Project Planning and Control Using Oracle Primavera P6 Versions 8.1, 8.2 & 8.3 Professional Client & Optional Client

Reviewer: A. Larry Aaron CCE President, T&M Concepts Las Vegas, NV www.tandmconcepts.com Review: Primavera(R)/Oracle(R) are out of the gate with version 8.2 of P6TM. And Paul Harris is keeping up the pace with his latest corresponding training manual, "Project Planning & Control Using Primavera(R) P6 TM, Ver 8.2, Professional Client and Optional Client" by Paul Eastwood Harris. Having a copy of this book is not an option - I think it's a requirement. Primavera/Oracle continues to make their software for planning & scheduling professionals more complex by adding to its very advanced capabilities and feature set. But Paul Harris, an experienced scheduler and P6 user, not an IT person, has written this terrific training and reference manual for the P6 student/user who understands how to manage projects but needs to learn how to use the software. Among this manual's compendium of tools, techniques, tips, and traps to using Primavera's latest software package. Harris wins again by writing a clear, user-friendly book to help the reader learn and use P6 effectively and efficiently. Using the successful format from his previously published manuals for Microsoft Project, P3, SureTrak, and previous P6 versions, Harris covers the bulk of P6's feature set by flattening and shortening the steep learning curve of this complex software package. I've used Harris' books in my company's training classes for over a decade because of his clear writing style, the depth of feature coverage, and the ability to use the book as a reference book in day-to-day use. This book follows the lead of its predecessors - it guides the user through a logical sequence of understanding the principles of project management, the steps required to set-up a project, and those required to update and maintain a project. Due to the complexity and feature set of P6, Harris' book is designed to be used in a 3-day training class. The exercises are available as a free download from Harris' web site, www.eastwoodharris.com. Harris goes end-to-end by covering the basics of the software and its advanced functions such as User and Administration Preferences and Advanced Scheduling Options, the 3 types of calendars (unlike P3's 2 types), Roles and Resources and multiple ways of organizing the project (WBS, OBS, Contract, Phase, etc.). Harris also does a particularly good job in explaining the differences between 3 ways of stating percent complete: Physical Percent Complete, Duration Percent Complete, and Units Percent Complete and the 4 Activity Types. He has also introduces some new topics not covered in his pervious Version 7.0 book , including "Customizable Menus", "Tiled and Tabbed Windows", "Auto-Reorganization", "Time-scaled Logic Diagrams" and more. And not only does he explain how to use the program at the "project" level, but he also explains the parent application of Primavera's Enterprise Management - which filled a huge void for me when first using the book. Since scheduling requirements vary from project-to-project and company-to-company, Harris explains how to build and maintain schedules both with and without resources (manpower, equipment, money, materials). If you are using Primavera's latest complex and IT intensive scheduling system, I urge you to use Paul Harris treatise on "Project Planning & Control Using Oracle(R) Primavera(R) P6 Ver 8.2, Professional Client and Optional Client." Paul Harris not only knows P6; he knows how to explain how to be effective and efficient using it. That's the winning formula. Reviewer: Donald McNatty PSP F AACEI Vice President D. R. McNatty & Associates, Inc. Oracle-Primavera Authorized Reseller www.drmcnatty.com Review: Paul Harris has been writing books on how best to use Primavera software tools for as long as I can remember. I first started using P3 in 1985 and have been intimately involved with the software ever since. Paul Harris is an author who makes his day to day living using the tool and it shows in the details of his books. He catches the little things that pop up in the middle of an assignment and are never covered in the standard classes. This book is so comprehensive, with well placed visual pointers and guides, that depending on what chapters are selected, it can be used for a variety of classes from basic to advanced with special classes for costs and resources. This is not just a training manual but should be used as a constant reference "bible" for when you have to use parts of the software that you haven't used for a while. With a focus on application for construction, Paul does not miss anything in working through the definition of your project from the WBS, through coding, activity and relationship definition, how the critical path algorithm calculates (it's not a mystery like some other well known scheduling tools), right on through to resource and cost definition, assignment and analysis. Experience has shown that training provided by trainers who actually make a living using the tool they train on provides the best in-depth knowledge transfer experience for the student. Using a training manual that is written from the same perspective also enhances the training experience. I highly recommend this training guide/reference manual to anyone new or experienced in the Oracle| Primavera P6 environment. Reviewer: Michael J. Kehoe, PMP, MBA Project Planner/Scheduler, Instructor, EVP IP System 3 Cherry Hill, New Jersey, www.ipsys-3.com Review: As a practicing project planner/scheduler and a Primavera P6 instructor, I have found this book immensely useful. The book layouts out in very clear terms, everything needed for a user to master this often-times complex application. This is the only book that I have found that comes from an objective point of view, explaining the "ins and outs" of this expansive program. Planning and scheduling a project can be an extremely difficult and unforgiving task for an individual or organization. Adding the need to model the delivery method in Primavera P6 can cause many unprepared users high anxiety. In his book, Paul layouts out in very clear and concise steps the project plan development process in Primavera P6 and why they are needed. I find this section in itself indispensable. As a part-time instructor of the software, I always, always, always refer my student to this section of the book so they can formulate in their minds the approach needed for creating an effective project plan. Other sections of the book also add enormous value in understanding things such project creation via the project creation wizard, importing and finally the reflection process. Other important topics covered are work breakdown structures, activities types, duration types, percent complete types, activity relationship types, baselines, as well as the updating/progressing process. Advance topics are also covered for those needing an understanding of multi-project scheduling, global functionally and software administration. The book brilliantly handles project modeling categories of task driven schedules and resource loaded schedules. Paul initially layouts out a developmental structure to expose the P6 user to methodologies associated with each modeling category and then throughout the remainder of the book, details out each of the processes. This framework can serve as a repeatable model when creating organizational processes and procedures that will maximize and individual or an organizations use of Primavera P6. As a project planner/scheduler, I use the book as an invaluable desktop reference. I find it priceless when trying to model complex delivery methods. The book is set up in a fashion that allows a user to quickly get to needed information. It also is written from an unbiased point of view explaining various pitfalls of potential methodologies to be utilized. Paul has wisely included how Microsoft Project, Primavera P3 as well as previous versions of P6 handle certain functions as compared to the current version referenced in the book. Paul's experience with these other software programs allows him to give valuable insight into these concise excerpts. He also points out in the book, areas of caution that gives the user important advice on utilizing various components of Primavera P6. If somebody would ask me what words of advice I would give a new user of Primavera P6, I would without a doubt say get training and get Paul Harris's book on Primavera P6. It is well worth the investment.