Level of Effort vs. WBS Summary Activity Types in Primavera P6
In Primavera P6 there are six different activity types, two of which are called WBS Summary and Level of Effort (LOE). Both are very useful to determine the dates, duration range, and duration % complete of a group of activities. They are also useful in spreading resources or expense costs over that duration range. Administrative costs, overhead, other non-work task costs and indirect costs can be assigned to these activity types as well.
What is a WBS Summary Activity Type?
What is a Level of Effort Activity Type?
(**EDITOR’S NOTE: Some activities may show start/finish days that do not align with the original durations. This is an error on our part with assigned calendars. It will be fixed soon. Otherwise, all other information is accurate with the article write-up!) This simple project scenario below illustrates the subtle differences between a WBS Summary activity type to a LOE activity Type:
- Activity M1000 is a WBS Summary Activity Type that automatically summarizes the entire project because of its placement at the top of the project at the Level 1 Project: Project ABC group. Notice how the roll-up values correspond to the blue Project grouping band.
- Activity A1000 is a WBS Summary Activity Type that automatically summarizes all the activities under the Level 2 WBS:ABC.1.1 group which includes Activities A1010 to A1050. Notice how the roll-up values correspond to the green WBS grouping band. This provides the Original Duration (duration range) for the WBS Summary A1000 as 26days.
- Activity B1000 is a Level of Effort Activity Type that summarizes two groups of activities (B1010 to B1050) under two WBS groups (WBS: ABC.2.2 and ABC.3.3). This provides the Original Duration (duration range) for the LOE B1000 as 25days.
Why is there a difference of 1 day duration between the WBS Summary vs. the LOE for an identical group of activities?
The main use of either the WBS Summary or the LOE Activity Type is to help provide summary roll-ups for dates, durations and % complete. They allow flexibility to spread expense and resource costs over a group of activities, whether they all fall under one WBS node, or a select group of activities. Using and understanding either of these activity types can help you further customize your project reports.
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