Project Timelines from Primavera P6 in OnePager

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OnePager can import your Primavera P6 project plan and create rich, dynamic timelines and project reports in no time at all. To see how it works, you can download a 15-day free trial of OnePager and follow along with either of our two sets of instructions:

1. Direct import of Primavera P6 data (XML/XER format)
2. Import of Primavera P6 data through Excel

Direct Method

OnePager has the ability to directly import data from Primavera P6 in either XML or XER format. Here's how:

1. Start with your project plan in Primavera P6. Here, we have multiple activities scheduled within a WBS. We are going to import the activities into OnePager, and use the WBS to align activities into a timeline, and also to group them into swimlanes:

   

2. To export your project, go to File > Export and choose either an XML or an XER format. Click through the rest of the wizard until your project is exported:

   

3. Next, go to your desktop or Windows Start menu, and launch OnePager:

   

4. When the OnePager start screen appears, click on New to start building a new timeline from Primavera P6:

   

5. When the import wizard appears, choose Select > BROWSE Primavera P6 Files:

   

6. With your Primavera P6 file selected, give your OnePager timeline a name. We'll also change our Task Selection to only import non-summary P6 activities into the chart:

   

7. When you're ready, click Create New Chart and OnePager will import your Primavera P6 project into a Gantt chart that initially looks like this:

   

8. The initial version of our chart is more of a Gantt chart layout, with a swimlane grouping on the left-hand side based on the top level of the WBS in Primavera P6. We want to convert this to a timeline layout based on the second level of the WBS, so that all activities that are memebers of the same level-two WBS parent task will be lined up left-to-right in the same row.

   To make this change, go to Home > Chart Properties > Rows/Swimlanes and change the Task Layout from a Gantt Chart to Timeline based on the Level 2 Summary Name, which is the second level of the WBS from Primavera P6. We'll also add a Left #2 sub-swimlane based on the same Level 2 Summary Name:

   

9. Click OK, and OnePager will regroup your chart so that there are still swimlanes based on the first level of the WBS, and then a timeline based on the second level of the WBS:

   

10. The last thing that we want to do is assign a unique color to each workstream, which is based on the second-level WBS from Primavera P6. To do this, go to Home > Chart Properties > Task Bars, and change the Foreground Color to be based on the Level 2 Summary Name:

    

11. Click OK, and OnePager will color-code the activities in your chart based on their Primavera P6 WBS assignments:

    

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Excel Method

OnePager can also import Primavera P6 projects that have been exported to Excel. Here's how:

1. Open your project plan in Primavera P6, as shown below. The default Gantt chart in Primavera P6 is difficult to read, and doesn't do a good job of summarizing your project plan:

   

2. Export your Primavera P6 project schedule to Excel by going to File > Export. OnePager will be able to import your project plan once it is converted to an Excel format. For the Export Type, choose Spreadsheet - (XLSX) and click Next:

   

3. OnePager is going to import your activities from Primavera P6 for the timeline, so on the next screen, choose an Export Type of Activities, and then click Next:

   

4. On the next screen, Primavera P6 asks which project(s) you want to export. Each of these will be exported to a separate Excel file. For this example, we'll just export one Primavera P6 schedule and then click Next again:

   

5. Primavera P6 gives you lots of options when you export to Excel. OnePager is pretty flexible, and can work with whatever data you decide to export from P6. We recommend exporting "Activity ID," "Activity Name," "Start" and "Finish," at minimum. In the example below, you'll see that you can include additional information from your P6 project plan as well. Specifically, we'll also include the "Project Name" and the "WBS Name" as these fields are good for grouping and sorting.

   

   In this case, we created a "OnePager" template to use with future Primavera P6 exports. Click OK once you have the fields that you need.

6. Click Next again until you get to the final screen and then click Finish to complete the export from Primavera P6 to Excel.

7. Once you have exported your P6 plan, open it in Excel, and it should look similar to the example below. This spreadsheet has been formatted a little to make it easier to read, but the default Primavera P6 export will work fine, too:

   

   We normally follow Primavera's recommendation to delete the second row of column headings so that each field from P6 only has one name instead of two.

8. Next, click the OnePager icon on the Add-Ins tab of Excel. From the Start screen that appears, choose New. Your Excel export from Primavera P6 will be the source file for your timeline:

   

   OnePager gives you the ability to give your project report a name, and to specify a snapshot or status date. As you update your Primavera P6 plan in future weeks or months, you can update your OnePager chart with a new snapshot of your project.

9. Click Next, and the second page of the wizard will let you choose which fields from Primavera P6 you would like to use in your OnePager timeline:

   

10. Click the Create new chart button, and OnePager will create a dynamic Gantt Chart based on the data you exported from Primavera P6:

    

11. The example above is more of a Gantt chart layout. If you would like to create a true timeline for your Primavera P6 project, follow these remaining steps. To create a timeline where all tasks for the project are lined up left-to-right, go to Home > Chart Properties > Rows/Swimlanes. Switch to a Timeline Layout based on the project name ("project__proj_name") field, and ensure your swimlanes are grouped the same way:

    

12. Click OK, and OnePager will regroup and resort the activities from Primavera P6 into a single timeline, aligned left-to-right:

    

13. You can also create a hybrid Gantt Chart-Timeline layout where each phase of your project gets its own swimlane, but all of the tasks within each phase are aligned left-to-right like a timeline. To do this, return to Home > Chart Properties > Rows/Swimlanes. Switch your Timeline Layout and and your Swimlanes to be based on the WBS parent task ("wbs_name") field instead of based on the project name:

    

14. Click OK again, and OnePager will realign the activities in your chart so that each section of your schedule gets its own timeline, with segmentation based on the WBS that you exported from Primavera P6:

    

OnePager is the easiest way to summarize or present a Primavera P6 project in a simple timeline view. Because OnePager is a data-driven application, there are endless possibilities as to the types of timelines you can create from your Primavera P6 project plan.

Get started today by downloading a free trial.

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