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powerproject

24 REASONS TO USE ASTA POWERPROJECT


RATHER THAN PRIMAVERA FOR MANAGING
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

www.astadev.com

powerproject

24 REASONS TO USE ASTA POWERPROJECT RATHER THAN


PRIMAVERA FOR MANAGING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

FAMILIAR, ACCESSIBLE INTERFACE


Asta Powerprojects familiar,
accessible interface makes it
intuitive to use, enabling you to
get up and running quickly and
minimising training costs.
Q

Asta Powerproject has a classic


Microsoft Office look and feel,
with the same high level menu
structure and short cuts (Ctrl+C
= copy, Ctrl+A = select all,
etc.).

You can customise and control


the Asta Powerproject toolbars
to suit your needs.

The workable screen area in


Asta Powerproject is as large as
possible, giving excellent
presentation on a single
medium-resolution screen.
Familiar, easy-to-use interface

UNPARALLELED CONTROL OVER THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR PLANS


Asta Powerproject gives you
unparalleled control over the
presentation of your plan. The
outstanding visual presentation
of project plans improves
communication and impresses
clients.
Q

Choose exactly which features


are displayed such as float, nondriving links, etc..

Add annotations such as text,


graphics and hyperlinks to
enhance the plan and highlight
important information.

Control the type, colour and


thickness of horizontal and
vertical grid lines, including the
individual grid lines of any given
row or specific date.

Control the colour of horizontal


and vertical bands in order to
highlight Work Breakdown
Structure levels, Activity Codes
and date periods.

Communicate plans clearly


Q

Surround the output with a


customisable 4-sided border that
can include unlimited logos, text
references, notes, issue numbers,
revision numbers, etc..

Control the format of the


output including number of
lines per page, page breaks,
legend appearance, order, font
and page size.

Call us on 01844 261700


to find out more

SCHEDULE CORRECTLY WITH MIXED CALENDARS


Asta Powerproject always uses the correct
calendar when two activities with different
calendars are linked together, giving you
accurate results that you can rely on.

Asta Powerproject uses the


predecessors calendar for Start-toStart links and the successors
calendar for Finish-to-Finish links,
ensuring you always get the correct
result.

In this example the Start-to-Start link


is based on the Task A (predecessor)
calendar as Task B (successor) can
only start 2 weeks after Task A has
started.

The Finish-to-Finish link is based on


the Task B (successor) calendar,
allowing the last 2 weeks of Task B to
take place after Task A has finished.

This Start-to-Start link allows


Task B to start 2 weeks after
Task A has started. This link is
critical and driving.

This Finish-to-Finish link allows


the last 2 weeks of Task B to
happen after Task A has finished.
This link is not critical or driving.

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF LINKS


In Asta Powerproject you can assign a
Link Category to links which enables logic
differences to be remembered and
demonstrated during a reschedule,
without having to keep copies of the
project and maintain more than one
project file.

The Link Category affects


the appearance of the link
and includes it in the
Critical Path calculation.

You can have an unlimited number of Link


Categories which you can name and
configure to meet your requirements.
Q

Select the appearance of each link


category (line style, colour, arrow-head
type).

Decide whether to display each link


category on the plan.

Choose whether to exclude selected


link categories from the Critical Path
calculation.

The Link Category affects


the appearance of the link
and excludes it from the
Critical Path calculation.

POWERFUL AND USER-FRIENDLY


Asta Powerproject is a powerful tool that is
also very user-friendly. You can get up and
running very quickly while our comprehensive
range of training courses enables you to get
the most from the software.

Asta Powerproject is very powerful


but also very easy-to-use.
Phil Solomon,
Planning Operations Director, Mace

Find out more at


www.astadev.com/primavera

24 REASONS TO USE ASTA POWERPROJECT RATHER THAN PRIMAVERA FOR MANAGING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

SERIOUSLY ACCURATE PROGRESS REPORTING


Progress in each Progress Period is displayed in a separate colour

Asta Powerproject offers unrivalled progress


reporting features, allowing you to keep
records with a very fine level of detail.
Q

Record exactly what happened in every


progress reporting period throughout the
life of an activity, including actual cost,
actual effort, actual %, actual work, etc..

Record progress against user defined


Progress Periods the %, cost, effort
(man-hours/days), work etc. during the
period are recorded. This enables you to
produce very accurate graphs and
histograms showing, for example, that 5%
was completed in Week 1, 60% in Week
2 and 35% in Week 3.

Forecast

Baseline

Record multiple gaps and resume dates


to show the true record of intermittent
activities.

Actual progress in Week 4

JAGGED PROGRESS VIEW


In Asta Powerproject you create a
Jagged Line Progress view in seconds!
This allows you to monitor the project
and keep an accurate As-Built record of
the work undertaken.
Using a single pre-configured menu
option you can transpose the
percentage complete from each
Progress Period for each activity onto
the baseline task to turn an As-Built
plan into a Jagged Line Progress view.

EFFECTIVE, ACCURATE ANNOTATIONS


Asta Powerproject allows you to
control the visual appearance, content
and placement of annotations,
improving project communication and
making the project plan as effective
as possible.

Control the font effect for each


character within a text annotation,
not just the whole annotation.

Place unattached text annotations


anywhere on the plan.

Attach annotations to an activity


so that the annotation moves with
the activity.

Embed data values in attached


annotations so that if changes occur
to the project and the underlying data
changes, the annotation will update
automatically to show the new
information. For example, if you
include the end date of a specific
task in an attached annotation
and the activity is then delayed by
2 weeks, the annotation will update
automatically to show the new end
date for the activity.
Include pictures and other Microsoft
objects such as spreadsheets and
movies in annotations.

Mixed font effects possible

References to underlying
data constantly updated

Call us on 01844 261700


to find out more

CONTROL THE APPEARANCE OF ACTIVITIES, RESOURCES & COSTS


With full control over the on-screen
appearance in Asta Powerproject you can
ensure the project plan is as clear and
easy to understand as possible.
Q

Choose the appearance of activity


codes as well as resource and cost
assignments. The appearance of the
activities (or resource/cost tasks) can
be set to reflect your appearance
preferences and a colour-coded
legend is included in presentation
outputs.

The same colour coding and legend


can be applied to the resources in a
graph so you can clearly see the
quantities generated from each
source.

10

Choose how project information is displayed

SHARE PROJECT PLANS MORE EASILY AND AT NO ADDITIONAL COST

With Asta Powerproject you can share your


project plans quickly and easily, improving
communication and collaboration.
Q

You dont have to pay anything to look


at Asta Powerproject plans. The freelyavailable Asta Project Viewer enables
users to open, navigate (in defined
limits) and print Asta Powerproject files.

Asta Powerproject has excellent data


interchange with Primavera and
Microsoft Project.
Project and activity data, including all
calendars, resource libraries, activity
codes, Work Breakdown Structures etc.
can be exported from Asta Powerproject
in Microsoft and Primavera formats.
Microsoft and Primavera project files can
also be imported into Asta Powerproject.
This enables you to work on your
projects in Asta Powerproject and then
export them in Primavera or Microsoft
formats so they can be accessed by
users of other software solutions.

11

Easy to save in Primavera format

DETAILED DATE ZONE

With Asta Powerproject you can


include up to 10 rows in the Date
Zone, ensuring the plan is both
detailed and easy to understand.
Multiple time zones in the date line

Find out more at


www.astadev.com/primavera

24 REASONS TO USE ASTA POWERPROJECT RATHER THAN PRIMAVERA FOR MANAGING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

12

MULTIPLE TASKS PER LINE

Asta Powerprojects ability to display multiple tasks per line


enables you to save time when planning repeated tasks
and improve the presentation of your plans.
Q

Save time and avoid the need to laboriously


create tasks on dozens of different rows.

Distinguish clearly between different tasks on the same


row of the plan through colour-coding and shading the
level of detail is not compromised!

Improve the presentation of your plans multiple tasks per


line allows information to be presented in a very compact
form on a single sheet rather than on multiple pages.

USES INCLUDE:
Procurement planning for the various stages of bidding and awarding contracts for different work packages of a project:

Repetitive processes such as the finishes stages of a commercial construction project, apartment fit-out, or the
construction of a house:

Intermittent activities or locations of a process:

13

IDENTIFY AND HIDE NON-DRIVING LINKS

Links which do not position an activity but do affect


the float calculation are termed non-driving links i.e.
they do not drive the position of tasks.

Non-driving link
displayed

Non-driving link
distinguished

Non-driving
link hidden

With Asta Powerproject you can distinguish


graphically between non-driving links and driving
links. You can also choose whether to hide or display
non-driving links on screen and in printouts.

14

UNRIVALLED CONTROL OVER YOUR TASK TYPES

Asta Powerproject gives you unrivalled control over your task


types, enabling you to plan more accurately and identify ways
to deliver the project more efficiently. Task types include:
Q

Buffer tasks. These can shrink or grow and act as


contingency or risk monitors, supporting the
critical-chain concept.
Forced critical tasks. Forcing a task to become critical
supports multiple critical paths within a single project.

Interruptible tasks. The start of the task is determined by


the incoming links and the task can grow or shrink. This
allows successor tasks to often start earlier than originally
scheduled, thereby shortening the critical path. This does,
of course, have resourcing implications.

Tasks with deadline flags. A deadline flag is an imposed


end date that does not stop a task finishing later than the
imposed date but changes colour and gives a warning
when the imposed date is passed.

Call us on 01844 261700


to find out more

15

CALCULATE AND DISPLAY FREE FLOAT EASILY

In Asta Powerproject it is simple to display Free


Float no Global Change routines required!
Q

The Free Float period and dates are always


calculated by a Critical Path calculation and
can be displayed on the bar chart with one
easy command.

Free Float periods and dates can be displayed


in the spreadsheet columns.

16

DISPLAY DURATIONS ACCURATELY

With Asta Powerproject you can decide on the length of


the working day for each calendar. This ensures that
durations are displayed accurately when different activities
have different working hours per day.

takes 24 hours will take 1 day when scheduled using


Calendar A and 3 days when scheduled using Calendar B.
You can also print your calendars for quick and easy review
of holidays and working patterns.

For example, you can set Calendar A to have a 24-hour


day and Calendar B to have an 8-hour day. A task that

17

CALCULATE ELAPSED TIME AS WELL AS WORKING TIME

In Asta Powerproject you can enter and display


both working time and elapsed time, helping
you plan and schedule more precisely.
For example, if you have a task that takes 10
working days and there is a 1 week holiday
period in the middle of the task, the duration
can be displayed both as 2 working weeks and
3 elapsed weeks.
Elapsed time durations can also be displayed
in elapsed months for work over longer
timeframes.

18

Weekend

The working duration for both tasks is 1 week, 4 days but


due to differing holidays and weekend working they take
different lengths of time to complete (elapsed duration)

SCHEDULE SHORT ACTIVITIES PRECISELY

In Asta Powerproject you can schedule to the hour, minute


or second! This enables you to detail correctly the precise
duration of each activity and specify the exact start and end
times of shut-down periods, holidays and shifts.

19

Holiday

The feature is particularly useful on short projects, such as


24 hour railway possessions or oil refinery maintenance
shutdowns, where activities can have durations of minutes
and scheduling requirements are complex.

UNDO AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE!

Asta Powerprojects unlimited Undo and Redo


function allows you to undo as much as you like,
including through a Save, a Critical Path calculation
and a Resource Levelling exercise.

This makes it easy to try out a number of different


scenarios quickly and easily without permanently
affecting the plan.

Find out more at


www.astadev.com/primavera

20

SCHEDULE GROUPED ACTIVITIES AND OVERHEAD COSTS CORRECTLY

In Asta Powerproject you can allocate resources and costs to both Summary Tasks
(which group related activities in the Work Breakdown Structure) and Hammock Tasks
(which group potentially unrelated activities). You can also create logic links to/from the
start and end of Summary Tasks and to/from the end of Hammock Tasks.
You can assign individual calendars to Summary Tasks, Hammock Tasks and charts,
ensuring that they always display correctly.
These features enable you to correctly schedule overhead costs and resources, such as
cranes, hoists and management charges, and integrate them into the plan. They also
enable you to allow one major portion of the project to dictate when another major
portion should start.

21

FLEXIBLE CURRENCY DISPLAY

Asta Powerproject enables you to enter and display costs in different currencies
and switch between currencies at will. For example, you can calculate costs in
Sterling but display them in Euros (or any other currency of your choice).
The flexible currency display is particularly useful when working with partners
from different countries or on international projects.

22

MULTIPLE RESOURCE COST RATES

In Asta Powerproject resource cost rates are independent of the resource and
you can have as many resource cost rates as you require.

23

CUSTOM MACROS TO MEET SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Asta Powerproject includes Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, the same
programming language that is used in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. This
allows Asta to create specific extensions, integrations and automated routines
to meet the specific needs of individual users.

24

FLEXIBLE, COST-EFFECTIVE LICENCING

Choose the type of Asta Powerproject licence that meets your needs standalone, network or Enterprise. With standalone and network licences
there is no need to purchase a new database as project data is stored
on your computer system.

To find out more and to arrange


a personal demonstration,
call us on 01844 261700.

2008 Asta Development plc.


Asta Powerproject is a registered trademark of Asta Development plc.
All trademarks recognised. E & OE.

Microsoft Project is a registered


trademark of Microsoft Corp.
Primavera is a registered
trademark of Primavera
Systems Inc

Asta Development plc


Kingston House
Goodsons Mews
Wellington Street
Thame
Oxfordshire
OX9 3BX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1844 261700
Fax: +44 (0)1844 261314
www.astadev.com
enquiry@astadev.com

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