primavera p6 activity codes

Mastering Primavera P6 Activity Codes: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Assigning [2024]

How to arrange activities in Primavera P6? Navigating the complexities of project management requires not only skill and dedication but also the right tools in your arsenal. Among these, Primavera P6 stands out as a beacon of efficiency, offering unparalleled features to streamline project planning and execution. Central to its utility are the capabilities to create activity codes in Primavera P6 and assign activity codes in Primavera P6, functionalities that elevate project organization to new heights. In this deep dive, we’ll explore the ins and outs of activity codes in Primavera P6—what they are, why they’re indispensable, and how mastering their creation and assignment can transform your project management strategy. Whether you’re a seasoned P6 user or new to the platform, understanding how to effectively utilize activity codes will provide you with a solid foundation for managing your projects more efficiently and with greater clarity.

Primavera P6 Activity Codes enable to make group and sort, filter activities by some specific value such as area, responsible manager, discipline, department, payment categories, etc. Activity codes help to make effective reporting. With the help of activity codes, schedulers planning engineers and other users can create so many different types of work performance reports. This article shows how to create and assign activity (assign activity codes in Primavera P6)  codes in Primavera P6.

Primavera P6 Activity Codes

Project managers and upper management often want to receive particular activity reports to understand the current performance of their projects. Therefore schedulers must use the activity codes to support reporting. WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) can be used for this purpose; however, creating reports based on the WBS codes it is not enough to create all types of reports.

Activity codes allow you to organize activities into logical groups based on your project’s requirements. In Primavera P6, an activity code can be Global, EPS (Enterprise Project Structure), or Project. Global activity codes categorize activities across all projects within the organization. EPS categorize activities within a specific node of the EPS (Enterprise Project Structure). Project activity codes categorize the project activities based on specific groups and deliverables or features within a project.

In Primavera P6, you can create many activity codes according to specific requirements and assign them to the activities. For instance, let’s say your project has several departments and you want to review the performance of each department by analyzing the activities that are under their responsibility. For this purpose, the first thing is to create an script and name it as a department.

Once you create the activity codes and assign them, you can easily group, sort, and filter the activities.

Best Practices for Activity Code Management

  • How to Import Activity Codes in P6 from Excel: For those migrating or integrating data from other systems, Primavera offers the capability to import activity codes from Excel, streamlining the setup process for large projects.
  • How to Filter Activity Code in P6: Utilizing filters based on activity codes can help project managers focus on specific segments of their project, improving oversight and resource allocation.
  • How to Export Activity Codes from P6 to Excel: Exporting activity codes facilitates reporting, analysis, and sharing of project data outside of Primavera P6, enhancing collaboration and stakeholder communication.
  • How to Copy Activity Codes from One Project to Another: This functionality is invaluable for maintaining consistency across multiple projects within an organization, saving time and ensuring standardization.

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The Importance of Activity Codes in Primavera P6

Primavera P6 are not just organizational tools; they’re the backbone of effective project management. These codes allow project managers to classify, filter, and report project activities efficiently, making it easier to track progress and identify areas requiring attention. Also, understanding how to filter activity code in P6 and leveraging the Primavera event code list are crucial steps in maximizing project visibility and control.

Step 1: Creating Activity Codes in P6

The first step to harnessing the power of Primavera P6 is learning how to create activity code. Also, this process begins in the Enterprise menu, where you can define global, project-specific, or EPS (Enterprise Project Structure) codes. Remember, assigning the following activity global codes and values against each activity ensures consistency and clarity across projects.

  1. Navigate to the Enterprise menu and select Activity Codes.
  2. Choose the level at which you want to create the code (Global, Project, or EPS).
  3. Click the “Add” button and enter a name and description for your new code.
  4. Define the values or items for the code, which will be the options available when assigning codes to activities.

Step 2: Assigning Activity Codes

After creating your codes, the next step is to assign them to project activities. Also, this process is straightforward:

  1. Open your project and select the Activities view.
  2. Select an activity or multiple activities to which you want to assign codes.
  3. Right-click and navigate to Assign → Activity Codes.
  4. Choose the appropriate code and value for the selected activities.

Creating Activity Codes in Primavera P6

For better understanding, let’s take a glance at the example below.

Assume that we have a sample pipeline project as displayed in Figure 1.

Sample Pipeline Project Primavera P6

Figure 1 – Sample Pipeline Project

As shown in Figure 1, we have mainline activities such as Pre-Construction Survey, Clearing, and Grading, Welding, NDE/NDT, etc., and the project manager demanded a report which is organized by specific activity groups.

In order to do this, we will define activity codes and assign them to each activity.

To define the activity codes, select Enterprise | Activity Codes as shown in Figure 2.

Primavera P6 Tutorial

Figure 2

We will select the “Modify” button in the Activity Codes window as shown in Figure 3.

Oracle Primavera P6 Tutorial

Figure 3

We will select the “Add” button in the Activity Code Definitions – Project window as shown in Figure 4.

Oracle Primavera P6 Tutorial

Figure 4

We will type “Activity Types” for the code name and select “Close”. Then we will turn back to the Activity Codes window and see the Activity Types code as shown in Figure 5.

Create and assign activity codes in Primavera P6 Figure 5

Figure 5

By selecting “Add”, we will define all the activity types such as Pre-Construction Survey, Clearing, and Grading, Welding as shown in Figure 6.

Primavera P6 Activity Codes Figure 6

Figure 6

After creating all the codes, we will close this window and turn back to assign them.

How Do I Add Activity Codes in Primavera P6?

The easiest way of assigning activity codes to the activities is to use the columns. Also, to do this, we will add the column “Activity Types” to the activities table, and assign the activity codes that we defined at the beginning, Figure 7.

Primavera P6 Activity Codes Figure 7

Figure 7

As shown in Figure 8, all the activity codes are assigned to the activities.

Create and assign activity codes in Primavera P6 Figure 8

Figure 8

Now it is easy to filter, group, or sort them.

Group and Sort the Activities by Using the Activity Codes

Now we will use the group and sort feature to display activities under specific groups. Select View | Group and Sort by from the main drop-down menu at the top of the screen. Also, under the “Group By” we will select our newly created “Activity Types” option and toggle hide if empty and sort bands alphabetically group by options as shown in Figure 9.

Primavera P6 Activity Codes Figure 9

Figure 9 – Group and Sort

Also, Figure 10 displays our pipeline project grouped by “Activity Types”.

Create and assign activity codes in Primavera P6 Figure 10

Figure 10 – P6 Activity Codes

How to Filter Activities by Activity Code in Oracle Primavera P6?

To filter activities by activity code in Oracle Primavera P6, navigate to the Activities view, then access the filter dialog and specify the activity code criteria before applying the filter to view only the activities that match the specified code.

What are activity codes in Primavera?

Activity codes in Primavera P6 are customizable identifiers used to categorize, sort, and filter project activities. Also, they provide a flexible way to organize and manage work based on different criteria such as location, phase, type of work, or any other classification relevant to the project. By using activity codes, project managers can easily group and view activities, enhancing reporting, tracking, and analysis capabilities within Primavera P6.

What are activity codes?

Activity codes are essentially labels or tags assigned to project activities to classify them according to certain characteristics or criteria. Also, while commonly discussed in the context of Primavera, the concept of activity codes can be applied in various project management and scheduling software tools. They help in organizing project data, making it more manageable and accessible.

Can I import activity codes into P6?

Yes, you can import activity codes into. This is particularly useful when you have a large number of codes to add or when you’re setting up a new project and want to ensure consistency with previous projects. Also, importing can be done through Excel spreadsheets by using the Primavera import functionality, allowing for efficient and accurate transfer of activity code data into your project.

How to sort P6 by activity code?

To sort activities by activity code in P6, you can use the Group and Sort feature:

  1. Open the Activities window in your project.
  2. Click on the “Group and Sort” icon.
  3. Add a new Group By criterion and select the activity code you wish t*o sort by.
  4. Adjust the sorting options as required (ascending or descending).
  5. Apply the changes to view your activities organized by the selected activity code.

How do I create an activity code?

Creating an activity code in P6 involves a few steps:

  1. Go to the Enterprise menu and select Activity Codes.
  2. Choose the appropriate level for the code (Global, EPS, or Project).
  3. Click the “Add” button to create a new code, specifying its name and description.
  4. Define the values or items for the code, which represent the different categories or tags under this code.

What are resource codes?

Resource codes in Primavera are similar to activity codes but are specifically used to categorize and manage resources. Also, these codes can be applied to labor, materials, equipment, and other resources, enabling project managers to sort, filter, and report on resources based on criteria like skill set, department, location, etc.

How do I add activity codes to P6 in Excel?

To add activity codes to P6 using Excel, follow these steps:

  1. Prepare an Excel spreadsheet with your activity codes and their corresponding values or categories.
  2. Use the Primavera import wizard (File > Import) and select the appropriate import option for activity codes.</li>
  3. Map the Excel columns to the corresponding fields in P6 during the import process.
  4. Complete the import wizard steps to transfer the codes into your P6 project.</li>

How to convert WBS to activity code in P6?

Converting WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) elements to activity codes involves creating activity codes that reflect the hierarchy and structure of your WBS. Also, while P6 does not automatically convert WBS elements into activity codes, you can manually create activity codes that mimic your WBS structure and then assign these codes to activities, mirroring the organization of your WBS in a flexible coding system.

Summary

Creating the WBS (Work Breakdowns Structure) and associated deliverables is an important step in the planning phase of a project schedule. You can create WBS (Work Breakdowns Structure) to group the activities under specific levels of your project. However, WBS itself may remain incapable of grouping and sorting activities for specific needs.

Activity codes represent wide categories of information, such as deliverables, responsible engineers, or phases. Primavera Activity codes feature enables to create the infinite possibility of activity codes. In order to prepare explanatory reports for project management, it is critical to assign codes to activities for filtering and grouping them.

In this article, we discussed how to arrange activities in Primavera P6 by using activity codes. We hope that it will be useful for professionals who are working in the field of project planning and scheduling. You can share your comments and experiences regarding activity codes by using the comments box in below.

External References

See Also

Primavera Project Planner

Primavera Portfolio Management

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3 Comments
  1. Avatar for Bo Song
    Bo Song 5 years ago

    Hi, like your article, but have a query. Let’s say if one activity involves TWO or THREE activity types, when you try to assign code value to this activity code, only ONE code value is allowed. Is there any way to assign multiple code value to an activity code?

    • Avatar for Kathy
      Kathy 5 years ago

      Hi
      I think your question is about assigning activity codes instead of types. It is possible to assign multiple activity codes to an activity.

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