Primavera Portfolio Management & Enterprise Project Structure
Project Portfolio Management is a popular term in project management that refers to select, prioritize, and control of an organization’s projects. Oracle’s Primavera P6 has advanced Project Portfolio Management capabilities that support enterprise decision-making processes within the organization. This tool provides users a better controlling system in the two major phases of a project life cycle which are the planning and the controlling phases. In this article, we will review the Project Portfolio Management capabilities of Primavera P6 Software and Enterprise Project Structure by using a simple example.
Primavera Portfolio Management
Processes, methods, and tools are used for many years to analyze the projects considering their benefits o to the organizations. However, it is very difficult to select the most suitable alternative for the organization’s operational, financial goals, and strategic objectives.
Project portfolio management supports an organization’s project selection and execution processes. It is performed for one or more than one project portfolio to achieve the organizational goals. It plays a key role in building bridges between strategy and implementation.
From this aspect, project portfolio management provides organizational methods and practices to select and manage its projects successfully. Organizations face critical processes in their life cycle. Critical financial decisions should be taken during the project selection and execution phases. Oracle’s Primavera Portfolio Management capabilities support enterprise decision-making processes. The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) feature of Primavera P6 helps to organize all the projects and makes it possible to control them at the same time. For better understanding, let’s take a look at the sample projects in the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) of Primavera P6.
Primavera Project Portfolio Management & Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)
Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)
Before reviewing the Primavera Portfolio Management, let’s take a glance at the term “Enterprise Project Structure”. The enterprise project structure (EPS) demonstrates the hierarchical structure of all projects in Primavera P6.
The enterprise project structure (EPS) can be divided into sub-levels for your organizational needs. You may customize your organization’s EPS considering the project types and locations. Projects will be at the lowest levels and the divisions or site locations will be at the highest levels of EPS.
In order to see the projects in the database, select Enterprise | Projects from the main drop-down menu at the top of the screen as shown in Figure 1.
Primavera Project Portfolio Management Software – Enterprise Project Structure
As shown in the figure, all the projects are listed under specific Enterprise Project Structure levels. To create or modify the Enterprise Project Structure, select Enterprise | Enterprise Project Structure from the main drop-down menu at the top of the screen. This will display the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) window as shown in Figure 2.
Enterprise Project Structure
A new Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) level can be created by clicking the “Add” button. In this sample, we will create an Oil & Gas Enterprise Project Structure level as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 New EPS level -Primavera Project Portfolio Management Software
And group our organizations Oil & Gas projects under this newly created EPS level as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 EPS Level Projects
You can create new projects under the newly created EPS level or move your existing Oil and Gas projects under this level.
Create a User-Defined Project Portfolio
User-defined project portfolios are widely used to group projects under custom portfolios so that only specific users may have access to them. Assume that you are a project coordinator and responsible for the projects located in the middle east. You don’t need to see the all projects of the organization. Likewise, you don’t want others to see the status of projects under your responsibility. You can create a user-defined portfolio in order to see and manage the projects relevant to you.
In order to create a custom portfolio, select Enterprise | Project Portfolios from the top drop-down menu at the top of the screen. This will display the Project Portfolios window as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Project Portfolios Window – Project Portfolio Management
Now click the Add button and type the name as “Middle East Projects” for the portfolio name. In the general tab, you can change the accessibility of this portfolio to all users or you can make it available to the current user as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6 Defining New Portfolio
The projects tab is used to assign the projects relevant to your portfolio. You can select projects with the help of this tab. Click the Assign button and select the projects from the Add Projects window as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 Assigning Projects
A project may be listed under several portfolios. In order to see the newly created project portfolio, select File | Select Project Portfolio from the main drop-down menu at the top of the screen and click on the OK button. Now only your selected portfolio is displayed.
You can customize the view by opening the Group and Sort window as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 Group and Sort- Primavera Project Portfolio Management
The group and sort option enables to remove the unnecessary clutter and customize the current view.
Summary
Project portfolio management plays a significant role in project management. Primavera Portfolio Management Software supports organizational decision-making processes. Projects can be grouped and managed under specific Enterprise Project Structure levels so that the projects under the same portfolio can be analyzed as a whole. It is possible to create custom user portfolios to view and manage projects under specific locations, types, and responsibilities. In this article, we didn’t touch on the risk or cost management subjects for project portfolios. We only took a glance at the Enterprise Project Structure feature of Primavera P6. We will demonstrate time, cost, and risk management in portfolios in the following articles.
Further Reading
[1] Project Management Institute (PMI)
[2] Oracle
See Also
A dedicated Career Coach, Agile Trainer and certified Senior Portfolio and Project Management Professional and writer holding a bachelor’s degree in Structural Engineering and over 20 years of professional experience in Professional Development / Career Coaching, Portfolio/Program/Project Management, Construction Management, and Business Development. She is the Content Manager of ProjectCubicle.
