Let’s Challenge SPIDER

Hi Vladimir

I did not see any item about changing tools in Georges thread - just applying Resource R1 to a number of different tasks in different projects.

That is the same as allocating Crew 1 to different sections of a pipeline.

If there is to be a time required for tool change over then that could be done with a simple task set between changeover tasks or alternativel a lead time on the link if the calendars are compatible.

Best regards

Mike T.

Hi George

I will be interested to hear Vladimir's response but this is a matter of routine resource allocation in Asta PowerProject.

Best regards

Mike T.

Vladimir,

I respect you, and I agree with your postings. In fact, I cannot find even one sentence where I would not agree with you. You proposed to suggest hard tasks so I will try my luck. I am coming from production scheduling field, and I wonder whether your Spider Project software can solve some of shop scheduling problems. I will describe such problems by project scheduling terms.

I have several projects: The first project P1 starts with activity P1A1. The activity P1A1 requires resource R1 for p1a1r1 minutes, and then the next P1 activity A2 requires resource R2 for p1a2r2 minutes. The third activity A3 of P1 requires resource R3 for p1a3r3 minutes, etc. The second project P2 starts with activity P2A1 requiring resource R1 for p2a1r1 minutes, and then the next P2 activity A2 requires resource R2 for p2a2r2 minutes, etc. The third project P3 starts with activity P3A1 requiring resource R1 for p3a1r1, etc. So each project has a sequence of activities and each activity requires a resource for a fix time. Each resource Ri can be assigned to only one activity (resource capacity is 1). This is a resource allocation problem. The question is how to allocate each resource so that to minimize the overall completion time of all projects.

I guess Spider Project software can solve this type of problems. Can you tell me if and how it can be done in Spider?

Best Regards,

George

Vladimir,



Yes, it is a useful visual report, but my point is that it shines in linear projects.



And while contrary to other linear diagram tools, in Spider all the PDM functionalities are also available. The PDM metrics matter as much or even more, still if a linear job, the Graph is just a representation.



Best Regards,

Rafael

Well, it shines in linear jobs such as pipelines and roads not in building construction.

Vladimir,



You sound well conversant with both spider and primavera...can you attach a layout of spider that you think P5 cant produce. Thanks please do it at your convinience.



Regards

R

Dear Vladimir,



I personally request Russian papers or presentations if there are any. My Russian is not good enough for that kind of stuff but I can make them translated at my work easily.



Regards,



Safak VURAL

Safak,



In Spider Project you can run Scripts from outside Spider so you can have access to all the power Reference Book provides. If your software can access text files then it can communicate with Spider Project, if I understood correctly what Vladimir once mentioned in one of his postings.



Perhaps it is not a good idea to have a direct link to the database fields as this can corrupt integrity of the data, Reference Books provides the link. Field relationships in CPM are not as simple as relationships within a database.



I do not have such a requirement in my jobs but Spider can provides for the most demanding requirements, on my part you are welcomed with your questions, I believe this kind of questions were missing and your postings will add value to the discussion.



If I am right maybe in a future we will be exchanging script templates to communicate with Oracle/Primavera/Microsoft/SAP/....



Best regards,

Rafael

Dear Mr.Liberzon and Mr.Davilla,



First of all I want to congratulate you for the battle you continue to make people hear you. I wish you to continue your way and conquer more castles in project controls territory.



I am trying to follow this thread with playing in your demo. Everything seems so perfect user friendly and solution oriented in software. Personally ASTA – Power Project seems good scheduling software also. But the ORACLE® and PRIMAVERA® are offering some other aspects as well. Also all my clients are commitetd to them. In many projects I touch or hear (from colleagues etc.) cost control - oracle rdb, estimating and quantity surveying sql rdb, HR and personnel time recording oracle and sql rdb, QA/QC sql rdb ……. List can be longer. Data collecting is becoming easier and IT works is becoming user-friendly everyday. SPIDER® has to fight with these kinds of integrated packages in the market also due to availability of direct integration for PRIMAVERA® products with that kind of databases.



Can I challenge SPIDER® team not with software with studies, papers, procedures etc. If you check all major construction companies in OIL&GAS almost all their project control documentation based on duration based CPM where majority of them referencing PRIMAVERA® directly.



Can you provide more documents about projects which used SPIDER® and Critical Chain Project Management (Like Urucu-Manaus Gas Pipeline)? It is not easy to find papers, studies etc. supporting Critical Chain. Can you reference papers? Can you create a package that the Project Controls for Critical Chain approach with all main and support processes including inputs, outputs, responsible items, customers, where you can include SPIDER® in one or more of this processes. I checked all publications SPIDER® web page but I cannot find anything which is answering the questions above. If there are academic references you can provide I will be happy also. I will try to access them from my university library in my vacation times at my hometown.



Regards,



Safak Vural

Vladimir,



You got it very right; my question was about scalability and transfer of resource definitions.



The great thing about it is that scaling is defined at the activity level so when scaling your fragments only scalable activities will be scaled. If you have a fragment for mat foundations, you would transfer several activities whose duration will depend on the scale but others will not be changed such as concrete curing.



Maybe you cannot say all activities will either be fully scalable or not scalable, a few will fall in between. I would dare to say over 95% will be covered and the remaining with a simple adjustment can be handled. Hey you are transferring even resource definitions.



Please don’t complicate fragments, keep is as simple as it is, cannot get any better.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



Thanks you for your briefing on the application of fragments.



…”For repeating sets of activities we suggest to use the typical fragments library that consists of small projects that model typical sets of works. You can use insert other projects as the new phases. This is the way we use working with the fragments. The software asks what to do with activity codes and volumes. Activities may be scalable or not (look at activity properties). If scalable then their volumes, durations, etc. will be multiplied by the user defined number”.



I noted that even resources definition is transferred so if new resources are required these will also be transferred.



This feature of being able to scale the fragments is something I have never seen before. With Primavera SureTrak I did not even had the basic functionalities of fragments. Do you know if such “scalable” and transfer of resource definitions are features available in other software?



Best regards,

Rafael

Dear Raffy D,



Please do not impose to Raffy what to do and what not to do.



Raffy Davila did a good work by helping the PP community understand Spider Project Management better than before. No other PP member have ever done what Raffy did here. And it did give the PP community a hope that somewhere there is a better construction project management software than Primavera P6.



If you really feel that your software is the best ever, you can always plead for your case here in PP.



Remember the tenets in PP is Freedom. and through freedom only mankind can achieve the best ever.



Thank you,

Scarlett

Scarlett P



What a narrow view of the world of Project Management software you have



If you visit the Planning Engineers site www.planningengineers.org and go to the survey tab, you will see a large number of software packages.



My own software Micro Planning X-Pert for Windows and Mac happily keeps selling to all industries and I must admit I have seen in recent times an upsurge in small to medium sized builders buying my product, especially as they now seem to be moving towards earned value and of course resource scheduling.



I would suspect that more than 80% of users do not want the complications of SPIDER, P5 OPP, Astra Power PERT



My client base justwants to plan and schedule quickly inexpensively and get the best results with the need for a vast SQL and DB infrastructure



Rafael



Frankly I think it is time to stop this non stop let’s Challenge Spider and get on with some work for your client



The challenge for our limited time now is to provide some help to Haiti and help them rebuild and do something practical.



I am looking at trying to offer the UN some Planners and Schedulers using our skills to help the people on the ground, as we did for WHO the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia and Asia







Raphael

Good Day to all,



I did read this tread and got lost along the way. With 300++ post and 4,500++ viewers, whats now?? How will it benifit me or the common planner?



to shoot down Primavera, I seems to agree with one post that Primavera indeed was highjack by IT. Primavera started as a construction project management software and end as an IT project management software. It should not be a surprise knowing Oracel bought Primavera.



So, there is no point in criying against Primavera, it will just die a natural death, irrelevant to construction project management.



I would also say, forget Microsoft Project for idiots.



But there is new hope because we have Spider as a project management software.



My question to Vladimir: what is your strategic plan to make Spider the software of choice for construction project management professional?



Thank you,

Scarlett

Vladimir,



By creating a custom field and a formula I can reassign ID codes to my activities with ease but reading about Reference Books I crossed with the statement that it is also possible to transfer data to a key field in addition to transfer fields. I used Reference Books as another way to change my activity ID’s, a key field, and it worked, this will make it easier to change activities ID’s in all my versions or prior updates.



By the way on purpose I duplicated some values and did not transferred duplicates, some day I will find a way to corrupt the database using Reference Books. Perhaps if you add the functionality to delete records using Reference Books the banana peel will work, like Wile E Coyote I will keep trying.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



Probably I would say add the following transfer Method: "Delete matching rows" to the Data Transfer Setup dialog box. By matching I mean matching key field only.



With all the existing options for "Transfer to" and "What to transfer". As to have same control on these two options. Maybe "Column type" dimmed when selecting this new option, not sure about Data Transfer Options buton.



The basic idea is not only being able to add rows but also to delete multiple rows and then by clicking on any other option for "Transfer method" you can get them back using the same Reference Book.



I understood your proposal and believe that what can be done at the moment is far superior to what can be done with other software. It is just that Reference Books seems so logic it is not difficult to imagine using these to systematically delete table rows (in the hundreds), to use them to repeat the deletion in other schedule update versions and to use them to restore the deletions without missing a single deletion and restore.



Best regards,

Rafael

Augustin



Spider Project structure, screens, functionalities... are so well designed that will allow the developer to improve on it for many years to come in ways a few others will be able.



If I used Primavera SureTrak for 10 years and it was never improved, most probably I will use Spider for twice these years.



Vladimir,



If good for 3,200 additions then why not also good for 3,200 deletions.



If I want to apply the deletions of say 20 links to 8 versions, for forensics, it would be 160 deletions, if I want to apply it to 20 different schedules that used the same logic, also to 8 versions of each it would be 20x20x8 = 3,200 deletions.



Best Regards,

Rafael

Hi Rafael,



You are right. I explained only what can be done now.

You are talking about a new feature which requires some developments. I don’t know what means from this point of view, what effort should require, but thinking “out of the box” is the best way problems can be solved.



What I really love at Spider Project Team is that if there is a new feature required by the users which improved the solution, than they will do it very quickly.



Best regards,

Augustin

Augustin,



The data transfer default might be to transfer to existing rows only but you have the option to create new rows as well as full transfer. I was thinking in an option to delete matching rows. In this way you can apply your deletions to any previously updated version as well as to restore it back without the need to create additional versions and without the need for additional backups; your backup is the Reference Book per se unless you want to back it up also.



Also if you want to undo it would be a single or a few protocol of actions lines.







Remember we all have our particular needs and ways of doing things, keep sharing yours, we all need other point of views.



Best regards,

Rafael

Rafael,



The Reference Books will transfer data. If it is empty than you will transfer “nothing”.



It is easier to simply go to the Links Table, select all links and delete them. Then, transfer the new links. You can create different links in different tables and transfer them into the project. To keep the scenarios, save as with different version numbers.



I was just playing with Switch type of activity and Switch Condition for the links. It shows similar with the decision tree (if, than, else). I had last year a project where the client wanted to see different activity sequences based on a decision point, like Switch. I didn’t have at that moment such feature, but I’m happy it is available now. However, I look forward for the improvements Vladimir told.



Except Pertmaster and probably Open Plan which apply Monte Carlo and Conditional Branches, I don’t know other solutions with such a feature.



Best regards,

Augustin

Vladimir or Augiustin



I can use Reference Books to transfer links (precedence/activity links) from a table. What if I want to use the Reference Books to erase these links, can it be done? In this way I can toggle on and off unlimited combinations of links to perform what if analysis for my links.



Does it make sense to you?



Best regards,

Rafael

Augustin Purnus



I followed your advice for looking into Reference Books, I thought it was merely for job templates and found it is much more powerful and safer than using OBDC to connect to the database.



Because it is so powerful it ramifications are many, you can even use it to control user access down to the individual field level; for the moment I will skip this part on users’ access and continue with other applications for the Reference Books.



Then I will explore the Portfolio functionality and will eventually have a few questions related to shared resource allocation and project updating under a portfolio.



In the in-between if you can give me some hints about the new switch activity I would appreciate it as the English Help for this functionality is lagging a few months of updates and could not find an English paper on it at the Spider Site. I understand this is just the start as this functionality will be further expanded, some fun with it will do no harm.



Best regards,

Rafael

Rafael,



From my experience, changing a working Windows version which a new one without knowing its behavior is very challenging. It will give you nothing else than time consuming. When I changed my computer it came with Vista. It was a disaster, and therefore I downgrade the system to XP. I am happy with it.



I think Vladimir will tell you there is no issue, or it will be solved fast.



I wonder what other challenges did you find for Spider Project.



Best regards,

Augustin

Vladimir,



I am buying a new PC, therefore I am interested into knowing how compatible Spider Project is with Windows 7 Pro 32 Business.



I am ruling out Windows 7 Pro 64 but would like to know also about it. I understand some hardare drivers for a 64 bit operating system can create issues and wonder about the HASP key, though believe this should not be an issue.



Best regards,

Rafael

Mike,



In Spider Project they are called signals, I am not there yet but will be looking on how to set them green when our little frogs start singing.



Cells in the user fields can be marked with markers of various colors and shapes; this notifies the user that various values in the given field get in certain intervals. A set of intervals, to each of which a certain color is appointed, is called Signal



This functionality is also available in MS Project as well as in many others.



If you set a marker for every possible range then it is too much, better assign a marker to a couple of ranges to be highlighted, otherwise by highlighting everything the purpose is lost. Combine shapes as to differentiate, not just colors, also consider using a few columns for your markers to make it easy to search your ranges.



Best regards,

Rafael



P.S. My personal HP Laserjet is color blind, only knows B&W.

Hi Rafael



I liked your little frogs - we had a similar chorus outside our bungalow in Nigeria.



Best regards



Mike Testro

Hi Gentlemen



I have just started using the PowerProject traffic light symbols where you set up parameters and the light in the column changes colour.



For instance if the formula compares planned end with progress end on any particular task and the spread is 5 to 10 days difference then:



Green = anything up to 5 days

Amber = anything between 5 - 10 days

Red = Anything over 10 days



The symbol shows on any level and with multiple projects so management have a quick and visual reference as to where there may be problems.



It can be set up to show reduction in float if there is no baseline.



Best regards



Mike Testro

Better than in a report, it will be available always when you want it and error free.

Vladimir,



I am creating a filter for out-of-sequence but first need to verify the following formulas I will transfer along with the custom fields with ease using Ref.Books. Are these correct?







It might be that EarlyStart is the correct field to use in formula 5 as might differ with AsapStart when split is allowed or after progress, just could not find the definition/formula for the EarlyStart field.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



You are right, it is not limited to four characters but to hundreds, the same as for activity codes. I could not find the limit.



Do you know P3 practical limit for concurrent users? Just as a comparison for my knowledge and the knowledge of my clients.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



For your knowledge, I am starting to use Corporate Reference Books. It worked fine for my transfer of resource definitions and assignments from my sample job with my resource loading into your file modeling payments but without my resources.



Because previously I had an unpleasant experience with P3 when linking the database to a spreadsheet using ODBC Btrive drivers to the point it locked the software and I had to reformat the hard disk and re install everything I will explore this functionality to see if something like this can happen. Up to now not even intentionally it has allowed me neither to corrupt the data files nor to lock the software.



If I cannot find a way to corrupt the database nor to lock the software with this functionality it will not be of my occasional use but of frequent use as it is by far more functional than just linking to an external spreadsheet.



I read in spider Help you can set up a four characters code for your users, this includes the alphabet and special symbols, so in theory if 40 possibilities per character yields over 2.5 million users (40x40x40x40), is this correct? And what about concurrent users, how many is the theoretical and the practical limit? Can it be as long as there is a record available, not still locked?



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



Mike mentioned a few weeks ago he is to start working on the planning for a County Roads or Public Works Division; he is to schedule hundreds of maintenance jobs for a few years horizon, I believe he mentioned three years. He needs to plan ahead because of the many required permits required before a bucket of asphalt can be placed, all sharing the limited equipment owned by the county.



I must assume his software can handle hundreds of jobs on a single portfolio, perhaps 324 jobs if he is to schedule 2 road maintenance jobs per week for three years, each a mere 70 task per job would yield 22,680 tasks.



I would never consider software that cannot handle twice these requirements to be on the safe side, it would be a shame if in the middle of the job we find out the software I recommended runs out of capacity, seems like Asta Power Project can handle this, same as many software on the market, can Spider Project also? Can you tell me the limits on the amount of jobs a single portfolio can handle, same with the number of tasks?



Let’s talk not thousands of separate projects, just a few hundreds, a few shared resources; this seems to me like an everyday scheduling need.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vlad



In your reply to John Cornish



You are making an assumption that ALL portfolio projects used the corporate resources



Well here in Micro Planner land I am running a whole range of projects for ONE client (who is also using P3, P6, OPP, MSP) all the results from each project are shunted up to the corporate Financial System via a product called COBRA, which takes the results from each of the project management software packages and up loads it into FMIS (which is a massive Government based accounting and payment and all things to all men product)- I assume that you use XML methodologies which is how we do it



None of my projects ever uses any body from another project’s resources. Each Project, whilst part of the Portfolio, is not necessarily resource dependent upon another.



If we do have related resource projects then obviously they are run in a single Model using one or another of the software packages which are available.



We use a WBS of fragnets as we did back in 1956-60 for the Polaris project for our COBRA upload



Hope that makes things clear



Raf