Primavera P6 User Defined Fields are a great tool for expanding schedule management and analysis. User Defined Fields (UDFs) can be found in the Enterprise area drop down.
Figure 1 – Enterprise Drop Down List with User Defined Fields Shown
P6 User Defined Fields allow us to assign specific data types to activities. Personally, I use this in conjunction with Global Change for many functions that I would normally have to perform in a spreadsheet.
Creating UDFs is simple and extremely useful. There is an option for selecting the Subject Area such as Activities or Projects. Usually, I only need to use the Activities selection.
Figure 2 – UDF Subject Area
Adding the Title and Data Type is also simple. Just enter the name (Title) for the UDF and then select the data type you need from the Data Type column drop menu for the UDF.
Figure 3 – UDF with Title and Data Type
Summary
As you can see from this very simple sample of UDFs, I have two cost related UDFs and four text UDFs. I use the Cost UDFs, with Global Changes I have set up, to quickly determine Actual Cost This Period and Pervious Period Actual Cost values. I will cover Global Changes in a future blog.
I use the Text UDFs for adding blank columns to my schedule update worksheet pdf layout to create a place for field staff to simply write in progress data. This is one method field staff can easily use to record and report progress data. There are a number of ways to record and report progress data. This is just one method.
There are an almost unlimited number of uses for the Primavera P6 User Defined Fields. You can create a UDF for use with filters and sorting based on values determined with a Global Change formula. If you have not explored UDFs yet or tried using them with Global Changes, give it a try. Just be careful with Global Changes; use a copy of a schedule that you can stand to ruin, just in case!