How do you create formula-based UDF's?

1) Click the Projects
menu and select Enterprise Project Data, or click the Administer
menu and select Enterprise Data.
2) In the Enterprise Data pane, expand Projects and click Project UDFs.
3) On the Project UDFs page:
a. Click
Add (Insert).
b. In the User Defined Field, double-click and type a name.
c. In the Data Type field, double-click and choose a type from the list.
d. In the UDF Type field, double-click and choose Manual or Formula from the list.
Notes:
-Choosing Formula enables the fields in the Formula detail window, allowing you to define a formula or statement to calculate the value of the field. If no calculation is required, choose Manual.
-You cannot filter views by UDFs calculated on the basis of a formula.
4) In the Formula detail window, define a formula or statement.
5) In the Indicators detail window, define a graphical indicator.
6) On the Project UDFs page, click
Save (Ctrl+S).

I would like your help with the stages to changing the baseline dates in P6.

In P6 you create your schedule and then take a baseline (snapshot) of the schedule at a point in time. You use that baseline as your point of reference and the dates usually should not be changed. You are able to update the baseline dates in a baseline. You can do this in the same area you take the baseline by using "update baseline". It will take actuals and replace old baseline dates as well as new planned dates will replace the old baseline dates. Using the Update Baseline utility, you can update the original baseline plan with new activity, resource/role assignment, and project data. When updating a baseline, you can choose to update all activities or you can apply a filter to update activities that meet the filter’s criteria. You can also specify the types of data to update, including specific data related to activities, resources, costs, thresholds, and issues.

How to summarize activity % complete of activites to WBS level if i have cost baseline

You can set up the view with the activity % complete column in the activity table and then group and sort by the respective WBS level. make sure that summary roll-ups are checked off on the group/sort (in web this will be under customize view).

A contractor has given me a "change log" What are someof the factors I should consider when reviewing the "Change Log"?

Review the contractors hours/costs from before and after the change. If the contractor's activities were already loaded in the schedule, you may want to review what is there now and what is being changed. If you took a baseline of the schedule with the resource loaded activity, you can change the activity's attributes, take another baseline and compare.

Can you approve an extension of time claim without a resourced program?

You can extend a project or activity from the original duration, yes, you can do that. If a baseline was taken of the project, you can do it on non-started activities.

Why can't I see resource assignments for a specific project?

Check to see if the layout is filtering on certain projects/attributes. Also check to see if project is active.

Does anyone have a checklist that can be used for building baseline scheudle in P6?

In P6 you build a schedule and then you baseline the schedule. As for a checklist for building a schedule, if you have used P6 before, you can add the WBS's, activities and select your activity types, % complete types, and add your durations, resources, and costs.

I'm using P6 version 8.3. As we update any program we get the letter "A" beside the actual dates. is there any way i can hide or get rid of the "A". It will help me for comparing in Excel.

You can choose to not display that column in the activity table. Or you can use actual start and finish and planned start and finish and the A is not there.

I want to see in progress or not started activities.

You can run a report in P6 client to report on these. A simple filter will get you there. Maybe try one filter at a time, but I think you could do one that was two-tiered asking for "any" activities that are in progress or not started. This is something that many planners/schedulers look at, so very common problem.

Does it seem correct to change the remaining duration of activities that have not started? For me, remaining duration implies that an activity has started and to change the remaining duration of an activity that isn’t started just wrong.

I would not change the remaining duration of an activity that hasn't started. I would go into the current schedule and change the original duration. This way, if you change in the current schedule you can measure that variance against the baseline that was taken. I think comparing current schedule to baseline (in P6) is a lot easier done than measure remaining duration changes.

What are some P6 activity types?

Task Dependent: This type of activity indicates that assigned resources should be scheduled based on the activity's calendar, rather than the calendars of the resources.

Resource Dependent: This type of activity indicates that resources should be scheduled based on their assigned calendars. Use this type when the activity duration may be affected by resource availability.

Level of Effort: This type of activity indicates that it is ongoing with a duration determined by its dependent activities. The duration is calculated based on the schedule dates of its predecessors and successors. Administrative activities are typically designated as Level of Effort.

Start Milestone: This type of activity indicates the beginning of a major project phase. Activities of this type have a duration of zero (0) with no resource assignments.

Finish Milestone: This type of activity indicates the end of a major project phase. Activities of this type have a duration of zero (0) with no resource assignments.

I want to add weight to a WBS.

What Manuel said is the way it should really be done. You want to create the project, add the WBS's, add their respective activities with duration and cost and the EVM/CPM functionality in P6 will roll the most important WBS/Activities up to the project level. If you're manually trying to do it, the software is basically just a fancy way of doing a schedule. I do understand what Tony is suggesting, but I feel like this is before the hard schedule is in Primavera and more on a narrative basis for early stakeholder meetings before the WBS/Activity/Cost/Resources are starting to really get built out. If you have cost associated to all of these (contracted) and you assign the % to each of them, a simple xls formula will give you your "weighting"...you don't need Primavera for that. Primavera is used to manage projects with cost, schedule and scope. We do allow you to have a budget log (static) on each of the WBS's and that's one way you could go with your weighting, but once the schedule starts getting built out, that static budget log is just used for comparison and is not in any impacted by the schedule.

I want to learn Primavera. What are the best resources?

I would highly suggest some of the Paul Harris books. They are available on Amazon. They, along with working a senior P6 user who was a contractor, helped me immensely. The videos and web training are just very high level and not very interactive. I have a link to a bunch of his books on my site, but you can go to Amazon as well. I would use the books in conjunction with the user manual on docs.oracle.com. The user manual is more of a seek & find as where Paul's books build on your foundation level as you progress through the topics.
Best,
Bob

http://www.p6blogger.com/p/books-on-p6.html

What is retained logic and progress override and can you give me an example?

When you choose Retained Logic, the remaining duration of a progressed activity is not scheduled until all predecessors are complete. When you choose Progress Override, network logic is ignored and the activity can progress without delay. Retained Logic - Project A has relationships. If you choose retained logic, P6 abides by those relationships and schedules accordingly. Progress Override- Project A has relationships, but they are ignored when you progress activities.