09 jun. 2023
Criação de um projeto simples com o ChatGPT
Oracle Primavera vs Microsoft Project: How to Choose the Right Scheduling Tool?
Without any doubt, this is the question that has been presented to me most often during my career. Many project managers know MS Project Professional (MSP) and have heard of Oracle Primavera P6 or its successor Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC). But which tool should they choose to schedule their project?
The similarities
First, the basic principle of these tools is very similar. We first add activities, activity durations and relationships in a table before both tools use the critical path method to calculate start dates, finish dates and Total Float. They then both use a Gantt chart to visualize the calculated schedule.
The differences
Still, there are some fundamental differences that could have a major impact on the schedule tool choice. For even more in-depth functional differences, keep an eye out for our future blogpost about this.
1. Learning Curve
As a Microsoft Office tool, MSP has a recognizable interface which makes it very user friendly. Primavera on the other hand is a more complex product with numerous options and settings, causing a considerable learning curve. While the interface of Primavera P6 looks quite old-fashioned, his younger brother Primavera Cloud has a more appealing modern look. This makes OPC definitely more user-friendly than P6, but still not as recognizable as MS Project. Familiarity is often an important argument when choosing between both tools, but it is also not without danger as scheduling is simply not that straight forward. The complexity of Primavera results in more flexibility thanks to the more extensive range of options.
2. Interface
Most users of Primavera P6 use the Professional interface to work with the tool (and to connect to the database). This interface has stood still in time and is graphically speaking less attractive than the more recent versions of Microsoft Project or the modern web interface of Oracle Primavera Cloud. Especially when we look at reporting. It used to be different, but MS Project clearly has the upper hand with the built-in Excel-like reports.
3. Schedule Quality
Oracle Primavera encourage a structured approach to scheduling. The way these tools are designed ensures that the user builds and follows up plans correctly. While a bad quality schedule can be made in Primavera, we see this much less frequently than in MS Project.
4. Database
Primavera works with a database that multiple users can connect with. The tools have no separate files such as Microsoft Project. This has many advantages in terms of collaboration and reusability. Primavera P6 and OPC are true enterprise solutions, wheras MS Project Professional simply is not. So if your business need is mainly about managing resources across projects, then the Primavera suite is very suitable. Microsoft Project Server exists as an enterprise solution, but the tool is not widely used in the market where we operate and according to us, there are good reasons for this.
5. Enterprise
In MS Project the project is central. With MS Project Professional the project is even just one .mpp file. In Oracle Primavera P6 or Cloud, the project ID is just one of the many characteristics of an object in the database. As a result, it is very easy in Primavera to manage multiple schedules together, define interfaces, create other cross-sections of the data, distribute work over multiple schedulers, etc. For these reasons Primavera is the indisputable standard for complex, multidisciplinary projects.
Which tool to choose?
The choice between MS Project and Primavera is certainly not always easy. Whereas Primavera P6 and the newer Oracle Primavera Cloud are generally tools used by trained planning professionals to manage more complex projects or as a solution for enterprise resource management, Microsoft Project is an accessible tool for a PM who wants to make a planning independently.
Both tools are proven solutions with a long track record. But development is not standing still and perhaps the answer to the question of what the best scheduling tool is for your organization may be different than MS Project or Primavera.
Conclusion
Choosing the right scheduling tool is not easy and more complex than we can summarize in a blog post. Very often it is therefore necessary to look beyond the tool itself. Our advisors are therefore always willing to find a suitable solution for your business needs. Feel free to contact us at info@proove.be for advice.
