role defined 13 finish 129
Dates Finish date 61
actual Finish milestone 67
finish 61 Fixed duration and units 70
Fixed duration and units/time 70
start 61
Fixed units 71
constraint 62 Fixed units/time 70
early Flag activities 129, 175
finish 61 Float 156
start 61 Float calculations 133
expected finish 62 Format menu
finish 61 mapping to the Project Management module 52
late Fragnets 60
finish 61
start 61
planned
G
finish 61 Gantt Chart, customizing 42
start 61 Global change 97
comparing functions 102
remaining
creating a specification in the Project Management
finish 62
module 99
start 62
start 61
Dates, understanding in P6 61 H
Delete Unreferenced field 152 Hammock activities 73
Documentation for Primavera xi Hardware/software requirements 23
Duration percent complete type 72 Hierarchies
Duration type 69 EPS 30, 136
considerations for conversion 71 OBS 30
fixed duration and units 70 RBS 30
fixed duration and units/time 70 WBS 30
fixed units 71 Hint help 63
fixed units/time 70 Holidays 132, 168
Duration units, displaying 177 How the Project Management module converts
Durations 156 data 156

E I
Early Implementation
finish date 61 process 29
start date 61 strategy 20
Edit menu, mapping to the Project Management Import wizard 116
module 49 running 144
Enterprise project structure. See EPS. Importing P3 projects to the Project Management
EPS 30, 33, 118, 134, 163, 165 module 143
selecting location for project 147 Integrating with third-party applications 23
setting up 136, 137 Integration requirements 23

Migrating from P3 to P6
 Index 183

L Pilot program 21
Lag 156 Planned
Late finish date 61
finish date 61 start date 61
start date 61 Planning for conversion 115
Layout configuration, modifying 151 activities 124
Level of effort 67, 73 why plan 116
creating in the Project Management module 73 Planning unit 118
Leveling options and leveling priorities 158 Primavera 6
LOE activity 67, 73 documentation x, xi
Logs 135, 149 Primavera Web application 6
Lump sum costs 122 PRMCONVERT.INI 121, 153, 159
importing 153 Process overview
for structuring data 33
Program manager xi, xii
M Program project management
Milestone 175 roles and responsibilities 13
finish 67 Project codes 31, 125
start 67 Project controls coordinator xi, xii
Moving to P6 8 Project controls engineers 14, 20
Project conversion requirements 26
Project data
N transferring
Needs assessment 22 between P3e and P3 143–161
Network Project manager xi, xii, 15
administrator xi, xii Project managers 15
Network logic 39 Project options for import
Nondriving 88 combine subprojects 153
Notebook topics 135, 149 import unused WBS codes 155
schedule project after import 154
O Project plan templates 6
OBS 30, 33 Projects 117
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) 7 in EPS 136
Operations executive xii Projects, converting 156
Organizational breakdown structure. See OBS. Prototype 21
Pure Logic diagram 109

P R
P3 considerations checklist
activities 124 Relationship lag 133
activity codes 126 Remaining
WBS 125 finish date 62
P6 4 start date 62
P6 considerations for conversion 134 Reports
notebook topics 135 creating in the Project Management module 90
project structure 134 Requirements
resource hierarchy 134 hardware/software 23
Percent complete type 69 integration 23
converting from P3 72 project conversion 26
duration 71 Resource assignments 177
physical 71 nondriving 88
units 71 Resource codes 31
Physical percent complete type 72 Resource curves 123
Resource dependent 67

Migrating from P3 to P6
184 Index

Resource hierarchy 30, 33, 134, 164, 166 Time-based calculations 121
setting up 141 Timesheets module 158
Resource/cost manager xi, xii Tools menu
Resources 30, 118 mapping to the Project Management module 54
selecting location for import 149
Reviewing activity data 38
Roles 13
U
Rule #1, Link remaining duration and schedule Understanding dates in P6 61
percent complete 76 Undo 111
Rule #2, Freeze resource units per day 77 Unit of measure 119
Rule #3, Add actual to ETC or Subtract actual from Units per time 69
EAC 78 Units percent complete type 72
Rule #4, Allow negative ETC 80 Update project options 150
Rule #5, Use the update percent complete against User preferences 177
budget to estimate Actual quantity to date, User-defined fields 129
Actual cost to date 84
Rule #5, When quantities change, use current unit V
prices to recompute costs View menu
Budget, Actual to Date, Estimate to Complete 81 mapping to the Project Management module 50
Rule #6,Link actual to date and actual this period 87
Rule #7,Link budget to EAC for non-progressed
activities 87 W
Rule #8,Calculate variance as Budget-EAC, EAC- WBS 30, 33, 169
Budget 88 WBS codes 156
WBSCodeCopyLimit 159
S Web Portfolio Management module 136
Webster time data 158
Schedulers 15 Why move to P6? 8
Scheduling options 132 Work Breakdown Structure 125
SDK. See Primavera Software Development Kit. Work breakdown structure. See WBS.
Setting time and duration units 177 Working with network logic 39
Setting up the EPS 136
Setting up the resource hierarchy 141
Stacked histogram 106
Start 61
start 129
Start date 61
Start milestone 67, 175
Structuring data
process overview 33

T
Target projects 45, 132, 157
Task dependent 67
Team
leader xi
member xii
Technical support xiii
Templates 6
Terminology
comparing 60
Terms and fields 59
Time units, displaying 177

Migrating from P3 to P6