Course Overview
A logically sound schedule is only the starting point. On major capital projects, owners and PMCs expect resource-loaded and cost-loaded baselines, credible forecasts, earned value reporting and schedules that meet structured quality criteria such as the DCMA 14-point assessment. Planners who cannot connect time, resources and cost in Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM struggle to explain variance, defend extension of time positions or support management decisions.
Advanced Scheduling, Resources and Earned Value is the Academy's practitioner course for planners and project controls engineers. Over three hands-on days, learners resource- and cost-load a schedule, analyse and level resources, manage multiple baselines, perform disciplined progress updates, calculate and interpret earned value metrics, forecast completion and cost, and run a schedule quality assessment. Exercises follow a full update cycle on an EPC infrastructure project.
Target Audience
- Planners and schedulers with P6 experience who need resource, cost and earned value skills
- Project controls engineers responsible for progress measurement and performance reporting
- Owner and PMC schedule reviewers assessing contractor baselines and updates
- Cost engineers integrating cost control with the schedule
- Project and construction managers who use schedule performance data for decisions
- PMO analysts consolidating schedule and earned value data across programmes
Prerequisites
- P6-101 P6 Fundamentals, or equivalent experience building and updating P6 schedules
- Working knowledge of WBS, relationships, calendars, constraints and total float
- Basic understanding of project cost concepts (budget, actual cost, forecast)
- Comfort with Excel for simple calculations and charts
Learning Objectives
- Design a resource and role structure and load a schedule with labour, equipment and material resources
- Cost-load a schedule using resources, cost accounts and expenses aligned to the contract price
- Analyse resource demand with usage profiles and spreadsheets and apply resource levelling
- Manage multiple baselines and perform variance analysis against them
- Apply percent complete types, physical progress and steps for accurate progress measurement
- Calculate and interpret earned value metrics: PV/BCWS, EV/BCWP, AC/ACWP, SV, CV, SPI, CPI, EAC, ETC and VAC
- Configure earned value settings and produce performance curves and reports
- Assess schedule quality using the DCMA 14-point schedule assessment and remediate findings
- Prepare a monthly update and forecast with a narrative that explains critical path movement
Detailed Course Outline
1Day 1 · Module 1: From logic to controlled schedule
- What owners require in a resource- and cost-loaded baseline
- Reviewing schedule logic and critical path before loading
- Project settings that affect resources, costs and earned value
- Integration with cost control in Unifier
2Day 1 · Module 2: Roles and resources
- Enterprise role and resource dictionaries
- Labour, nonlabour and material resources
- Resource calendars, units, prices and shifts
- Role-based planning versus named resources
3Day 1 · Module 3: Resource and cost loading
- Assigning resources and roles to activities
- Duration types and their effect on units and duration
- Resource curves and budget distribution
- Cost accounts and expenses
- Reconciling the loaded schedule to the contract price
4Day 1 · Module 4: Resource analysis and levelling
- Resource usage profiles and spreadsheets
- Identifying over-allocation and peak demand
- Levelling options, priorities and preserving scheduled dates
- Evaluating levelling results against the critical path
5Day 2 · Module 5: Baselines and variance
- Maintaining multiple baselines
- Project and user baselines for comparison
- Variance columns and bars for dates, duration, units and cost
- Re-baselining governance and approval
6Day 2 · Module 6: Progress measurement
- Percent complete types: duration, physical and units
- Activity steps and weighted progress
- Actual units and costs versus budgeted
- Auto-compute actuals and store period performance
7Day 2 · Module 7: The monthly update cycle
- Data date discipline and update sequencing
- Out-of-sequence progress: retained logic versus progress override
- Critical and longest path movement between updates
- Update checklists and contractor submission review
8Day 2 · Module 8: Earned value management
- Earned value concepts and the performance measurement baseline
- PV/BCWS, EV/BCWP and AC/ACWP
- SV, CV, SPI and CPI
- Earned value settings and techniques in P6
- S-curves and performance trend analysis
9Day 3 · Module 9: Forecasting
- EAC, ETC and VAC calculation methods
- Remaining duration and remaining units forecasting
- Forecast versus baseline completion dates
- Communicating realistic forecasts to management
10Day 3 · Module 10: Schedule quality assessment
- The DCMA 14-point schedule assessment in detail
- Logic, leads, lags, relationship types and hard constraints
- High float, negative float, high duration and invalid dates
- Critical path test and baseline execution index (BEI)
- Remediating findings and documenting exceptions
11Day 3 · Module 11: Analysis, reporting and delay awareness
- What-if scenarios and schedule copies
- Reporting critical path, float erosion and milestone trends
- Introduction to delay analysis and time impact concepts
- Using Visualizer for presentation-quality outputs
12Day 3 · Module 12: Data exchange and the update package
- XER and XML export and import settings
- Protecting resource and cost data during exchange
- Monthly update narrative structure
- Assembling the update and performance report package
Learning Outcomes
- Produce resource- and cost-loaded baselines that reconcile to the contract
- Identify resource conflicts and apply levelling without distorting the critical path
- Measure progress accurately and prepare disciplined monthly updates
- Calculate, interpret and explain earned value performance to management
- Forecast completion dates and final cost with a defensible method
- Assess and improve schedules against the DCMA 14-point criteria
- Deliver a complete monthly update package with a clear narrative
Hands-on Workshops & Practical Exercises
Resource and cost loading
Load an EPC infrastructure schedule with labour, equipment and material resources, add expenses and reconcile the total to the contract price by WBS.
Levelling decisions
Analyse peak demand for critical crews, apply levelling with priorities and evaluate the impact on float and the finish date.
Update cycle simulation
Record three months of progress including out-of-sequence work, compare retained logic and progress override, and explain critical path movement.
Earned value analysis
Calculate PV, EV, AC, SPI and CPI at WBS and project level, produce S-curves and interpret the performance story.
DCMA 14-point assessment
Run the 14-point checks on a contractor schedule, record failures and remediate the most significant issues.
Capstone: monthly update and forecast
Deliver a full monthly update package (updated schedule, variance against baseline, earned value metrics, EAC forecast and narrative) for an owner-style review.
Duration
Delivered as three full days in the classroom, or as six live online sessions of 3.5 hours scheduled across two weeks.
Delivery Methods
Online
Live virtual classroom in six 3.5-hour sessions, with individual P6 EPPM lab accounts and a guided three-month update dataset between sessions.
Classroom
Three-day public course at the Academy in Riyadh and regional venues, with a dedicated resource- and cost-loaded P6 EPPM environment per learner.
On-site Corporate Training
Private cohort at your premises, applied to your own resource dictionaries, earned value settings and owner update requirements.
Assessment Method
- End-of-course examination (30 questions, 70% pass mark)
- Practical assignment: a resource- and cost-loaded monthly update with earned value analysis
- Continuous practical assessment during the workshops
- Minimum 80% attendance
Certificate Awarded
Arkan Academy · Practitioner
Arkan Certificate of Achievement: Oracle Primavera P6 Advanced Scheduling, Resources and Earned Value
Awarded to learners who meet the attendance requirement, pass the examination and complete the practical assignment. Carries a unique verification ID and 21 recorded learning hours.
ID · ARK-P6-201-XXXXXX
Career Benefits
- Progress from planner to senior planner or project controls engineer
- Prepare and defend baselines and updates that meet owner and PMC requirements
- Provide earned value insight that supports management and commercial decisions
- Contribute credibly to schedule reviews, forecasting and delay discussions
- Build the foundation for P6 EPPM administration and PMO leadership roles
Recommended Next Course
Professional Competencies Achieved
- Resource and cost loadingPractitioner
- Resource analysis and levellingPractitioner
- Progress measurement and updatingAdvanced
- Earned value managementPractitioner
- ForecastingPractitioner
- Schedule quality assessment (DCMA 14-point)Practitioner
Talent Development & Career Opportunities
Distinction graduates of this course are typically considered for project controls engineer roles, owner-side schedule review teams and earned value reporting on EPC and giga-project programmes.
Participants who achieve an overall assessment score above 90% graduate with Distinction and may be enrolled in the Arkan Talent Development Program.
Outstanding graduates may receive:
- Internship opportunities
- Exposure to PMIS implementation projects
- Mentorship from senior Arkan consultants
- Recommendation letters
- Career guidance sessions
- Candidate referrals to partner organizations through Arkan Talent
- Opportunities to participate in PMIS deployment, PMO setup and digital transformation projects
Disclaimer: Enrolment in the Talent Development Program and any of the opportunities above are not guaranteed and do not constitute an offer or promise of employment. Exceptional performers may be considered for future project opportunities based on business needs, individual performance, availability of suitable roles and client requirements. Referrals and placements remain subject to the selection processes of Arkan and its partner organizations.