Field Questions
Real questions from project planners, answered by experts
In P6, I define a User Defined Field and create a Global Change to set that field equal to BL3 Finish minus Finish. When I apply it, it only runs on activities. Is there a way to make it roll up to the WBS Summary levels above, like in MS Project?
Overview: This is a well-known limitation of Primavera P6. Unlike MS Project, P6 does not natively support automatic Roll Up of User Defined Field (UDF) values to WBS Summary levels. Why This Happens:…
For a project with a 2x1 Roster schedule, should the roster calendar be assigned to activities or should only the resource availability be changed? I received a schedule where the calendar has been assigned to the activities with no resources assigned at all — effectively meaning no work happens every second week.
Overview: This is a common and important misunderstanding in FIFO/Roster project scheduling. The short answer is: the Roster calendar should be assigned to resources, not to activities. Why Assigning…
If we forgot to set a baseline in MSP, is there a way to manually enter baseline dates in the current schedule that reflect the contracted scope and dates? The goal is for the client to open the file and see both the baseline dates aligned with the contract and the current start and finish dates.
Yes, this is absolutely recoverable. Even if the baseline was never formally set at the right time, Microsoft Project allows you to manually enter or reconstruct baseline dates to reflect your contrac…
I defined a Level of Effort (LoE) activity in P6 spanning the entire project duration and assigned a cost resource to it that should be expensed according to project progress. However, even though the activity has an SS relationship and has started, the LoE activity shows zero progress and zero actual units. How can I make it automatically pick up progress?
Why LoE Activities Show Zero Progress: This is a very common issue in Primavera P6. A Level of Effort (LoE) activity derives its progress automatically from the actual dates of its predecessor and suc…
What is the difference between Free Float and Total Float?
The difference between Free Float and Total Float is one of the key concepts in project time management: Total Float: Total Float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the…