(1) Explain your problem, don't simply post "This isn't working". What were you doing when you faced the problem? What have you tried to resolve - did you look for a solution using "Search" ? Has it happened just once or several times?
(2) It's also good to get feedback when a solution is found, return to the original post to explain how it was resolved so that more people can also use the results.
Hi All,
We routinely link between multiple Projects as we are predominantly a machining company and use the machine tools to determine which Projects we work on and in which sequence, works well for us.
The only problem is that if you look at the critical path of a single Project, it may only define the activities going through a machine tool that is linking to another Project. Is there a way to view the entire critical path of my single Project without breaking any links ?
Hope this makes sense
Thanks in advance
Jon
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
you have several options
option #1
create a new activity code call it current CP for current critical path for the code values add one called CP name current criticla path
go to the data and add that new code as a column.
in the predecessor window right click and select Customize Predecessor window and expand tge General category and select Project ID, critcal and driving and bring them to the right as selected Options.
Expand the durations available options category and select total float.
Filter for only the last activity in the project
go to the predecessor window
Look for the predecessor activity that has both the driving AND critical boxes checked if that predecessor belongs to this project then at the bottom click on the GoTO. If the predecessor activity that has both driving and critical boxes checked but DOES NOT BELONG to this project then select the predecessor activity that BELONGS to this project and has the LEAST amount to toal float and click on GoTo keep doing this until you get to the data date. You will be left with the critical path ONLY for this project.
IN the first activity up top in the new column that you just added fill in the value of CP then do a fill down for the rest of the activities assigning all of them the CP value
now you can filter for this CP code and get your data
option #2
go to schedule F9 then options then check ignore realtionships to and from external projects
recaclauate the schedule
filter for the longest path if that does not work then
create a new activity code call it current CP for current critical path for the code values add one called CP name current criticla path
go to the data and add that new code as a column.
in the predecessor window right click and select Customize Predecessor window and expand tge General category and select Project ID, critcal and driving and bring them to the right as selected Options.
Filter for only the last activity in the project
go to the predecessor window
Look for the predecessor activity that has both the driving AND critical boxes checked click on GoTo keep doing this until you get to the data date. You will be left with the critical path ONLY for this project.
IN the first activity up top in the new column that you just added fill in the value of CP then do a fill down for the rest of the activities assigning all of them the CP value
now you can filter for this CP code and get your data
We are using Primavera P6 R8.4. When I set this up we added all of the critical machine tools in the business as non labour resources and assign to activities as and when required. To be honest it works well for us, certainly compared to what we had previously with the only niggle being the critical path analysis, will give some of the ideas abaove a whirl and see how I get on
Thanks
Jon
If you want to highlight driving activities to end of job for any given project just setup critical float value equal to such job schedule margin.
Please be reminded Longest Path Theory was developed long ago and breaks under resource leveling and constraints.
P6 -What are critical path activities?
If your database is large but the calculation engine is poor you have large but poor database.
It makes no sense to schedule within same day same machine to Projects A&B in alternate sequence A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B as regular renewable resource leveling might. Better use spatial resource leveling to get control A-A-A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B-B-B. Because a shop might have at any given time hundreds of activities scheduled for a single machine, adjusting the sequence using manual methods can be a nightmare.
The following image is for a simple portfolio where there are no spatial resources considered. It illustrates planning with schedule margin. Schedule margin activities are hammock activities that span from current schedule End of Job to Project Delivery milestone.
Hi Jon,
If Primavera is the tool you are using I would simply select the specific activity to which your project refers i.e. the last activity in the project you are interested in. Do this by opening the scheduling option (F9) and then opening advanced options, select Calc multiple float paths and then select the specific activity in which you are interested in. Also tick 'ignore relationships to and from other projects' in the general tab and schedule.
This should allow you to see what the CP is on any specific project ending on any specific machine or the sequance through a set of machines ending in a specific job.
In MSP you may have to temporarily decouple th link to externally linked projects to get the view you want.
Jon,
There is a precise answer, but it depends on how (and using what software) you are modeling the interproject relationships. What software are you using?
In Portfolio View better filter for spatial resource if activities are assigned Machine Tools as a Spatial Resource.
If your software is incapable of dealing with Spatial Resources then I suggest defining a user field and identify activities that use the spatial resources, each under a different name, and use this label to filter under Portfolio View.
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
Replies