Primavera (P6) is one of the leading project management applications, similar to MS-Project server edition, which allows companies to plan projects, WBS, tasks and resources for complex programs and sub-projects. It is more user-friendly as compared to SAP and does not result in many locally managed overlapping plans which is the 'achilles-heel' of MS-Project.

This application has basic program scheduling features but not with inter-dependencies and constraints like Primavera. Consequently some companies may wish to perform detailed scheduling of tasks and resources in Primavera, even during the proposal cost estimating phase. There are a couple of ways to do this:

1. Program schedules can be developed in Primavera, including the WBS, tasks and resource assignments, and then imported into this application for labor cost estimating purposes, OR
2. High level WBS structures can be developed in this application, perhaps with tasks, and then exported to Primavera to convert basis of estimate WBS and tasks to tasks in Primavera, with estimated resources. WBS structures must be created in parallel in P6. This information can be further refined in Primavera and imported back to this application, in essence updating either:
   • Task dates only - all resource and effort estimates remain controlled solely by this application
   • Summary level resources - the resource details in Primavera, perhaps planned down to named individual, are rolled up to a planning resource level and costed at a pre-determined hourly rate in this application
   • Detailed  resources and effort estimates in this application are replaced by data developed in Primavera.

This interface, together with the SAP Baseline Budget interface, is illustrated in the figure below.

To upload the schedule from Primavera, move the exported P6 schedule to your desktop and click on the "upload" icon above the top-right of the WBS list, selecting "Upload from Primavera" from the menu (highlighted in the screen shot below).

From the proposal application, WBS elements, tasks, and schedules are uploaded in the background, noting that:

1. WBS elements and tasks are created in this application underneath the associated "WBS Code" which corresponds to the P6 ID highlighted above. If the "WBS Code" does not exist as a P6 ID highlighted above then a task and a WBS will be both created, for the "Activity Code" and "WBS Code" in the Excel file, respectively
2. If an imported WBS or task's activity code already exists in the proposal WBS tab then it will be updated instead
3. Dates are updated or set for all imported WBS elements and tasks, however dependencies and constraints are not imported
4. Imported WBS elements are not marked as basis of estimates (BOE column) by default. Check the box in this column and complete the information requested in the popu, if a Primavera WBS is in fact a basis of estimate.

To import resources and resource effort estimates from Primavera, import the Primavera extract from the estimating application.