Baselines and Updating a Project with Primavera P6 PPM from Coursera

Dive into the world of Primavera P6 PPM with this comprehensive course designed to help you master the essential skills of setting baselines and updating schedules. The course starts by exploring the structure of date fields and their role in scheduling. You will also learn to navigate the diverse scheduling options available in Primavera P6, ensuring you select the most effective configuration for your specific project needs.

As you advance, the course covers how to set baselines, a key feature for tracking project performance over time. Detailed lessons will guide you through managing baseline visibility and using these benchmarks to compare against project progress. The hands-on workshops further solidify your understanding by allowing you to practice with Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and Level of Effort (LOE) tasks, culminating in setting a reliable project baseline.

Finally, you'll learn how to record and update project progress in an unresourced schedule, leveraging features like progress spotlight and corrective actions. With a focus on practical applications, the course offers workshops where you can compare progress with your baseline, helping you master the skills needed to maintain project control and respond effectively to changes.

This course is designed for project managers, schedulers, and project control professionals using Primavera P6 PPM. A basic understanding of project scheduling and familiarity with Primavera P6 is recommended but not required.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction and Workshop Instructions

In this module, we will introduce the course, providing you with a clear understanding of its structure and goals. You will also receive crucial instructions on how to participate effectively in the workshop.

Scheduling Options and Setting a Baseline

In this module, we will explore the essentials of scheduling, starting with the role of date fields and moving through the available scheduling options. We will also cover the process of setting baselines, including restrictions on viewing baseline data, and engage in a workshop focused on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Level of Effort (LOE) tasks.

Updating an Unresourced Schedule

In this module, we will focus on updating an unresourced schedule by recording progress and comparing it to baselines. You will learn how to use the progress spotlight feature, display progress lines, and take corrective actions as needed. We will conclude with a workshop that emphasizes progressing tasks and comparing them against the baseline.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Focuses on practical applications, offering workshops where learners can compare progress with their baseline, which helps them master the skills needed to maintain project control

Teaches how to set baselines, which is a key feature for tracking project performance over time and is essential for project control professionals

Requires familiarity with Primavera P6, which may require learners to first complete introductory courses or self-study before taking this course

Covers how to record and update project progress in an unresourced schedule, leveraging features like progress spotlight and corrective actions, which are essential for project management

Explores the structure of date fields and their role in scheduling, which is a fundamental aspect of project management and scheduling

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Baselines and Updating a Project with Primavera P6 PPM with these activities:

Review Project Scheduling Fundamentals

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Reviewing project scheduling fundamentals will ensure a solid understanding of the concepts upon which Primavera P6 PPM builds.

Browse courses on Project Scheduling

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Review key concepts like critical path and WBS.
Practice creating simple project schedules.

Follow Primavera P6 Basic Tutorials

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Following basic tutorials will familiarize you with the Primavera P6 PPM interface and core functionalities before diving into baselines and updating.

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Find tutorials on creating a project in P6.
Practice adding activities and relationships.
Explore the P6 interface and navigation.

Practice Setting and Updating Baselines

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Performing repetitive exercises on setting and updating baselines will reinforce your understanding and improve your proficiency in Primavera P6 PPM.

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Create a sample project in Primavera P6.
Set a baseline for the project.
Update the project with progress data.
Compare the updated schedule to the baseline.

Three other activities

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Develop a Project Schedule for a Real Project

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Starting a project schedule for a real project will allow you to apply the concepts learned in the course to a practical scenario.

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Define the scope of the project.
Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Define activities and their relationships.
Assign resources and costs to activities.
Set a baseline and track progress.

Create a Progress Report

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Creating a progress report will help you consolidate your knowledge of updating schedules and comparing them to baselines.

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Gather progress data from the project schedule.
Compare the current schedule to the baseline.
Identify variances and their causes.
Create a report summarizing the project's progress.

Contribute to Primavera P6 Documentation

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Contributing to open-source documentation will deepen your understanding of Primavera P6 PPM and help others learn from your experience.

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Identify areas in the documentation that need improvement.
Write clear and concise explanations of complex concepts.
Submit your contributions to the open-source project.

Career center

Learners who complete Baselines and Updating a Project with Primavera P6 PPM will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Project Scheduler

A project scheduler is responsible for developing, maintaining, and analyzing project schedules, ensuring projects are completed on time. This role involves setting up project timelines, tracking progress, and managing changes, and this course, focused on using software like Primavera P6, is directly applicable. The course helps build the critical skill of establishing project baselines, which is essential for monitoring performance and making adjustments. Furthermore, learners here gain experience updating unresourced schedules, an important aspect of a project scheduler's daily work. By mastering schedule updating and progress comparison, you’ll be strongly prepared for this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Scheduler

Project Controls Specialist

The project controls specialist is pivotal in tracking project performance, costs, and adherence to schedule. This position requires a firm understanding of project baselines, progress tracking, and analysis. This course teaches learners how to set baselines, manage visibility, and compare progress with established benchmarks using Primavera P6, which are all fundamental to the job. In this course you get direct experience with progress spotlight features and corrective action implementation, which are essential for a project controls specialist to help keep a project on track. This course will be useful for those looking to step into this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Controls Specialist

Project Manager

Project managers oversee all aspects of a project from initiation to completion, including scheduling and monitoring. This role requires a thorough understanding of project management best practices, and this course is directly applicable since it focuses on using Primavera P6 to set baselines and update project schedules. This course will be helpful in mastering the critical skills of establishing baselines and updating progress within the software, which are essential for project managers. The hands-on workshops in this course, especially those working with Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and Level of Effort (LOE) tasks, can assist a project manager looking to ensure on-time project completion.

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Construction Scheduler

A construction scheduler is a specialist role that focuses on creating and maintaining detailed schedules for construction projects. They use specific software and methodologies to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget. This course helps one develop the essential skills of setting baselines and updating schedules within Primavera P6, a critical tool for construction schedulers. This course can be useful in learning to manage project timelines, track progress, and compare it against baseline schedules, which are imperative for this role. The ability to use progress spotlight and corrective action features is also directly applicable to construction scheduling.

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Program Analyst

Program analysts evaluate the efficiency of organizational programs, often requiring detailed analysis of project timelines and deliverables. This job involves using tools such as Primavera P6 to track progress, which are covered in this course. This course is helpful as it provides hands-on practice in setting baselines, managing schedule visibility, and comparing actual progress against the established plans. The skills learned in this course, especially those involving progress tracking and corrective actions, are directly useful for a program analyst when looking to assess project performance and identify areas for improvement.

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Planning Engineer

Planning engineers are crucial in the initial stages of projects, creating detailed plans and schedules to outline how a project will unfold. This role demands expertise in using scheduling software, and this course can help you gain that expertise with Primavera P6. The course focuses on how to create project baselines, manage scheduling options, and update unresourced schedules. The skills this course teaches are directly applicable to the role of a planning engineer when building a framework for project execution, and the workshops help practice comparing progress to the baseline.

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Cost Controller

A cost controller monitors project expenses, tracks budgets, and ensures financial resources are effectively managed. Although the primary focus isn't financial, this course may be useful as it teaches project monitoring skills that are key for cost controllers. Cost controllers must understand project timelines, and this course helps them learn to assess project progress using Primavera P6. The skills in this course, especially working with Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), setting baselines, and comparing progress against initial timelines, can assist a cost controller to better understand project status and potential cost impacts.

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Data Analyst

Working as a data analyst involves collecting, processing, and analyzing data to draw insights or inform decisions. While this role is not project management focused, those in the role may find this course useful since it emphasizes data-driven project management using Primavera P6, which data analysts may find themselves using. This course's emphasis on setting baselines, updating schedules, and managing progress can aid a data analyst in understanding how project management software is used. This course may build a data analyst's understanding of how project data is used in the real-world.

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Business Analyst

Business analysts identify and solve business problems, often requiring an understanding of project workflows and timelines. This course, which focuses on project management with Primavera P6, may be useful in providing a practical understanding of how projects are planned and tracked. This course helps build the skills of setting project baselines and managing progress updates, which are important for a business analyst to understand as they work to optimize business processes. This course helps a business analyst learn to work with project timelines and understand the impact of changes and delays.

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Operations Analyst

Operations analysts work to improve efficiency of an organization's operations. This often includes monitoring project performance and schedules and identifying areas in need of improvement. This course may be useful in helping one understand how project schedules are maintained. The course teaches how to establish project baselines and update schedules in Primavera P6, which helps an operations analyst be able to understand project management methods. The course can also be helpful to build this operations analyst's understanding of the importance of progress tracking and maintaining schedules.

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Management Consultant

Management consultants advise organizations on how to improve their operations and performance, often analyzing project management strategies. This course may be useful for a management consultant as it provides practical experience with project management software, specifically Primavera P6. This course's focus on establishing project baselines, progress tracking, and schedule updates may help the consultant understand how projects are planned and executed. This course may also be helpful for the consultant who seeks to get a detailed understanding of a client management method.

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Process Improvement Specialist

Process improvement specialists identify areas for improvement in organizations and implement strategies to enhance efficiency. This course may be useful because it familiarizes one with project management workflows using Primavera P6. Learning how to set baselines and track project progress may help a process improvement specialist identify bottlenecks and delays. The course helps a process improvement specialist understand the dynamics of project management and may help in suggesting changes using data learned from the course.

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System Administrator

A system administrator manages computer systems and network infrastructure, and while this course doesn't directly teach those skills, this course may be useful for the administrator to better understand software used by project managers. A system administrator would be able to get familiarity with Primavera P6, including how it is used to set baselines, update schedules, and track progress. This may help the system administrator if they are tasked with maintaining the system or providing user training. This course may help gain insights into the software used by project managers.

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Training Specialist

A training specialist develops and delivers training programs to enhance employee skills and knowledge. This course may be useful to a training specialist in that they can gain knowledge of project management software, such as Primavera P6. By learning the software’s features, the specialist may be better able to instruct end-users. The course’s focus on setting baselines and updating schedules may help the training specialist understand what end-users have to be able to do, and better prepare their training programs.

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Technical Writer

Technical writers create manuals and documentation for complex processes and products. While not directly related to project management, this course might help the technical writer to document project management processes or software, like Primavera P6. With an understanding of how to set baselines and update schedules, a technical writer can be better equipped to write informative articles on project management methods. This course may help a technical writer gain direct experience using project management tools and methods.

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