To schedule in Primavera P6, you first need to create a project. A project is a venture undertaken to complete a set goal – such as the construction of a building or the production or a product. Within the project, you’ll add activities and data to create a schedule, showing when the project is set to complete. At a basic level, Primavera P6 projects give you a plan to follow once the actual project begins. Using this project schedule, you’ll be able to track dates, durations, and even costs.

Although creating a project may seem daunting, Primavera P6 makes it easy with the New Project Wizard. The New Project Wizard will walk you through the process of creating a new project, identifying important details along the way. Before creating the project, you may want to know some information about it, such as when it needs to start and finish. However, if you’re unsure of this information, you can still create the project. You can always adjust project data in Primavera P6, even after creating the project.

In this article, we will look at how to create new projects in Primavera P6. First, we’ll go over the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS), which is a hierarchy that hosts projects. Then, we’ll look at how to use the New Project Wizard to create the project and add important details to it. Lastly, we’ll look at how to use the Project Details section to adjust project data.

The following examples are all from Primavera P6 Professional 20. However, these tools are available in all versions of Primavera P6.

Using the Enterprise Project Structure

Before creating a project, it’s a good idea to set up an Enterprise Project Structure (EPS). The EPS is a hierarchical structure that you can use to organize your projects. If you plan on creating many projects in your P6 database, setting up the EPS can help you find the projects you need. You can think of the EPS as folders, or categories, that you’re organizing projects into. You’ll create the EPS for the entire database – rather than just for one single user. If you’re using a shared P6 database, this is generally set up by your administrators.​​

Here, we can see an example of my database’s Enterprise Project Structure. I have layers here for the different types of projects I’ll be working on – such as E&C, Manufacturing, and Product Development. This will make it easier to find the projects I need, as I’m filing them into different categories.

This EPS structure will also appear on the Projects screen as different colored bands. This allows you to directly add projects into the desired layer, or category.

In this example, we will assume that the Enterprise Project Structure is already created. 

Creating a New Project

With your Enterprise Project Structure set, you can now add projects to it

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

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

As the new project wizard launches, a new project is created. The project will have a default project ID, which now shows in the title bar indicating that the project is open.

Selecting an EPS Layer

The first step of the New Project Wizard is to choose an EPS layer to place the project into. By default, the project will be placed in the All Initiatives layer of the EPS. To change this, select the ellipses button next to this field. An assignment window will open, allowing you to select a different EPS layer.

In this example, I’ll select Engineering & Construction, as this will be a construction project. Then, press the Assign button.

Select Next to continue.

Setting a Project ID and Name

Next, you’ll need to set a Project ID and Name.

The Project ID for each project must be unique to your database. If you enter an ID that is not unique, P6 will append a -1 to the end of it. The Project ID should generally 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. However, it should be unique enough to differentiate it from other projects in your database. The Project Name should describe what the project is for.

In this example, I’ll set my Project ID to 1542-1 and my Project Name to City of South – New Facility and Supporting Infrastructure.

Then, select Next.

Choosing Project Dates

Next, you 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 set to the date you created the project. 

To change this date, you can type in a date using the same date configuration, or you can select the ellipses button to open up the calendar.

Generally, your Project Planned Start date will be the contract award date. Don’t assume the project begins when construction begins, as preconstruction activities are important to track as well. In this example, my contract award date was January 2nd – so I’ll choose that as the project’s start date.

Here, you can also choose a date that the project must finish by. 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 schedule to determine the end date of the project. Contracts often require a project to finish by a certain date, so in this example, I’ll set my Must Finish By date to September 25th.

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

Selecting a Responsible Manager

The next step is to select a Responsible Manager from the Organizational Breakdown Structure. This option determines the security settings for the project, such as which users have access to it.

To choose a new Responsible Manager, select the ellipses button. Choose a new manager from the list and press the Assign button. If you’re not sure which option to use here, leave this field as it is. Your database administrator can always adjust this option for you later on.

In this example, I’ll select Enterprise as my Responsible Manager and press Next to continue.

Choosing a Rate Type

The next step is to assign a Rate Type. This is the standard rate that will apply to any resources or roles assigned to the project. These rate types are set up and defined by the database administrator.

To assign a new rate type, select the Rate Type dropdown. For most projects, I recommend keeping this option on the default of Standard Rate.

Then, press Next.

The last screen is a congratulatory message indicating that the project has been created. Select Finish to exit the new project wizard.

Adjusting Project Information

With the project created, you’ll now see it available within the Projects list. The project will appear within the EPS layer you selected during creation. If you select the project from the list, you’ll be able to view details for it from the Project Details section. Here, you can adjust any project metadata if you made a mistake or need to shift project parameters. Even after the project has begun, you can still adjust these project details as needed.

Summary

In order to schedule using Primavera P6 Professional, you must first create a project. The project describes what you’re trying to do, such as the construction of a building. In P6, it’s extremely easy to create a project using the New Project Wizard. After pressing File > New, this wizard will walk you through the process of creating a project. Here, you’ll set metadata about your project, such as its name and ID and when it needs to start and finish. With your project created, you can continue to adjust any of this metadata if you made a mistake or things change. After creating your project in P6, you can continue to build your schedule by adding WBS layers, activities, and relationships. In the end, you’ll have a project plan, telling you when each activity should start and finish to ensure that the project completes on time.

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Lauren Hecker is the instructor for the Primavera P6 Professionals training courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!