Oracle Primavera Reviews

Pros

- has everything required for project scheduling using critical path method (WBS, activities, cost and resource loading)
- Global change offers an unbelievably powerful solution to change thousands of activities on the fly.
- Can handle very large schedules that include tens of thousands of activities at ease.
- Works using databases rather than project files which makes it suitable for working on many projects and offers many types of databases (Oracle, SQL server, SQLite)
- supports single or multiple users
- now has the EPPM version which is cloud-based and has improved immensely over the years

Cons

- It shines for large and complex projects, for smaller and simpler schedules it tends to be more cumbersome.
- It requires a very good understanding of how the software and CPM work when analysing results. Otherwise; mistakes can be done easily
- While powerfull, the reporting feature of the Pro version (Standalone) looks antiquated in comparison to the EPPM cloud version.
- The standalone version has not received any important feature updates for years.
- Lacks the seamless integration with MS Office that MS Project has
- Requires IT assistance to migrate the database from one computer to another

Pros

It is very friendly and understandable with all inbuild features for my needs and my clients requirements.

Cons

Support and workflow of the software is good but limited to user level and we can scale our needs as per license usage

Pros

Powerful platform with options for most of the PM areas of interest. I really liked the capabilities to manage resources and cost.

Cons

Not intuitive at all. The user interface may look complex and hard to use for not so experienced users. The data import feature is super confuse and had to be improved.

Pros

Oracle Primavera P6 is one of the best Project Scheduling tool that works on Critical path Method. I like the following features the most
- Vast integration capability with Web, EPPM, Primavera Mobile and other oracle tools
- Ability to generate large amount of data especially in the form of spreadsheet
- Fully functional Earned Value Management

Cons

The software UI is old style and the options are not properly organised. There are some software bugs that are still persistent and oracle has been very slow in debugging them.

Pros

- Great for large scale projects
- Detailed scheduling with time and cost breakdown
- Perfect filtering features
- High level resource management functionality
- Expense distribution over activity duration

Cons

- Graphics are not very appealing
- Jumping between tabs on the lower ribbons is very annoying compared to the tabs functionality available now on office software, and Autodesk products

Pros

Complex, but it is full fix with more powerful tools which can help for more accurate project planning, scheduling and monitoring purposes.

Cons

Tools are little Complex - need more training and practice
Undo feature is not enabled

Pros

It is best project management software, planning, scheduling, resource managing, controlling can be done for any project . Eventhough it is a complex analysis and process, It is not much difficult to use.
Some advance features like top-down scheduling, longest path critical activity definition , activity steps and etc are now available . VBA is not required to separate and material cost.

Cons

In my experience, It would be slightly difficult to adopt for beginner.

Pros

They are BIG and have been around for along time. This means there is a tremendous amount of support documentation they provide as well as user/administrator forums and notes.

Cons

Oracle products in general are a bit more expensive than other similar applications and their support is always extra.

Pros

You can easily link predecessors successors including the lag time as well. Scheduling and resource loading is very easy.

Cons

Sometimes when you refresh the software it automatically changes many dates even without a prior warning that you are making a mistake which is really annoying.

Pros

Primavera works great for construction companies in tracking information from many areas

Cons

Primavera was limited in certain areas causing extra work.

Pros

The main thing WBS is seperated from the activties. You can add sub-activities and even the minor expenses like travelling and training costs. You can put in the percentage of completion in the sub-activities. Since it is EPPM software you can work on multiple projects. It's user defined controls and access makes it more easier to set roles and responsibilities to each and every OBS and activities and only allows multiple users to work at the set EPS & WBS level as per pemissions allowed.

I was once working on a Villa project and we had the option to set more than one relationship between two activities. You can also create resources as per composition based on the Schedule of Rates(SOR) from whichever region you are working from. It makes it more easier to assign for a particular project.

One another big benefit is that you can create 'n' number of Baselines as compared to other project management softwares. You can add risk and issues as well. Overall I feel Primavera P6 EPPM is a detailed project management software and you can work it at any verticals and horizontals.

Cons

What i don't like about this software is that it doesnt allow multiple entries on it's own based on the formulae set. Again you need to check out your project and schedule with correct date and time, well that is plus point definitely but in case you missed the proper date and time as per your working calender then it will affect the project at a minor level initially and major differences will be made if that remains ignored. Another drawback for it is that if you are working on a single project then it will require lot of detailing for WBS, OBS, EPS, Roles and responsibilities which can be unnecessary in some cases. You have to remember each and every detail wherever you are putting it.

Pros

Oracle Primavera provides the flexibility to integrate different schedules while maintaining each on as a stand-alone schedule when needed. The ability to create different layouts, filters and baselines is a great feature to satisfy different requirements from our stakeholders. We use Springboard platform to access the software through a web connection adding additional flexibility and real time access. We had use the software with a peak of seven planners including two CM companies in a Green Field project with great success.
In addition, we are currently planning a shutdown and the ability to schedule using different calendars and resources has been very useful in identifying gaps and peaks in our plan.
The option to have multiple baselines is also useful to compare current schedule through different phases of the project.

Cons

Resources/progress graph and histograms are not as good as I am used to get from other application like Excel. Data export is not always as expected and some data manipulation is required in the other application (like Excel) to get the appropriate formats.

Pros

This is the most modern and broader project management platform in the market, still combining very powerful and some unique tools

Cons

This is still a young tool, and of course still has features that are currently under fast development

Pros

I love how easy is it to see linked attributes in the gantt chart. There is simple connecting and coloring that allows you to track exactly where you are on a program, project or task level. It is relatively easy to use. As long as you are familiar with Excel you should be able to use most of the basic features. The WBS structure is similar to other programs I've worked in and the ability to copy and past at different levels helps to speed up the setup of a project.

Cons

There are a ton of functionality with the software but I have found it difficult to get any instruction or help when I get into some of the more complex features. Googling is about your best bet when you have a questions about something. There have also been some issue when you switch between versions. New versions aren't able to connect to the older version's server and therefore do not have access to the other schedules.

Pros

P6 is utilized industry wide in construction, so becoming familiar with it provides all the tools you need to generate and analyze schedules.

It's very robust in the amount of things you can do with schedules. You can modify the relationships, type of activities, durations, calendar settings, views.

Provides the ability to export data to excel, which is useful when analyzing schedule delays and performance.

Cons

It's not too user-friendly software. Since it operates as a database and does not work like Microsoft or Apple software (because it isn't) but it sort of looks like it, it's easy to believe it operates in the same way as software you are used to using, but it's fundamentally different. One example is how projects are "saved", which is not as straightforward as saving and/or copying files. There's more to it.

P6 is rather rigid in that it's for the most part limited to Gantt charts. It has other views but they do't provide much value.

One improvement the software could do would be to add flowline diagram features for producing and visualizing schedules.

Pros

powerful, multiple ES-FS, LS-ES, and many more ways of scheduling

Pros

This product allows me to work with people who work in different segmentation in our industry seamlessly on each and every project. It's so easy.. its a no brainer really. Approval processes are easy, everything is simple. If there is ever any kind of issue it has been resolved with in moments of reaching out to tech support. I also was able to teach myself this program which is always a bonus.

Cons

Exporting software to other platforms is hard. for our all employee meetings it is difficult to show some processes and such with ease. A mobile platform would also be beneficial to our company

Pros

Most owners that my company works for require this type of scheduling, and for a basic schedule and a background in the program, it is easy to put one together. I went through a P6 training, and still have to refer back to my manual sometimes. Once you figure out how to manuever through, you can build great cost loaded, resource loaded schedules. Using these schedules for claims is beneficial as well when having to prove critical path activities.

Cons

I can always figure it out eventually, but some functions don't seem as user friendly. I went through a P6 training, and still have to refer back to my manual sometimes. I feel some type of training is required to build really good schedules rather than just being able to figure it out.

Pros

We can easily create activity with required input. We can easily monitor our progress and can make necessary decisions timely. We can forecast future delays and mitigate risks.

Cons

Premium for this software is considerably high. Some of the outputs from this software leads confusions and
questioned on reliability

Pros

I used Oracle software for 6+ years and I felt very comfortable with the software from the beginning. It wasn't hard to navigate and understand and made my everyday use of the program helpful and efficient.

Cons

I was not the purchaser of the product, however, I was told it was a bit expensive.

Pros

Easy to learn and use. Great for reporting and managing big sets of data by all attributes.

Cons

Import and export functions is kind of basic, it would be more useful if there are greater options.

Pros

Flexible, Scalable, Intuitive and market tested.

Cons

To maximize the value, it's best you partner with a partner.

Pros

It's a logical and accurate software that I use for scheduling construction projects. Keeps things organized and easy to update changes as they come up during a project lifecycle.

Cons

This product is pretty complex and takes a lot of getting used to. It's not very intuitive more user-friendly so you need to train yourself on the program before using.

Pros

P6 does a great job in managing schedule for large programs and projects. P6 gets very powerful as you cost load your schedules and use data to construct reports and dashboards.

Cons

P6 can get pretty complicated with their functionalities. P6 can use a better printable report for schedules.

Pros

The software seems straight forward and easy to use. Our company used it across our whole organization for time tracking, as that was such a useful feature. There are many more components that can be used in various project collaboration, as well as customizations to the software that can be made through coding.

Cons

As far as using it as a time entry tool, the interface does seem a little overdone, more like a glorified spreadsheet. I sometimes get the feeling "what's all this?" when I just want to enter time.