Oracle has released Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12. Companies using Primavera P6 EPPM on premises can now upgrade to Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12. This annual release is a culmination of monthly updates that Oracle Cloud users have enjoyed throughout the year.
NOTE: If you’re a Primavera P6 Professional user, you can see what’s in the Primavera P6 Professinoal 20.12 release here.
So, here’s a look at what’s in the Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12 release.
Scheduling & Calendars
Adding Comments About Relationships
You can add extra information about the relationship by adding the Comments column in the Relationships detail window. This is great if you need to explain a lag or even the relationship itself. Relationship comments can be up to 250 characters long are stored in plain text.
Improved Control of Options When Scheduling Multiple Projects
When you schedule multiple projects together, you can select which of the open projects scheduling options will be used on the Advanced tab of the Schedule dialog box.
Financial Period Calendars Allow You to Use Different Financial Periods for Different Projects
You can create multiple financial period calendars with different periods. The different financial period calendars can have different durations as well as different start and end dates to each period, so you can have one calendar with financial periods of four weeks duration, another with weekly financial periods, and yet another with financial period calendars aligning with calendar months.
You can create new financial period calendars from scratch or duplicate an existing calendar as the basis for a new financial period calendar. Chose one financial period calendar to be the default for new projects and projects imported without a financial period calendar specified in the import file. Easily see which projects are using any financial period calendar and assign financial period calendars to your views to ensure data is spread according to the correct calendar for the project.
Resources
Categorize and Organize Assignments Using Codes
With potentially many thousands of active resource and role assignments across hundreds of projects, assignment codes provide another method for grouping, sorting, and filtering the assignments you need to access quickly.
Vary Role Prices Over Time
On the role administration page, the Prices and Limits detail windows have been combined. They are now known as the Units and Prices detail window. Each effective date can change not only the work limit (also known as Max Units/Time) but each of the rates for the role (also known as Price/Unit).
Fill Down and Across in Resource Assignment Spreadsheets
You can use fill down and across to populate data in spreadsheets on the Assignments pages in the Projects and Resources sections.
Distribute Work to Team Members on the Basis of More Codes
As well as Global and EPS-specific activity codes, you can use resource codes, role codes, and assignment codes in Team Member Work Distribution Filters.
Allow Team Members to See Baseline Dates
You can configure Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12 project preferences to allow baseline start and finish dates to be shown to team members using Team Member Web, P6 for Android or P6 for iOS. Team Members can see baseline start and finish dates for the project’s primary baseline in the My Activities page and in Timesheets.
Group approvals to see who has submitted updates
You can choose to group the Status Updates page of Approvals by resource. If you are assigned the Admin Superuser global security privilege, you can also choose to group the page to focus on status updates requiring your approval.
Import/Export
Import Lean Tasks from XML
You can import Lean Task data from a Primavera XML file. The import options available are Keep existing, Update existing and Do not import.
Prevent Risk Categories Being Imported from XER
When importing an XER into P6 Professional connected to a PPM or SQLite database, you can select not to import risk categories. However, risk categories are included when exporting to XER when connected to a PPM or SQLite database.
Risk categories are not exported to an XER file, nor imported from XER files (including from previous releases) when connected to an EPPM database.
Assignment Cost Exports
When you export to Primavera XML, Price Per Unit data for assignments is included in the export file.
Other Features
Improved Sorting and Grouping for Hierarchies in Grids
You can sort hierarchical data in ascending or descending order on the Grouping tab of the Manage Views dialog box. Selecting an order in the grouping tab, allows any grid in the application to be grouped by a hierarchical data item sorted in alphanumerical order, while still maintaining the structure of the hierarchy.
Grouping to a single level is also improved. All elements of the hierarchy are visible when grouped to level one. For example, in the resource assignments page, grouping by resource and selecting to group to level one, shows assignments with their respective resource even if that resource is at level two or below in the hierarchy.
User Defined Field Detail Windows
You can view, assign, edit, and delete the UDF assignments for activities, WBS nodes, projects, EPS nodes, resources, resources assignments, issues, and risks in a detail window.
Control How Codes Are Displayed
On the My Preferences page, a display format setting determines whether you see codes as the code value or the code description.
A Quicker Way to Customize Grids
The column menu is an intuitive and simple way to customize grids in the EPS, Activities, and Assignments pages. The drop down menu available in the heading of each column allows you to customize grouping and sorting, remove columns from the view, and rename columns. You can also pin columns to the start of the list, snap each column’s width to fit its contents, and find and replace text within a column.
Specify a Default View for Certain Pages in User Interface Views
You can select a specific view to be opened by default when a user assigned to a user interface view opens the EPS, Activities, or Assignments pages in the Projects section or the Assignments page in the Resources section.
Drag Gantt Chart Bars to Change Activities’ Dates
Dragging the start or end date of a bar on the Activities Gantt chart allows you to change the activity dates, change the activity duration, or set a constraint on the activity. For not started activities you can change the start date, finish date or duration. For in progress activities you can change the finish date or duration. You cannot change dates or durations for completed activities by dragging the bar.
Select the Type of Data to Copy with a WBS Element
When you copy and paste WBS elements, or add WBS elements to your project from a template, you can choose the data you want to copy from the WBS or template.
Status Update Notifications are Sent as Soon as Possible
Status update notifications are no longer distributed on the basis of a service running at a scheduled time. You will receive a notification of your actions required for status updates as soon as possible after the update has been made or resubmitted.
Reset User Logged into Other Applications
You can reset user sessions for users who are locked out of other applications connected to this database, including P6 Professional, P6 Visualizer, P6 Team Member Web, P6 for Android, or P6 for iOS.
Receive an Alert When a Unifier Schedule Sheet Service Has Failed
Project scheduled services for schedule sheet integration between P6 and Unifier can be configured to send an email to a specified list of recipients when a schedule sheet integration service fails. The project scheduled service also shows a notification to the owner of the service.
See Dates of Activities in the Schedule Project Log
The errors and warnings sections of the schedule project log include the start and finish dates of activities reported in those sections.
Print and Download Calendar Exceptions
You can print the list of exceptions for a calendar in the Enterprise Data page. You can also download the list to a spreadsheet.
Enhanced Page Loading Improves Performance of Reports in P6
The Enhanced Page Loading option on the Reports page of Application Settings improves the loading performance of the Reports page. When Enhanced Page Loading is switched on, reports are cached as you expand the report folder structure instead of all reports being cached as soon as the Reports page is loaded. It is only possible to search cached reports, therefore Oracle Recommends that if Enhanced Page Loading switched on, the entire report folder structure should be expanded to allow all projects to be cached before searching.
Limiting Potentially Harmful File Types Uploaded by Users
This Application Administration setting was previously available in the P6 Administration Application, and has been moved to the Application Administration pages. Here you can list the file types that Primavera P6 should refuse to upload or download as documents. The default values for this field include .exe, .com, .bat and other common file types used to contain executable scripts.
Exception Site List
Exception Site List option added to the General Page of the Application Settings pane: With this option, you can specify a list of websites that users can click on directly and launch from user defined fields (UDFs), projects websites, Notebook topics, and Team Member Web. For websites not included in the list, users can copy and paste them into their browser and launch them manually.
New Application Settings Page for Integration and Allow Lists
The Integration and Allow Lists page in Application Settings is the new location for the following settings all of which were previously on the General page:
- Document Management settings, including the security policy and list of file types blocked from upload.
- Unifier settings, including the Unifier URL, user name and password.
- Site Allow List. This was previously called the Exception Site List.
Team Member Features
Remove Actual Start In P6 Team Member Web, P6 for Android, and P6 for iOS
In P6 Team Member Web, users can clear the Started option in the progress panel of the My Activities and Action Required views to remove the actual start date and progress from an activity and set the activity to not started.
In P6 for Android, users can tap Clear in the date picker for the start date to remove the actual start date and progress from an activity and set the activity to not started.
In P6 for iOS, users can tap X next to the Started field to remove the actual start date and progress from an activity and set the activity to not started.
Users can also remove the actual finish date from activities in the Action Required page in P6 Team Member Web, P6 for Android, and P6 for iOS.
Allow Team Members to See Baseline Dates in P6 mobile
When project managers have configured baseline dates to be visible in the Activities and Timesheets pages of P6 Team Member Web, those same baseline dates will also be visible for users of P6 for Android, and P6 for iOS.
Allow More Than One Person To Approve Status Updates From Team Members
You can select up to five status update reviewers at project or WBS level and specify delegates for those reviewers. Choose whether any single reviewer can move an update to the accepted queue or that all of the reviewers must review before an update can be accepted.
Choose How Start Time is Recorded When a Team Member Starts a Not Started Activity
You can control how start time is recorded when a team member starts an activity or assignment in P6 Team Member Web, P6 for Android, or P6 for iOS for the first time on any activity or assignment with a scheduled start earlier than the current date and time. An application-wide setting allows you to specify whether the start time should be recorded as the start of the calendar work period, the start of the day (that is midnight on the scheduled start date), or the time at which the team member clicked the Start button.
Quarter-Hour Increments for Timesheets
In Team Member Web, an administrative setting allows you to specify that time entered in timesheets through Team Member Web, P6 for Android, and P6 for iOS should be rounded to the nearest quarter-hour. When time entry is set to quarter-hour, resources should enter time into their timesheets as a number of hours and either 00, 15, 30, or 45 minutes. If resources enter any other value for minutes, Team Member Web, P6 for Android, and P6 for iOS automatically round the value to the nearest quarter hour. You can use the same setting to specify that users must enter hours as either a decimal value or as hours and minutes. A corresponding setting on the Timesheets page of Application Settings in P6 allows you to specify that timesheet approvers see hours as a decimal value, hours and minutes, or rounded to the nearest quarter-hour.
Choose How Start Time is Recorded When a Team Member Starts a Not Started Activity
You can control how start time is recorded when a team member starts an activity or assignment in P6 Team Member Web, P6 for Android, or P6 for iOS for the first time on any activity or assignment with a scheduled start earlier than the current date and time. An application-wide setting allows you to specify
whether the start time should be recorded as the start of the calendar work period, the start of the day (that is midnight on the scheduled start date), or the time at which the team member clicked the Start button.
See the Entire Hierarchy of Codes in Team Member Web
In Team Member Web, when you select or view a code the entire code hierarchy is shown. The different levels of the code are separated with dots.
Improved Filtering in P6 Team Member Web
You can filter the activities visible in your timesheet by Project or WBS or by a custom filter you create. You can filter My Activities by WBS Code and WBS Name using the “is under” matching criterion.
Withdraw a Timesheet After Submission
In Team Member Web you can withdraw a timesheet after you have submitted it, if it has not yet been approved or rejected. Withdrawing a timesheet allows you to make changes or updates to the hours you have recorded.
Return to the Timesheet You Edited Most Recently
Previously, when you switched back to Timesheets after selecting My Activities, P6 Team Member Web opened the most recent timesheet available. Now P6 Team Member Web will open the most recent timesheet you were working in. When you reopen P6 Team Member Web after closing the application or after your session has timed out, the most recent timesheet available will be opened.
Participate in Discussions on the Timesheet Approvals Page
You can view and participate in discussions from the Timesheet Approvals page.
Improved Experience in P6 Mobile Applications
In P6 for Android and P6 for iOS you can see total float and you can remove the expected finish date for activities.
Daily Emails for Team Members and Reviewers
Team Member Email Notification settings in P6 Administrator allow daily emails to be sent to status update and timesheet reviewers. This can let them know when they have pending actions to status update and to inform users about recent timesheets or updates which have been approved or rejected. Primavera P6 EPPM Oracle Cloud users can submit a Service Request in My Oracle Support to have these settings switched on or off.
Team Member Users Can Select Which Database to Log Into
On the Team Member Web login page, you can expand the Advanced section to select a database to log into from the Database list. In the P6 for Android and P6 for iOS apps, when you scan the QR code in Team Member Web you can expand the Advanced section and use the Database list if you want to log into a different database. Your selection is remembered for next time you log into P6 for Android or P6 for iOS.
Delete Discussions in P6 for Android and P6 for iOS
If you have sufficient rights, you can delete discussion comments in the Activities list, in Timesheets and in your Action Required list when you are logged into P6 for Android or P6 for iOS.
See the Entire Hierarchy of Codes in P6 for iOS
In P6 for iOS you can tap on a code in the activity details to see the entire code value hierarchy of that code.
View and Edit Step User Defined Fields in P6 for Android and P6 for iOS
Users of P6 for Android and P6 for iOS can see and, if they have appropriate privileges, update UDFs assigned to steps.
Status of Activities and Assignments Visible in Activity Details in P6 for Android and P6 for iOS
You can easily determine the status of an activity in the Activity Details or Assignment Details pane by checking the Status field. The status field is not editable, but is automatically updated when you start or complete an activity or assignment.
Users Always See Rejected Timesheets
Users can always see all their rejected timesheets in P6 Team Member, regardless of the ‘Number of future timesheets users can access’ and ‘Number of past timesheets users can access’ settings in the Application Settings pane of P6 Team Member Web.
Summary
There’s a lot of very useful additions in this Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12 release along with some simple enhancements that make users life easier. If you are a current P6 EPPM user, by upgrading to Primavera P6 EPPM 20.12, you can now enjoy the new features that the Oracle Cloud users have had drip fed to them all year.
Again, if you’re a Primavera P6 Professional user, you can see what’s in the Primavera P6 Professinoal 20.12 release here.