Wrong Baseline

WELL DONE

I have the same problem with P3e version 4.0 Baselines.
I hope someone will explain this unpredictable behavior.

can you please elaborate on the problem...

is it just baseline start and finish dates you are trying to show?

is it just baseline start and finish dates you are trying to show?

Yes, it is. I’m trying to show in a main project the BL-start and BL-finish dates as are shown in the baseline project. I have been using P3e since March of the current year (version 3.X) and never had this problem. Always BL-start and BL-finsh dates were shown in the main project as they appear in the baseline project. Now I am doing the same process to connect a baseline project to a main project and some strange BL-start and BL-finish dates are show.

To isolate the problem we created a 3 activities schedule, made it a baseline and then updated the baseline activities to; one activity completed, a second activity at 50% and a third activity not started yet.
We blindly tried to move the relative position of the bars, a procedure that works for other traps, but it did not worked.

There are two things to be said:

1) With all of the ’Guests’ leaving messages, I cannot understand what you are trying to say. Are you referring to what Guest #2 said earlier or ar you elaborating on what you said? If you really want your question answered correctly, do us the simple courtesy of signing-in so we can tell what message goes with what person.

2) Just taking a stab here (because of all of the ’who said what’ confusion,) let me ask you, "Do you know what a P3e Baseline Schedule is?" P3e Baseline Schedules are SAVED BACKUPS of the original schedule that CANNOT be altered. If you could alter them, then they wouldn’t be saved backups. From what I understand, you are unhappy that you cannot modify your saved backups in violation of their function. I could tell you how to switch them so that you can modify your saved backups, but what would be the point?

Probably beginners like us prefer not to use their name when the so called "experts" insist in getting personal.
The explanation on how to switch a baseline to an active job is in a single paragraph on the P3e manual, it is very clear.
That’s just what we had done, as many times before with prior versions of P3e without any problem. Just the same routine but quite different results under version 4.0

[Personal comment deleted.]

The problem is simple to explain, but it seems that is not too simple to resolve. Now I will explain again what is my problem. I have a project with some activities and relationships. Those relationships make the P3e to "work" and calculate the activity’s start and finish dates. OK, now I create another project matching activity id’s with the first job I have created. Then, I want to make the first job as a baseline of the second (the reason doesn’t matter) and P3e asks me: "What do you want, make a copy of this project as a baseline or make another project as a baseline?" After this question I select make another project as a baseline becuase I want to make the first project I have created as the baseline (the reason doesn’t matter). Now there is the problem...
With my P3e V.3, start and finish dates that were shown in the first project (now the baseline) are the same as shown in the BL-start and BL-finish columns in the main project (the second I have created). With my new P3e version (4.0), start and finish dates in the first project (now the baseline) are not the same as BL-start and BL-finish dates in the main project. That simple is the problem.
Do not make a brainstorming to find out why am I making another project as a baseline. The only thing that I want is to solve the problem that the new Pe3 version have created. BL-start and BL-finish dates in the main project are not the same as start and finish dates in the restored baseline project.
Also, when I choose "make a copy of this project as a baseline" the same problem persist. It is suppose that if I choose this alternative the BL-start and BL-finish dates be the same as the start and finish dates of the project. Hello, I make a COPY of the project, why do dates have changed? The problem is simple...
Just concentrate in the solution, no in who you are talking to. It doesn’t matter.

JT (author = guest #1)

Can anybody tell Primavera that the new P3e Version 4.0 is pure garbage? It’s incredible to see how the BL start and finsih dates are different to Actual BL start and finish dates in the schedule. I can’t understand why in a previews version (3.5) this wasn’t a problem. What is the objective of a new version of a program? I suppose that is to improve and correct bugs, no to create them.

Forum Guest

It is good that you highlight your difficult. However I would think that it is better not to jump into conclusion before you really know how P3e works.

Firstly, In each activity there is a field call Plan Start and Plan finish. These are the planned date where the activity is execute. If you change your actual start and actual finish date, the planned start and planned finish will remain unchange. This is the function that a lot of P3 user is ask for when Primavera develop P3e.

As a result, after you updated your schedule for actual start and finish, the planned start and finish will remain unchange. P3e will still calculate your CPI/SPI with the original Plan Date and display the plan start and plan finish date in the bar.

In addition, when you finish modify the project you have to assign the baseline back to your project as well as ticked as your primary baseline. Then it will display the plan start and plan finish in the baseline activity(not actual start and Finish) otherwise it will only display the plan start and plan finish in the progressed schedule (current)

Hope you understand it is not the software that have the error, further training might help.

Excuse the interruption.
If this is the problem, (I believe it is not, based on the author replies, the author had no problem at all with prior versions) how can you set up the baseline bars to show the other available "start" and "finish" dates as you can do it in other inexpensive or "outdated" software packages?
Incomplete "Start" and "Finish" labels are a bit confusing, yes you can rename the fields ... no good...

Excuse me if I sound with echo, but I insist that the software has a problem in the new version. How can you explain me that I had not this problem with the previews version of P3e?

I have to admit that you have reason. The new Pe3 use planned dates for baseline but the previews don’t. In V. 3.5 when you put an actual date in baseline project, after re-attach it to the current plan project, BL-start and BL-finish dated were the same actual dates in baseline project.

The problem starts when Primavera designers change the definition or target of the primary baseline start and finish. I’m not considered as an expert but I think the previews target was the correct. In updated baselines, an actual date is an actual date. Why do you need to still show a planned date if you have an actual???

Definitively I need a trainning to understand the new but not necessarily correct Primavera’s management and CPM’s theory.

"When you upgrade a software is to improve it, no to make customers get crazy". Finally I have blow out the new P3e and re-installed P3e V.3.5. It is less problematic than new one.

BE HAPPY IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. UPGRADING IS TO KEEP YOU PAYING THOUSANDS IN SUPPORT, IT IS SIMPLY GOOD BUSINESS TO SOFTWARE VENDORS.

TRAINING ALSO - YOU NEED TRAINING IS HEARD EVERYWERE, DON’T YOU GET IT. IT IS NOT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST TO PROVIDE BUG FREE SOFTWARE. THE MORE CONFUSION THE BETTER.

WE KEEP RECEIVING UPGRADES EVERY OTHER MONTH EITHER FOR PRIMAVERA ENTERPRISE OR EXPEDITION. IN THIS WAY WE MUST BE AT ALL TIMES UNDER SERVICE AGREEMENT.

BEFORE PRIMAVERA GET INTO TWO DIGIT VERSIONS I WOULD RECOMMEND USING A 3 DECIMAL DIGITS STRUCTURE TO KEEP TRACK OF UPDATES.

COMMING SOON P3e VERSION 10.001a
COMMING SOON EXPEDITION VERSION 99.705w