Hybrid-Agile management is complex and demands solid understanding of both traditional and Agile concepts. The Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (C.H.A.M.P or simply CHAMP) course demonstrates and uses real hybrid projects with hands-on software tool.
The CHAMP certification course is dynamic, not static. It is continuously updated to reflect the latest trends and practices. [See here.]
Hybrid is everywhere in our daily lives. Consider these examples:
When day meets night at dusk, it’s hybrid time.
When night meets day at dawn, it’s hybrid time again.
When a dancing wave embraces the shore, that zone is hybrid.
When the shore blends into the land, we see hybrid once more.
In the same way, Hybrid-Agile project management mirrors real life. It’s widely adopted across organizations, yet many people only learn the theory and struggle to apply it in practice.
That’s where CHAMP stands apart. Being hands-on and practical, it is radically different—yet as naturalas the everyday hybrid moments.
The below trailer (1m: 21s) informs more. For the best experience, go full-screen HD mode and plug-in your headphones.
A brief tabular differentiation between CHAMP and other certifications is shown below.
To know more about the CHAMP certification course, see here.
To have the complete course breakdown, check here.
For this course, many FAQs have been answered. See here.
If you have any other questions or clarifications, please send an email to managementyogi@gmail.com.
There are many ways to compress a schedule. You can add more resources, change the relationship among the activities or tasks, run activities in parallel, reduce the float in certain cases, among others.
However, two schedule compression techniques are quite popular and they are:
Crashing
Fast Tracking
Crashing, by introducing more resources, increases cost. On the other hand, fast tracking, by ignoring relationships (dependencies), increases risks. Crashing can also increase risks. Fast tracking can increase cost as well!
In Primavera P6, we can apply both these schedule compression techniques. In this post, we will learn how to use such techniques. If you are aspiring to be a Project Management Professional (PMP®), or Risk Management Professional (RMP®), you’ll quickly understand. Nevertheless, if you are not one, but aspiring to be one, then also you will understand.
The content of this article is taken from the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons course – an exhaustive course covering various functionalities and capabilities Primavera P6 Professional with respect to project management. There, I've used and explained with live P6 projects.
Now, let’s briefly understand the background concepts of these two techniques.
Understanding Crashing
Crashing compresses the schedule by adding more resources. This technique used shortens the schedule duration for the least incremental cost.
Examples: A real-time example is working overtime. Another real-time example is paying more to deliver faster.
As more resources are added, cost increases. Risk may also increase. Let us take an example. We've 3 activities:
Activity A1, A2 and A3 with one resource assigned.
The activities are sequential, i.e., A3 will follow A1 and A2 will follow A1.
The duration for each activity is 2 days.
The total duration is 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 days
Next, we added one more resource for each activity to crash. So, now:
Activity A1, A2 and A3 have two resources assigned.
The duration for each activity will be reduced to 1 day.
The total duration is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 days.
With crashing, we reduced the combined duration of three activities from 6 days to 3 days. This is a form of schedule compression. Isn't it?
Understanding Fast Tracking
Fast Tracking compresses the schedule by making the activities parallel instead of sequential. This can happen for a portion of the schedule.
Examples: Preparing the test plan along with the approval of the Product Requirements documentation. Another real-time example is cooking two items together, but on two separate burners of your stove.
As activities are executed in parallel and original relationships are changed, risk increases. Cost may also increase due to rework.
Activity A1, A2 and A3 with one resource assigned.
The activities are sequential, i.e., A3 will follow A1 (FS relationship) and A2 will follow A1 (FS relationship).
FS stands for Finish to Start relationship.
The duration for each activity is 2 days.
The total duration is 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 days
Next, we changed the relationships among the activities to Start to Start (SS) or Finish to Finish (FF) in order to fast track. So, now:
The activities are parallel, i.e., A3 will start with A2 (FF relationship) and A2 will start with A1 (SS relationship).
The duration for each activity remains as 2 days.
But the total duration is now 2 days as all activities are done in parallel.
In this case of fast tracking, we reduced the combined duration of three activities from 6 days to 2 days.
This is another form of schedule compression.
Primavera P6 – Applying Crashing
Primavera P6 exactly follows our previous explanation of Crashing. Again, we will reuse our example for crashing.
As shown below, we have three activities – A1, A2 and A3, each with one resource. These are done in sequence. (click on the image to enlarge)
The total duration as shown above is 6 days.
Next, we added more resources – one more resource for each activity. With it the total duration was reduced.
The total duration now shown above is 2 days. Note that we have added two resources (Res1 and Res2) for each activity.
Hence, we can say with crashing we compressed the schedule.
Primavera P6 – Applying Fast Tracking
Here too, Primavera P6 follows the previous explanation of Fast Tracking. We will reuse our example for crashing.
As shown below, we have three activities – A1, A2 and A3, each with one resource (Res1). These are done in sequence or have Finish to Start (FS) relationship.
The total duration as shown above is 6 days with all in FS relationships.
Next, we changed the dependencies among the activities. With it, the total duration was reduced.
The total duration now shown above is 2 days. Note that the relationships have changed among the activities.
Hence, we can say that with fast tracking we can also compress the schedule.
Demonstration and Explanation
The below video [duration: 5m, 15s] explains Crashing and Fast Tracking using Primavera P6. In the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons, we will use a live, real-time project to demonstrate both crashing and fast tracking.
To have a better audio-visual experience, plug-in your earphones and go full-screen HD.
Key Points to Note
Now that you understood, learned and also learned how to apply Crashing and Fast Tracking, following are the key points to note. Detailed explanation with a number of key points is part of the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons course.
Use crashing for critical activities. Only with the reduction in remaining duration of critical activities, the project schedule will be reduced.
Ensure that the duration type, activity types are proper when you apply crashing for the activities.
Also ensure that the Calendars is properly applied to the activities during crashing and/or fast tracking. For example, you are fast tracking two activities, for the concerned resources are not available for the second activity!
It’s important to note that activity type, duration type and calendars etc. will be considered while going for schedule compression.
Finally, be judicious in applying the schedule compression techniques. Running activities in parallel does not mean resources will actually work in parallel on the ground. Understand the limitations.
Nevertheless, both Crashing and Fast Tracking are powerful techniques to be used. As we can learn with this article, they can be effectively applied with Primavera P6. To know, learn and apply like a pro, subscribe to the course of Primavera P6 Live Lessons.
Total Float (TF) and Free Float (FF) are two important concepts in Project Management. TF relates to the project’s overall finish date, while FF concerns the early start date of a successor activity.
However, there is another type of float that is often overlooked: Negative Float (NF). In this post, we’ll explore how to work with NF in Primavera P6.
The content of this article is adapted from the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons course —a complete video course that includes detailed demonstrations and live examples on Negative Float.
Primavera P6 defines negative float as follows:
Negative float is when the total float is less than 0.0d.
Though 0.0d (day) is informed, it can be 0.0 hour.
Find out the Negative Floats
In the below shown project, we have two activities with Start-to-Start dependency and without any lag. (Click on the image to enlarge)
As shown:
There are two activities “PRD Preparation” (5 days) and “PRD Approval” (2 days).
There is SS dependency without any lag between the two.
Notice the Early Start (ES) matches with the Late Start (LS). Early Finish (EF) matches with the Late Finish (LF).
As ES and LS as well as EF and LF match, the total float is zero.
The formula for TF = LF – EF = 0.
Do note that Primavera P6 calculates the schedule options by taking LS and LF.
Next, we introduced a lag of 2 days between the above activities, followed by leveling and scheduling. This resulted in the following. (Click on the image to enlarge)
As shown:
There are two activities “PRD Preparation” (5 days) and “PRD Approval” (2 days).
There is SS dependency with a lag of 2 days.
Notice that the Early Start (ES) is greater than the Late Start (LS). Early Finish (EF) is greater than the Late Finish (LF).
As noted earlier, we calculate the ES, EF, LS and LF and then find the TF value. Also, as noted earlier, Primavera P6 takes this default formula:
Total (TF)
= Late Finish (LF) – Early Finish (EF)
= LF – EF
In the first case (first figure), both LF and EF matches. Hence:
Total (TF)
= LF – EF
= 0
In the second case (third figure), EF is greater than LF by 2 days. Hence:
Total (TF)
= LF – EF
= - 2 days
Display the Negative Floats
To display negative float, you have to enable the bar settings, by clicking on the Bar Setting in the Tools toolbar. This is shown below.
After you apply the settings, the Negative Float Bar will be visible as shown in the below figure.
As you can see now, now we have the negative float value coming for both the activities.
Video Demonstration and Explanation
The below video [Duration: 3m, 55s] explains more on Negative Float (NF) with a live project. The live project is taken from the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons course.
If you have a number activities and negative float occurs, it may not be restricted to one or two activities, but many! Hence, you need to be careful about the impact. This will not only impact the project’s schedule, but also cost/budget and understanding of the schedule.
To have a better audio-visual experience, plug-in your earphones and go full-screen HD.
Negative Float in Scheduling
Negative floats should always be avoided in a project schedule. If you notice multiple negative floats, it’s a clear sign that the schedule is not properly planned. Executing such a schedule is likely to result in significant problems during project delivery.
To resolve negative float issues, you should:
Detect them early: Identify where negative floats occur in the schedule.
Investigate the cause: Determine why they happened—common reasons include unrealistic deadlines, constraints, or misaligned dependencies.
Enable visibility: It’s good practice to display negative float bars in Primavera P6 so they are easy to spot and monitor.
By addressing negative floats proactively, you can improve schedule reliability and reduce risks during execution.
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