Variance Analysis in Project Control
The determination of Early & Late Planned %, Actual % and Variance % is one of the key components in project control. Many planning engineers spend the time and effort to determine these percentages in every progress update cycle. They calculate and report these percentages for the overall project and the key project areas. However, variance analysis should […]
The Power of ONE
Planning Engineers are overwhelmed with so many tools and files. They use different tools such as Primavera P6 for progress review, excel for progress analysis and PowerPoint for progress presentation. Moreover, they use many excel sheets for different purposes which may include: Variance Analysis, Breakdown Analysis, Trends, Dashboards, Progress Curves, a Progress Matrix, Gantt Charts, etc. You can apply […]
Static Progress Reports Are Dead
While projects are getting only more complex, many planning engineers still prepare static progress reports. They spend most of their time performing calculations and working with many excel sheets. The outcome is an ineffective static report, whereas the value is not proportionate to the amount of time and effort that is spent to deliver this outcome. The […]
Breakdown Analysis with Power BI
Breakdown analysis is essential to help projects move forward. If your project is falling behind by $1M that you should have collected by now, the next logical questions would be: “Where is the shortfall coming from?” “Which activities should I have completed by now that caused the payment deficit, and by how much?” A planning […]
Track activity performance with Power BI
Planning Engineers are so busy looking at the variance and the associated metrics such as the difference between the planned and actual %’s or SPI. We are so obsessed with analyzing where we are and where we need to go. Nothing is wrong with that but it limits our ability to identify the root cause of delay […]
3 ways for a killer planning engineer’s CV with Power BI
As the market has become more competitive, Planning Engineers who have average skills struggle to improve their careers. You have to find ways to add significant value and stand out from the competition. There are many ways to add value in the project control profession. However, I would recommend that you start improving yourself in the below areas where […]
Interactive dashboards in project control
Here is one story that planning engineers are familiar with. You decided to identify the progress issues and determine the root cause of the delay. You start to do the following in an effort to pursue this dream. Open the XER file and add any relevant columns to your layout. Apply P6 filters Copy data into […]
Why should planning engineers connect the drawings with the schedule model?
If you have been following my content, you know that I am not really a big fan of the traditional P6/Excel type of work in project control. My mission is to change the way we plan and control our projects worldwide. Only then, planning engineers can add more value and become a huge success factor […]
How can Power BI help consultants add value in progress meetings?
As the Contractor is the constructor of the project, a lot of work is typically required from the Contractor. This includes the execution, preparing the engineering submittals, monitoring the procurement activities, collecting progress data, preparing progress reports, analyzing the project performance, proposing recovery measures, and creating progress presentations – just to name a few. For […]
The #1 mistake planning engineers make in Power BI
I tend to share a lot about the applications of Power BI in Project Control because it is truly amazing. It is something that I wished to have when I started my career a long time ago. Power BI can help planning engineers provide immense value to their teams and help projects move forward. However, […]