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Simple Float Map Video
The video titled: "Simple Float Map" is actually much more than just a criticality statement across multiple progressed programme updates. The method of delay analysis presented is known as the "dynamic" method.
All the relevant data required to determine which activities are critical , for how long they are critical, their progress %, start and finish dates can be referenced (Note: Red in the TF column of each update is critical, descending sub-critical activities are shown in different colors).
The time line (green line) at the top references each day of the historic progress of the works (each cell is a day). The progressed programme updates are positioned by placing their Program ID and Data Date above the % complete column of each update. Each update is positioned in "real historic time" when the updated progressed programme was actually updated.
The bars seen in detail are the actual start and finish dates of each update from the last update shown. All activity counts (Note: Update activity counts can go up and down as works are varied for additions and omissions of work as a project progresses) of each programme update are consolidated to form a master activity ID which enables all the update information to be considered from each and every updated progressed programme.
The data to form the "Float Map" is downloaded direct from either the MS SQL, Oracle XE or SQLite database that P6 runs from. We use VB and C# software code to felicitate the down load. The code connects straight into the database and an SQL query is coded into the code and the SQL query finds the relevant tables and columns of data. As database data comes in text format and the data needs to be re-structured, the VB and C# code restructures the data and re-formats text dates as dates, text numbers as numbers and so on. The data is then loaded for each update into the Excel spreadsheet as shown.
The baselines and updated progressed programmes can be chosen from a tick box before the code downloads the program data chosen.
The code that defines the criticality, and hides and opens the data shown on the spreadsheet is a separate code which placed in the Excel Visual Basic Editor.
Commentary
The black arrow indicates where there is a commentary that goes with the simple float map demonstration. It can be turned on or off as required.
P6 Programme Data
It must be stressed that all the data that comes out of the P6 database does not undergo any change. The criticality and sub-criticality, the start and finish dates, the % complete etc... undergo no change. The data seen in the any native P6 presentation (of the same data) is exactly the same.
The Benefit of the Presentation
The bonus of this form of presentation, is that the reader can see all the progressed programme updates in "real historic time", all on one sheet and where and when the activity delays actually occurred. The analyst/reader/reviewer of the data does not have to look at say 36 updated progressed programmes separately. Parallel critical activity paths competing against one another across many updated programmes can be readily identified. Hence, concurrency can easily be reviewed for where and when it occurs.
The following link explains in more detail how float maps work:
https://www.linkedin.com/post/edit/6110056785530404864
The further post goes into more technical detail of what is contained on the float map spreadsheets and how the Float Maps work: