(1) Explain your problem, don't simply post "This isn't working". What were you doing when you faced the problem? What have you tried to resolve - did you look for a solution using "Search" ? Has it happened just once or several times?
(2) It's also good to get feedback when a solution is found, return to the original post to explain how it was resolved so that more people can also use the results.
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Carlos,
I see too many examples when companies pretend to manage their projects using PM methods and tools.
Actual implementation of project management based on thorough planning and control is still rare and can be implemented only from the very top of the organization. If the owner or top manager does not know what to require he/she will get nice reports that show what is desired by those who prepared them.
So you will be able to implement serious approaches to management only with top management support.
Best Regards,
Vladimir
Thanks for the advice.
Vladimir:
I want to learn Spider since I perceive it as a world of possibilities. In P3 I've started finding limits. The "natural" next step would be P6 but I learned P6 before P3 and I know it has unnecessary complications. Making a remembrance, having basic skills in MSP opened me the door to P6 training and then, attending a contractual requisite I ended using P3. In the practice there is only one P3 scheduler in this project, everything else is made using MSP. The schedule is perceived as a contractual document to look at, not as the tool for project controls it should be.
I will make my daily job using P3, but in my spare time I will keep testing Spider. I have small projects from other (investment) forum which I can use to make tests.
Rafael:
Being the only P3 scheduler in this project, my only point of comparisson is the people in this forum. I think that Vladimir is right, I should cultivate other type of skills while I'm at this project. The irony is that, being a software from 10 years ago, P3 and CPM are High-tech here. About the schedule, It was given to me with many faults. It is a Toro con Muchos cuernos, ni siquiera tiene recursos cargados, tiene cerca de 20 open-ends y lags de +300 dias en un proyecto de 5 años. (By the way, please don't leave Planning Planet. Yours is a valuable voice here.)
My conclusion is to slow down, be more patient, ask more and try to reach the pace of the project using P3.
Best regards,
Carlos.
Carlos,
I would suggest you become the best Primavera user in your Company, then you will get the credibility for them to listen, it will show them is not a matter of not wanting to learn new but outdated products.
I strongly recommend you keep a parallel version of your job in Spider. When in need to reassign crews while Spider will be able to select the most appropriate considering resource leveling Primavera will fall short, here you can showcase the better options using Spider.
The following steps you can consider:
Just prove it, if there are no advantages then Spider is not worth it. Those choosing the software might not be at your level of understanding of the capabilities of either software, they just follow the pack.
Until PP forum is improved to the level it was before I will not be as active, no fun anymore. You have my e-mail and you can always contact me directly. There we can talk Spanish so you can forward the communications to your co-workers.
You got to hold the bull by the horns, “al toro hay que cojerlo por los cuernos”.
Best Regards,
Rafael
Carlos,
your project director is right - you shall use the opportunity to learn hydroelectric.
You will be able to apply Spider successfully having deep understanding of the project processes.
The use of Spider Project can be approved only if you will be able to show why its usage can improve project performance (shorter schedule with the same constraints, better simulation of the project performance, costs or whatever that may be considered as huge advantage). You can always transfer Primavera schedule to Spider or Spider schedule to Primavera (in this case some data will be lost because Primavera just has no necessary fields). But you shall start with understanding and modelling the project using any software. Then you will understand if Primavera functionality is sufficient for your needs and if Spider Project will be able to improve project results. You will be able to prove that Spider is worth to use only if you will show that it may help to save money or accelerate the project.
Best Regards,
Vladimir
Thanks Vladimir and rafael,
These posts are really interesting and useful. They are a proof of Spider Project's flexibility when planning. I wish they were in spanish.
Unfortunately (For me) I got scolded by the Project Director for trying to implement another software. Actually, it was a very polite repressal, he told me that any learning should be made as a team and that, although my intents to innovate are subject of admiration, the company is not willing to invest at this time, in new software licenses since "There is no time or budget" to assume that risk and that the client must consent before changing any software.
He also mentioned that my skill using PRIMAVERA is very valuable for the company, and that I should foster that skill while working with the team. I responded that my skill was not to use PRIMAVERA but to build Critical Paths and that skill would be applied using any software, but there are better planning methods and Spider is the tool which better allows them.
Then, he threw a very interesting stone: "You can learn Spider at your home or in your spare time, but here is the only place where you can learn the elements and the way to build an hydroelectric. Think about it as it is a very scarce opportunity. At this time, the important issue is to get familiar with the elements of this hydroelectric in order to be better prepared to plan the next one. I want you to make the planning at that time"
You can see the dilemma here, he made two true affirmations. It is valuable to learn Spider but it is also valuable to seize the opportunity and take the planning for the next hydroelectric. Each president of Mexico builds one as the flag project of his period in the chair. There is one huge hydroelectric each 6 years.
But the effort to maintain this schedule is huge, even using Spider. I can even measure it: The effort to maintain this schedule is so big that at the time when the effort produces a result, this result is obsolete. It is not a problem with the tool but with the approach: Each piece of work has 4 different names depending on the deppartment that is reviewing it. Everybody knows it but nobody wants to change it, specially the client.
And then I have the dilemma, it is hard to me to decide what to do.
I am still young, I still believe in my dreams and want to pursue them, and I know that having Spider I can make the effort to plan and follow them and slowly make my own resources grow. But not everyday you get an offer to plan a huge infrastructure project.
Or, I am not that young and I should choose the rational answer that there will be more money in my pocket if I resist until the next project. In that case, I must find the way to make my effort to create value from here to the next 2 years with my own time as the only secure resource available. Being young in the company, I am in a bad position to claim more resources. There is the need to create value with my effort before requesting additional resources, but I don't know how to create value if the effort with the schedule is bigger than the time available.
It would be very useful a piece of advice.
Best regards,
Carlos.
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
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