In project scheduling, accuracy is key to maintaining a reliable and realistic timeline. However, during a schedule update, we may discover that a previously established relationship between activities is incorrect or does not align with the actual project execution. In cases where adjusting this relationship does not significantly impact the overall schedule, should the change be made? More importantly, is it an acceptable practice?

From a practical standpoint, refining relationships to reflect the true workflow can enhance schedule accuracy and prevent misleading projections. However, any change should be approached with caution, as it may raise concerns regarding transparency and consistency in project tracking.

In this article, we will explore whether modifying incorrect relationships during schedule updates is acceptable, how to justify such adjustments, and what supporting documentation should be submitted to ensure clarity and approval.

Can We Modify the Updated Time Schedule

You are preparing the monthly update for the consultant and the owner. While working, you find out that you made an unnecessary relationship in the baseline submitted and approved, and you want to change it. You can have several options that you can do:

1. Refer to the contract; if it mentions not changing anything in the Baseline Schedule, you can discuss with the consultant and the owner how to modify this issue to have the most reliable schedule as possible.

2. Refer to the contract; if it mentions “changing if mandatory only”, then you need to understand mandatory cases in your project.

In all cases, if you change anything in the time schedule while updating, you should provide a change log so that the consultant and owner can detect any modifications that you have made. All parties can agree if the change you made is okay or if you should not have done it and instead submit a recovery schedule.

How to Create a Change Log

You can create your own change log manually or you can use the visualizer from Primavera P6.

1. Open the project baseline, update, or both. Then press on “Visualizer”.

2. This window will appear. Press on the “Plus” sign.

 3. Choose “Schedule Comparison”.

4. Make sure that the “Create New” option is active and then name the sheet that will be exported. In this example, we will name it “For Change Log” and then press on “Options”.

 5. In the Project page,  make sure you assign the updated schedule in the “Revised Project” and the baseline in the “Original Project or Baseline”.

Then, press “Add”

6. In the General page, in the “Send Report to” choose the CSV file to export it as an Excel sheet.

7. On the Advanced Page, you can choose what you want to show. If you deleted a relationship, you could check on added/deleted Relationships.

8. Then press “Save and Draw”.

9. Go to the path you chose to download the sheet and open the Excel sheet. Since we only changed one thing between the baseline and the update, which was deleting an unnecessary relationship, this is what the sheet will look like.

 10. You can take the data from the exported sheet and paste it into the Template Sheet we provide.

Note

If you are a student in one of our Construction Project Planning Intermediate Level with P6 or Professional Planning Engineer (PPE) courses, you can find the Change Log Template in the Course Library.

Conclusion

Maintaining a clear and well-documented change log is essential whenever modifications are made to an approved baseline in Primavera P6. It ensures transparency, accountability, and traceability, allowing all stakeholders to understand what changes were made, why they were necessary, and how they impact the overall project schedule. Without a proper change log, project teams risk confusion, disputes, and potential delays due to a lack of clarity on schedule adjustments.

Download the Resources of this Article 

Can We Change a Relationship While Updating a Time Schedule? How and Why [Change Log Template+PDF] 733.43 KB 2732 downloads

This File is included in the following course(s)

Intermediate, Professional Planning

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