What Do the Different Primavera P6 Version Numbers Mean?
When people refer to Primavera P6 they also mention the version of the project management scheduling software they are using as well. Sometimes they’ll say they have P6 release 8 or 15 or even 20. Why are there so many versions of P6? Aren’t they the same program?
In 2014, the latest version of Primavera was Primavera P6 version 8.x, however, in 2015, the next updated release of Primavera was version 15. The decision to jump in version numbers was due to all of the different Oracle software programs that integrate with Primavera. All of these programs unfortunately also had their own version numbers. If companies wanted to integrate their Primavera P6 to another one of their programs, then all these different versions made it very confusing to know which versions are compatible. Their goal to clarify the process resulted in the decision to make all the software versions to be the fiscal year. So, in 2015, Primavera P6 version jumped from 8 to 15. The expectation is to release an updated version of P6 every subsequent year.
Are there big differences with each new version of Primavera P6?
The biggest changes with each update are to fix technical issues and to mostly add new features to the Primavera P6 EPPM Web Access scheduling program. Primavera P6 Professional scheduling program has been updated but has not had any major visual changes to it.
This article, explains why P6 EPPM Web Access had such a dramatic change in its design from a Java based to HTML5 based program.
Is it worth updating my older Primavera P6 software?
If you are wondering if you should upgrade to a newer version of Primavera, but unsure what the changes are? Oracle has a tool that allows you to compare your current release of P6 to the version you may want to upgrade to. You will be able to see what issues were fixed or what features were added.
Oracle Primavera P6 Cumulative Feature Overview
The Primavera P6 Cumulative Feature Overview is a website here: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E64687_01/EPPM/EPPM_CFO.html
This online tool allows you to select either P6 Professional, P6 EPPM (P6 Web Access) or P6 Team Member Web. Figure 1 shows the website with program options and the selection of the Current Release and the Target Release.
Figure 1: Oracle Primavera P6 Cumulative Feature Overview
The result is a very detailed report of which release a feature was added or changed. Figure 2 shows an example report. As you can see, it lists specific feature changes in chronologic order of the various releases.
Figure 2: Oracle Primavera P6 Cumulative Feature Overview Sample Report
Summary
The Oracle Primavera P6 Cumulative Feature Overview is very a helpful tool for P6 IT professionals and business groups to make decisions for potential Primavera P6 upgrades for their company. If you need more details of each patch or upgrade, then you will need to log into your Oracle Support account at: https://support.oracle.com/portal/
In order to log into your Oracle Support account, you will need to be up-to-date with your Primavera P6’s annual Oracle support fees.
Need help with your Primavera P6 install or upgrade?
One of the services P6 Consulting Inc. offers is P6 IT technical services. Our Primavera P6 IT consultants are experienced with Primavera P6 installations, upgrades and P6 troubleshooting.
For a full overview of our project management online training classes via the Primavera P6 software, visit our Training Courses page.
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