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Hello
Does any body know how weighted steps can affect my plan?
Lets assume one activity has 4 steps, every step has its own start, finish and weight.
I would like to schedule the plan and draw plan Scurve, but the weights and dates in steps does not affect my %schedule.
Any help will be appreciated.
Sahar
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if you want sub task or sub activities without having to add more detail to the schedule then use steps if not then dont.
you can determine if you want steps to be used to udate the activity % complete or not. This is on a project basis not a activity by activity basis. Go to the Projects directory and make sure that your project is highlghted then click on the calculations tab and look on the left where it says Activity percent complete based on activity steps. If you want to use this option check the box next to it if not leave it unchecked.
ok so bottom line is, do we use steps or not, i mean are they good or bad for a construction project. i understand that an activity can not be made of things which require no resources. steps also require resouce. but you can not assign resources to steps which is a paradox.
but i also see that steps provide a greater level of attention .
so what do we do now?
For 10 data plugs, 30 electrical power plugs, 15 meters of channel for cabling etc. to finish a room other software have material resources with a full database record to track each resource.
For determination of percent complete you can use either costs based on your BOQ or use volume of work as available in other software. You can also model percentage complete using some weighting and cost as your common unit. I do not like the idea of check marking steps because what if all steps are 50% and none complete?
If your software provides the functionality I am assuming missing as to justify the use of steps then because they are less functional are therefore a waste.
I am not surprised some do not use this functionality, superficial and redundant. I believe for updating many send an excel worksheet that does not include the step options, in such case become useless.
Sahar,
Dieter is correct, it will not affect any calculation at a project level. However, there are some uses (for Steps) if you know some conversions. As you maybe know, that not all schedules are detailed as they are supposed to be.
For me, "Steps" can be helpful for activity (by itself) measurement purposes, i.e. physical progress for that certain activity.
And I also believe that in real life, not all schedules are calculated automatically.
cheers!
Hi
In my opinion, the confusion was raised due to the data items Step Finish and Start. They are absolutely NOT related to any calculation.
In Primavera steps are no activities, just a checklist what is required to process te activity they are belonging e.g. 10 data plugs, 30 electrical power plugs, 15metres of channel for cabling etc. to finish a room. To put a weight onto these steps is possible in P6, but does it help? I never used it.
Regards
Dieter
Hi Moutaz
Just because the software allows you to use "steps" in a programme it does not mean that it is a good idea to use them.
Remember that most planning software is put together by IT geeks who have never ever worked on a construction site.
Primavera for instance was designed to assist the NASA moonshot.
Other software obstacles to avoid are:
SS FF Links - Lead lags + or - any constraints etc etc.
See my thread on Ban these Planning Abominations for the full debate.
Best regards
Mike Testro
Sahar,
I agree with Mike, steps if part of an activity shall have a defined share of all the fields of an activity, therefore they shall be activities themselves. Otherwise they are not complete, not transparent and wrong modeling. What if steps cost, physical % complete, remaining duration etc are not a direct function of each other?
If an activity takes time their steps take time, if an activity takes resources their steps take resources, if an activity has logic their steps have logic even if all in parallel or in tandem. I do not like the idea of hiding steps within an activity, if they are relevant they belong to the CMP under an individual activity.
In any case you can control your reporting with wise use of WBS activities and WBS levels. A CPM shall take as many activities "as required" not "as desired".
Best regards,
Rafael
Hi Barrie
Thank you for your detailed explanation and I can see the application in the example you quote.
The example can be reproduced in Asta PowerProject by use of a summary bar covering the the "steps" as listed expressed as activity tasks.
There would be no logic between the steps but a incoming logic link to the start of the summary bar and outgoing to whatever succesor is required.
Then the Step tasks would be free to move independantly as and when progressed.
It is also possible to add a progress weighting if you wish but that would be an over complication.
However I can think of no such situation arisng in a construction sequence where you have to dig the hole before you pour the concrete - perhaps you can show me one or two examples?
Best regards
Mike Testro
Activity Steps can be used to produce a more objective Physical Percent Complete and therefore the Earned Value is more accurate.
One example may be where you have a supplier that is creating something for you which has defined steps. It could be a document with a first draft, first review, second draft, final review and publish. Each of those steps would be added to the activity with a percentage relative to the perceived value. As each step is completed the box is sticked and the Physical Percent of the activity is updated.
It works quite well when an Activity has several parts that can be executed in almost any order and no outside logic driving it. Technical documents often fall into this category, whereby the order the sections can be completed aren't necessarily the same as they appear in the document. Each of the document sections doesn't carry the same weight so the introduction describing the problem might not lend the same weight as a detailed technical section about one of the options. We've estimated it will take 12 days to complete and assigned the percentage for each section. We then get an accurate objective Physical Percent Complete for the document as per our plan.
Hello All,
I would like to know the benefits of using Steps in scheduling phase.
Thanks
Sahar
Hi Moutaz
This method can not help me to have % schedule based on steps, it means steps are only for actual phase not affecting planning phase.
Hi Mike
If I add activity instead of steps, the number of my activities become too much, and If I use activities , so what would be the advantages of using steps then?
Thanks
Sahar
In Project Screen, select the project without opening.
Go to calculations tab, select the option "Activity Percent Complete based on activity steps.
Regards,
Moutaz
Hi Moutaz
Using multi trade tasks is bad planning practice.
Each trade in each location must have its own task - linked FS.
Multi location trades linke SS with a lead lag is even worse.
Best regards
Mike Testro
Hi Mike and Sahar,
It means that the steps do not affect the schedule, so what is the benefit of using the steps for the activities?
Regards,
Moutaz
Hi Sahar
The only way to do this properly is to have a task for each "step" and link them FS.
Then you can dispense with any form of "weightage"
Best regards
Mike Testro
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
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