Oracle Primavera External Data Source

This topic describes options and steps specific to Oracle Primavera projects.

Primavera P6 XER and XML Files

XER files are the standard means of exporting data outside of a P6 database. You do not need P6 installed on your computer to link and import XER or XML files into Acumen.

Primavera P6 linking supports custom field mapping (normal, code, and user defined fields).

When you export an Acumen project as an Oracle Primavera P6 XER file, any existing user-defined fields are included in the export and are available for use in Primavera.

After importing Primavera XML files, Acumen runs time analysis to calculate values such as total float and free float because the XML files do not include this information.

Primavera P6 Web Services

Acumen includes direct integration to Primavera P6 through web-services (v8.2 and v8.3). This means that all P6 8.2 and 8.3 users can link directly to Primavera to analyze their projects. You can import a single project or multiple projects from Primavera P6 web services.

Acumen uses profiles to connect to P6 Web Services servers. The system can store multiple profiles that include the address, user name, password, and so on.

When you connect to P6 Web Services, your user ID must be authenticated in order to retrieve information. Authentication type determines the means by which a user's identity is authenticated against the user account. You can select Cookie or UserToken as the authentication type, depending on how your P6 Web Server has been configured.

When you import a Primavera P6 file through web services, you have the option to:

• Use your current profile (Acumen remembers the last profile used).
• Select a different profile.
• Add, edit, or delete profiles.

When you create or edit a profile, contact your P6 Administrator if you need information for the fields.

When you import a project from Primavera P6 Web Services, you can browse through the projects on the Project Selection dialog box using a Flat view or the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) view.

The Flat View tab includes all available project codes and allows you to group and filter. Using this view, you can:

• Sort by clicking on a column header.
• Drag a column header up to the "group by" bar above to group. If you drag first one and then a second, you can add a sub-level group. For example, if you drag a column header called Current Phase and then a column header called Business Process up to the "group by" bar, the projects are grouped first by Current Phase and then by Business Process.
• Click on a column header to display filter options to filter by specific data. The filter selection displays at the bottom of the dialog box. Remove the filter by clicking the X next to the filter at the bottom of the dialog box.

Oracle Primavera Platform Options

Use the Deltek Acumen Options dialog box to set specific options for Oracle Primavera.

Primavera P6 Workbook Baselines

Acumen allows you to assign a P6 baseline schedule to a P6 schedule so that you can compare baseline data with the current schedule.

XER files exported from Primavera P6 do not contain associated baseline project data. This is a challenge when running metrics within Acumen that compare baseline data with the current schedule.

To overcome this, you can assign a given P6 baseline schedule to a P6 schedule that has been brought into an Acumen workbook. This process merges a baseline dataset with the current project dataset overcoming the issue of baselines not natively being saved as part of an XER export from P6.

You can tell if a baseline has been assigned to a schedule by looking for the black B ( ) on the Primavera P6 file icon in the Projects panel of the workbook on the S1 // Projects tab.

A Primavera file can be assigned as both a snapshot and a baseline in a single step.

Loading a Multi-Project XER as a Single-Project Baseline

You can import a multi-project XER (master project with subprojects) into Acumen as a single-project baseline. This allows you to have baseline dates for metrics when you use multi-project XER files.

Primavera Risk Analysis

Acumen uses your installed copy of Risk Analysis (V8.x and higher), formerly known as Pertmaster, to link directly to Primavera Risk Analysis files.

You must have Risk Analysis installed on your PC in order to link and to import .plan files from a Risk Analysis file. If you don't have Risk Analysis installed, you can:

• Natively read .plnx files into Acumen.
• Import .plnx files generated in Risk Analysis.

In addition to importing cost and schedule data, Acumen imports both risk input and risk output data from your Risk Analysis file. This enables you to conduct advanced risk-based analytics. Risk Analysis linking supports custom field mapping.

Note: You cannot run risk analysis on files imported from Primavera Risk Analysis.

Oracle Primavera Text Encoding

Select Text Encoding to ensure that all characters in a file import display correctly.

Oracle Primavera XER files do not include any information about what is being used to encode the files. If the file you are importing does not use standard encoding (for example, it uses Russian instead of English), then the characters may not display correctly when you import the file.To ensure that all characters in a file import display correctly, select Text Encoding after you link a project and before you import the data.