In Oracle Primavera Cloud, Scenarios are what-if versions of your project schedule. Similar to baselines, you can create a scenario at any time to save a copy of your project as-is. However, unlike baselines, you can adjust scenarios to test what-if situations. For example, if deadlines change or risks occur, you might want to see the effect of these changes on the project. With scenarios, you can apply these changes without affecting the current schedule. If these changes weren’t ideal, you can get back to your previous project copy with ease. However, you can also choose to replace the current schedule with the scenario version if desired. OPC Scenarios are very similar to Reflections back in Primavera P6.

In this article, we will cover how to work with schedule scenarios in Oracle Primavera Cloud. First, we’ll go over how to create, open and edit scenarios. Then, we will look at how to replace the current schedule’s data with the scenario’s data. Scenarios are available to any Oracle Primavera Cloud user assigned the Schedule license type.

What are Scenarios?

Scenarios are what-if copies of the project schedule. You can create a scenario from either the current schedule, or a version of the schedule from the past. Scenarios exist within the project schedule – meaning one file hosts both the current schedule and the scenario versions. With scenarios, you can evaluate different project situations while keeping the current schedule intact. From within the Activities screen, you can open and edit a scenario at any time. But again, changes made in the scenario won’t affect the current schedule in any way.

You can create as many scenarios as needed for a single project. After making changes to a scenario, you can quickly compare the scenario’s values with the current schedule’s values using the Schedule Comparison tool. If you end up liking the changes made in the scenario, you can even choose to replace the current schedule with the scenario version.

Creating a Scenario

To create a schedule scenario, you will first need to open a project. Within the open project, navigate to the Activities screen by selecting the Main Menu > Schedule > Activities.

On the Activities screen, select Actions > Add Scenario.

In the Add Scenario window, give the scenario a distinct Name and Description. Under Source, you can choose what to create this scenario from. You can create a scenario from the current schedule, a created baseline, or another scenario. You can also choose to create a scenario From History – this will allow you to copy the project as it was at another point in time.

In this example, I’ll create a scenario from the current schedule.

With the scenario data entered in, select Add.

The scenario will be created in the background of the program, and you’ll receive a notification once it is complete. When you receive this notification, refresh the page. Now, you can access your scenario by opening it within the Activities screen.

Opening & Closing Scenarios

With the scenario created, you can now access it at any time from the Open menu on the Activities page. The Open menu will allow you to switch between schedule versions – such as the current schedule, baselines, or scenarios. The program will warn you before opening the scenario – select OK in this window. With the scenario open, the Activities screen will display a banner, indicating that you’re working in a scenario.

From the Open menu, you can switch back to the Current Schedule from the scenario, and back to the scenario from the Current Schedule.

Any changes made to the activities in the table will only save to the opened project version. If you have a scenario open, changes will save to the scenario and will not affect the current schedule. With the Current Schedule open, changes will save only to the current schedule and won’t affect any baselines or scenarios

Add New Activities from the Current Schedule to the Scenario

With the scenario created, it will remain as a static copy of the project you created it from. Changes will only save to the scenario if you have the scenario open when making those adjustments. If you make changes to the current schedule, these changes will not automatically apply to the scenario copy. These are now two separate versions of the same project plan.

However, at any time, you can pull new activities from the current schedule into the scenario copy. This will update the scenario with any activities you added to the current schedule after creating the scenario. To do this, open the desired scenario and select Actions > Get Activities.

In the Get Activities window, you can search through the WBS layers of your project and select any of the activities to add to the scenario. You can choose a single activity or multiple ones – you don’t have to automatically add them all. This tool will add up to 100 activities from the current schedule to the scenario copy. All data included within those activities – such as dates, durations, and assignments, will be added to the scenario as well.

Once selected, press Get.

The open scenario will update to add the selected activities.

Setting the Scenario as the Current Schedule

Any changes made in the scenario will not automatically affect the current schedule. However, you can choose to make scenario adjustments permanent by setting the scenario as the current schedule. This will replace the current schedule version of the project with the scenario version, including all changes made.

Before performing this action, it’s important to note that this can not be undone. Once you change the scenario to the current schedule, you can not revert back to the previous schedule version. However, you can always create a baseline or a scenario from a past date or time to overwrite these changes if needed.

To replace the current schedule with the scenario version, first open the scenario. Then, select Actions > Set as Current Schedule.

A window will open, warning you that you cannot undo this action. Select Set to continue.

Once set, the current project will open, and it will now take on the settings of the previous scenario version. The scenario will no longer be available from the Open menu, as it is now the current schedule.

Managing Scenarios

Once created, you can edit, delete and manage scenarios from the Manage Scenarios window. To open this window, select Actions > Manage Scenarios.

In the Manage Scenarios window, you’ll see a list of scenarios with their associated data. From here, you can do a variety of different things:

Deleting Scenarios

If you need to delete a scenario, select the context menu next to it and select Delete.

Renaming Scenarios

To rename a scenario or add a description, double click within the current Name or Description field to adjust it.

Adjusting Scenario Visibility

To hide a scenario from the Open menu, select the visibility icon to either hide or show the scenario as needed.

Adjusting Scenario Type

Under the Type field, you can switch the scenario status to either What-if or Closed. Closed scenarios will not display within the Open menu. You would set a scenario as Closed if you were no longer using it within the program. What-if is the default status type for active scenarios. What-if scenarios will appear in the Open menu.

After making changes in this window, select Save to save those changes. 

Comparing the Scenario with Another Schedule Version

With your scenario added, you may want to compare it with the original schedule. This comparison will quickly show how the activities, dates, and durations differ between the two versions. When determining whether to make changes to the project schedule, this tool will show the total effect of the changes on the overall project.

You can compare a scenario with the current schedule, a baseline, or another scenario. Schedule comparisons will allow you to compare all data between the two schedules – such as activities added or deleted and changed dates.

To perform a schedule comparison, select the Main Menu > Schedule > Schedule Comparison.

On the Schedule Comparison page, you can choose two schedule versions to compare. Using the Original and Revised dropdown fields, select a schedule version for each. You can choose from the current project schedule, a scenario, or a baseline. Typically, you would assign your original schedule as Original, and your scenario as Revised.

Then, press Compare.

Using the table and the Gantt Chart, you can now compare data between the two selected schedules. On this page, you can add additional columns for any value you wish to compare. For each column, you’ll see three values: Original, Revised, and Variance. The values under Original are for the original schedule, while those under Revised are for the scenario. Under Variance, you can see the difference between the two values. Now, you can compare how the project changes due to the scenario in order to decide whether to move forward with it.

Summary

In Oracle Primavera Cloud, scenarios allow you to create a copy of your project for experimentation. You can create scenarios to test what-if situations without affecting your current schedule. For example, you might need to shorten your project’s duration. With scenarios, you can compare different schedule compression techniques, like fast tracking and crashing. If you don’t end up liking the result within the scenario, you can always return back to the current schedule. However, you can also choose to replace the current schedule with the scenario to make the changes permanent. With scenarios, you plan your projects better without having to risk any work you’ve done so far.

To learn more about Oracle Primavera Cloud, please refer to our OPC page here. If you would like to set up an OPC training or implementation session, please contact us here.

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Lauren Hecker is an Oracle Primavera Cloud, Primavera P6, and Microsoft Project instructor who teaches onsite and virtual scheduling courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!