What data do I need from P6 to build an S-curve?

At minimum: each activity's weighting value (budgeted cost, hours or count), its planned (baseline) start and finish for the planned curve, and its actual dates and percent complete for the actual/earned curve. An XER or XML export contains all of this.

Should an S-curve be based on cost or on progress percentage?

Cost-weighted (or hours-weighted) S-curves are the most meaningful because they reflect where the real effort and value sit. A simple activity-count curve treats a one-day task the same as a three-month one, which distorts the picture.

Can I generate a P6 S-curve without building it manually in Excel?

Yes. Tools such as Progress Schedulytics read the P6 export and generate the cumulative planned-vs-actual S-curve automatically as part of a multi-sheet Excel analytics workbook, removing the manual pivot-table work each cycle.

How to Build an S-Curve in Excel from Primavera P6

What an S-curve shows

An S-curve plots cumulative progress over time — typically planned value against actual (earned) value. It gets its name from its shape: slow at the start (mobilisation), steep through the middle (peak execution), and flattening at the end (commissioning and close-out). The gap between the planned and actual curves is your schedule performance at a glance.

Step-by-step in Excel

Decide the measure. Progress can be weighted by cost (budgeted total cost), by labour hours, or by activity count. Cost-weighted is the most common and the most meaningful.
Export from P6. Export the activity list with Budgeted Total Cost, Baseline Start/Finish (for planned) and Actual/Remaining dates and % complete (for actual). An XML or XER export carries all of this.
Spread the value over time. For each activity, distribute its value across the periods (weeks or months) between its start and finish. A simple linear spread is fine for most reporting; front/back-loaded spreads are more accurate but more work.
Build a period table. Create a column of month-ending dates. For each period, sum the planned value that falls in it, and separately the earned value.
Make it cumulative. Add running-total columns for both planned and earned — these are your two curves.
Chart it. Insert a 2-D line chart with the period dates on the X axis and cumulative planned and cumulative earned as two series. Add data labels and a data-date marker.

The catch

Doing this by hand is a few hours of pivot tables every reporting cycle, and it breaks the moment the schedule is re-baselined or activities are added. Every planner has rebuilt the same S-curve a hundred times.

The automated route

Progress Schedulytics reads the P6 XML export and produces the cumulative planned-vs-actual S-curve automatically, inside a 22-sheet Excel workbook that also includes WBS breakdowns, SPI/CPI trends and float analysis — 100% offline. If you also need the underlying data in Excel first, see our guide on converting a P6 XER file to Excel.

Get S-curves generated for you

Progress Schedulytics builds cumulative planned-vs-actual S-curves (and 21 other analytics sheets) straight from a P6 XML export — no manual pivot tables.

See Progress Schedulytics →