Frequently Asked Questions about Primavera P6
**Primavera P6** is a robust enterprise project portfolio management (EPPM) software. It’s used for planning, managing, and executing projects, programs, and portfolios across various industries, providing features for scheduling, resource management, cost control, and risk analysis.
The **Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)** is a hierarchical structure that organizes all projects within an organization. The **Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)** represents the management hierarchy responsible for the projects in the EPS. Each EPS node is assigned an OBS element.
In the Activities window, you can add new activities, set their durations, and assign resource roles. To define relationships (dependencies), use the “Relationships” tab in the Activity Details, linking activities as predecessors or successors (e.g., Finish-to-Start).
A **Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)** is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish project objectives. In P6, it helps organize activities into manageable components and provides a framework for cost and schedule control.
To create a baseline, go to **Project > Maintain Baselines**. To assign one, go to **Project > Assign Baselines**. Baselines in P6 allow you to save multiple snapshots of your project plan and compare current progress against them.
You can update progress in the Activities window by entering **Actual Start/Finish Dates**, **Actual Units**, or **% Complete**. Then, run the **Scheduler** (F9) to recalculate the project schedule based on the updates.
**Layouts** control the appearance of your project data (columns, grouping, filters, Gantt chart settings). You can customize them by going to **View > Layout > Open/Save Layout** or by right-clicking on columns/grouping areas to add, remove, or reorder elements.
Go to **File > Export**, then choose your desired format, such as Primavera’s native XER, Microsoft Project XML, or a spreadsheet format like Excel. Follow the wizard steps to select which data to include in the export.