Over time, excess enterprise data can accumulate in P6. For example, if you import a projects using the Insert New import action for some data types, when data of those types in the imported file matches data already in the database P6 creates new instances of that matching data. If it is not regularly deleted, this excess data can eventually cause performance issues in the application. However, searching for and deleting excess enterprise data can be a time consuming and labor intensive task.
As an administrator user of P6 you can analyze the usage of enterprise data in the application. On the basis of this analysis, you can identify data that is underused or redundant and use that information to determine which data items are good candidates for deletion.
When you retrieve the usage statistics for enterprise data, columns are automatically added to your view to help you to identify the data you might choose to delete. These columns are:
- Usage Column: Shows usage information about the enterprise data item. This field displays Used After if the data has been summarized or published after the date you selected in the Display Usage Data dialog box or Never Used.
- Active Project Count: The number of currently in use projects and baselines in which the data item is used. On the Resources and Roles tabs of the Resource Administration page and the OBS page, any number over zero is a link that will open a dialog box listing the currently in use projects in which the data is used.
- Inactive Project Count: The number of obsolete projects and baselines in which the data item is used. On the Resources and Roles tabs of the Resource Administration page and the OBS page, any number over zero is a link that will open a dialog box listing the obsolete projects in which the data is used.
- Last Assigned Date: The date the data item was most recently assigned in any project.
Select Column: Determines whether the data item might be a good candidate for deletion, based on the options you selected in the Display Usage Data dialog box. This option is only selected by P6 if the data item matches all the conditions you set in the Display Usage Data dialog box. You can also select or clear this option manually. All data items with this option selected are deleted when you select Delete Data on the Actions menu.
You can analyze the usage of enterprise data on the following pages:
The Enterprise Data page
- User Defined Fields (UDFs) for all data types
- Global and resource calendars
- Activity, assignment, issue, project, resource and role codes
- Risk categories
The Administration Page
- Resources tab
- Roles tab
User Administration Page
- OBS page