After 22-years developing a tribe of scheduling and execution products, Primavera Systems is blending them into a single construction management tool. Simply called "Primavera," the product is scheduled for general availability by Aug. 15, says Dick Faris, chief technology officer of Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based Primavera.

Through one interface, the new tool combines the functionality of Primavera’s P3e/c and Primavera Expedition products with "substantial enhancements," says Joel Koppelman, president and CEO. It is role-based, meaning each user’s view of information and performance data is tailored to their duties. Contract managers see a set of tools and performance information suitable for their functions and project managers see another. Upper management will see executive summaries through which they can drill for details in the common set of live data. There are 10 roles, within which varying rights can be assigned.

"It’s going to rock the project control world," predicts Shawn Pressley, a project engineer at Hill International Inc., Marlton, N.J. Pressley tested the product for a month on three dissimilar projects.

"The big benefits are the ease [of use] and the way it allows users to drill down into [Primavera] Expedition or scheduling, particularly in an executive summary–without having to do 60 steps to get there," Pressley says. He thinks it will change the way Hill works by giving upper management a ready tool for monitoring and participating in project decision-making.

Customers will purchase roles needed for their operations, host the product on their own servers and maintain it as a single piece of software. Pricing starts at $5,500. Koppelman says Primavera will support older products but will offer plans and credits to ease the transition for firms that choose to upgrade to the combined solution, which requires P3e/c version 5.0 and Expedition version 10.1.

"The price is based on what you need," Koppelman says. Because "underneath it is one piece of technology," it will be more economical and simpler to upgrade and maintain, he adds.

"The intent is to provide tools that are easy to grab onto and put to work," Koppelman says. "We’re also trying to give people tools that don’t require a lot of investment in training." He hopes those qualities will be attractive to small to mid-sized firms that have not used Primavera products before.