Primavera P6 Interview Questions

If you're looking for Primavera P6 Interview Questions for Experienced or Freshers, you are at the right place. There are a lot of opportunities from many reputed companies in the world. According to research Primavera P6 has a Progressive market share. So, You still have the opportunity to move ahead in your career in Primavera P6 Engineering. MindMajix offers Advanced Primavera P6 Interview Questions 2024 that help you in cracking your interview & acquire a dream career as Primavera P6 Engineer.

For ease of learning and understanding, we have divided these questions into 3 categories they are:

• Freshers
• Experienced
• FAQs

Top 10 Frequently Asked Primavera P6 Interview Questions

1. What is Primavera P6?
2. What is the cost of primavera p6?
3. Compare between primavera contractor and primavera p6?
4. List the industries where primavera is significantly used?
5. Explain the primavera schedule?
6. What are the milestones in creating a primavera p6 schedule?
7. How do you measure & compare the progress using primavera?
8. What is the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera?
9. How do you communicate the monthly schedule analysis?
10. Tell me about your successes in a team environment?

Primavera P6 Interview Questions For Freshers

1. What is the difference between free float, and total float, and what is the difference between Float and Slack?

Float and slack are two different words with the same meaning.

• Free Float: the amount of time, an activity can be delayed without delaying the successor activity
• Total Float: the amount of time, an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date.

2. What is a constraint in primavera?

Constraints in primavera is to fix the start or finish date as per the following options:

1. Project Must Finish by
2. Mandatory Start / Mandatory Finish
3. Start / Finish On or After
4. Start / Finish On or Before
5. Start / Finish On
6. Expected Finish

3. How can you define the Critical Path in PRIMAVERA?

Its the longest path through the project with the least amount of float, Filter the activities with a total float equal to or less than 0

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4. What is WBS?

WBS means Work Breakdown Structure. it represents a hierarchical breakdown of a Project into elements and deliverables.

5. What is an open-end activity in primavera?

An open-end activity is an activity that does not have any successor. Normally open-end activity is not accepted in the schedule because the total float will be calculated from the end of the project and these entire activities' late dates gather at the end of the project and can not prepare a logical late start plan.

6. What is the difference between Retained Logic & Override Logic in progress updates?

• If a project is generally running according to plan and activities are not progressed out of sequence then there will be virtually no difference between the two methods. BIG differences come when activities are progressed out of sequence.
• I believe in retained logic. Invariably that will produce the longest critical path but if activities have progressed out of sequence, there could be some resulting illogical dependencies remaining, in particular resulting from dependencies with durations.
• Progress override invariably produces a shorter critical path and again there could be some illogical lack of dependencies resulting from activities having progressed out of sequence.

7. How do you measure & compare the progress using primavera?

Progress can be measured using EVM earned value management as per the following terms:

• Budget at Completion (BAC)
• Planned Value (PV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Planned % Complete
• Earned Value (EV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Actual% Complete
• Actual Cost (AC) = No formula What you’ve actually spent on the project
• Schedule Performance Index (SPl) =Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)
• Schedule Variance (SV) =Earned Value (EV) – Planned Value (PV)
• Cost Performance Index (CPI) =Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC)
• To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) =(Budget at Completion (BAC) – Earned Value (EV) ) / (Budget at Completion (BAC) -Actual Cost (AC))
• Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV)  -Actual Cost (AC)
• For more information see this article: EVM EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT

8. What are resource allocation and resource leveling?

• Resource allocation is assigning resources to activities, and determining the amount of labor, equipment, and money required for any activity.
• Resource leveling is the Resource requirements of all scheduled activities that are compared to the maximum quantity available at the time of leveling. An activity is delayed if too few resources are available at any time during the activity’s duration.
• The maximum quantity for a resource is determined through the Max units/time for a particular resource in the Resources Tab.

9. What is an S – Curve and how to create S Curve in PRIMAVERA?

• An S-curve is the cumulative cost function plotted on a histogram, which can vaguely resemble the letter S. BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP are frequently plotted and compared on a histogram as separate and “shadowing” S-curves.
• Use the Activity Usage Profile to view cost or unit values for activities in the open project over time according to a timescale you specify. The Activity Usage Profile displays resource allocations for all activities or for the activities you select in the Activity Table, Activity Usage Spreadsheet, Gantt Chart, or the Activity Network.

10. What is the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera?

Milestones & flags both are events rather than activities. Some client likes to use flags rather than milestone due to the following differences.

1. With the use of flags, the logic of the main event can be easily tracked as these can not be created without a predecessor as a stand-alone allocating the constraint.Whereas milestones can.
2. Flags can not update manually as Primavera automatically update the status whereas milestone can be updated manually.
3. Flags can not be constrained only driven by predecessors whereas milestones can.

Primavera P6 Interview Questions For Experienced

11. What are the early warning signs you look for when reviewing progress against a schedule?

Despite many efforts, a schedule can quickly spiral out of control and this will determine if they have the plan to minimize avoidable gaps and delays.

12. What is a good use of lag on a project?

Find out if your potential scheduler knows proven best practices in planning and scheduling. Proven best practices across construction discourage any use of LAG OR LEAD TIME on projects.

13. If given someone else’s schedule, how would you go about analyzing it?

You’ll discover how your candidate breaks large tasks into manageable pieces and how they deal with ambiguity. Are they confident enough to ask for help on the pieces that fall outside their expertise? Do they have a system to follow for analyzing outside schedules? WE DO.

14. How do you communicate the monthly schedule analysis?

A monthly schedule report has different information for different audiences. Can they recognize that not all audiences want to see the same data? Can the candidate analyze and understand the important issues and trouble spots?

15. How would you deal with an incomplete project or one that has missing information?

This question tells a lot about how they handle missing data and if they would be proactive in filling in the pieces from the team – trying to create a clear plan of action.

16. How do you schedule, manage and track Permits, Right of Way, and/or Utility Relocation?

Since these items fall into the “red-tape” of dealing with outside access, you want to find out how they are going to keep these items on track and in constant focus on the schedule. A couple of milestones may not be enough to make sure these items get continued focus.

17. Tell me about your successes in a team environment?

This will help you work out how they view themselves in the context of a team. New research suggests that most of us can fall into 2 categories – givers and takers. Are they givers? Find out by listening to their language – are they using “me” and “I” or are they talking about their team in terms of “us” and “we”? Do they share the credit or blame someone else for mistakes? 

18. What is your approach to delivering bad news so the message won’t destroy your relationships?

This shows how well they deal with confrontation – unavoidable and common in project environments. Are they thinking about fostering productive relationships or just covering their butts when things go wrong?

19. How would you go about winning over a PM that doesn’t take your input into consideration?

Relationships stuff again. Are they able to tread lightly and be persuasive? When personalities clash are they able to rise above?

20. How would you rate your level of enthusiasm about project controls?

People who are enthusiastic about their professionalism are going to uplift the team and help everyone stay optimistic. Having a passion for what you do is contagious to those around you.

Most Common Primavera P6 FAQs

21. How have you improved project controls processes at your previous company?

Project Controllers don’t necessarily get the chance to influence final project decisions but they do get the opportunity to offer suggestions. This shows if they have ideas and want to express them, hopefully making things a bit better for everyone.

22. What is Primavera P6?

Primavera P6 is the official project management software tool employed worldwide in enterprises such as Construction, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Energy, and even IT. While there are loads of project administration tools in the business, Primavera P6 polishes in being capable to manage huge and complicated projects and doing it thoroughly.

23. What is the cost of primavera p6?

If you desire to have the regular license of Primavera P6, indicating that you want to have the software for experience, then it will require you US$2,500. In extension to the licensing price, you are also required to pay US$550 for the preeminent year of software update and maintenance.

24. What is portfolio management?

Portfolio management is a phrase utilized by project management experts to illustrate methods for examining and collectively maintaining a combination of current or proposed projects based on various key features. The primary objective is to discover the optimal mix and sequencing of recommended projects to best accomplish the company's overall aims typically couched in the duration of tough economic measures, business approach goals, or technical approach goals while acknowledging limitations required by the administration or external real-world circumstances.

25. Compare between primavera contractor and primavera p6?

Primavera Contractor is Primavera's entry-level project control product, intended to provide contractors to transfer planning data with users utilizing P6 EPPM or PPM for their project superintendence. It contributes a related level of functionality to Microsoft Project but can create the .xer files typically needed for bid obedience on superior engineering and development projects.

26. Can one purchase p3 or Suretrack?

Regrettably no, they were eliminated from the business at the end of 2010. The most proximate equivalents from the contemporary product assortment are P6 PPM or Contractor 

27. List the industries where primavera is significantly used?

• Oil and Gas
• Construction and Engineering 

28. Explain the primavera schedule?

A Primavera P6 schedule is usually needed at the commencement of a project, regardless of whether it is easy or complicated, to determine the extent of the project and its actions. A schedule must be made earlier to begin the project. It must be a strong plan that beats out what requires to be completed, by whom and when, while evaluating any hazards to the project. This is all achieved with the aim of giving the deliverables of the project to the quality measures while completing on point and on resources.

29. What is the planning stage in creating a primavera p6 schedule?

Where a project description is made explaining the project, highlighting all aspects. Subsections could involve legal elements, Quality Assurance, and so on.

30. What are the milestones in creating a primavera p6 schedule?

Activities spell out the actions to reach a Milestone. Milestones contain a decided date yet no span and are a particular point in time throughout the project lifecycle. They are utilized to include progress towards achievement. They may be introduced for budget remittances or as a source point, which marks a significant event or choice point inside the scheme.

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