In Primavera P6, once you have an Enterprise Project Structure created, you can begin adding projects to that structure. A project is a set of activities and data that makes up a plan for creating a product or service. A project has a start and finish date and can include activities, resources, a work breakdown structure, an organizational breakdown structure, calendars, relationships, expenses, issues, thresholds, codes, and work products and documents. On a basic level, projects created in Primavera P6 give you a template that you can follow once the actual project begins, allowing you to keep track of dates, durations, and budgets.

In this article, we will go over how to create a new project in Primavera P6 Professional using the New Project Wizard.

It’s always a good idea to have an Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) created before creating a project. The Enterprise Project Structure is a hierarchical structure that lets you organize your projects into different categories. When you plan on creating and using many projects in your database, using the Enterprise Project Structure can help you ensure you are always able to find the projects you need to use. ​

Here, I have my Enterprise Project Structure. I’ve created layers for the different types of projects I’ll be working with, including Engineering & Construction, Manufacturing, and Product Development.

This EPS structure will also appear on the Projects screen, allowing me to directly add projects into the desired layer.

To create a new Project, I can either select File > New, or right click in the Projects table and select Add.

By default, this will open up the New Project Wizard, which will guide me through setting some default parameters for my project.

As the new project wizard launches, a new project is created. The project will be given a default project ID, which is now shown on the title bar indicating that the project is open.

The first step of the New Project Wizard lets me choose which EPS layer I want to place the project into. By default, the new project will be placed in the All Initiatives layer of the EPS. To change this, I’ll select the ellipses next to this field. An assignment window will open, allowing me to select a different EPS layer to place this project in. Because this is going to be a construction project, I’ll select the Engineering & Construction EPS layer and press the Assign button.

I’ll select Next to continue.

The next step allows me to give my project a name and ID.

The Project ID for each project must be unique to your database. If you enter an ID that is not unique to your database, P6 will append a -1 to the end of the ID. It’s generally useful to have your Project ID be something like your job filing number, a contract number, or an accounting number associated with the project.

The Project Name, on the other hand, does not have to be unique, but it should be unique enough to differentiate it from other projects in your database. The Project Name should generally be a descriptor of the project.

I’ll set my Project ID as 1542-1 and my Project Name as City of South – New Facility and Supporting Infrastructure, and then select Next.

Next, I can specify a Project Planned Start date and a Must Finish By date. As a best practice you should build a schedule before you begin a project, however it is not uncommon for a Project to begin without an initial Baseline schedule, which is one reason why P6 allows you to schedule in the past. By default, the Project Planned Start date will be the date the project was created. To change this date field, I can type in a date using the same date configuration, or I can select the ellipses to open up a calendar to choose a date from.

Setting a Must Finish By date is optional and won’t constrain the project to finish on that date. Instead, the Must Finish By date will allow you to see if your project is on time, late or early as it progresses. This field is optional because P6 will use the durations of your activities in your initial Baseline, or the original schedule you set, to determine the end date of the project.

With the Project Planned Start and the Must Finish By dates set, I’ll select Next.

The next step is to select a Responsible Manager from the organizational breakdown structure. This determines which users in your database will have access to this project. To select a new Responsible Manager, select the ellipses and use the assignment window to browse your organizational breakdown structure.

I’ll select Enterprise as my Responsible Manager and press Next to continue.

The next step is to assign a Rate Type. This is the standard rate that will be applied to any resources or roles assigned to the project. These rate types are set up and defined by the administrator of the database. To assign a new rate type, select the Rate Type dropdown.

I’ll select Standard Rate and press Next.

The last screen is a congratulatory message indicating that the project has successfully been created. I’ll select Finish to exit the new project wizard.

My new project is now entered into the EPS layer based on where I had it selected in the wizard. If I select the project, I’ll see that the information that I filled in the wizard, such as Project ID, Name, and Responsible Manager, can be seen and subsequently edited within the General tab of the Details section. I can always adjust any of this metadata as the project continues if I realize I made a mistake or want to shift project parameters. Additional metadata not set in the New Project Wizard can be adjusted using the other Detail tabs, such as Dates, Defaults, and Calculations.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please use the comment section on the bottom of this page, and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get more Primavera P6 tips & tricks directly in your inbox!

Lauren Hecker is a Primavera P6 Professional Instructor and teaches onsite and virtual Primavera P6 Fundamentals courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!