HOW TO DEVELOP A REVISED BASELINE SCHEDULE, USING ATTRIBUTES OF LAST UPDATE?

Ali,

What you have done and what Vladimir propose I find a very good alternative, the client should waive the requirement for use of date constraints on started activities.  I works for purposes of EV, not necessarily for purpose of an As-built schedule.  Yes it saves a lot of time, As-Built logic is not needed to get good results for EV purposes.

About Global change for Original duration = Actual duration I believe that for it be right for started but not finished activities it should be something like OD = Actual + remaining, I do not recall the details on how P6 handles OD so you must check it yourself.

A sensible client should allow for this exception and not require client unnecessary burden for the purpose at hand.

Because of your right attitude it is very hard the project will end up in court and most probably never there will be the need for As-built logic, why waste time with it.

Your procedure requires changing the DD to project start while I believe Vladimir's does not, keeping visible the DD of Baseline Update, in addition Vladimir's procedure does not require fixing all OOS logic or fixing OD. Spider Project provides a links table where it identifies the links that are creating the OOS as Broken Links, here you can filter them all and at a single click delete those links.

EVM specification for purpose of Baseline revisions only should allow on the Revised Baseline non-contractual constraints  and the keeping of actuals, opening the door for such pragmatic procedure.

Best Regards,

Rafael

Rafael, I suggested to set SNET dates after actual information was removed and planned data restored. It shall be done not only for OOS activities but to all delayed activities. Yes, other way is to set lags but it is much more time consuming. Setting SNET=Start is applying one formula. That is why I called it easy solution.

Vladimir,

What you propose shall do with regard to EV but still is missing the requirement to erase all progress data and perhaps the erasing of all non contractual constraints if the contract prohibit use of date constraints other than the contractual.

It looks like the client wants you to create the revised baseline using "As-Built Logic" something that have been criticized for numerous reasons.

It is possible the DOD, the father of the creature [EVM], considers using As-Built Logic within their options to update the baseline. To me the only option that makes sense is erase all variance, the effort on the other options for a flawed methodology is not worth it. Erase all variance by using the updated schedule as the revised baseline is simple, is the only option one that do not require both parties to be in agreement, in DOD contracts as per their guidelines can be opted by contractor at any time.

CONVERSION OF AS PLANNED LOGIC TO AS BUILT LOGIC

As per AACE:

See also:

• http://www.long-intl.com/articles/Long_Intl_Calculating_the_As-Built_Cr…

Seems like Ali solved OOS using lag.

Fortunately at home we do not use EVM for our jobs unless they are Federal Government jobs that require it, we do not have such issues with the Baseline Schedule.

Best Regards,

Rafael

Ali, an easy solution is to set Start No Earlier Than constraints to already started activities making SNET equal to Actual Start and removing incoming links for OOS activities.

Ali,

You are getting very close, never give up. It looks like a 100% consensus OOS shall be investigated.

Two thumbs up for Johannes, this is the spirit of how we should debate the issues.

I would like to know if this particular schedule use the resource leveling function.

Best Regards

Rafael

Hi Ali

In general, out of sequence "Work completed for an activity before it is scheduled to occur. In a conventional relationship, an activity that starts before its predecessor completes shows out-of-sequence progress". causes instable results in the calculations.

I suggest the all OOS activities are resolved before you reschedule or rebaseline. 

Regards Johannes

Hi Ali

Have you assigned the correct baseline? You should have now two baseline. The old and the new baseline. If you still have assigned the old baseline then the values are different.

Regards Johannes

Could it be that the following reference helps?

• https://community.oracle.com/thread/2336791

I no longer use P6 but recall having my issues with period performance data, maybe if you run a "post period performance" or however it is called by P6 it could help to fix the EV differences. To get true EV curve you should do it at every update/version in sequential order. The same goes with regard to an ever changing baseline, on every update window everything changes. 

With the use of a few global changes you might erase all progress data, including resource data. With the use of a few global changes you might adjust the revised durations of as built data. 

So far so good, but as soon as you resource level the schedule to get a resource feasible baseline everything might fall apart.  My experience has been that when things get complicated magically most gurus conveniently forget about resource leveling.  Such is the case with Longest Path Theory that breaks down under resource leveling as acknowledged by Oracle.

• https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17462_01/Web_Access/Help/en/Projects/Tasks/pm_cpm.htm

As a reminder of some comments by Vladimir make sure you fix logic if some actual progress if out of sequence.

No matter what you do or what cumbersome procedure you invent EVM will still be flawed and keeping track of a misleading variance a nightmare.

• The Earned Schedule approach, though better suited for assessing schedule status than Earned Value, rests upon the same simple model of a project: a time-cost S-curve. The method’s calculations can be done on any level of a work breakdown structure (from simplest activities to project stages) in exactly the same way. For the sake of accurate progress estimates (PC), it would be advisable to analyse the project on activity level.
• However, an S-curve is a result of schedule logic. On the level of activities, projects tend to have many paths, some of them critical, other not. A tiny (if compared to total project duration) schedule variance of an activity can become a cause for substantial rearrangements in the project network, it can change critical path or order of activities, enforce a total reorganisation of works. This cannot be captured by either Earned Value or Earned Schedule calculations - potential problems might be masked by compensating positive and negative schedule deviations.

If the client is happy with flawed half truth then make him happy, if he asks for nonsense give him nonsense, but always remember the flaws and limitations of EVM.

Good  Luck.

Zoltan, I know that this is Oracle forum, so don't understand why do you repeat in each of your posts that this is not Spider forum.

If the project was executed then some activities were unexpectedly delayed,  some were done out of sequence, some were delayed because required resources were not available, resource availability had been changed, etc.

Please explain how your solution takes all this into consideration. Are you sure that after final rescheduling that you proposed project dates and costs will be right?

What is a Half-Step Schedule? - “Bifurcation (a.k.a. half-stepping or two-stepping) is a procedure to segregate progress reporting from various non-progress revisions inherent in the updating process. Elements that are considered to be non-progress revisions include:

o Addition or deletion of activities

o Split or combined activities, using new activity IDs

o Addition or deletion of logic links

o Changes to lag value of logic links

o Addition, deletion or changes to constraints

o Changes to Original Durations (OD)

o Increase in Remaining Durations (RD) such that RD becomes greater than OD

o Changes to RD not accompanied by changes to Percent Complete

o Increase in RD of activities that have not started

o Changes to calendar assignments

o Changes to holiday assignments within a pre-existing calendar” [1]

Please note that Ron Winter procedure misses to address resource constraining and changes in resource quantity availability or staffing. Similar to AACE International recommended practice that always miss to consider resource availability.

A Base Line is essentially a set of dates and costs frozen at the start of the project and used as a basis for performance evaluation as the project progresses. Every time there is a new baseline everithing can change. I do not believe trying to make the baseline an "All inclusive" schedule is a good idea, as if CPM Baseline Schedules were resorts.

In any case even if you do not care about resource feasible plans it is too much trouble for a method that is flawed with regard to the matching of EV and critical path activities.

Vlad

This is a Oracle Primavera forum NOT a SPIDER forum and my solution will work 100% of the time not on a RARE CASES

and my solution is a practicale solution and is the only solution

Hi Ali

1. Need to, prepare the revised baseline schedule, by taking as-built data of last updated schedule.

I suggest the following procedure

• Make an copy of the last updated schedule and store this at a safe place
• Create an new baseline with the Maintain Baseline option and name the baseline as suit.
• Now the new baseline and the current schedule are the same
• Assign the new baseline to the current schedule

2A Suggested  next step

Revise the schedule to suit your requirements. What-Is, crashing or fast track

When the schedule is ready and approved the updated schedule shall again be baselined.

So, now you have three baselined.

• First baseline form the original baseline.
• Second baseline from the  "current schedule" just before updating the schedule.
• Third baseline from the updated and approved new schedule.

3. Need to, Remove all actuals from revised baseline.

• Made an copy of the scheduling model and saved it under an other name
• Made three new columns in the layout
• Actual labor units
• Actual start dates
• Actual finish dates

First remove all the actuals from the actual resources. This can be done by deleting the resource at the top of the schedule and use the fill down facility for all the other activities.

The next step is to remove all the actual finish dates. This can be done at the same way with the fill down option

The following step is to do the same for the actual start dates. This can also be done with the fill down option but now you have to confirm the removal every date with an mouse click.

Then set the new start and the data date and remove all the start en finish constraint.

The last step is to modify the new schedule to suit your requirements.

Good luck

Ali,

Your high level of education and manners is obvious, you are good.

To update baselines using P6 [instead of using Spider Project as an Add-in], use of add-in and auxiliary software is an option frequently used by many to supplement P6 lack of functionality.

You might consider the creation of "Half Step Baseline" as per following article.

• http://www.ronwinterconsulting.com/Creating_Half-Step_Schedules_Using_P…

Use of the P6 Maintain Baseline Utility allows the Scheduler to save copies of project schedules

as “Baselines”. Once progress has been applied to the schedule and an appropriate Baseline

Schedule from the past is available, one can update an existing Baseline Schedule. Proper use

of the Update Baseline Utility to create a Half-Step schedule, allows the Scheduler the ability to

effectively and efficiently evaluate the impact of progress versus non-progress revisions

between schedule updates.

I do not use Earned Value [EV] nor Earned Schedule [ES] as both are flawed, though I recognize sometimes you are required to show it as per contract requirements. I find all alternatives on how to update EV Baseline of not much value, including the "Half Step Baseline" as it does not solve the fundamental flaws in EV/ES.  Fortunately the DOD does not recommends it's use in Fixed Price Contracts, no matter the $_amount.

• https://www.linkedin.com/grp/post/45942-5996581107871547394

Hope this help

Good Luck

Zoltan,

I suggested potential solution without going into details understanding that Ali does not use Spider.

You suggested another solution that may work in some special and rare cases.

Let's hope that somebody will propose real and practical solution.

Cheers,

Vladimir

Vladimir

As you have suggested to others if your answer is about Spider select appropriate forum 

http://www.planningplanet.com/forums/spider-project

How to develop a revised baseline schedule using last update? I need to do the following:

1. Need to, prepare the revised baseline schedule, by taking as-built data of last updated schedule.

answer: copy the current schedule 

2. Need, Planned Value (PV) of revised schedule to be exactly equal to Earned Value (EV) of last updated schedule.

answer: copy the current schedule 

3. Need to, Remove all actuals from revised baseline.  

answer: see link on how to destatus a schedule I have detailed nstruction there as a pdf 

 http://pmsite.com/forums/viewthread/3064/

Dear Ali,

I can explain how to do all this if to use Spider Project.

Can it help? One of the ways is to export the schedule to Spider, do it there and then export back to P6.

I expect that it also can be done by exporting data to Excel, changing data there and then importing back.

Best Regards,

Vladimir