The Steps feature in Primavera is available in the Activities window - Detail Tab - Steps tab.  This is quite useful feature to help you breakdown your activity or if you just want to specify steps to perform the activity. 

You can add as many steps for an activity as you want. You can also mark a step as completed when it is done. 

On the right-side of the bottom-window, you can click Modify to write a note against each step as well.

After project planning, we enter project monitoring and controlling phase. In this phase we:

• Collect and update status of activities (e.g. when started, how much progressed).
  
  
• We also make changes requested internal or external of the project.
  
  
• This process is called Schedule Model Maintenance.
  
  
• Collect and update resource information (e.g. how many man-hours consumed, how much equipment and material used)
  
  
• Monitor schedule and control as required.
  
  
• Incorporate risk control activities to avoid, mitigate, transfer or accept risk.
  
  
• Change baseline if required
  
  
• Document changes.

PMP vs Primavera

Many people think PMP and Primavera are one and the same thing! I have met several people who think that by taking PMP or Primavera training they will learn same or similar things. It is not true at all. Primavera is software and PMP is a theoretical study.

Read on and find out how PMP and Primavera differs from each other, and what they are all about.

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification

PMP certification is conceptual, theoretical, it is not practical teaching. PMP is all about tools, techniques, methods, inputs and outputs associated with different activities.

PMP guides you how to do a certain thing in a proper way, in a way which is more productive, easier and manageable.

For example, if you want to calculate duration of an activity, PMP teachings will tell you how you can calculate near to accurate duration of the activity. You will be provided with techniques that you can use to calculate the duration. To calculate the duration, PMP gives three techniques: 3-point estimation, analogous estimation and parametric estimation. Using either of these or all of these techniques, you can calculate near to accurate duration of the activity, and you will be saved from guessing the duration, which could be unrealistic and which can affect the entire project badly.

In the same way, PMP gives you techniques to do many other things so that you can do these better, without a problem and so that your work is more productive. These techniques are related to all kinds of work, e.g. techniques to work with product/project quality, scope, time, cost, risk, communication, procurement, HR and stakeholders.

Oracle Primavera 

Primavera is software by Oracle, a US based company. It allows you to record detail of your project work i.e. WBS, activities, resources, costs, etc. Without software you cannot record, compile and organize all detail of the project properly. Furthermore, Primavera re-calculates the project detail i.e. cost, man-hours, duration, etc. every time you make any change, anywhere in the project. This cannot be done in any other software like Excel, Word, etc. 

If you have studied PMP, you can plan your project work in Primavera work more realistically and more properly. For example, you have learnt how to calculate duration of the activity through PMP. Once calculated, you can now enter that in Primavera, and you can do that for all the activities. Similarly, all other techniques, methods you have learnt in PMP, you can now practically implement them in Primavera.

Conclusion

Both PMP and Primavera are different things. However, if you learn them both, you will become expert in project management, not only in concepts but in practice, too.

Nowadays, employers demand that employees should have studied both - Primavera and PMP. Especially, if you are planning to go or are presently in Middle East, you will realize that knowing Primavera and PMP, both, is like a necessity. And if you have studied them both, you can find plenty better job opportunities for you.

This was difference between Primavera vs PMP explained. I hope you found this information useful.

Also read:

• Benefits of Using Primavera Software
• Oracle Primavera vs MS Project

Purchase PMBOK at a very low price of only $49.28. Click the Amazon discount link below (click on book) to avail the offer.

It is difficult to change the currency for each resource. Hence, it is better to change the base (default) currency in Primavera. By changing the default currency, all the resources and expenses will show monetary value in the Default currency that you have set.

Here is how to change the default currency in Primavera.

Step 1: Open 'Admin' menu and click on 'Currencies'

Step 2: The first currency that you see on the top of the list is in US Dollars. It is Default Currency. Rename this to another currency. Enter the currency name, any symbol, and currency ID

Step 3: Click 'Close' to close the window.

That's it. You have changed the Default currency. Now, in every window of Primavera and in the reports, the Default currency will show.