After logging into P6 with a secure user name and password, navigate to one of the following main sections enumerated below to begin your work. Because your capabilities within the application are limited based on security profiles, access settings, optional user interface views, personal preferences, and other assignments, you may not be able to view all the sections or use all the features within a section.
The P6 web user interface is composed of the following main sections:
Dashboards
This section presents highlights of major areas in resizable windows called portlets arranged in customizable workspaces called dashboards.
Who Uses Dashboards?
- Temporary subcontractors checking their next assignment, activity, or calendar entry.
- Employees reporting or resolving issues preventing them from moving forward.
- Financial executives checking costs, earned value performance to prepare forecasts.
Portfolios
This section presents data, metrics, and comparisons of related projects bundled into portfolios. This section includes views, portfolio analysis, resource demand/capacity planning, and overall performance status.
Who Uses Portfolios?
- Executives and critical thinkers interested in planning and analysis and other metrics spanning multiple projects.
Projects
The working core of the application. This section includes WBS, activities, risks, issues, Gantt charts, calendars, expenses, and resource assignments.
Who Uses Projects?
- Project Managers planning new projects.
- Project leads and activity owners coordinating the completion of tasks.
- Risk Managers implementing risk assessments or mitigation policies.
- Executives who want hands-on access to the EPS to view a portfolios's issues and other status details
- Resources providing input about the status of their activities including progress updates, notebook entries, and issues.
Resources
This section helps you plan and manage resources, roles, and teams.
Who Uses Resources?
- Human resource specialists, buyers, and purchasing officers assessing labor, non-labor, and material resources.
- Project Directors coordinating teams and managing the planned roles across the entire company.
- Project Managers planning resources for a particular project or time period.
Administer
This section provides administrative settings for configuring the framework for the application. This includes user accounts, security profiles, views, application settings, and enterprise data such as codes, user-defined fields, categories, templates, forms, calendars, roles, units of measure, and other items used throughout the application.
Who Uses Administer?
- Application and System Administrators and other users authorized to define the essential framework for all other sections of the application, ultimately influencing how work is performed and measured at the organization.
- Users accessing their own personal preferences and calendars.
Note: Resource managers and project managers can take advantage of a shortcut to an abbreviated set of enterprise data to self-administer applicable information related to resources and projects.
Reports
This section provides users with reports they can run on-demand or schedule for recurring output.
Who Uses Reports?
- A cross-functional array of users from all departments at your organization will likely be generating, receiving, and analyzing reports.