Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A project is a set of activities and associated information that constitutes a plan for creating a product or
service. A project has a start and finish date and consists of some or all of the following: activities, resource
assignments, a work breakdown structure (WBS), an organizational breakdown structure (OBS), calendars,
relationships, baselines, expenses, issues, thresholds, and project-specific codes, reports, and work products
and documents.
Create a project
To create a new project:
1. Choose File, New. This launches the Create a New Project wizard.
2. Select the EPS to which you want to add the new project.
3. Type a project ID and a project name for the new project.
4. Specify a project planned start date for the project and if necessary, a must finish by date.
When you add a must finish by date, the calendar defaults to the date and time of the project's
finish date. When the Finish is blank, the calendar defaults to the current system date and time.
5. Select a responsible manager.
The OBS element you select here appears at the top of the new project’s OBS.
6. Select the rate type you want the project to use by default for new resource and role assignments.
7. Click Finish.
You can configure the project properties by choosing Enterprise, Projects, and then display Project Details.
Refer to the appropriate help topics for step-by-step instructions.
Open a project
When starting the module
1. Log in to P6 Professional.
2. To open an existing project, click Open Existing on the Welcome dialog box.
3. To open the last project you worked with, click Open Last.
4. From the Open Project dialog box, click the project or EPS node you want to open, or press the Ctrl
key and select more than one project, then click Open.
5. Use the Enterprise toolbar, Project toolbar, Enterprise menu, or Project menu to open the window
you want to work with, such as Projects, Resources, or Activities.
From within the module
1. Choose File, Open.
2. You can also click on the Standard toolbar.
3. To view more information about each project, click the Display Options bar and choose Columns,
Customize. Then, add the appropriate columns to the dialog box.
4. Select the project you want to open.
P a g e 1 | 12
5. In the Access Mode section, choose Exclusive, Shared, or Read only to specify how you want to open
the project.
6. Depending on your security profile or the way in which other users have opened the project, some
of these options may not be available.
7. To view a list of users currently working in the selected project, click Users.
8. Click Open.
Notes
When you open a project from the Open Project dialog box, any projects currently open are
closed. To open multiple projects at the same time, select each project you want to open in the
Open Project dialog box.
Only one user at a time can have Exclusive access to a project. When you open a project in
Exclusive mode, other users can open it only in Read-Only mode.
You must have the Check In/Check Out Projects and Open Projects Exclusively project privilege
to open projects using Exclusive mode. Similarly, Exclusive mode is enabled only if you have the
Check In/Check Out Projects and Open Projects Exclusively project privilege for all the EPSs and
projects you select.
Specify a default project
When you work with multiple projects, you can designate one project as the project that opens by default.
You can also specify which project’s settings to use when you schedule or level, and which project to use by
default when you add new information to the database.
1. Choose Project, Set Default Project.
2. Mark the checkbox in the Default column next to the project you want to open by default.
This project’s scheduling and leveling settings are used for calculating the schedule (manually or via
the Job Services feature, when connected to a P6 Professional database) and it becomes the default
destination for new items such as activities or issues unless you group data by WBS and select a
different project before adding new items.
P a g e 2 | 12
Commit data to the database
To commit changes, choose File, Commit Changes.
Committing changes writes data to the database immediately. Closing also automatically
commits data changes.
Refresh data
Use the Refresh Data command to display the most current version of project data, including changes made
to the project by other users.
Choose File, Refresh Data, or press F5.
Copy and paste a project
1. Open the project you want to copy
2. Choose Enterprise, Projects, then select the project you want to copy.
3. Choose Edit, Copy, or click the Copy icon on the Edit toolbar.
4. Select the position in the EPS where you want to copy the project.
5. Choose Edit, Paste, or click Paste icon on the Edit toolbar.
6. In the Copy Project Options dialog box, mark the checkbox next to each type of information you
want to copy. Click OK.
Notes
You must group the projects by EPS in order to copy Summary Data.
If you select Do Not Show This Window Again in the Copy Options dialog box settings are retained
until you reopen the module.
If you want to copy or move a project and have the copied or moved project's Responsible Manager
value automatically changed to another value, then you need to first open the project to copy or
move and group and sort the Projects view by Responsible Manager. Then copy or move the project
to the appropriate responsible manager.
The administrator should not assign any of the following privileges to users who should not have
access to view cost information while copying and pasting project/EPS or assigning WBS and Fill
Down on the WBS column in the Activities view: View Project Costs/Financials, Edit WBS
Costs/Financials, and Edit EPS Costs/Financials.
When connected to a P6 EPPM database: P6 Professional uses a job service to copy projects and
EPS nodes. This means that you can carry on working while the project or EPS is copied in the
background. To see the progress of the job, choose Tools, Job Status. You must group the projects
by EPS in order to copy projects and EPS nodes using the job service.
Close a project
Choose File, Close All.
Delete a project
Choose Enterprise, Projects, select the project you want to delete, then choose Edit, Delete.
Note: When connected to a P6 Professional database: When you delete an EPS node, all projects beneath
it are also deleted.
P a g e 3 | 12
Portfolios
A portfolio consists of projects grouped together in some way that is meaningful to you. For example, one
portfolio might contain projects that are the responsibility of a specific business unit, while another portfolio
contains only projects budgeted for the next fiscal year.
Use portfolios to limit the amount of data you display in the Open Project dialog box and Projects window.
Only project data for the projects in the selected portfolio is loaded.
Create a portfolio
1. Choose Enterprise, Project Portfolios.
2. Click Add.
3. Type a name to identify the portfolio.
4. Click the General tab and choose which users you want to have access to the portfolio. If you select
Another User, click in the User field, then select a specific username.
5. You can also type a description for the portfolio in the General tab.
6. Click the Projects tab and add projects to the portfolio.
7. Click Close.
Note
To display portfolio details in the lower portion of the Project Portfolios dialog box, click the Display
Options bar, then choose Details.
P a g e 4 | 12
Remove projects from a portfolio
1. Choose Enterprise, Project Portfolios.
2. Select the portfolio from which you want to remove projects.
3. Click the Projects tab.
4. Select the projects you want to remove.
To remove multiple projects, hold down the Ctrl key, then click each project you want to remove
from the portfolio.
5. Click Remove.
6. Click Yes.
To display portfolio details in the lower half of the Project Portfolios dialog box, click the Display Options
bar, then choose Details.
3. In the Name field, type a new name for the portfolio.
P a g e 5 | 12
View portfolio details
1. Choose Enterprise, Project Portfolios.
2. Select the portfolio whose details you want to review.
To display portfolio details in the lower half of the Project Portfolios dialog box, click the Display
Options bar, then choose Details.
3. Click the General tab to view user access rights and a description of the portfolio.
4. Click the Projects tab to view the projects included in the portfolio.
P a g e 6 | 12
Defining the WBS
Work Breakdown Structure
A WBS is a hierarchy of work that must be accomplished to complete a project, which defines a product or
service to be produced. The WBS is structured in levels of work detail, beginning with the deliverable itself,
and is then separated into identifiable work elements.
Each project has its own WBS hierarchy with the top level WBS element being equal to that of each EPS
node or project. Each WBS element may contain more detailed WBS levels, activities, or both.
When creating a project, the project manager typically develops the WBS first, assigns documents to each
WBS element, and then defines activities for performing the element's work. In addition to document and
activity assignments, each WBS element also has an assigned calendar, specific earned value calculation
settings, and an assigned OBS element responsible for all work included in the WBS element.
P a g e 7 | 12
View the WBS
Choose Project, WBS.
To view the WBS as a graphical chart, choose View, Show on Top, Chart View.
To view the WBS as a table in column format, choose View, Show on Top, Table.
To view the WBS as a table in a column format with a corresponding Bar Chart, choose View, Show on
Top, Gantt Chart.
Tip
You can also select the same View commands by clicking the Display Options bar.
2. Select the WBS element to which you want to add a child WBS element, then click on the Edit
toolbar or choose Edit, Add.
The new WBS element is indented one level under the selected WBS element. You can change the position
of the WBS element using the arrows on the Move toolbar.
3. Click the General tab, then type the element's code and name. Use the remaining fields on this tab
as follows:
Responsible Manager – select the name of the selected WBS element's root OBS (organizational
breakdown structure) element.
Anticipated Dates – enter expected start and finish dates for the WBS element. These dates are used
during the project planning stage and are not affected by scheduling. These dates are used to set Start and
Finish dates for the WBS during the project planning stage when activities are not added to the WBS. When
activities are added, WBS Start and Finish dates are rolled up from the earliest start and latest finish dates
from the WBS activities.
4. To calculate the performance percent complete based on WBS weighted milestones, click the WBS
Milestones tab.
To change the element's position in the WBS, click the appropriate arrow buttons. Note that the maximum
number of WBS levels is set in the Data Limits tab of the Admin Preferences dialog box when P6
P a g e 8 | 12
Professional is connected to a P6 Professional database and is set in P6 Settings page when P6
Professional is connected to a P6 EPPM database.
3. Click the Display Options bar and choose Show on Bottom, WBS Details to view or modify
information in the General and WBS Milestones tabs.
Tip
You can also directly edit some WBS information in the WBS table by double-clicking the
information you want to change.
Choose from four status types for WBS elements: Planned, Active, Inactive, and What-If.
Note
If a WBS element belongs to a parent WBS element, the element has the same status as its parent
element.
P a g e 9 | 12
Change the work breakdown structure chart display
1. Choose Project, WBS, then choose View, Show on Top, Chart View.
2. Choose View, Chart Font and Colors.
3. To change the appearance of text, click Font, then select a new font.
4. To change the display's background color, click Back Color, then select a new color.
5. To change the WBS box color, click Box Color, then select a new color.
Tip
To change the displayed information, choose View, Chart Box Template, then an information type.
If you are copying from one project to another, ensure that the View, Group and Sort By option is set to
Default.
2. Select the WBS element you want to copy, then choose Edit, Copy.
3. Select the WBS element to which you want to copy the element, then choose Edit, Paste.
4. In the Copy WBS Options dialog box, mark the items you want to include in the copied WBS, then
click OK.
If the Activities checkbox is marked, the Copy Activity Options dialog box appears.
5. In the Copy Activity Options dialog box, mark the checkbox next to each type of information you
want to copy, then click OK.
P a g e 10 | 12
6. In the Renumber Activity IDs dialog box, select how to create activity IDs for copied activities, then
click OK.
If you selected the Replace Beginning Characters option on the previous dialog box, the Duplicates dialog
box may appear after clicking OK. If it appears, enter a new activity ID and click OK.
Notes:
If you select Do Not Show This Window Again in the Copy WBS Options or Copy Activity Options
dialog box, the dialog box settings are retained until you reopen the module.
When connected to a P6 EPPM database: When you copy and paste a WBS within the same
project, the WBS, activities, and associated risks from P6 are copied; risks are not copied if you copy and
paste the WBS to a different project.
Define earned value settings for a specific work breakdown structure element
1. Choose Project, WBS.
2. Select the WBS element whose earned value settings you want to define, then click the Earned
Value tab.
3. In the Technique for Computing Performance Percent Complete area, choose the completion
percentage method you want to use when calculating an activity's earned value.
4. In the Technique for Computing ETC (Estimate-to-Complete) area, choose the method you want to
use when calculating an activity's Estimate to Complete (ETC) value.
If the WBS element you want to delete is assigned to activities, you are prompted to delete the WBS
element and all activities assigned to it or reassign all of its activity assignments to the element's parent
WBS element.
3. Click OK, then click Yes.
Note
If you delete a parent WBS element, all elements contained in the parent element are also deleted.
P a g e 11 | 12
Working with and defining the OBS
Related Topics
P a g e 12 | 12