The finish date gets decided in a meeting, not in the schedule
A date is promised because someone has to give one, and then the programme gets forced with constraints to match it.
Your next milestone starts here
Where planning becomes control
Technical know-how, free tools and a community for the people who actually plan and control projects. What you learn here, you can put to work on your own project tomorrow.
- Project planning and controls with method, data and AI
- Free tools, no sign-up
- Technical articles, free to read
- Training built by working professionals
- We shape the plan Every activity finds its place in time.
- We connect what matters Dependencies reveal the critical path.
- We measure reality Planned versus actual, week by week.
- We get ahead of the impact We act in time and the milestone is back on its date.
+15
Years of founder experience
+1000
€M in projects managed by the founder
+500
Community members
+75
Articles published
A planner’s day-to-day
Do any of these sound familiar?
If you read them and think “that’s me”, you are in the right place.
The critical path moves every month and you can’t explain why
You update, it jumps to another part of the project, and you have to defend it to the client without being sure what happened.
You close the month not knowing if the project is going well or badly
Progress says one thing, costs say another, and the report ends up as a percentage that explains nothing.
The delay shows up when there is no margin left
Everything is green until, two months from handover, it isn’t. And there is no float left to spend.
Every report costs you days in Excel
You export, paste and reconcile data by hand. By the time it is ready, it is already out of date.
You learned Primavera P6 on the job
You know where every button is, but nobody explained what makes a schedule a good one.
If you recognised yourself in any of these, Project 2080 is made for you
Method, data and tools to sort it out, from people who have run into the same thing on their own projects.
Start with the toolsBuilt by planners
Tools you can use right now
Built from what we kept missing on our own projects.
DCMA schedule health check
The 14 checks of the DCMA standard run against your Primavera P6 XER, with every result explained and a clear order to tackle them in.
Open the tool
XER analyser
Open an XER without having Primavera P6 in front of you. Activities, relationships, float and baseline, readable in a table.
Open the tool
-
100% free
We build them to help you in your work and we keep improving them. Use them as often as you like, without paying a thing.
-
In your browser
Your file is processed on your own computer and never stored on any server. Your data belongs to you and nobody else.
-
No sign-up
We don't ask for your email or make you fill in a form. Open the tool and get started.
Four pillars
Where to start
Four pillars, and the best of each to get you off to a good start.
Project Planning
Schedules, critical path and baselines: how to build a plan that survives contact with the site.
Project Controls
Earned value, delay analysis and KPIs: measure progress and decide in time.
- Earned Value methods to evaluate work performance
- Earned Value Management: basis performance figures
- What is Project Controls within Project Management?
Primavera P6
Primavera P6 day to day: setup, XER files, critical paths and schedule quality.
- XER file cannot be imported
- Critical Path and Subricritical Paths with Primavera P6
- How to do the Project Schedule Quality Assessment in Primavera P6
Data & AI
Power BI, Python, SQL and artificial intelligence applied to project controls.
- Connect Python with SQL Server
- Connect the Primavera P6 XER file to Power BI
- Artificial Intelligence in Project Management
Short of vocabulary? Project Scheduling Glossary · Project Controls Glossary
Before you join
Is the community for you?
It’s free and you can leave whenever you like, but we’d rather you knew what to expect.
It’s for you if…
- You plan or control projects. Or you want to, whatever your sector.
- You work with Primavera P6, Excel or Power BI. And you want to get more out of them than you do today.
- You want to use data analysis and AI in your day-to-day. As a planner or in project controls: what really works and how to apply it.
- You prefer practice to theory. What we share comes from real projects.
- You want to hear what’s new without going to look for it. Articles, tools and training, before anyone else.
It’s not for you if…
- You’re looking for a forum or a chat group. Today the community works by email: we write to you.
- You expect an email every week. We only write when we have something worthwhile.
- You’re after general project management. Here we focus on planning and controls.
- You don’t work on projects and don’t want to. Almost everything we share assumes that context.
Do you recognise yourself in the first column?
Joining is free and only your name, email and country are required.
Join the communityLearn from someone who actually does it
Who is behind Project 2080
I don't teach what I have read. I teach what I do every week on my projects.
Before you sign up
Do you need training or is the free material enough?
Not everyone needs a course. Much of what we do is free, and sometimes that’s enough.
It will suit you if…
- You learned to plan on the job. And you want to put a method behind what you know.
- You have to defend schedules to the client. You need them to stand up to review and to be able to explain every date.
- You want to bring data analysis and AI into your role. To plan and control better, and stop relying on reports built by hand.
- Everyone on your team works their own way. And you need a shared way to plan and control.
You don’t need it if…
- You have one specific question. An article or one of the tools will answer it sooner.
- You’re starting from zero in project management. Start with the blog and the glossaries, and come back when you need more.
- You won’t apply it on a real project. Without a project to practise on, it loses much of its value.
- You just want a certificate for your CV. We want you to come out able to do the work.
Think it’s a fit?
Join the waiting list and we will let you know as soon as enrolment opens.
Join the waiting listThree ways to learn
What kind of training we offer
Project planning and controls with method, in the format that best suits you or your team: at your own pace, live with a group or tailored to your company.
Online courses
At your own pace, with lifetime access: recorded lessons and exercises with files from real projects.
7 in preparation
Live programmes
Set dates and limited places: a small group and live sessions, online or in person, from a single day to several weeks.
Nothing yet
In-company
Training for your team, with the syllabus tailored to your projects, your software and your procedures.
Nothing yet
Need consulting? Schedule audits, Primavera P6 rollouts and project control systems. Tell us what you need
The pathway
Online courses · Primavera P6 In preparation 7
Clear filtersIn preparation
Upcoming programmes
What we’re preparing. Sign up and we’ll let you know as soon as it opens.
Primavera P6 Basic
Learn P6 Professional from scratch: create a project, structure it with a WBS and calendars, link it with CPM logic and present it in a clear Gantt chart. For anyone who has never used the tool.
- Length
- 7 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will build, schedule and present your first P6 schedule: a project of around 60 activities with a WBS, calendars, relationships and a critical path, ready to send to a client as a PDF.
Includes
- 7 hours of on-demand video
- 47 lessons across 10 modules
- XER files to start and check every module
- Guided exercise with a video solution at the end of each module
- Quizzes to test yourself after each module
- Final project with a marking checklist
- Certificate of completion
Primavera P6 Intermediate
Turn your schedule into a control tool: load resources and costs, set the baseline and update progress month by month with layouts, filters and S-curves. Requires the Basic level or equivalent experience.
- Length
- 8 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to load resources, roles and costs, set a baseline and run a full monthly update cycle, with a progress report and a planned-versus-actual S-curve.
Includes
- 8 hours of on-demand video
- 52 lessons across 10 modules
- XER files for every update period
- Site progress data in Excel for practice
- Layouts and filters ready to import
- Quizzes to test yourself after each module
- 3 monthly updates as the final project, each with its report
- Certificate of completion
Primavera P6 Advanced
Master the scheduling options, analyse multiple critical paths, level resources and measure earned value in P6. Covers features of version 25 and later, such as Activity Critical Path and the Check Schedule Report.
- Length
- 9 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to configure P6 calculations in depth, find the critical paths that matter, resolve over-allocations, close periods with earned value and manage scenarios and multi-project portfolios.
Includes
- 9 hours of on-demand video
- 49 lessons across 10 modules
- XER files for a two-project portfolio
- Flawed schedule to audit and fix
- Global Change recipes ready to use
- Quizzes to test yourself after each module
- Final project audit and repair of a schedule, with a report
- Certificate of completion
Primavera P6: Costs and Earned Value
Take cost control in P6 to expert level: cost structure, budgets and funding, earned value techniques, period close-out and S-curves for reporting. Requires the Advanced level.
- Length
- 5 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to set up a project's cost structure in P6 and close each month with earned value, stored periods and planned, actual and forecast S-curves.
Includes
- 5 hours of on-demand video
- 5 modules of specialist content
- XER files for a project with costs and progress
- Final project monthly cost and earned value close-out, with a marking rubric
- Certificate of specialisation
Primavera P6: Critical Path and Schedule Quality
Learn to read and defend the critical path in P6: scheduling options, longest path, multiple float paths, Activity Critical Path and the Check Schedule Report. Requires the Advanced level.
- Length
- 5 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to diagnose a schedule in P6, identify what drives the finish date and fix its logic, constraint and float issues.
Includes
- 5 hours of on-demand video
- 5 modules of specialist content
- Contractor schedule with issues to diagnose
- Final project diagnosis and repair of a schedule, with a marking rubric
- Certificate of specialisation
Primavera P6: Environment Administration
Design and maintain a well-organised P6 environment: EPS and OBS, global versus project data, codes, UDFs and corporate calendars, and remote projects. Requires the Advanced level.
- Length
- 5 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to define a company or PMO standard for P6 (EPS, codes, calendars and layouts) and keep it clean across multiple users and projects.
Includes
- 5 hours of on-demand video
- 5 modules of specialist content
- Corporate standard template with EPS, codes and layouts
- Final project a corporate P6 standard, with a marking rubric
- Certificate of specialisation
Primavera P6: Data Exchange and Productivity
Move data in and out of P6 without errors: XER and XML import and export, Excel exchange, advanced Global Change and reusable layouts. Requires the Advanced level.
- Length
- 5 hours
- Next edition
- To be announced
- Price
- On request
What you'll achieve and what's included
What you will achieve
You will be able to import and export projects safely, update hundreds of activities in a single step and build a kit of layouts and filters to reuse across all your projects.
Includes
- 5 hours of on-demand video
- 5 modules of specialist content
- XER, XML and Excel files to practise each exchange
- Layout and filter kit ready to import
- Final project a reusable productivity kit, with a marking rubric
- Certificate of specialisation
We're not preparing any programmes with this filter.
Can't find what you're looking for? Tell us what you need and we'll tell you which format fits.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us most
The most common questions about the tools, the community and training.
Our tools
Are the tools really free?
Yes. There is nothing to pay and no sign-up, and you can use them as often as you like.
Is my schedule uploaded to a server?
No. The file is processed in your browser, on your own computer. It never reaches our server and we keep nothing of its content.
Do I need Primavera P6 to use them?
Only to export the XER file. You do not need it to open or analyse the file: the tools run in your browser, with nothing to install.
Project 2080 community
What do I get when I join the community?
A welcome gift, and emails only when we have something genuinely worth your time.
Does it cost anything? Can I unsubscribe?
Joining is free, and you can unsubscribe at any time from the link in every email.
What languages is the content in?
Spanish and English. The articles and the tools are available in both languages.
Training
When do the courses start?
Each live programme has its own dates, shown under “Available programmes” and on its page. Online courses have no dates: you start whenever you like. If a programme has not opened yet, join its waiting list and you will be the first to know.
What is the difference between the three training formats?
Online courses are self-paced, with permanent access. Live programmes have set dates and limited places: a small group with online or in-person sessions, from a single day to several weeks. In-company training is tailored to your team's projects and software.
Do you work with companies?
Yes, with tailored in-company training and consultancy: schedule audits, Primavera P6 implementation and project controls systems.
Have a question that is not here?
Write to us directly. We reply within 24 hours on working days.
Free, no strings attached
Join the community
More than 500 planning and project controls professionals, across five continents. We only write when we have something genuinely worth your time, so you are always up to date with what is happening in the industry.