2012 is proving to have set a notch for Primavera books from Packt Publishing. They have released 2 books on Oracle Primavera software in 2012. We have already let you know about the first one – now let’s have a look the second; the first Primavera Contract Manager book ever written (to my knowledge) – Oracle Primavera Contract Management 14, Business Intelligence Publisher Edition v14 by Stephen D. Kelly. Yep, that title is a mouthful!
Synopsis
Well it’s clear from the first dozen pages that Stephen Kelly knows his stuff and has been using Primavera Contract Manager for some time. I quite enjoyed the walk down memory lane that he takes the reader on in the Preface. Included are a smattering of old logos for Primavera Contract Management and an extensive version history. I appreciated this.
I also appreciated his explanation on the basics of contracts and the need for contract management. His explanation of contract management is simplistic, but not dumbed-down and the pictures are great!
Mr Kelly explains that his book is not an instruction manual, nor step-by-step guide. But rather it a complete high-level overview of Primavera Contract Manager with a focus on how the software can help overcome traditional contract issues. The first part of his book discusses high-level process for good contract management such as:
- How to manage contract information overload
- Spreadsheets and the fallacy that they are good tools for managing contract details
- Overcoming Silos and sharing data
- Proper Data Organization leads to proper understanding
The latter part of Mr. Kelly’s book covers a detailed overview of many PCM modules, including Change Management, Cost Management, Payments, Documents, etc.
Highlights
A few items that stand-out for me on reading Oracle Primavera Contract Management 14, Business Intelligence Publisher Edition v14
- This is a book for users of all levels – beginner to advanced. There’s great beginner level content that will help them get up to speed on the concepts, but advanced topics are not left out.
- Mr. Kelly’s expertise has led his to focus a lot on good contract management processes rather than just focusing on features of the software. And that helps readers bridge the gap between process and tool. Many software implementations professionals, including myself, will tell you that process matters most.
- The book has wide coverage, including a chapter on integration PCM with P6 and vice versa. There’s even a chapter on the up and coming Primavera Unifier product.
Areas for Improvement
Although this book is very well done overall and brings a lot of valuable Primavera Contract Manager information to one place, readers need to be aware that it is not the handbook or step-by-step manual that many are looking for. But hopefully, Stephen’s got that one in the works. Lastly, although the book is rich with screenshots, at times, the images could be bigger and cover more of the page. This may be a layout issue enforced by the publisher. These areas for improvement are small in comparison to the value the book brings.
Recommendations
I would recommend Oracle Primavera Contract Management 14, Business Intelligence Publisher Edition v14 to any user, new or seasoned, of Primavera Contract Management. It’s a valuable and detailed reference for a complex and sophisticated contract management tool.
You can download Oracle Primavera Contract Management 14, Business Intelligence Publisher Edition v14 in ebook form from Packt Publishing or purchase the hardcopy and keep it handy. It is also available on Amazon.
Have Your Say
Have you read this Primavera Contract Manager book? Let us know what you think and how it stands up.
Got a recommendation to share? What books on Primavera Contract Management would you recommend to users and why?
Hi Michael,
Is there any book or video series that you know which explain the steps of creating a project from scratch including building activity lists, WBS importing and exporting to primavera all the way till the project is fully loaded in Primavera.
Hi Mohammad,
Truthfully, I don’t know of any book that covers it from start to end. However, you could become a member of PlannerTuts Premium (https://premium.plannertuts.com) where we have a video series that does walk you through the process from start to finish. Please have a look at it.
Regards,
Michael
Hi Michael,
My company is currently working with Primavera 14. Contract Management. Can you recommend a book or webinar for training purposes. My project managers are somewhat familiar but could use a few tips.
Thanks,
Lisa
how can make to the monthly report and weekly report
Hi Mr. Micheal ,
My Master thesis title is “Contract management in Construction Projects” by which it’s content will be directly based on the contract management systems’ issues & the configurations thereof .
The supervisor of my thesis requests from me to make the thesis in a practical way and have the Primavera Contract Management & it’s manual as a reference, in order to enable people (i.e. ….) in Egypt to realize the benefit of Contract Management & it’s flow with the relation between the modules as well as all the issues related to the contract management; however, I find difficulties to build the whole thesis only from the manual & the software.
May you kindly assist me with providing me the name of Books or published researches related to the above mentioned subject in order to use it as a reference?
Looking forward to kindly receiving the list of Books or published researches promptly since the deadline for the submission of the final draft of the thesis should be on January 2013.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Walaa
I have setup the Contract management thanks to your book. I also went on to design a simple custom new report in BI. the problem is how do we import it into OPCM14 so that we can see these custom reports titles and make them run. A complete walkthrough is requested. I tried to find a video but nothing. I tried help from oracle but nothing.