Newsletter ·
21 Aug 2026 Planning Planet News
Dear Planning Planet Members,Welcome to the newsletter — shared across the largest community of project controllers on the planet. Our new, faster, more modern…
Dear Planning Planet Members,
Welcome to the newsletter — shared across the largest community of project controllers on the planet. Our new, faster, more modern web portal is taking shape, and that progress is thanks in no small part to all of you.
Your feedback, bug reports, and suggestions continue to help us refine and improve the platform every day.
If you’ve written anything related to project controls — an article, a reflection, a lesson learned, or even just the beginnings of an idea — we’d love to collaborate with you. Share it with us, and we’ll feature it in future posts.
It’s free, and it strengthens the collective knowledge of our global community.
The activities that matter, every update, one page - the variance heatmap
The variance heatmap in SMACT® takes the activities you decide are worth watching and lays them against every schedule update you have issued. Each cell carries the date and the variance since the update before it, shaded by how far it slipped, so the pattern lands before anyone reads a single number.
- Select what matters. Pick the activities worth watching, define and group them however you want, and pull them in from Excel if that is where they already live.
- Let the colour do the work. Pull ins sit plain, slips shade amber through red as they grow, and actuals are flagged so finished scope stops competing for attention.
- Put it straight in the report. Print or export the heatmap and drop it into your monthly pack as it is.
One slip is an excuse. Six in a row is a trend.
Build a variance heatmap free for 7 days. Bring your updates in as XER, MPP or XML, no credit card, no commitment, cancel any time.
Build a heatmap from your own updates...
SMACT® is a registered trademark of FSH Tech Solutions Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia. smact.com.au
When Delay Opinions Become Vulnerable in Deposition or Arbitration
Stephen Warhoe’s recent LinkedIn article on why delay opinions often become vulnerable under deposition or arbitration. Stephen explains that polished reports and precise day counts mean little if an expert cannot defend the analytical decisions behind them — from how schedules were selected and validated to how criticality, causation, and competing delays were actually demonstrated .
His breakdown of common weaknesses — unsupported methodologies, unreliable schedules, assumed critical paths, untested competing causes, and sensitivity to favourable assumptions — resonated strongly with practitioners who see these issues on real projects every day.
The comments deepen the discussion: contributors raise concerns about automated scheduling tools and legal liability for algorithmic errors, highlight the risks created by fragmented schedule records and rejected updates, and share real‑world examples where misjudging delay impact cost contractors and their claims.
This is exactly the kind of practitioner‑driven insight our community values — rigorous, experience‑based, and immediately useful for anyone involved in delay analysis, expert testimony, or project dispute resolution.
Get involved and have you say...
Source: Stephen Warhoe, PhD, PE, CCP, CFCC FAACE Hon. Life
The Evolution of Scheduling?
If you care about the future of planning and scheduling, Alex Lyaschenko’s latest post is one you shouldn’t skip. He delivers a sharp, evidence‑based warning about how schedule maturity has quietly declined across the industry, even as organisations claim to be advancing their project‑management capability.
Alex traces how scheduling has drifted from optimising delivery to simply calculating the shortest duration — often ignoring resource reality altogether — and he highlights how even respected certifications no longer require mastery of cost‑optimised scheduling methods. Today, even one of the most advanced Planning & Scheduling certifications, AACE PSP, does not require planners to master this. His critique of modern tools is equally eye‑opening: from P6’s weaker engine compared to P3 to the fact that many popular platforms don’t calculate feasible schedules at all.
Meanwhile, very few systems continue to advance the scheduling engine itself, rather than simply adding better interfaces. The comments deepen the conversation, with practitioners debating real‑world capability gaps, the value of practical experience over tools, and what will truly distinguish schedulers in an AI‑driven future - a must‑read for anyone serious about raising scheduling maturity rather than watching it erode.
Source: Alex Lyaschenko
P6ETL for BI Reporting – Automate and Modernize your P6 and OPC Reporting Systems
Accessing Primavera P6 and Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) data for Business Intelligence reporting can be challenging, especially when your databases are hosted by Oracle, Loadspring, or another cloud provider. P6ETL® eliminates these obstacles by automatically extracting and organizing your data into a reporting database optimized for Microsoft Power BI and other BI tools. In this webcast, we'll demonstrate how P6ETL simplifies data access and explore the key features and benefits that make it the fastest way to build powerful Primavera dashboards and reports.
When: Tuesday September 22nd at 10am US Central Time
Duration: 1 hour
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SHARE XER / MPP NO INSTALLATION, OR REGISTRATION – A SIMPLE LINK
XER Reader — Share Your Schedules Instantly
Share your project schedules in XER and MPP format with anyone — instantly. No installation. No login. No email registration. Just upload and share a simple link.
Why keep your schedule locked away?
You’ve updated your programme. You’ve moved the data date, applied actuals, adjusted milestones, updated progress, checked variances, and calculated earned value. You’ve done all the hard work.
Now make it easy for others to see it.
Share your schedule with: - Your project team, Steering groups, Suppliers, Sponsors, Delivery partners, Clients or Owners
One link. Zero friction. Full visibility.
Try it now — and get 50% off
Use the Planning Planet discount code: PP50
Take a look...
Scope Creep in Construction: From Unclear Requirements to Cost, Delay and Contract Exposure
A construction project rarely loses control because one major variation suddenly doubles the scope. Loss of control is usually quieter.
A design develops beyond what was originally priced. A client request is implemented before its commercial status is established. A specialist interface has no clear owner. An end-user requirement arrives after procurement. A specification that looked adequate at tender turns out to permit several interpretations. A project team accepts a series of "minor" modifications because each one appears too small to justify a formal change process.
Individually, these events may be manageable. Collectively, they can leave the project delivering something materially different from what was originally designed, tendered, programmed and funded.
That is the practical danger of scope creep. The issue is not that construction projects change. They inevitably do. The issue is whether change remains visible, evaluated, authorised and incorporated into the project controls.
Professional scope management therefore has two separate responsibilities: first, establish a sufficiently clear scope baseline; and second, control departures from that baseline throughout design, procurement and construction. When either discipline is weak, scope creep begins.
Source: Mohammad Khalifa Talafha, MSc, PMP
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: IAMTECH KNOWLEDGE: TWO PLANNERS. SAME JOB. TWO ESTIMATES
IAMTech Knowledge: Two planners. Same job. Two different estimates.
It happens on every shutdown planning team, in every industry. Not because planners don’t know their craft — but because every experienced planner carries their own norms, their own assumptions, their own bias.
AI doesn’t replace the planner’s judgement. It standardises the baseline.
When every work order is estimated against the same decades of industrial maintenance norms, the inconsistency disappears — and the schedule becomes something leadership can actually plan around READ MORE.
Wish your planning team all planned consistently? First look at iPlanSTO AI-Enhanced Planning: WATCH VIDEO — or VIEW BROCHURE. How would this transform planning in your world?
To arrange your demonstration, contact jonswift@iamtech.com.
VALUE-ADD and FREE WEBINARS
- 09 Sep - 5 Keys to Boost Your AI Transformation (Alice Technologies) - Did you know that less than 20% of construction companies are leveraging AI to improve workflows and processes This means most firms are stuck in the stage of scattered AI usage without a coherent strategy, which equates to a lot of wasted time and money. ALICE created the Playbook for Accelerating AI Transformation to help organizations define their AI objectives, prove ROI quickly, and ensure enterprise-wide adoption. It’s based on years of experience helping our customers effectively deploy AI, enhance workflows, and track business outcomes. Now, we’re bringing these insights to the big (and small) screen. Register now...
- 22 Sep - P6ETL for BI Reporting – a utility to extract P6/OPC data from any hosted environment (Mustang Technologies) - Accessing Primavera P6 and Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) data for Business Intelligence reporting can be challenging, especially when your databases are hosted by Oracle, Loadspring, or another cloud provider. P6ETL® eliminates these obstacles by automatically extracting and organizing your data into a reporting database optimized for Microsoft Power BI and other BI tools. In this webcast, we'll demonstrate how P6ETL simplifies data access and explore the key features and benefits that make it the fastest way to build powerful Primavera dashboards and reports. Register now...
- 28 - Sep - Creating and managing a project in Oracle Primavera Cloud (Emerald Associates) - Step into a live, interactive learning experience with Introduction to Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) v26, a hands‑on virtual course designed to give you practical, real‑world skills in building workspaces, creating projects, structuring activities and WBS, assigning resources, and applying logic — all guided by one of Emerald’s most sought‑after Primavera experts. With direct access to a live trainer, peer engagement, a comprehensive PDF manual, and a certificate upon completion, this immersive two‑day session is the perfect opportunity to strengthen your project controls capabilities and gain confidence using OPC’s latest features. If you’re ready to elevate your scheduling and project management proficiency, this is the course to join. Register now...
- 14 Oct - The Administration side of Oracle Primavera Cloud (Emerald Associates) - Join us for Administration in Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) v26, a live, interactive virtual course where you’ll gain hands‑on experience with OPC’s most powerful administration tools — from mastering Global Admin Apps to creating new users and assigning them to the right groups . With real‑time access to an expert trainer, peer engagement, a comprehensive PDF manual, and a certificate upon completion. Online training details PDF manual Live virtual trainer based in Canada or the United States Training runs from 8:30am M..., this advanced session is ideal for anyone looking to deepen their Primavera expertise and confidently manage OPC environments. Led by one of Emerald’s most sought‑after instructors with decades of project controls experience across major industries, this webinar delivers practical knowledge you can apply immediately — making it a must‑attend for professionals ready to elevate their project management capabilities. Register now...
- 14 Oct - EVA34 High Performance Resourcing, 34% Discount HPRESOURCE34, London (Steve Wake) - The theme is High Performance Resourcing. Forget AI for the minute or at least put it in the toolkit until you've decided what you want it to do for you. Now think about High Performance Resourcing. And the people doing the work. Where are they? How well are they doing? What can you do to help them? Do you know what they are working on. Do you know what they did today? How do connect the people not just on one project but all the people on all the projects. How's the whole organisation doing? How could AI help? Really help or just automate chaos? Is it about Controls or Skills? Or both? Register now...
- 23 Nov - Primavera advanced topics of dashboarding and reporting including templates, filters, views, formatting (Emerald Associates) - Join us for a focused, high‑value webinar on Dashboarding and Reporting in Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC), where you’ll learn how to turn complex project data into clear, actionable insights using OPC’s powerful templates, filters, configured fields, views, and formatting tools. Whether you’re a program manager, project manager, planner, scheduler, or simply moving to OPC, this session will give you practical techniques for comparing baselines vs actuals, standardizing workspaces, managing cost breakdown structures, and building dashboards that elevate decision‑making across your projects. It’s an ideal opportunity to sharpen your skills and get ahead with OPC’s latest capabilities. Register now...
- 14 Dec - Primavera advanced features of baselines and comparing them to the current file (Emerald Associates) - Unlock the full power of Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) by joining this focused webinar on Baselines and Baseline Comparison, where you’ll learn how to create, categorize, display, and compare baselines with confidence, turning raw project data into meaningful insights that drive better decisions. We’ll walk through essential OPC capabilities—from project and cost breakdown structures to schedule scenarios, progress updates, and portfolio KPIs—giving program managers, project managers, planners, schedulers, and anyone moving to OPC the practical skills they need to manage multiple projects with clarity and precision. If you want to sharpen your OPC expertise and elevate your reporting, this session is the perfect opportunity. Register now...
Contact us to get your event here - PPAdmin@planningplanet.com
What the Heck is AI? A Framework for Understanding AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming capital project delivery, but distinguishing real-world value from industry buzz can be challenging. In this educational LinkedIn series, René Morkos breaks down core AI concepts into actionable insights—exploring how generative algorithms, parametric constraints, and data-driven models function under the hood, independent of commercial sales pitches.
Proving ROI Fast: 5 Keys to Boost Your AI Transformation
Bringing AI into complex construction projects shouldn't take years to yield measurable results. Join ALICE Technologies for an exclusive webinar detailing five practical strategies to accelerate your team's AI transformation, de-risk schedule delivery, and prove tangible ROI on complex capital projects from day one.
Peter Holroyd Blog No 16 - Quality Standards
PROCEDURES No. 16 – Quality Standards
Across our global Planning & Project Controls community, few topics are more fundamental — yet more often overlooked — than the quality standards and procedural foundations that underpin every successful project. In this latest instalment of the “Procedures” series, a retired planner with 50 years of industry experience invites us to step back from the noise of software hype and consultancy promises and instead re‑examine the basics of our profession with honesty and curiosity.
He challenges us to poke at the familiar 3Ps — People, Processes, and Procedures — and ask whether we truly use them as intended, or whether they’ve quietly slipped into complacency over time. From the importance of structured quality documentation and ISO‑aligned procedures to the value of onboarding, CPD, governance, and lessons‑learned cycles that actually drive improvement rather than sit on a shelf.
This article is a thoughtful reminder that project controls excellence starts with disciplined foundations, not just tools. It’s a provocative, experience‑rich piece that encourages practitioners to reflect, contribute, and help shape the next wave of continuous improvement across our community.
Source: Peter Holroyd
Sunchana’s 10 Reasons Why Good Project Planners Are Still Like Gold Dust
A friendly recruiter once told me something I've never forgotten: "Are you free for a new contract? It’s based near where you live, with a great team at the international bank. Why? Because all good project planners, like you, are like gold dust."
At first, I assumed it was simply recruitment salesmanship. Oh, they are so good at it! In fact, they get me every time. They phone for a new gig, and I’m hooked.
Recruiters make us feel special, like we are the only ones in the world. Behind the scenes, they are only human. In reality, recruiters are trying to fill difficult vacancies. After some thought, I wanted to discover the truth behind the off the cuff comments.
Spending over three decades in project management, I’m a dedicated follower of business trends. With over two decades planning some of the UK's largest and most complex programmes. I've worked across public sector transformations, financial services, ERP software implementations, construction, utilities, and technology. Every project has been different. Every schedule has presented its own challenges.
Back at my office desk in Glasgow, battling with the PMO to understand P6 scheduling algorithms, I still wondered if we were like gold dust. And what would that mean for a day rate contractor like me? So, I looked it up.
According to the online Cambridge Dictionary, something that is like ‘gold dust’ is extremely difficult to find because so many people want it.
That definition certainly felt familiar. Organisations could usually find someone who knows how to operate Microsoft Project or Oracle Primavera P6. What they struggled to find was someone who could transform uncertainty into a credible delivery strategy that senior leaders could trust to make the right decisions.
To test my own assumptions, I asked experienced planners across the UK, Europe and North America for their views. Their responses confirmed something I've believed for years. Great planners aren't valuable because they can update schedules. They're valuable because they influence others and achieve successful project delivery within time and budget constraints.
Ten years ago, I wrote an article on this issue. This year, I’ve decided to support our beloved Planning Planet community even more by sharing my knowledge and rewriting some of my articles. As a tight knit community of technical specialists highly experienced with Oracle Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project, we deliver the best value for money solutions. Here are ten reasons why. I hope you’ll read through them, make up your own mind and comment on this:
(1) Good Planners Master the Tools.
Planning software is incredibly powerful. Oracle Primavera P6, Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC), Microsoft Project and similar applications can model programmes containing tens of thousands of activities, multiple calendars, resource profiles, critical paths and complex dependencies.
Learning where the buttons are is only the beginning. Exceptional planners understand how the software calculates dates, how scheduling logic works and, perhaps most importantly, when the software is telling them something that doesn't make sense. All project plans should result from active analysis. The software should never drive the schedule, or we are most likely to end up with unusable plans.
(2) Planners Start With the Six Questions.
The best planners have endless curiosity. We politely challenge assumptions. We often ask uncomfortable questions. We refuse to accept overly optimistic delivery dates without understanding the logic behind this.
Armed with decades of hands on experience, good planners build credible schedules that start with six deceptively simple questions:
- Why are we doing this?
- What are we delivering?
- When is it happening?
- Who owns deliverables?
- Where will the work take place?
- How will it actually be achieved?
Those six planning questions often uncover risks long before they become someone else’s expensive issues.
(3) Planners Stay Above Office Politics.
Stakeholders are full of meaningful conversations, more or less. Tight office corridor discussions after the monthly Steering Committee meetings. PMO debates and supplier disagreements, mixed with executive optimism. Sometimes, it’s pure and unfounded office gossip we hear in corridors. As senior planners, we must maintain both an ethical and a moral stance that goes beyond the call of duty. Good planners learn to separate facts from noise; it’s crucial we do this. We listen carefully, evaluate evidence objectively and avoid becoming part of potentially damaging organisational politics.
(4) Planners Stay Calm Under Pressure.
Complex mega projects rarely follow the original plan for every activity, even if it’s been nicely baselined. There are multiple reasons, such as suppliers missing milestones, budgetary constraints, testing overruns, SME unavailability, regulatory approvals arriving late, and, most importantly, disagreements among senior stakeholders.
When pressure increases, experienced planners become calmer. OK, they may go out for a walk in the woods. And hopefully come back. In my experience, rather than reacting emotionally, we are most likely to analyse impacts, identify recovery options and explain the consequences to senior stakeholders.
(5) Good Planners Are Always Learning.
Unlike many other professions, there is no single route into project planning. Some planners begin as engineers. Others come from IT, finance, construction, defence or business transformation. While most of us learn through experience, others gain skills through ongoing learning. As one of the senior chartered project professionals, I’d recommend this. The strongest planners continuously invest in themselves through professional qualifications, communities such as the Association for Project Management (APM), PMI, Planning Planet and continuous practical learning. Soon, many of us become mentors, trainers and coaches, raising planning capability across entire organisations.
(6) Senior Planners Are Sociable Loners.
Project planning attracts unusual personality types. Once, long, long ago, I completed the Insights training. My personality came up as purple, with blue/red in equal measure. I’m not joking; some of us are ‘planning royalty’. In the real world, one morning on the job may involve several hours analysing schedule logic inside Oracle Primavera P6. The afternoon may involve facilitating a planning workshop with fifty uninterested stakeholders. Great planners are equally comfortable working alone with thousands of activities as they are leading discussions with senior executives. Senior planners beautifully combine analytical thinking with communication skills.
(7) Planners Connect Strategy to Delivery.
It’s a tricky one, and yet it’s an imperative we get it right. While most senior leaders think strategically, we in highly technical teams should only think tactically. Project planners connect the two. We translate ambitious business objectives into achievable delivery sequences. We can integrate engineering, procurement, finance, governance, testing, deployment, and operational readiness into a single, coherent schedule. And without that integration, every individual team may believe they're succeeding while the overall programme quietly drifts towards failure. Planning is about connecting the dots.
(8) Senior Planners See Problems Before These Become Issues.
One of the greatest values that senior planners bring to the project, and the whole organisation, is their foresight. A credible schedule isn't just a list of activities. It's a decision-support model. By integrating Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies (RAID), critical path analysis, scenario planning and forecasting, planners can identify emerging problems months before they become visible elsewhere. Stakeholders often joke that planners can predict the future. I wish! We may watch sci-fi movies, but we are not clairvoyant. Saying that, we can usually identify where today's decisions are likely to lead tomorrow. That's often enough to save complex transformational programmes.
(9) Senior Planners Reduce Stress.
In my experience, good project plans create confidence. Bad planning creates surprises. When delivery teams understand priorities, dependencies and realistic timescales, uncertainty reduces. This results in senior leaders making better decisions. Teams know what success looks like, risks become visible earlier, and recovery options remain available. Perhaps the greatest compliment a planner can receive is when a Programme Director says: "Thank you, now I understand what's happening behind the scenes."
(10) Senior Planners Are Multifaceted, Matrix Thinkers & Doers.
Good Project Planners are able to work across different industries, from construction and typical waterfall engineering projects of building bridges and rail links in construction and utilities, to the Agile setup of ERP IT software platforms and business transformation projects in retail, healthcare, financial services, and the NHS. One such planner stated that “When you focus exclusively on the planning skills within your industry, you close down your mind to new and progressive methods of tackling the problems that arise in a poorly planned project in areas around additional things like KPIs, dependencies, risks, cost, and project control disciplines.”
So… Are good project planners still in demand, should we still feel like gold dust?
Almost all senior project planners I’ve worked with bring together technical expertise, commercial awareness, communication, diplomacy, curiosity, analytical thinking and professional integrity.
We don't simply update schedules. We help organisations make better decisions.
Post COVID-19 pandemic, the business world around us has shifted significantly.
Do you agree that good project planners are becoming increasingly difficult to find? Which quality do you think separates an average planner from an exceptional one?
Happy planning to all of our respected peers; I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Source: Sunchana Johnston NED FAPM CHPP ERP Programs Master Planner
PCE MEET: WHERE PROJECT CONTROLS PROFESSIONALS LEARN, CONNECT & GROW
Project Controls Expo UK 2026 — The Home of Delivery Certainty, Predictability & Accountability
Project Controls Expo UK (PCE UK) is Europe's leading event dedicated to project controls, bringing together 2,000+ professionals from across infrastructure, construction, energy, transport, defence, government and major capital programmes.
The Expo connects industry leaders, practitioners, asset owners and decision-makers to exchange knowledge, showcase innovation and shape the future of project delivery.
The 15th edition takes place 2–4 November 2026 at the iconic Wembley Stadium, London, featuring expert-led conference sessions, an extensive Partner Showcase, networking opportunities and hands-on learning from some of the world's leading organisations, including AWE, the UK Ministry of Defence, EDF, PETRONAS, NISTA, and many more.
Early Bird Registration Ends 4 August
How to add an end date code for resources
If you’ve ever wrestled with managing resource end dates in Primavera, this clever tip from the P6blogger community is a gem worth sharing. Instead of pre‑loading endless code values, the post shows how you can create resource end‑date codes on the fly, making your workflow faster, cleaner, and far more flexible. By simply setting up an End Date code in Summary & Settings , leaving it empty for now.
Do not create any code values under End Date (for now)., and adding it as a column in your Resource List grid, you can assign new dates dynamically through the popup dialog — no pre‑population required. The example shows how easy it is to add a value like 29‑Sep‑20 right at the moment you need it . It’s a simple, practical trick that saves time and keeps your resource coding tidy, making it a perfect addition to this week’s Planning Planet knowledge share.
Source: Bob Malin
Creating 5,000 activities in Primavera P6
Across our global Planning & Project Controls community, few conversations capture real practitioner experience as vividly as Brian Arinaitwe’s recent LinkedIn post on **creating 5,000 activities in Primavera P6** — a topic that sparked lively debate and shared wisdom from seasoned schedulers and project controls leaders. Brian highlights how skilled planners can transform hours of manual work into minutes through smart Excel‑to‑P6 imports, while contributors like Zoltan Palffy and Vladimir Liberzon remind us that building robust logic and structure still demands thoughtful upfront effort. Others, including Peter Holroyd, add practical nuance by advocating for proven fragnet libraries that accelerate setup and improve consistency across projects.
This exchange is a perfect example of what makes our community exceptional: practitioners openly sharing techniques, challenging assumptions, and elevating each other’s craft. If you’re looking for grounded, real‑world insights that sharpen your planning skills, this discussion is a must‑read.
Source: Brian Arinaitwe, PMP®
CONSTRUCTION CPM CONFERENCE 2027
We’re finalizing plans to bring the Construction CPM Conference back in 2027 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio on San Antonio’s River Walk.
Mark your calendar for February 23–25 and get ready to register your team, as we continue building a conference for Constructors, by Constructors.
Our focus will be strengthening Planning to drive Performance—so every attendee leaves with practical takeaways they can use right away. We will be continuing the legacy that Fred has built since 2011.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: P6 CALCULATOR - BUILT FOR PLANNERS
When working in Primavera P6, databases are often used for years at a time, resulting in an ever-increasing amount of projects in those databases.
When you take codes and dictionaries into account on top of all of these projects, your database ends up handling a lot of data, which can slow performance and cause a lot of frustration. This is where archiving older projects can come in useful.
With P6-Calculator, archiving projects is easier than ever before with automatic migration of data between databases.
Take a look at this short video demonstrating how Emerald's P6-Calculator tool can be used to quickly and easily archive your Primavera P6 projects.
Read more...
For more information or to schedule a demo, please reach out to us at emerald@emerald-associates.com.
Even the most well‑developed schedule is only as strong as the strategies beneath it
No matter how well-developed the project schedule is, it is only as sound as the underlying contracts and procurement strategies. Cost overruns, schedule delays, and legal disputes can result from misaligned contracts if risk allocation and procurement planning are not considered.
The article explores how procurement decisions, contract types, risk allocation, and supply chain planning shape project schedules and influence overall project success.
If you're a Developer, Owner, Contractor, Project Manager, or Project Controls Professional, understanding these connections will help you create schedules that are both realistic and execution-ready.
Source: Kareem Khattab
Project Dashboarding with Cleopatra Enterprise
Across our global Planning & Project Controls community, few capabilities are transforming project performance as rapidly as modern dashboarding — and Cleopatra Enterprise’s approach shows exactly why. Their Project Dashboarding solution enables teams to visualize, analyze, and report live project data with clarity and confidence , offering customizable dashboards that adapt to the needs of executives, project managers, and field teams alike.
All of this, with customizable dashboards to meet the information requirements of different stakeholders.. With rich visualization options — from S‑curves and bubble charts to pivot tables and waterfall charts — practitioners can track KPIs such as CPI, SPI, planned vs actual spending, and resource utilization in real time.
Cleopatra’s project controls software makes it easy to track the KPIs that project managers rely on most, including cost.... Seamless integration with ERP, scheduling tools, and BI platforms like Power BI ensures data stays current, consistent, and aligned with corporate reporting standards .
For anyone seeking to reduce surprises, strengthen coordination, and elevate decision‑making across projects, this is a powerful example of how dashboarding can reshape project outcomes.
Read more...
EVA34 HIGH PERFORMANCE RESOURCING
EVA34 High Performance Resourcing
Wednesday 14 October
Armourers Hall
34% discount
Its on Wednesday 14 October at the Armourers Hall as usual. ONE day and optional dinner. The programme is coming together rapidly. A few slots are available for Speakers Sponsors Supporters and Exhibitors.
My gift to you is a 34 % discount for 34 days until Monday 3 August which as everybody knows is National Clean Your Floors Day.
The theme is High Performance Resourcing. This is where the improvements in efficiency and benefits are. Huge and significant for Controls and PMO people.
Forget AI for the minute or at least put it in the toolkit until you've decided what you want it to do for you. Now think about High Performance Resourcing. And the people doing the work. Where are they? How well are they doing? What can you do to help them? Do you know what they are working on. Do you know what they did today? How do connect the people not just on one project but all the people on all the projects. How's the whole organisation doing? How could AI help? Really help or just automate chaos? Is it about Controls or Skills? Or both?
www.stevewake.com
34% Discount HPRESOURCE34
LET'S OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES TOGETHER
To support every practitioner, employer, consultant, and recruiter in our network, we’re opening up free job postings for everyone. Whether you’re:
- An employer with a vacancy
- A regular practitioner looking to strengthen your team
- A consultant searching for standout talent
- A recruiter with a role to fill
…you’re invited to share your opportunities with the entire Planning Planet community.
No charge. Simply contact PPAdmin@PlanningPlanet.com and we’ll help you get your role in front of thousands of committed project controls professionals.
Let’s make this a space where opportunities flow freely, careers grow, and our community continues to lift one another. View Jobs... Post Jobs...
- Project Controls Manager, Planner Contract or Permanent UK-South West (Region) Circa £70,000–£80,000 p/a or c.£600 - £700
- Project Cost / Risk Controllers and Managers Contract Employment UK-South West (Region) £450–£650/day
- Senior Project Controls Manager Permanent Employment UK-South West (Region) Up to circa £70,000 per annum
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE TO "MOST POPULAR" SOFTWARE FOR US PLANNERS?
A superior alternative to the "most popular" software for us as planners?
Spider Project Team is a group of project management consulting and training companies. With headquarters in Moscow, Russia, we have branches, partners and representatives in other Russian cities, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Romania, USA. We develop professional PM software Spider Project that is the most powerful and functional tool for project, program, and portfolio management.
We develop advanced approaches and methods of project management that are widely used by our customers in 37 countries. We provide training on project management and Spider Project software for our customers around the world.
We manage projects for our customers and implement corporate project management systems in companies of different industries. We believe that good project management can improve our world and are happy to provide the best services and tools to our customers.
We are proud of our achievements. The current version is used in 37 countries. Spider Project offers numerous unique functional features and is the only PM software that optimizes resource, cost, and material constrained schedules and budgets for projects and portfolios.
Spider Project offers numerous unique functional features and is the only PM software that optimizes resource, cost, and material constrained schedules and budgets for projects and portfolios.
Check it out here... Ask questions here...
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THANK YOU FOR READING OUR MESSAGES
If you’d like to lend a hand to the small but enthusiastic team behind this newsletter, feel free to reach out to us at ppadmin@planningplanet.com. We know there’s still a lot of work ahead to make this an informative and eagerly anticipated bi-weekly read, so get in touch and be part of the journey.
Regards...
The Planning Planet Team