Planning Using Primavera Project Planner P3 Version 3.1 Revised 2006 [Spiral-bound]

Paul E. Harris (Author)

Book Description

This book is an update of the 2004 book and includes updated student workshops, many pages of revised text and covers more functions of the software. It is aimed at any industry such as building, construction, oil & gas, software development, government and defence. It is designed to teach planners and schedulers how setup and use the software in a project environment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Fastest way to become productive with P3, April 12, 2002 ike Tarrani from Tustin, CA USA This book cuts through the voluminous, daunting documentation that ships with P3 and gets you quickly started in harnessing the power of this full-featured PM application. If you've used P3 you'll understand the steep learning curve. If you're seeking a book because your company is implementing P3 you'll appreciate the value of this book. The approach taken by the author is to step you through the common tasks of planning, scheduling and controlling a project, using an example project. The value of this approach is you focus on the important features and functions, instead of getting lost in the myriad of other features that you may or may not use. The book is designed to get you started with P3, not make you a P3 wizard, so this approach boils it down to the essentials. What makes the book effective is the copious use of screen shots from the program, which serve as landmarks, and the way the author conversationally discusses the finer points of project management in general while teaching you how to use P3. For example, in Chapter 9 where you'll be walked through adding logic to activities, you'll not only be shown how to perform this task, but given reasons why you should use one approach from among four possibilities to establish relationships. In this example the choices are start-to-start, finish-to-start, start-to-finish and finish-to-finish. This is but one example in which project management techniques are imparted with P3-specific procedures, and it adds value to the book. What I most like about this book is the way the author sticks to the basics, uses exercises called workshops, and resists the urge to get fancy and confuse the reader. In this respect, what he wisely leaves out of the book is as important as what is included. The tutorial approach makes this book ideal as a personal learning tool, and the structure and use of workshops makes this book useful as a training guide for companies that intend to conduct in-house training. Another point is the project management techniques that the authors shares are consistent with both the PMI PMBOK and the UK PRINCE2 methodologies, further adding to the book's value. If you are using P3 this book is the quickest way to become productive. Frank Borcherdt from Sydney Australia Approximately 300 pages of instruction on how best to set up and configure P3. As an experienced user of P3, I found the many tips on "pitfalls to avoid" and "best practice" very useful. It is a step by step guide including some 24 workshops that ensured I had understood the material before moving onto the next topic. User access to the software is essential for these workshops. I liked the "New features in Version 3.0" chapter, as it consolidated all that is new into a single handy reference.

About the Author

About Paul E. Harris - Author Paul Harris is the founder and director of Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd,. a Melbourne Australia consulting firm that serves project management professionals, engineers and large organizations around the world. Eastwood Harris offers high level consulting and training on project management and controls. Harris is the author of more than a dozen books on project management software and is a Certified Cost Engineer, a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner, and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Learn more about Paul by visiting www.eastwoodharrisbooks.com

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 298 pages
• Publisher: Eastwood Harris; 3rd edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1921059133
• ISBN-13: 978-1921059131
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,317,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Primavera Training at Your Desk!- Good for Beginners and Those Who Need Skill Backfilling, February 28, 2008

By 

Marsha (Pauma Valley, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Planning Using Primavera Project Planner P3 Version 3.1 Revised 2006 (Spiral-bound)

I am a project scheduling consultant that supports my clients' P3 scheduling effort daily. I also offer training to my clients because the process of developing the P3 project schedule surfaces project issues quickly, and that insight should be accessible to field and management staff throughout the project duration.

I share with my clients not only what Primavera P3 software can do, but why the P3 software works as it does. This book, recently revised and updated by Paul E. Harris, supports this approach entirely.

I've used this book in my training classes several times because Paul Harris has structured the sequence of this book with practical steps, which, when followed as he writes them, captures a valid, repeatable methodology that I've found, in my experience, works. He has layered the chapters in such a way that, if the beginner doesn't want to or need to start learning the software by jumping immediately into resource and cost loading, they are directed to those topics needed for baseline generation and updating processes. He does, however, include those as advanced topics, so that the student who wants to learn how resource loading can be utilized in Primavera P3 has a great guide to that often-ignored and poorly implemented software feature.

What I especially appreciate is that Paul Harris' approach includes practical instructions for actually using the software, and combines that with classic CPM project management methodology. My students and clients use this as their Primavera P3 desk reference every day.


As a Yank, my only translation issue with a book written by an Aussie comes with spelling and the use of Australian holidays. No worries, it's well worth the effort.