Comparison of Planner versions
Desktop applications views
Features available in P2ware Planner Suite are divided into views - windows that are responsible for various project management tasks.
Intuitive P2ware Planner menu
| Uniquely intuitive and easy to use menu is visible on each view allowing quick navigation and finding needed information.
Product Breakdown Structure
| It is one of essential diagrams of the product-based planning technique. Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) is a hierarchical view of all products to be delivered during plan execution.
P2ware Planner facilitates very intuitive identification of products, their quick description and creating of their structure. This diagram is connected with other Planner views so any product added here can be immediately described and is automatically included into all relevant places in the plan.
Product Flow Diagram
| Product Flow Diagram (PFD) is one of the main tools of the product-based planning technique because it illustrates a sequence of products delivery or creation without considering the way how it is done. Based on PFD, P2ware Planner generates automatically an initial network diagram and Gantt Chart. PFD presents all products identified on Product Breakdown Diagram, i.e. standard, integration, external and final products. Any product added here can be immediately described and is automatically included into all relevant places in the plan.
Products (table, tree)
| Presents a structure of products in a table and as a tree. Products table contains all products in a plan with their major properties. It can contain an additional table with objects connected to selected products - this facilitates identification of relations in a plan. The products table can be customized by a user to display required set of properties. Any product added here can be immediately described and is automatically included into all relevant places in the plan.
Activites (table, tree)
| Presents all activities of a plan in a table and as a tree. In this view it is possible to add sub-activities to any activity or sub-activity and describe them.
Gantt Chart
| Clear and highly useful presentation of activities in a timeline. They are depicted as stripes beginning and finishing at particular times. Relations between activities are also visible. Due to application of the product-based planning, Gantt Chart may be created automatically according to Product Flow Diagram but it can be created and modified manually. Gantt Chart can present not only planned data but also current time, percent completed, buffers and its consumption as well as times estimated with PERT approach.
Network Diagram
| Network Diagram presents activities, dependencies and information about duration of activities. P2ware Planner implements the product-based planning technique. The network diagram is generated automatically according to the product flow diagram and can be modified manually.
Resources
| In this view all resources used in the plan can be identified and described. To manage the resources it is possible to use also the related resources window visible under main table on several other views.
Resource Assignments
| This view is designed for advanced resource assignments management. It is possible even to assign many resources to many activities, group the assignments by dates, filter resource assignments and browse assignments data. This view allows faster and more efficient resource management.
Risk Register
| It is used to store information about threats and opportunities related to plan and its execution. This view is used to identify, describe, assess probability, impact and proximity of risks and to identify risk owners.
Issue Register
| It is used to capture problems, recommendations, change requests and other issues important to plan and its execution.
Quality Log
| The log is used to store information about products quality reviews and results of the reviews. Single product can have multiple quality reviews and each quality review can be described by planned, current times and result of the review.
Daily Log
| This log is used to record events related to project execution and its planning. Daily log entries may indicate potential issue or risk. The log may also be used by a team leader as a team log.
Lessons Log
| This log stores lessons learned to be used in this or other projects, e.g. to avoid mistakes or exploit opportunities. Lessons learned may come from various projects.
Calendars
| Calendars are used to define working time of particular resources or standard calendar of a plan. Due to calendar configuration, it is possible to manage activities execution in realistic schedule including holidays or other work limitations.
Work Packages
| Work Package is a set of work to be delegated for execution to particular authorised person or team. It can contain checkpoints, when authorised people reports on a progress to the project manager.
Checkpoints
| To better and more efficiently manage plan execution, it is recommended to use checkpoints that are related to work packages. Checkpoints define points in time when authorised people have to fill in a checkpoint report on the work package progress.
Snapshots
| Snapshots store values of the plan selected properties observed at a particular time. Thanks to snapshot, it is possible to trace a history of the plan execution.
Cost Items
| It is a tool for more detail budgeting based on detail cost categories.
Timesheets
| Timesheet is an essential tool to collect actual information about time spent by resource on particular work assignment.
Schedule
| It presents activities in a form of a calendar or schedule with a configurable timescale. This view is easy to understand even by people who do not have any project management knowledge.
Cost Chart
| This view presents planned, actual costs and the earned value. Costs can be viewed in different timescale and cost chart can be seen in a cash flow or cost summary mode.
Buffer Chart
| This chart presents consumption of a plan and feeding buffers. Chart is divided into three areas: green, yellow and red. If buffer consumption is within the green area, an authorised person does not have to take any special actions. If buffer consumption enters the yellow area, it is important to consider eventual counteractions. If buffer enters the red area, it is necessary to take actions eliminating the threat of not completing the project or buffered activities on time.
Reasource Load
| This diagram presents levels of resource usage. It helps to identify a resource work under- or overload.
Reports
| In this view one can generate reports using built-in or user’s created report templates. A user gets a set of useful reports templates with the installed application and can create new report templates. Exception here is Planner Standard which does not have the Reports view.
Reports editor
| The editor allows to create custom report templates that are adjusted to company requirements or standards. Users can also tailor built-in reports to their own needs.
Documents
| This view is to facilitate management of internal or external document library. It is also possible to bind a plan to document library from SharePoint or network share.
Properties
| P2ware Planner includes a lot of predefined properties and formulas which describe each plan object and can be seen or edited on specific views. While using Planner Premium or For PSO, it is also possible to add new custom properties and define formulas to compute their values based on other properties. It is one of the very sophisticated tools enabling organisations to customise the software and adjust it to their industry, standards and method.
Interface Customization
| This view allows a configuration of views that is available to the end-user. One can hide unused views, properties, perspectives or related objects using this view.
External Activities
| P2ware Planner allows to add objects from other plans, i.e. products and activities. Activities can be added using External Activities view. External activities may be used in a network diagram or Gantt Chart by defining a relation between the plan and external activities.
Connect to P2ware Planner Server window
| Synchronization and publication of plans, central resources and linking projects.
