Primavera P6 & Scheduling: 10 Best Practices That Separate Pros from Beginners

A schedule is a communication tool first, a calculation tool second. These ten habits will make yours trusted by every stakeholder.

1. WBS before activities. Never open Primavera without a signed-off WBS.
2. One activity, one deliverable. Avoid mega-activities that hide risk.
3. Calendars matter. Model real working weeks, weather and public holidays.
4. Logic quality > volume. Every activity needs a predecessor and successor, except start & finish.
5. Minimise constraints. A constrained schedule is a lying schedule.
6. Baseline early. A schedule without a baseline is unmeasurable.
7. Actuals must reflect reality. Progress by physical evidence, not perception.
8. Analyse float. Track total-float trends by phase.
9. Risk-loaded schedule. Run quantitative risk analysis on major submissions.
10. Report the story. Charts + one paragraph explaining variances beats a raw Gantt every time.

Recommended course

Our Mastering Project Scheduling & Controlling diploma covers all ten in depth with Primavera P6 examples.