Schedule brings the programme into the project so the site team can see it without opening planning software, and so progress can be measured against a baseline.
This topic includes:
Import a programme
The programme is imported rather than typed:
- CSV — a spreadsheet exported from any planning tool.
- Microsoft Project XML (MSPDI) — exported directly from Project.
The importer reads the task name, the dates, the duration, percentage complete and the outline level, and rebuilds the work breakdown from the indentation, so summary tasks stay summary tasks.
The imported programme.
Note: P6's own XER format is not read. Every planning tool exports one of the two formats above, so exporting once is the shorter path.
Views
- Gantt — the programme on a timeline.
- Three-week lookahead — what is starting and finishing soon, which is the view a site meeting actually uses.
Variance against a baseline
Each import is kept as a version. Nominating one as the baseline lets the tool show variance: which activities have moved, by how many days, and in which direction. Summary rows are excluded from the totals so that a parent and its children are not both counted.