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1. REMINDER
Check in on the
COLLABORATE mobile app
Demonstrating Multiple Phases in
Multiple Colors on One Line in P6
Prepared by:
Marie Gunnerson
Global Primavera Manager
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Technique for summary in one project
or summarizing multiple projects
Session ID#: 15438
1

2. Presenter Information
– Marie Gunnerson
■ Professional
▪ Manages Primavera software for Parsons Brinckerhoff
▪ Provides internal training in Primavera P6 and for clients
■ Volunteer
▪ OPSIG Co-chair
▪ Project Management Institute (PMI)
— PMBOK® Guide
— Practice Standard for Scheduling
▪ Other
— GAO Schedule Assessment Guide
■ Personal
▪ Home is Boston, MA
▪ Travel has its benefits

3. Company Information
■ Global professional services firm supporting
clients across the lifecycle of infrastructure
projects
■ Approx. 14,000 employees in 150 offices
worldwide
■ Broad range of Services and Markets
▪ Strategic Consulting; Planning; Design;
Program and Construction Management;
Operations and Maintenance
▪ Transportation; Power & Energy; Buildings;
Mining; Environmental; Water and
Wastewater; Urban and Community
Development
■ The Professional Services Division of the
Balfour Beatty Group, an international
infrastructure services organization

4. Communicating Project
Schedule Information
(with actual human beings)

5. Problem
■ Bottom-up project schedule provides a good estimate
■ But lots of detail
Need
■ Simple, clear depiction of plan
Insight
■ Compress activities into several phase segments per line
■ Differentiate the multiple segments with color
Solution
■ Multi-bar Gantt Chart

6. Multi-bar Gantt Concept
■ Represent a number of activity bars with a segmented bar:

7. Example Traditional project schedule GanttMulti-bar Gantt Chart

8. The Multi-bar Method
Using P6 PPM

9. What Do the Human Beings Want to See?
■ What is the purpose of the chart?
■ What key information is to be conveyed?
■ What level of summary is required?
■ What is the color scheme?
■ What other data is to be included in the layout?

10. Analyze Requirements Against Data
■ Review existing project schedule data
■ Identify the activities to be summarized
■ Determine the number of Multi-bar segments
■ Evaluate means of determining segment end points
■ Identify data to be added to create Multi-bar Gantt chart
▪ Dates
▪ Activity codes

11. Required Elements for Multi-bar Method
■ User defined bars for Multi-bar segments
■ Start and Finish dates to delineate Multi-bar segments
■ Technique to determine Start and Finish points
■ Configuration of segments
■ Layouts for Multi-bar views
▪ Group & Sort
▪ Filters
▪ Columns

12. User Defined Bars
■ Created in Bars dialog box
■ One bar for each Multi-Bar segment
■ Defined by Start and Finish dates
▪ Start and Finish points of segments
▪ Duration for segments
Start Finish

13. Multi-bar Start and Finish point techniques
■ Technique 1
▪ Differentiated user defined bar segments
▪ User Defined Fields to hold date information
■ Technique 2
▪ Collapsed bars to create segments
▪ LOE activities
▪ WBS summary activities

14. User Defined Fields Start and Finish Points
Technique 1

15. Identify User Defined Fields Needed for
Multi-bar
■ Number of fields depends on number of segments
▪ Define segments with start date or finish date data types
■ Segment duration fields
▪ Define segment duration with numeric data type
■ Use a “placeholder” user defined date field for activities with
only one segment
Technique 1

16. Methods for Entering User Defined Fields
Start and Finish Dates
■ Manual data entry
■ Import/Export via Excel
■ Global Change
Technique 1

17. Manual Data Entry in Layout
Technique 1

18. Tips for Manual Data Entry of Multi-bar Start
and Finish Dates
■ Add column for each User Defined Field required for Multi-bar
■ Table view will provide most space for data entry
■ Save version of layout with columns for data entry and update
■ Save a layout to display for Multi-bar without columns
Technique 1

19. Steps for Import/Export of Multi-Bar Start
and Finish Dates
■ Add some data into each field using manual data entry
■ File/Export to Spreadsheet to create Excel import worksheet
■ Create Multi-bar template for export
▪ Selecting User Defined Fields to be included in template
▪ Three key fields required by P6
■ Finish Export
■ Enter User Defined Fields data in Excel spreadsheet
▪ Enter data, not formulas
■ Don’t change column headers in rows 1 and 2
▪ Don’t add columns
■ Save edits
■ File/Import Spreadsheet (XLS) with Multi-bar data into project
Technique 1

20. Import/Export User Defined Fields
Technique 1

21. Global Change
Technique 1

22. Hints for Calculating User Defined Fields
with Global Change
■ May be easier to create 2 Global Change specifications than 1
■ Equation: User Defined Field = result of expression
■ Define equation to calculate Multi-bar data points
▪ User Defined Field Start and Finish dates
▪ User Defined Field Segment Duration
■ All standard warnings about Global Change apply
▪ You can cancel after viewing
▪ Keep log - just in case
Technique 1

23. Examples of Global Change Equations
Technique 1
■ Know total duration, use factor to calculate segment
duration
Phase-II-OD = Original Duration x .5
Phase-III-OD = Original Duration x .33
■ Know segment durations, calculate total duration through
addition
Original Duration = Phase-I-OD + Phase-II-OD
Original Duration = Original Duration + Phase-III-OD
■ With duration, calculate start and finish dates
Phase-II-Start = Phase-I-End + 1
Phase-II-End = Phase-II-Start + Phase-II-OD

24. Start and Finish Dates with Technique 2
■ Add an activity per phase to serve as the Multi-bar summary
activity that reflects duration of the phase
▪ LOE activities
▪ WBS summary activities
■ Add activity codes as required
■ Add relationships for LOE activities
■ Schedule the project to calculate dates for Multi-bar summary
activities

25. LOE Activities Added and Scheduled
■ This is the first bullet of text
■ This is the second bullet of text at the same level
▪ This is a sub-bullet of text
— This is a secondary sub-bullet of text (and should be as far sub-
bullets indent)
– This tertiary sub-bullet will be seldom used, but available
▪ This is another sub-bullet of text
■ And this is the third bullet of text
Technique 2

26. Define Collapsed Bar Segments
■ Add user defined bars
for each phase
■ Add filter for each bar
for Multi-bar summary
activities
■ In Bar settings check
“Show bar when
collapsed”
Technique 2

27. Configuration of Multi-bar Segments

28. Tips for Configuring Multi-bar in Gantt Chart
■ One bar per segment is needed
▪ Order matters
▪ Name included in legend
■ Carefully select:
▪ Time scale – “User Dates”
▪ User Start Dates
▪ User Finish Dates
▪ Filter for each phase for Technique 2
■ Bar style for shape and color
■ Bar labels may be placed on segments
■ May need underlying bar for relationship lines if Multi-bar user
define start and finish dates don’t coincide with calculated
dates

29. ■ Create Filter to select Multi-bar activities to collapse to
■ May require more than one filter
Filter to Multi-bar summary activities

30. Creating the Multi-bar Layout
■ Technique for calculating Multi-bar dates affects layout
▪ Technique 1 using activities may be grouped or not
▪ Technique 2 using collapsed activities requires grouping
■ Determine columns to be included in data table
■ For Group & Sort determine what data to group on
▪ Activity Codes
▪ WBS
▪ Level
■ Usual decisions for sort, display options, and color schemes
■ Select filter to limit view to Multi-bar bar summary activities
■ SAVE THE LAYOUT!

31. Give the Multi-bar View to the Human Beings

32. Or this Multi-Bar View with Technique 2

33. Using the Multi-bar Method
to Summarize Projects
This is a subtitle or bulleted list

34. Applying Multi-bar Method at Project Level
■ Works best where projects have common elements
■ Use Multi-bar techniques to create Multi-bar activities in each
project
▪ Designate activities to represent “phases” for each project
■ Use Activities rather than Projects window
■ Open all projects you want in Multi-bar Gantt chart
■ Filter activities to the Multi-bar activities in each project
■ Open Multi-bar layout you have saved
■ Modify and save layout for project level view
■ If use Technique 2 group by project to get project Multi-bar

35. Summary of Projects with Multi-bar View
Sample data for demonstration only.
Not to be construed as actual project
data or to be used for project planning.

36. Multi-bar Method Demonstration
36

37. Features That Would Enhance Multi-bar
■ Calculated user defined fields at activity level
■ User defined fields values calculated from other activities
■ Enhanced bar formatting
▪ Bar thickness
▪ Bar label placement for User Dates
■ Allow same bar formatting at project level as activity level

38. Thank you for attending
- at the end of the day!
■ Marie Gunnerson
■ gunnerson@pbworld.com
■ +1-617-960-4884
■ Co-chair OPSIG
▪ www.primaverasig.com
■ LinkedIn
Speaker Contact Info:

39. Please complete the session
evaluation
We appreciate your feedback and insight
You may complete the session evaluation either
on paper or online via the mobile app 39