Labor Day – The height of construction season for some, a winding-down point for others.  Is your portfolio of projects producing the bottom line you need? Are things going as bid?  Projects on-time, close to budget?

The answers lie in the proper application of a combination of standardized, best-practice project management processes and related technology implemented on an enterprise basis, such as the Primavera family of project management solutions, allowing timely project performance visibility and true collaboration on a company-wide basis.  In today’s competitive economic environment, these aspects are no longer an option – they have become a necessity for long term growth and prosperity.

The benefits of adoption are borne out when reviewing Aberdeen Group’s 2010 Project Management Report – “Standardized Best Practices and Technology Adoption in the AEC Industry” – January, 2010, and extrapolating the findings to your organizational situation and practices.

We have included pertinent references to the Best Practices and Technology Improve Performance section of the report – summarized and/or paraphrased – here for your convenience.  The full report may be accessed at http://www.oracle.com/us/2010-project-management-report-069877.pdf

In researching their findings for Architecture, Engineering and Construction firms, Aberdeen created three categories of AEC firms based on the extent of adoption of standardized best project management practices and enterprise level technology.

The first category of top performing companies utilize defined, documented and standardized best-practice project management processes and have implemented enterprise technology – implemented on an enterprise basis – that enables the insight and controls to deliver projects early or on time and within budget.  For those projects with time or cost overruns, the combined processes minimize the negative impacts significantly. The average firm in this bracket achieved:

• 89% of projects delivered early or on time
• Projects not delivered on time are on average four weeks late
• 89% of projects delivered within budget
• 10% average overrun on those projects not delivered within budget

The second category of AEC firms utilize defined and standardized practice project management processes, however, the technology is limited to desktop tools, spreadsheets or manual processes. The average firm in this bracket achieved:

• 71% of projects delivered early or on time
• Projects not delivered on time are on average six weeks late
• 79% of projects delivered within budget
• 14% average overrun on projects not delivered within budget

The third category consists of firms that may utilize best practices on a project-by-project basis, but not on a company-wide basis.  Technology resides solely on the desktop/laptop, severely limiting project visibility and collaboration.  The average firm in this bracket achieved:

• 64% of projects delivered early or on time
• Projects not delivered on time are on average six weeks late
• 73% of projects delivered within budget
• 20% average overrun on projects not delivered within budget

As the data above indicates, there are significant differences when standardized best project management processes and enterprise applications are not utilized in a true enterprise fashion to provide not only true project portfolio visibility and team collaboration, but also add substantially to corporate financial performance.   As budgets remain tight and project execution becomes critical, can you afford not to adopt such a holistic approach?

Are you planning for next season yet?

As the 2012 season wraps up, it is prime time to consider the funding of adjustments or refinements to your Project Management and technology approach, whether it is utilization of year-end monies or adequate budgeting for next fiscal year.

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In the many Project Control Roles that I have performed over the years, one of the tasks that is always of substantial importance to the P6 Customer is managing the consistency of project data within an Enterprise Database.  As most of you may have experienced, when a P6 environment lacks the guidance for maintaining project integrity across all projects in the EPS, the pristine data that was present when you first set up your environment becomes a faint image of times past.  One of the easiest ways to manage these issues is found in P6 R8 and is called “Schedule Checker.”  Now, many of the tasks that were too time consuming to manage or just not available in a refined singular tool format, are at your fingertips.  Rather than setting up Schedule Logs, QC Filters, QC Layouts and Reports, you now have a simple 14 point checkup to provide a concise report where the QC results are determined by the configurable thresholds defined by you.  Items such as long lag and large durations are especially helpful if you are running Risk Analysis against your project.

The first  thing to do is set up the 14 Configurable User Thresholds.  The Schedule Checker can be run against one or multiple projects.  You can save the thresholds to run again for the project that is open.

Shown below is the top half of the Schedule Check Summary Report.

Reference below the lower half of the Schedule Check report. A detailed summary for all activities that fall outside of the thresholds can be displayed in each section.  Note the expanded Soft Constraint and Invalid Progress Dates sections.

Of course, analyzing the results is just the beginning for schedule maintenance, but the quick access to the QC data is great!!

Next up – Using P68.2 Web to import Resources from Excel

 

 

 

 

 

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Join CBA for our first ever roundtable Q&A with a panel of our most experienced Consultants from a wide range of industries. It’s your chance to ask a Project Management question that will be answered live on June 21st. Simply submit your question on the registration form and CBA will make sure it’s answered, either live or right here on our blog.

Ask CBA First…Ask the Experts
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
June 21st, 2012

REGISTER NOW!

If you’ve been trying to figure out a specific function in Oracle Primavera or need help implementing best practices in your PMO, now is the time to ask. Take a look below at the experience of some of our top consultants.

Don Monteleone

Don has more than twenty-nine years of experience in project management, capital planning, portfolio management, business management, application integration, earned value, process engineering, software and hardware implementation, sales, marketing and education. He is the President of CBA and his experience includes: Utility, Manufacturing, Automotive, Information Technology, Construction, and Engineering.

Bob Ferris

Bob has more than thirty-one years of experience in project management, consulting, software development, organizational development and training, with specific expertise in the design, development and implementation of project management and information technology solutions. His extensive experience includes: Automotive, Utilities, Information Technology, Nuclear, Construction, Telecommunications, Government, Pharmaceutical, and Healthcare.

Bryan Gardner

In addition to 14 years of hands-on experience with Primavera products, Bryan is a certified Trainer and Implementer of the P6 Client and Web applications, as well as Primavera Contract Management. Bryan is proficient in the use of Sybase InfoMaker Report Writer in conjunction with Primavera products and trains others to be as well. His experience includes: Aviation, Manufacturing, Construction, Energy, and Public Works Sectors.

Marc Bobby

Marc has 23 years of experience as an Oracle Primavera P6 product expert and often performs assessments for clients to determine the appropriate solution and implementation strategy best suited for their requirements. Marc is a hands-on consultant capable of leading an implementation team or executing the plan entirely for smaller assignments. His experience includes: Utilities, Nuclear, Construction, Manufacturing, and Government.

Michelle Smith

Michelle has sixteen years of experience in project management, project controls and scheduling. She has performed project scheduling and consulting internationally and domestically. Her experience includes: Utilities, Manufacturing, Construction, and Nuclear.

Vickie Laskey

Vickie has more than twenty-five years of experience in project management, project scheduling, and consulting, with an extensive background interfacing with project controls and project management professionals. Her experience includes: Nuclear, Manufacturing, Automotive, and Construction.

Terry Buda

Project management specialist who provides project enterprise solution services to clients both internationally and domestically. He has demonstrated ability to strengthen organization operations in various information technology projects, improve project delivery rate, cut costs and win new business by coordinating multiple clients and operations to ensure remarkable delivery. His experience includes: Naval Nuclear Power Plant, Fluid Power, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Shipbuilding, Construction, and Telecommunication.

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As with any user conference, there was some insight as to the future of Oracle Primavera’s Contract Management (PCM).  Many exciting things are in PCM v14.1, which is scheduled to be released in the second half of CY 2012.

The big item will be the availability of PCM via tablets and smart phones. Unlike the P6 application, this is to include Apple, Android and Blackberry. The focus will be on the field users, naturally.  Planned modules will include Daily Reports, Requests for Information (RFI’s), as well as,  Submittals and Punchlists. Additional functionality around Issues, Companies, Action Items, and Attachments was reported.  Even the ability to certify Payment Requisitions is in the works.

Another planned feature of PCM v14.1 is the use of e-mail to engage users.  This should allow for users to review and approve documents right from their inbox, and hopefully, their smart phone, if remote.  There was also mention of a Daily E-mail function, which should alert users to outstanding Actions and Alerts, as well as, RFI Questions and Answers.

PCM v14.1 should also enhance the out-of-the-box P6 integration.  This should include Search and Type-Ahead for both the Project and Activity lists, as well as, the visibility of Project ID in the Project list.  Exposure of the project’s WBS and better date refreshing are also planned.

The last area of improvement mentioned was around PCM Security. They are separating Contract Security, at least for Budget and Committed types.  I hope this will also include the Custom type and Purchase Orders.

Long term roadmapping of PCM may include Analytics, such as, Cashflow. Under development are also some pre-built BPM Workflows highlighting the ability to have alternative user interfaces and increased project collaboration.

Service Pack 1 for PCM v14.0 includes some nice updates as well.  The ability to select which attachments to include when emailing out of PCM, as well as, the ability to specify an alternate ‘reply to’ address. In the area of security, they have added the ability to apply updates to access Templates to existing assignments. Even the Project Tree is getting some attention with the ability to now sort the list.

Exciting Stuff! The release of PCM v14.x does require you to update your existing licenses to take advantage of the supporting technologies, so be sure to reach out to your CBA Account Executive.

The drawback to PCM v14.x is the retirement of Sybase’s InfoMaker as the reporting tool. Oracle has changed to BI Publisher for PCM and P6 Release 8.x. This is a challenge for those companies with an extensive library of customized forms and reports, as there isn’t a simple conversion utility out there today. Contact us for a review of your library and an estimate of the effort to migrate.

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P6 is an enterprise application whether you are purchasing one license or ten.  There are many factors to be considered when installing the product.

Do I want a stand-alone install?  Do I want to take advantage of the web features?  Do I have an Oracle database or SQL?  Is my system 32 bit or 64 bit?  Which operating system am I using?  Am I installing a “Typical” or “Standalone” version and is it P6 v7 or P6 v8.2?  Which Java JDK is installed and to what Home location should the oracle software be pointed to after the install is done?  Which features of P6 should be configured?  BI, Collaboration, Workflow, Web Services?  Whew, and these are just a few of the things we need to understand.

I often am told “we can do the install ourselves”.  Sometimes this is true, however, more often than not,  because this is an enterprise application, it is not just a disc to fire up and click a few “next” buttons. I frequently get calls about error messages.  I am in sales and I’m pretty good at it, but technical enterprise application install questions fall outside my area of competency.  My suggestions would undoubtedly compound the problem.  What I can do is get the right people involved.

Proper installations as well as training on the product are critical to your success.  CBA, Inc. has been in the business of providing project management solutions, Primavera products, training, implementation and staff augmentation services since 1984.

Whether you are in the energy, oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, or any other industry that requires close management of budget, resources and timelines to be successful, CBA, Inc. can and does help.  Large or small companies across the country have benefited from our expertise, and as a result, we are sought after time and time again by our customers because of our successes.

To find out what we can do you help you save time and maximize your investment, please contact your CBA, Inc. Michigan Account Executive – Donna McLean at (248) 522-7931 or by email at dmclean@cbainc.com.

Mention this Install article from this blog and receive 5% discount on new license orders placed through May, 2012.

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Since the acquisition of Primavera by Oracle in 2008 we have seen first hand the the influence this powerful corporation has had on the once tight-knit Primavera user community.  In case you are not well acquainted with CBA we are a founding PAR (Primavera Authorized Reseller) that pioneered Primavera products introducing them to much of the large install base in the mid-west from their infancy in 1984 through the Oracle acquisition and  beyond, continuing today to provide Oracle Primavera products and associated professional services and training as an Oracle Specialized Gold Partner.  Since 2008 we  have helped our customers handle all the complexities in dealing with a far larger and geographically dispersed organization that is Oracle today.  We find it curious that organizations with which we have long-standing relationships always call Oracle first for Primavera questions.  I’m not talking about support calls here, that is another subject for another day, but routine questions regarding licensing, new product information, training, etc.  I thought it would be illuminating to discuss how those calls are handled by Oracle and how one call to CBA can provide much more information in far less time. 

As I said earlier we are an Oracle Specialized Gold Partner, so we obviously are proud of our relationship with Oracle, but as an independent organization and admittedly small business we operate differently.  When someone has a Primavera question and calls Oracle they are typically  transferred by the call center to the voicemail box of Katie, Lead Distribution Specialist in Houston Texas, Katie then transfers your voicemail to Jeff a Business Development Specialist in Missouri, who may call you to determine what your needs are and specifically if you need any additional licensing.  Now here’s where it gets complicated Oracle has a direct sales staff that handles organizations with over a billion dollars in sales per year and a channel sales staff that is tasked with adding and supporting channel partners like CBA.  Many of the new partners are just that, very new to Primavera.  They may have a history selling other Oracle technologies, or no business history at all, just a desire to set up shop and try their luck at selling project management solutions.  One organization in this category that we know of has gone so far as to buy a canned video testimonial off the internet (yes believe it or not there are sites that do that) with two people right out of central casting with no names and never even mentioning the company, it’s products or services and audaciously place it on the home page of their website (and on YouTube as well).  Ah, the internet what an amazing place!   I bring this up only because the next part of your calls journey once Jeff has determined the potential net worth to Oracle, will either get distributed through Lorraine in Philadelphia, or Angie in Chicago, to CBA or another partner as a lead, or get handled by an Oracle Sales Assistant and eventually to an Oracle Account Executive handling one of the billion dollar plus organizations.  We have received these email leads days after the person orginally placed their call and in some cases has called several times, or has talked to another partner without the expertise to provide the necessary help.  The funny thing is Oracle is only concerned with your software needs, since they discontinued Primavera training from Oracle University last May, so if you have a training or implementation question I’m really not sure where those calls go.  I do know your support questions are usually handled by Raluca out of Romania.

Here is what happens if you call CBA directly (at either 419-874-0800 or toll-free at 800-874-8080).  Most likely if you call us during business hours Linda our office manager will personally take your call.  Linda has been with CBA for over 10 years and has done everything from setting up training classes to ordering manuals to sending out OLSA’s (Oracle License and Support Agreements).  She knows and can navigate Oracle better than anyone I know, even those within Oracle itself.  In many cases your quest for information stops right here with Linda, since she can answer many of your questions on the spot.  If you need further assistance Linda will route your call to either a CBA Account Manager, or one of our certified consultants or trainers.  The great thing about calling CBA first is that our concern isn’t just to sell you software, but as a full-service Oracle Primavera partner we can deliver exceptional training and implementation services that Oracle itself and many other partners can’t provide.   Our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience from the second you contact us and at every touch point within our organization, whether it is for professional services, training , software, support, or those general questions that seem to take a tour through the Oracle world.  So save yourself a lot of time and effort and get all your Primavera questions answered with one call to CBA.

While many new partners are challenged to even have one person with Primavera knowledge on staff CBA has a deep bench of over 20 Primavera experts working in the field today from Cenovus in the oil sands of Canada to FirstEnergy and DTE in our own backyard and everywhere in between.  CBA consultants, trainers and those on staff augmentation assigments are managing  projects from inception through execution in the most demanding environments.  To demonstrate our deep domain knowledge and expertise CBA is having a live Webinar in June with 10 of our top consultants and trainers leveraging their real-world experience to answer your Primavera questions.  Look for a formal announcement and sign-up instructions coming soon.  Remember with CBA one call does it all (419-874-0800 or toll-free at 800-874-8080).

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So you schedule your project and things look great and you’re even finishing sooner than you thought!  Unfortunately, upon closer examination, you realize that your durations don’t seem to be matching up with your finish dates, so it looks like you are finishing each activity earlier than you should be.  What’s going on?   In this scenario, you are likely displaying your activity durations in days.  We all know that a “day” on one assigned activity calendar may translate to 8 hours, while on another calendar it may be 10 hours.  And we’re all ecstatic that beginning with P6 v. 7, Oracle Primavera also realized this likely scenario and provided an option in the Admin Preferences that allows you to “Use assigned calendar to specify the number of work hours for each time period” by simply checking a box on the Time Periods tab.  Below are a couple of noteworthy reminders that will likely shed light on why your durations and dates may not jive when using this option:

P6 always calculates in hours. You can view in days, but in the background it calculates in hours.  If your dates look funky, select to show time on the Dates tab in your User Preferences (My Preferences – P6 R8) and you’ll see why.

Expect finish dates to change if you change a calendar’s time periods mid-stream. Be aware that if you change the hours per day on the calendar after you have noted the “daily” durations in the duration column, behind the scenes the durations are automatically going to recalculate in hours in the background. So, if you increase the hours per day on the calendar, depending on the length of the duration, the days may look the same on screen, but the activity will end on an earlier calendar date based off of the hours calculation.  If you decrease your hours per day, again, depending on the length of the duration, you’re likely to see your activity finish dates push out into the future.

Confirm time periods when creating new calendars. When creating new calendars, time periods will be copied over from the template calendar you used. So make sure to check the time periods for the new calendar, preferably before they are assigned to activities.

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