Primavera Software
Primavera Software was launched in 1983 by Primavera Systems Inc., which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2008. Primavera software used by owned by Oracle. It is used by project management professionals and also can be linked with ERP systems. It handles multiple projects and can hold up to 100,000 activities with unlimited resources and an unlimited number of target plans. It’s MS Project on steroids.
Uses:
Mainly used for Planning, Monitoring, Controlling, and Reporting a project. Used by Planning engineers in the Construction field.
Planning
- It is used to create a project baseline program (set by the planning manager with the help of a site planning engineer). Also known as the Clause 14 program. This is the initial program used to find the actual sequence of activities to be followed for execution in the site.
- In primavera, the resources can be loaded to activities. Thus It is easy to get a better picture regarding the yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily program.
- In Huge projects, this information acts as vital to know the sequence of activities to prevent any delay in the project.
Monitoring (done by site planning engineer)
- Once the initial baseline program is set and finalized. We can now monitor the project very easily.
- The Baseline program can now be set in the program and can be monitored. So this gives an actual site progress status.
- This is comparatively very easy in primavera rather than any other software.
Controlling
- In primavera the Total Float, the free float can be easily calculated at the click of a button. Hence it is very easy to identify the critical and sub-critical activities and prevent them from a delay.
Reporting
- Reporting is made easy in primavera thanks to its numerous in-built layouts and formats which are customizable.
Used especially by
- Planning Engineers
- Planning Managers
- Project Managers
Primavera P6 is an Oracle software product designed for project, program, and portfolio management. It is a powerful, easy to use solution for planning, managing, and executing projects and programs.
Primavera Software can be used for all sizes of programs or projects from small companies to large-scale capital projects. It isn’t industry-specific and it’s currently used in healthcare, banking, IT, construction, government, and defense and is suitable for any company running a project or program.
Primavera P6 has two main versions, Primavera P6 PPM (commonly known as Primavera P6 Professional) and Primavera P6 EPPM (Enterprise Project Portfolio Management).
Advantages of Primavera P6
- True multi-user system with detailed permissions structures.
- Real-time reporting is available — therefore all users can receive up-to-the-minute data and pass it on to managers as events happen.
- The Dashboard and interface can be personalized for the individual user.
- It helps users recognize issues, potential hazards so that they can make informed decisions on their projects to have a successful outcome.
- Different areas of a project/program can be pulled out and reviewed without scrolling through the whole project/program data.
- Oracle and other third parties offer a suite of software products that are compatible with Primavera P6. These can integrate other areas of a project, such as Document Management, BIM, Estimating, Contract Management, Accounting, etc.
- Primavera P6 can be used on multiple devices such as tablets and mobiles, allowing users to access their project information anytime, anywhere.
Disadvantages of Primavera P6
- The main disadvantage is not using it to its full potential. The end-user, (schedulers, programmers, project managers) will be faced with a new installation and may only use it to their level of understanding. This is a powerful tool and employees should be trained, either from an online or scheduled class, to maximize their full potential.
- Primavera P6 supports better quality schedules and a more consistent approach to project management. This can be a learning curve for inexperienced schedulers.
Primavera P6 PPM
Primavera P6 Professional is a standalone project scheduling tool that is installed on individual users’ computers. It can be used as a standalone tool or used to access a locally installed database. To confuse matters, it can also access P6 EPPMs central database and be used as a client in a multi-user system when data needs to be shared with others.
Primavera P6 Professional is favored by power users working on capital projects. Typical industries include Engineering, Construction, Aerospace, Defense, Utilities, Oil, and Gas. Schedulers and project managers in these industries work with detailed schedules and need fast, accurate scheduling using the critical path method. These are vital elements for these time-sensitive environments where fast-paced project planning and execution are a must.
Primavera P6 EPPM
Primavera P6 EPPM is a true enterprise tool. It is 100% web-based, so it runs in a browser and connects to a webserver that serves-up a visually-rich interface. The web server also connects to the main database where all of your project information is stored. This database can be Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, which most major organizations have standardized on already. Therefore it doesn’t have to be individually installed on employees’ computers. Although it is a more complex installation, most IT departments would be able to achieve it and there is plenty of external support from vendors.
Because Primavera P6 EPPM is web-based, it can be accessed from any location that has internet access. Because of the central database, there is greater scope for multiple projects or portfolios of projects from across the whole organization. And, senior management does enjoy the portfolios and dashboard capabilities providing valuable insights into performance across the organization.
As it is web-based it relies on the speed of the Internet or your local network. And if the Internet goes down, no work can be done. Slow access will affect performance, with users having to wait for pages to load before they can work on them.
Summary
You can see why project and program professionals get confused about these two products. Without understanding the differences between them, it’s quite easy for a company to select the wrong one or the wrong mix of both for their organization.

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