Scheduling guide
Primavera P6 schedule update checklist for construction projects
By Firat Acar, Founder and CEO, Plan104 · October 25, 2026
A monthly schedule update is where most schedules either stay credible or start to drift from reality. This is the checklist our schedulers use for every Primavera P6 update before it goes to the owner.
Before you start
- Copy the previous update. Keep the last accepted update untouched so you can compare.
- Confirm the data date. Set the data date to the end of the reporting period required by the contract.
- Collect progress from the field. Walk the site or meet with superintendents and foremen. Do not rely only on percent complete from a spreadsheet.
Updating progress
- Actual start and finish dates. Enter real dates for every activity that started or finished in the period.
- Remaining durations. Update remaining duration for in-progress work based on what is actually left, not on the original duration.
- No actual dates after the data date. Check for actuals in the future and remaining work in the past.
- Out of sequence progress. Find activities that started before their predecessors finished and decide whether logic should change.
Checking the schedule quality
- Open ends. Every activity except start and finish milestones needs a predecessor and a successor.
- Constraints and lags. Review new constraints and long lags. Each one should be justified.
- Logic changes. Record every logic change made in the update, because owners will ask.
- Calendars. Confirm holidays, weather days and shift calendars are still correct.
Analyzing and reporting
- Critical path. Identify the longest path and compare it with the previous update.
- Completion date and float. Report movement in the forecast finish and in total float on key milestones.
- Narrative. Explain progress, the critical path, delays, changes and the plan to recover any slippage.
- Look ahead. Issue a three or six week lookahead from the updated schedule to the field.
Plan104 can take this off your plate. See our Primavera P6 scheduling services, or use the Plan104 platform to push each update to every crew on site the next morning.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a construction schedule be updated?
Most contracts require monthly updates. Fast-paced projects such as data centers often update weekly or biweekly.
What should a schedule update narrative include?
Progress in the period, the current critical path, changes in completion date and float, delays and their causes, logic changes, and the plan to recover slippage.
What is the data date in Primavera P6?
The data date is the point in time that separates actual progress from remaining work. Everything before it is history, everything after it is forecast.
Talk to a Plan104 scheduler
Tell us about your project and where the schedule stands today. We will show you how we would build, update or recover it, and how the platform puts it in front of every crew on site.
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