P6 Professional User Guide

3)To view the issue's details with its assigned tracking layout, click Tracking. To view the issue's Activity Details in the Activities window, click Activities.

To view the issue's work breakdown structure details in the Work Breakdown Structure window, click WBS.

To view the issue's resource details in the Resources window, click Resources.

To view the issue's details in the Project Issues window, click Issue Details.

Tip

You can automatically display the Issue Navigator at startup. Choose Edit, User Preferences. Click the Application tab, then mark the Show the Issue Navigator Dialog at Startup checkbox.

Adding and Assigning Thresholds

Thresholds

Use thresholds as a project management technique. You can create a threshold by selecting a parameter, such as start date variance; setting lower and upper values for the threshold; and applying the threshold to a specific work breakdown structure (WBS) element, or area, of your project plan.

When you define a threshold for a WBS element, you can specify the level of detail by which you want to monitor the WBS element. You can monitor the threshold at the activity level, and you can monitor the threshold at the WBS level. If you monitor a threshold at the activity level, issues are generated for each activity that violates the threshold. If you monitor a threshold at the WBS level, each activity contained in the specified WBS element is tested, and then all issues are summarized to the WBS element, rather than each activity.

After you define a threshold, you can monitor it to identify any issues associated with it. For example, you may set a threshold using the Total Float parameter. If the lower threshold value is 1d and the upper threshold value is 10d, an issue is generated for any activities that have a total float less than or equal to 1d or more than or equal to 10d. You can assign a person to be responsible for issues generated by the threshold. You can also specify threshold tracking layouts and assign priority levels to thresholds. A threshold's tracking layout assignment identifies the tracking layout that best displays the threshold problem area.

Threshold parameter definitions

A threshold parameter is a type of "test" that P6 Professional applies to activities or work breakdown structure (WBS) elements in a project to identify potential issues. You can specify a threshold parameter and a lower and/or upper threshold value against which project data can be evaluated to identify issues that you want to track.

An issue is automatically generated when a threshold parameter is equal to or less than the lower threshold value, or equal to or greater than the upper threshold value.

196

Managing Projects

The following list defines the available threshold parameters:

Accounting Variance ($)

Cost % of Planned (%)

Cost Performance Index (CPI) (ratio)

Cost Variance (CV) ($)

Cost Variance Index (CVI) (ratio)

Duration % of Original (%)

Finish Date Variance (days)

Free Float (days)

Schedule Performance Index (SPI) (ratio)

Schedule Variance (SV) ($)

Schedule Variance Index (SVI) (ratio)

Start Date Variance (days)

Total Float (days)

Variance at Completion (VAC) ($)

Add a threshold

1)Choose Project, Thresholds.

2)Click on the Edit toolbar or choose Edit, Add.

3)To specify a threshold parameter, in the Threshold Parameter field on the General tab, click

. Select the parameter, then click the Select button.

4)In the Lower Threshold and/or Upper Threshold fields, type a numeric value.

To identify issues, project data is evaluated using a less than or equal to algorithm for the lower threshold value and a greater than or equal to algorithm for the upper threshold value. For example, to generate a Start Date Variance issue if an activity starts one or more days early or three or more days late, you would specify a lower threshold of –1 and an upper threshold of 3.

5)To select the work breakdown structure (WBS) element you want to monitor for the new threshold, in the WBS to Monitor field, click . Select the element, then click the Select button.

6)In the Detail to Monitor field, select the level at which you want to monitor the WBS element.

When Detail to Monitor is set to Activity, the threshold monitor will review activities belonging to the WBS element you specified, as well as the activities for all of its child WBS elements.

7)To assign responsibility for the threshold’s issues to a member of the OBS structure, in the Responsible Manager field, click . Select the name of the manager, then click the Select button.

197

P6 Professional User Guide

8)To associate a tracking layout with the threshold’s issues, in the Tracking Layout field, click

. Select the layout, then click the Select button.

9)To assign a priority level to issues generated by the selected threshold, in the Issue Priority field, select a priority level.

10)Click the Details tab.

11)To specify the timeperiod during which you want to monitor the threshold, in the Monitor Time Window area From Date and To Date fields, click . To specify a custom date, click the date in the calendar window, then click the Select button.

The From Date and To Date values define a window in time for this threshold. Any activities/WBS elements whose start dates exceed the To Date or whose finish dates precede the From Date will not be reviewed by the threshold monitor and, therefore, will not generate any issues.

Assign responsibility for threshold-generated issues

1)Choose Project, Thresholds.

2)Select the threshold, then click the General tab.

3)In the Responsible Manager field, click .

4)Select the name of the OBS element, then click the Select button.

Assign a tracking layout to a threshold

You can assign default tracking layouts to thresholds and their issues. This enables you to use the Issue Navigator to quickly open the tracking layout that best displays the threshold's issue details.

1)Choose Project, Thresholds.

2)Select the threshold, then click the General tab.

3)In the Tracking Layout field, click . Select the tracking layout you want to assign, then click the Select button.

Monitor a threshold

You can monitor a specific threshold or you can monitor all thresholds at once.

Tip

For start and finish date thresholds, it is best to monitor the threshold after applying actuals but before scheduling. This prevents numerous issues from being generated when only one activity causes the problem. Scheduling prior to monitoring would cause successor activities to be included in the monitor that are really not an issue.

To monitor all thresholds at once

1) Choose Tools, Monitor Thresholds.

198