Its been quite some time that this issue have been discussed/debated and its very interesting to hear your opinion on the matter.
All the things youve said is very true and I find it not biased. I know its not meant as a criticism to a specific software but a way of telling vendors how users are viewing their product and let them be aware of what users really want.
I think Pauls comments are very fair; you must consider how specific functions will work in practice, something that can not be achieved in a simple head to head comparison.
In upgrading to v5.0 you will need to consider your current processes that are supported by P3; in some instances the upgrade will help drive process improvements, for example.
The key to making the most of your upgrade is a) to undertake training and b) engage your local representatives. Primavera has some good material available to customers through its PARs, such as the Primavera Upgrade Process framework, which provides for a structured consultancy engagement when supporting organisations through the upgrade process.
On the technical side there is some good documentation available too, such as the "Migrating from P3 to Primavera 5.0" guide, which can be found on the documentation CD shipped with your upgrade.
Finally you might want to check out some of the pre-recorded webinars designed to help users through the upgrade process. These can be found at http://www.primavera.com/customer/webcasts.asp and are industry / vertical specific.
There are a couple of other key functions not available in P3e/c which are available in P3 V3.1:
1. Activity ID Codes are also not available in P3e/c and is available in P3 V3.1. Although it is possible to create coding in the a P3e/c Activity ID, these may not be automatically linked to a description as in P3 V3.1 by the Activity ID Code Dictionary. This is a major issue when scheduling larger projects.
2. There is no User Definable Toolbar in P3e/c and the lack off a User Definable Toolbar slows down productivity. Thus with out a user definable toolbar the access of some frequently used functions requires 2 or more clicks of the mouse or some other action. For example the constraints form in P3 e/c is hidden at the bottom of the Status form and one has to drag the Status form half way up page to see or change constraints.
There are a couple of functions in P3e/c which were introduced in P3e/c V5.0:
1. Progress Spotlight
2. Update Baseline
3. Past Period Actuals
It is possible to colour bars in P3e/c by code by using the filter function in the Bars form but I do not think this is as slick as the P3 V3.1 function.
There are a lot of little things in P3e/c that are missing from P3V3.1. The function may be in P3e/c but the functionality of the function is sometimes reduced in important areas. For example in filters there is no “Within Range” or “Not Within Range” options in P3e/c and the “Find” function does not list activities in their order and take you to first activity starting with the characters that typed in as in P3V3.1.
It is important to go one setp further than comparing a list of features but go in deeper and lopk at how these functions work. P3e/c still needs a lot of refinement if the productivity using the tool is to match that of P3V3.1 when scheduling large projects.
Paul E Harris
Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
Planning and Scheduling Training Manual & Book Publishers & Consulting
Member for
24 years 5 monthsRE: New in P3e
Hi Paul,
Its been quite some time that this issue have been discussed/debated and its very interesting to hear your opinion on the matter.
All the things youve said is very true and I find it not biased. I know its not meant as a criticism to a specific software but a way of telling vendors how users are viewing their product and let them be aware of what users really want.
Se
Member for
20 years 2 monthsRE: New in P3e
I think Pauls comments are very fair; you must consider how specific functions will work in practice, something that can not be achieved in a simple head to head comparison.
In upgrading to v5.0 you will need to consider your current processes that are supported by P3; in some instances the upgrade will help drive process improvements, for example.
The key to making the most of your upgrade is a) to undertake training and b) engage your local representatives. Primavera has some good material available to customers through its PARs, such as the Primavera Upgrade Process framework, which provides for a structured consultancy engagement when supporting organisations through the upgrade process.
On the technical side there is some good documentation available too, such as the "Migrating from P3 to Primavera 5.0" guide, which can be found on the documentation CD shipped with your upgrade.
Finally you might want to check out some of the pre-recorded webinars designed to help users through the upgrade process. These can be found at http://www.primavera.com/customer/webcasts.asp and are industry / vertical specific.
Member for
24 years 7 monthsRE: New in P3e
There are a couple of other key functions not available in P3e/c which are available in P3 V3.1:
1. Activity ID Codes are also not available in P3e/c and is available in P3 V3.1. Although it is possible to create coding in the a P3e/c Activity ID, these may not be automatically linked to a description as in P3 V3.1 by the Activity ID Code Dictionary. This is a major issue when scheduling larger projects.
2. There is no User Definable Toolbar in P3e/c and the lack off a User Definable Toolbar slows down productivity. Thus with out a user definable toolbar the access of some frequently used functions requires 2 or more clicks of the mouse or some other action. For example the constraints form in P3 e/c is hidden at the bottom of the Status form and one has to drag the Status form half way up page to see or change constraints.
There are a couple of functions in P3e/c which were introduced in P3e/c V5.0:
1. Progress Spotlight
2. Update Baseline
3. Past Period Actuals
It is possible to colour bars in P3e/c by code by using the filter function in the Bars form but I do not think this is as slick as the P3 V3.1 function.
There are a lot of little things in P3e/c that are missing from P3V3.1. The function may be in P3e/c but the functionality of the function is sometimes reduced in important areas. For example in filters there is no “Within Range” or “Not Within Range” options in P3e/c and the “Find” function does not list activities in their order and take you to first activity starting with the characters that typed in as in P3V3.1.
It is important to go one setp further than comparing a list of features but go in deeper and lopk at how these functions work. P3e/c still needs a lot of refinement if the productivity using the tool is to match that of P3V3.1 when scheduling large projects.
Paul E Harris
Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
Planning and Scheduling Training Manual & Book Publishers & Consulting
www.eh.com.au
Member for
20 years 5 monthsRE: New in P3e
Thanks Marcio.
Cumprimentos
JMFrade
Member for
20 yearsRE: New in P3e
And more:
Things that are in P3e/c that are not in P3
Browser Access
Industry Standard Database
Resource Hierarchy
Roles, skills, proficiencies
Web Access
Portfolio Analysis
Project screen
WBS views
Built-in spell check
Scheduling server
Overtime
WBS Milestone Roll-up
Thresholds
Web Interface
Different bottom views – such as ghant
Steps
Built-in Expedition integration
Top down budget
Project funding / Spending plan
Multi-currency
Resource assignment view
Real time integration
Issues w/e-mail notification
Risks
Project Website
P3 and P3e/c connection is bi-directional
Budget Change Log
Things that are in P3 that aren’t in P3e/c – construction features
Past period actuals (this period only in P3e/c; available through partner)
Primavera post office
Progress spotlight
Bar color pattern by code
Matirx Reports
Batch Reports
Update baseline tool (available through partner)
P3e Lite
Things that are in P3 that aren’t in P3e/c – general features
Splitting, stretching and crunching
Contiguous and interruptible
Option to show bars in resource view
Customizable tool bar
Kind Regards
Marcio Eduardo
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Member for
20 yearsRE: New in P3e
Dear Jose Frade,
Hope it helps u.
P3 and P3e/c
Major Construction Related Feature Comparison
Available in both P3e/c and P3
Export/Import from Excel (XER format only)
Global Change (can now save specs)
Longest Path option for float
Type ahead on selection boxes
Attachment tools (curtain & text)
Relationship tab (both Pred/Succ)
Notebooks on Bars
Things that are in P3 but are better in P3e/c
Project/WBS levels (graphical WBS)
Project codes (hierarchical, unlimited)
Activity codes (hierarchical, unlimited)
Resource codes / global resources
Project, activity, & resource Id’s
(20 characters)
Baselines (3 baselines on screen)
Grouping total
Open multiple projects
Duration units
Attach documents (work products and document)
Find and replace
Bar options (filter by bar)
Security
MS Project interface (MPP & MPX, summarizer)
Expenses on activities w/o resources
Earned Value Options
Resource Distribution Curves (unlimited, 21 points)
Integrated time sheets
Notebook Topics (rich-text, categorized at activity, WBS and project level)
Fill-down
Multiple Resource rates
Shifts
Custom Data items
Project templates bi-directional flow of information
Layouts security
Automatic summarization of data
Show resource use across projects
Timescale (change interactively)
Assign multiple: codes, resources, predecessors, and successors at once
Grouping / organize options
Interfaces, external
Enhanced Reports
Global Data Structures
Filtering
Layouts
Resource usage view
Kind regards
Marcio Eduardo
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil