Primavera Software and the Project Management Lifecycle
Project Management in Primavera software is the planning, organizing, securing, and managing of the resources needed to complete a project on time and within budget. The main purpose of project management is to achieve all of the project goals while taking in to account the constraints of the project. Typical constraints associated with a project are time, scope, and budget. The secondary goal of project management is to streamline the project management process ensuring that resources are allocated correctly and all the processes are streamlined to make sure the project is completed on time and within the budget.
The 5 Phases of the Project Management Lifecycle
The phases associated with project management fall into five categories including:
- initiation
- planning
- execution
- controlling
- closing
Phase 1: Initiation
The initiation phase of the project management lifecycle involves the initial start up processes of a project. This phase is where the project’s scope and purpose are defined, justified, and implemented.
A. team members and managers are appointed
B. the feasibility of the project is studied
C. documentation is collected
D.the project office is set up
Primavera software helps streamline the initiation phase by offering the ability to store documents, configure the project team member’s access, and provide an overall phase review before the planning phase begins.
Phase 2: Planning
The planning phase is the most crucial stage of the project management lifecycle. This phase is where the project documents are finalized in Primavera P6 software and given to the project team members to be used to complete the project. The planning of a project falls involves the creation of five smaller plans including:
- the project plan
- resource plan
- financial plan
- quality plan
- acceptance and communications plan
In Primavera P6, the planning phase is started by creating a work breakdown structure, forming a cost loaded schedule, assigning the resources to the project, and establishing a baseline.
Phase 3: Execution
The project execution phase is where the work is started and completed. Once the project plans are set, construction begins on the project and the processes are compared against the baseline throughout the building of the project. The project team members use Primavera P6 software to
- report work in progress
- status the schedule
- compare projected start/ finish date against actual start/finish
- compare projected cost against actual cost
- compare projected resource usage against actual resource usage
Phase 4: Control
The control phase of the project management life cycle is where the project team members look at the results and decide whether the project is on track or behind schedule. The project team members then use a project management tool, such as Primavera P6 software, to analyze the schedule and evaluate the project. The team members will compare the baseline schedule against the actual schedule and make a recommendation to improve the health of the project. If the project is behind schedule, the project team members will go into the Primavera software application, modify the project data, and then re-forecast the schedule. Then, the team members can go into Primavera P6 software and utilize the Claimdigger functionality to outline the changes made between the two schedule updates.
Phase 5: Closing
The closing process is the final phase of the project management life cycle. In this phase:
- project team members document lessons learned
- determine if the project can be used as a baseline for other projects
- deliver the final product to the stakeholders
The notebook topics in Primavera P6 provide team members with a history of all that happened in the project, whether it was a schedule delay due to rain or the breakdown of equipment. The reporting features of Primavera P6 are also useful for this phase because project team members can create and deliver project statistics in a concise and easy to read format to the project stakeholders.
We all know how important effective project management is on the outcome of a project. One problem in the schedule could throw a project off track and cost your company millions of dollars. Primavera software is hands down the project management tool for solving your project management problems and keeping your project on track and within budget! Are you a Primavera software user and need a refresher course on how to best use the software? Check out our new Primavera P6 OnDemand Courseware entitled “Fundamentals of Project Management” in Primavera P6 Release 7. The video course covers 17 lessons and includes 74 videos. Click on the button below to access a sample video and learn more about the video course
Free P6 Course Lesson