P6 Professional User Guide

4)Double click the Import Action field to select how the project data is checked in.

Select Update Existing Project to update with any new new/modified date in the XML file.

Select Replace Existing Project to delete the existing project and replace it with the project checked in from the XML file

Select Ignore this Project to not check in the project.

5)Optionally select the data to check in by editing the template in the Update Project Options dialog box.

6)If you are connected to a P6 EPPM database, select the currency for the projects in the Currency Type dialog box.

7)Click Finish.

Note

To move between different wizard windows, click Prev or Next.

Check in a project from P6 Pro Local Database

1)Log into the EPPM database.

2)Open the projects you want to check in.

3)Choose File, Check In...

4)Select Check in from P6 Pro local database (SQLite) and click Next.

5)Enter the Login name and Password for the local database.

6)Select the projects to check in and click Next.

7)Click Finish.

Note:

When you check in from a local database, the check in process uses Update Existing rules at the project level. If you do not want to use Update Existing rules, you must use XML check in.

Existing global data which is used in the project is not updated when you check in a project. New global data which is used in the project is added added to when you check in a project.

Scheduling Projects

Scheduling projects

Your project schedule can be calculated one of two ways: when you choose the Schedule command or each time you make a change that affects schedule dates.

The Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling technique is used to calculate project schedules. CPM uses activity durations and relationships between activities to calculate the project schedule.

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Calculating a schedule

When you choose to calculate a schedule, all activities in the network are examined, beginning with the first and ending with the last, to calculate the earliest start and finish dates for each activity.

The activities are then reexamined in a backward pass, beginning with the latest early finish of the last activity in the network and ending with the first activity, to calculate the latest start and finish dates for each activity.

Float values are calculated using the duration and calendar definitions for the activity.

In addition to scheduling a project, you can also level resources.

Automatic scheduling

You can calculate the schedule each time activity data change, rescheduling activities that have changed significantly and or that were affected by a change to the first activity. If automatic scheduling is turned on, the schedule recalculates each time a significant change is made to an activity, relationship, or resource. If you turn off automatic scheduling, changes to activities are not reflected in the schedule until you calculate the schedule again.

You can also level resources during automatic scheduling.

Calculate multiple float paths

When you schedule a project, you can choose to calculate multiple critical float paths.

1)Choose Tools, Schedule.

2)Click Options, then click the Advanced tab.

3)Mark the Calculate multiple float paths option.

4)Choose to calculate multiple paths using Total Float or Free Float.

5)In the Display multiple float paths ending with activity field, click the Browse button to choose the activity on which you want the float paths to end.

You can choose any activity; however, typically this activity is a milestone or some other major activity in the project schedule.

6)Specify the number of float paths you want the module to calculate. Enter a low number (10 or less) to optimize performance.

7)Click Close.

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Notes

If you choose to calculate multiple paths using Total Float, to calculate the most critical path, the module first determines which relationship has the most critical total float. Using this relationship as the starting point, the module determines which predecessor and successor activities have the most critical relationship total float, among all possible paths, until an activity is reached that does not have any relationships. The path that contains these activities is the most critical path. These activities are assigned a Float Path value of 1 (the most critical float path) and the process begins again until the specified number of paths are calculated.

If you choose to calculate multiple paths using Free Float, the most critical path will be identical to the critical path that is derived when you choose to define critical activities as Longest Path in the General tab of the Schedule Options dialog box. In a multicalendar project, the longest path is calculated by identifying the activities that have an early finish equal to the latest calculated early finish for the project and tracing all driving relationships for those activities back to the project start date.

Schedule a project

1)Open the projects you want to schedule.

Tip: If you want to schedule multiple projects simultaneously, you should set the data date for each project individually before scheduling. To set the data date for each project, choose Enterprise, Projects. For each project you want to schedule, select the project in the project table, then modify the Data Date field on the Project Details, Dates tab.

2)Choose Tools, Schedule.

3)To set scheduling options, click Options.

To display and/or use the default scheduling settings, click Default in the Schedule Options dialog box.

4)If only one project is open, click in the Current Data Date field if you want to change the data date before scheduling the project.

If multiple projects are open, select All projects use their own data date if you want to schedule all projects according to their current data date or select Apply selected data date to all open projects and click to select a data date.

You can change the data date for individual projects on the Project Details, Dates tab and when you apply actuals (Tools, Apply Actuals).

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5)If enabled, mark the 'Set Data Date and Project Planned Start to Project Forecast Start during scheduling' checkbox if you want to schedule using forecast dates rather than the data date.

When you mark this checkbox and schedule the projects, each project's data date is changed to match each project's forecast start date during scheduling.

Tip: A forecast start date is shown if the start date of a project was manually changed by dragging the project bar to a new timeframe in Tracking layouts.

6)To record your scheduling results in a log file, mark the Log to File checkbox, then click to specify a filename and location.

7)Click Schedule.

8)If you're scheduling multiple projects and the projects have different data dates, a message appears indicating that each open project will be scheduled using its own data date (as specified on the Project Details, Dates tab). Click Yes to continue scheduling, or click No to cancel.

9)If, in the Schedule Options dialog box, you chose to calculate float based on the latest finish date of all open projects, you may be prompted with an additional warning message. Read the contents of the message, then click Yes to continue scheduling, or click No to cancel.

Notes

When scheduling, to recalculate actual units for resource assignments that use curves, mark Recalculate Actual Units and Cost When Duration % Complete Changes (in the Calculations tab in the Projects window).

Relationships to and from WBS Summary activities are ignored when you schedule a project, even if you choose to maintain activity relationships between projects.

Schedule a project automatically

Follow these steps to turn on "automatic scheduling" so that the schedule calculates each time you add or delete an activity or relationship, change an activity duration or relationship type, or change anything that affects schedule dates.

1)Choose Tools, Schedule.

2)Click Options.

3)In the General tab, mark the Schedule Automatically When a Change Affects Dates checkbox.

4)If you want to level resources automatically after it schedules, mark the Level Resources During Scheduling checkbox.

5)Click Close, then click Schedule.

Schedule project data as a service (P6 Professional Only)

1)Choose Tools, Job Services, then click Add.

2)Select Schedule in the Service Type field.

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