Knowing the terms in Project Scheduling is essential before we make a schedule for the Primavera.
Suppose you are already heavily involved in project management. In that case, you will more easily understand the various terms in Primavera because most of these terms are also taken from the terms in the Project Management Institute.
Here are the terms that you will encounter in primavera that are closely related to scheduling in project management:
EPS (Enterprise Project Structure)
EPS is the hierarchical arrangement of project structures within the enterprise:
- EPS Nodes represent a particular grouping of project category.
- Multiple levels of EPS enable projects to manage separately while retaining the ability to roll up and summarize data to higher levels.
WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
WBS is a grouping of activities in a project. The activities group can be based on the work type, location, or phase.
Each project can be divided into specific work groups according to the characteristics of the project.
OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure)
OBS is the hierarchical arrangement of an enterprise’s management structure in a project:
- The OBS element assigned to an EPS Node represents the manager responsible for the project.
- The OBS hierarchy is used to grant users specific access privileges to the project and the WBS levels within the project.
In implementing this, OBS relates to organizations involved in the project, such as project managers, supervisors, engineers, etc.
Activity Name
The Activity Name is in the Activity table column, which is the name of the work or task in a project.
Milestone
A milestone is a point of a series of works, at which time a series of works have been completed. Milestone is represented by a duration value of 0.
Milestones can also be interpreted as a starting point for a series of work. A diamond shape symbolizes a milestone.
Critical Path
What is the critical path? The critical path is the path on the project that has the smallest total float (zero) and is the path of a series of activities with the longest duration in the project.
Gantt Chart
It is a plan and actual project diagram consisting of activities and workgroups displayed in the form of bar charts.
Baseline
The baseline is a project plan that consists of predetermined work, labor, material, and financial schedule. The baseline is used as a reference to track the actual development of the project, whether in accordance with the plan or not.
Constraint
A constraint is a limit set on an activity using certain conditions on the date of the activity or project (start or finish date).
For example, the activity end date does not exceed a certain date.
Also, read Lead versus Lag.
Earned Value
The method of calculating project performance is based on quantitative indicators by comparing the cost progress compared to the project schedule.
This method uses the s curve as an information display with the X-axis as the duration of the project and the Y-axis as the project cost budget.
S-Curve
The S curve is a graph developed by Warren T. Hanumm in the form of observations of the development of the project from beginning to end.
The S curve can show the progress of the project based on the activity, time, and weight of work presented as a cumulative percentage of all project activities.
The S curve can provide information on (actual) project progress compared to the planned schedule.
Resource
Resources in primavera consist of Labor, Nonlabor, and Material resources.
Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is to equalize the frequency of resource allocation to ensure that the number and type of resources are known and available at the earliest.
CPM (Critical Path Method)
Project scheduling method using critical project paths. Forward Pass and Backward Pass do the calculation method.
Relationship
Start to start
It is a relation between activities (for example, A and B), which has a relationship between the start date of activity A will depend on the start date of activity B.
Start to Finish
It is a relation between activities (e.g., C and D), which has a relationship between the finish date of activity D will depend on the start date of activity C.
Finish to Finish
It is a relation between activities (eg, E and F) that has a relationship with the activity F finish date will depend on the finish date of activity E.
Finish to Start
It is a relation between activities (G and H), which has a relationship between the start date of activity H will depend on the finish date of activity G.
This relationship is not recommended on the project schedule.
Physical % Complete
The Physical % complete is the actual amount of physical (completed) work compared to the total (physical) plan.
Duration % Complete
For activities, duration % complete is calculated from the difference in the duration of the cut-off date (data date) with the planned start date divided by the planned total duration of an activity.
In WBS, the duration % complete is calculated by dividing the financing plan per data date (cut off date) divided by the total budget plan.
Activity Duration % Complete = Data Date-Plan Start Date/(Pan Finish Date-Plan Start Date)
WBS Duration % Complete = PV (Planned Value) / BAC (Budget at Completion).
This duration % complete is used to compare actual progress in the field compared to the original plan.
Duration
Duration is the length of work done, which is the difference between the finish date and the start date.
The duration of activities in primavera can be set in an hour, day, week, month, and year.
Free Float
The period in which an activity can be delayed without causing a delay of any immediate successor/predecessor of an activity.
Total Float
The maximum grace period at which an activity can be delayed without delaying the project completion time.
In critical activity, the total float is zero.
Also, read What is Project Management.
Start Date
The start date is the start date of work. This start date can be set to the hour level.
Finish Date
The date when the job is finished. The finish date can be set to the hour level.
Early and Late Date
Early Start
The earliest start date of an activity that will not affect the overall project schedule.
Early Start exists in activities outside the critical path or has a total float of more than zero.
Early Finish
The earliest completion date of an activity that will not affect the overall project schedule.
Early Finish exists on activities outside the critical path or having a total float of more than zero.
Late Start
The latest start date of an activity will not affect the overall project schedule.
Lately, Start is found in activities outside the critical path or has a total float of more than zero.
Late Finish
The latest completion date of an activity that will not affect the overall project schedule.
Late Finish exists in activities outside the critical path or has a total float of more than zero.