As a relative newbie to P6 I'm looking for some advice on comparing projects. I'll set out a scenario below.
I have received 3 separate XER files from a client, which are all essentially revised and updated versions of the original project. I've imported these files into my database and I'm looking to compare these and establish what aspects have changed. Ideally I would like to be able to do this graphically (i.e. on the gannt chart) but I'm not sure if this is possible.
I'm aware of Claim Digger but as far as I can tell this is only useful for providing a list of changes/additions/deletions to the project in a rather crude form. Is my understanding correct? My Claim Digger output has circa 12000 rows which is not particularly user friendly.
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Paul
I'm glad you'll get to try it Paul! Please let me know how it meets your needs and if you have any trouble feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].
Thanks for your help guys. All of the suggestions seem to be useful.
Jenn, Acumen Fuse looks like a nice piece of software but I think the hefty License Fee might be prohibitive!! I'll give the free trial a go anyway to get an understanding of what Acumen Fuse can do.
Thanks
Paul
Jenn,
How do you recommend to detect changes in calendar non-work time as this is an easy way to inflate TIA?
And how about lag differences and changes in lag calendar[tricky in P6 as they are inherited base on some rule across the board]? What about changes in resource dependencies which are more slippery than other attributes?
How good is Acumen at this?
Old P3 digger had no problem at identifying differences in calendars, logic links, resource dependencies as well as differences in lag duration although lacked functionality to disclose resource dependencies.
It would be interesting to know how P6 users compare calendars from different versions. I recall P6 was not even able to print the calendars although print screen comparisons might be a workaround it is kind of a fool procedure, there must be a way P6 users compare calendars with ease.
Best Regards,
Rafael
Hi Paul -
Another option would be to bring all 3 XER's into Acumen Fuse and use the Forensic Analyzer to view changes. Different than claim digger, Fuse allows you to identify variances on absolutely any field from P6 including User-Defined and Code Fields and also provides a much more user-friendly view. I have a screenshot looking at changes to remaining duration across 3 schedule updates, but you can see across the top menu additional options for identifying variances - or add your own based on the fields found in your schedule.
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You can also compare and evaluate all three XER's using the metrics in Fuse. The view below shows you each schedule update condensed into a single row. To the right you will see metric results for each of the rows/XERs. I just picked a few metrics comparing average float, remaining duration, number of critical activities etc. but again this could be customized to look at anything you are wanting to track.
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More info and free trials at: http://www.projectacumen.com/products/acumen-fuse/
Paul,
You can add two of the projects as primary and secondary baselines to the third (Project menu > Maintain baselines, and then Project > Assign baselines)
Then you go to view menu>bars, and make sure the "primary baseline" and "secondary baseline" bars are ticked for viewing.
Should give you what you want.
Cheers,
G