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Critical Path in P5!!

17 replies [Last post]
Thu, 2008-09-25 23:34
Mohsen M
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Hi All,

I need to open 3 projects sitting under one EPS and want to status them at the same time and I want to see the longest path as my critical path. I already defined critical activities as "Longest Path" in P5. So instead of having longest path as critical path I have 3 critical paths. I assume P5 assigned one critical path for each project so we have 3 paths. Any idea how to tackle this issue?

Thank You
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Replies

Wed, 2008-10-01 03:58
#1
Dieter Wambach
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Hi
sorry English is not my native language. "Votes against me" was meant as against my opinion, not against my person of course!
Regards from Germany
Dieter
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Wed, 2008-10-01 03:02
#2
Anoon Iimos
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Dieter,

I’m sure I’m not voting against you. What you said is the same as what Ron’s understanding I believe.

"They show a different longest path depending on if I schedule the projects independently or as one common project."

Will you send me the screenshots please? (I presumed you knew my email already).

best regards
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Tue, 2008-09-30 12:28
#3
Dieter Wambach
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Hi
Too many votes against me, so I tested with three projects which are linked together. I am very sorry, but I am right.

They show a different longest path depending on if I schedule the projects independently or as one common project. Otherwise it would have been a horror for me because I’m using this feature for some years.

If you’ll send me a private message with your email-address, I’ll send you the screenshots.

Regards
Dieter
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Tue, 2008-09-30 10:41
#4
David Kelly
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Ron is basically correct in his "how primavera does sums" analysis.

You can go a long way to circumventing these issues by settin g all the projects in the group to the same "Must Finish by" date
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Tue, 2008-09-30 06:59
#5
Anoon Iimos
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actually No Dieter, i’m just trying to look at the principle, EPS (Enterprise Project Structure), WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). I believe both must function in the same manner in scheduling terms.

if you look at it from bottom - up: If you schedule the activities (under WBS), it will affect the Project; in the same manner, if you run Projects, it will affect the EPS (But I believe there is no function as this).
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Tue, 2008-09-30 04:14
#6
Dieter Wambach
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Anoon
These are two different views.
Into the EPS you group your projects. Along the hierarchy: Access rights and budget.
Project: Special kind of node: Schedule, Export/Import, Check in/out only for one or more projects indepentent from their location within the EPS; inherits access rights from above EPS
Both within table "PROJ" distinguished by "proj-flag"
WBS: Below project; inherit access rights has own budget as well, no schedule, export....
Was this answer to your question?
Dieter
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Tue, 2008-09-30 01:50
#7
Anoon Iimos
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Dieter,

I agree with Ron. Another thing i’m not sure is the difference between EPS and WBS: if WBS is the mother of activities and EPS is the mother of projects, are they functioning the same when it comes to scheduling or calculations? or summarizations?
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Mon, 2008-09-29 10:02
#8
Dieter Wambach
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Ronald
It depends from how you establish the schedules. There must be one common start and one comon end for all three projects. Then you’ll get a longest path. (Until now I didn’t find an error.) P6 calculates one directed graph and by this is able to calculate the longest path over more projects. This procedure I have used since Version 3.5 now.
I did not yet test multiple paths.
Dieter
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Mon, 2008-09-29 10:02
#9
Olubukola Fasoyin
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Hi ,

I think I think opening the copies of the 3 projects, at WBS view reassemble all into one happy project and proceed to link and schedule.

Regards

Bukola
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Mon, 2008-09-29 09:44
#10
Ronald Winter
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From my readings, I believe that P6 calculates the critical path for every schedule individually, even if they are linked to other schedules and the other schedules are currently open. Schedules may finish at different times and each schedule calculates a critical path to that finish point, even if another opened schedule has a later finish time. This must also mean that each schedule has their own longest path, independently calculated from the other linked schedules. This flies in the face of Enterprise Scheduling, but I believe that is how P6 ‘works.’
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Mon, 2008-09-29 05:56
#11
Anoon Iimos
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Hi Dieter,

I believe there is no problem because you know how to do it. But the question here is how to establish the critical path or the longest path within three (3) projects? (is that right?)

What I’m trying to emphazise is that some experts here still (I believe) has doubts on how the program produce results, which is very difficult for a not so well versed (like me) to determine if what came out after I press F9, is reliable (granting that P6 is not that old). Anyway, I have lots of works to do right?

best regards,
Anoon
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Mon, 2008-09-29 04:59
#12
Dieter Wambach
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Anoon
We have this situation quite frequently, because due to data exchange with partners, mostly a customer project is divided into more projects. There are different calendars, office, leadtimes, site. But no problem.
The calendar setting is per project, but just as default for new activities.
The default calendar for the database is for the summary lines.
Regards
Dieter
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Mon, 2008-09-29 04:19
#13
Anoon Iimos
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please make sure that your three (3) projects uses the same calendar, i’m not sure if there’s an option to assign specific calendar onto a specific EPS (or is it global?), when you open your EPS, it opens all the projects under it (activities view), if each of your project has say, 5k activities, you’ll be looking at 15K activity window....very difficult, not to mention if you got constraints, using progress override, wrong logic-links etc....

it’s really difficult to be a Planner!
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Mon, 2008-09-29 03:53
#14
Dieter Wambach
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Hi
Maybe the reason is your parameter setting:
1. Projects --> Settings --> "Define Critical Activities"
2. "F9" --> Options --> "Define Critical Activities"

Any scheduling computes both critical activities by float aund the longest path(s). In the view Activities filter by "Longest Path" equals "Yes"
BUT: The three projects must be properly linked.
Hope that helps
Dieter
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Sun, 2008-09-28 22:50
#15
Alex Wong
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Well yo can test it out but copy all 3 projects into singel project and check if it gives you a correct Critical Path

HTH

ALex
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Sun, 2008-09-28 19:03
#16
Mohsen M
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Hi Olubukola,

Thanks for you answer. Actually there are links between three projects, but I can not see the longest path as critical apth!!
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Sun, 2008-09-28 17:53
#17
Olubukola Fasoyin
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Hi,
If there are no interproject relationship between the the 3 projects, u will expect 3 Crtitical paths.

If you can establish links btw them this might solve the problem.

Regards

Bukola
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