The Calculated Progress

This section applies to waterfall projects. Agile progress tracking is explained in Tracking Projects Based on Agile Methodology.

The calculated progress applies to both summary tasks and the entire project.

Calculated progress is determined by the progress of individual tasks and a weighting measure for those tasks, either duration or effort (estimated hours).

In the example above: 1. The summary task has a calculated progress of 14%, based on the progress of its subtasks. 2. The project's calculated progress is 13%, derived from the progress of all its tasks.

Task Weighting

Progress calculations are based on each task’s progress and a weighting measure that determines how important each task is relative to others. Completing a highly significant task is weighted differently than completing a task with little impact on the summary task or project.

The two units used for task weighting are: - Duration: The total time allocated for the task. - Estimated effort: The number of estimated hours required to complete the task.

Each project uses one of these methods consistently for all calculations.

How to Set the Progress Calculation Method

The progress calculation method can be set in the project’s General section under Methods. You can choose between the two available methods: duration-based or effort-based.

Note: Changing the method will recalculate the progress of all summary tasks and the project’s calculated progress. However, the project’s % Completed will remain unchanged until you decide to update it.

This setting can also be applied at a global level or for specific project types: - Navigate to CONFIGURATION → PARAMETERS → Project Parameters → Methods to set the preferred calculation method and allow (or restrict) project-specific overrides. - Set the progress calculation method per project type under CONFIGURATION → PARAMETERS → Project Parameters → Project Type.

Duration-Based Weighting

This is the default method for calculating the progress of summary tasks and projects. It assumes tasks with longer durations have a greater impact on overall progress.

Formula:

Calculated progress = (% t1 * d1 / D) + (% t2 * d2 / D) + ... + (% tn * dn / D)

Where: - %tx: Progress percentage of task x. - dx: Duration (in days) of task x. - D: Total duration (in days) of all tasks in the project or summary task.

Example:

In a 20-day project with the following tasks: - Task 1: 9 days, 35% completed. - Task 2: 7 days, 22% completed. - Task 3: 4 days, 0% completed.

The total duration (D) is 20 days.

Replacing the variables in the formula:

Calculated progress = (35% * 9 / 20) + (22% * 7 / 20) + (0% * 4 / 20) = 23%

Effort-Based Weighting

This method uses the estimated hours per task to determine progress weighting. Tasks with higher estimated effort contribute more to the overall progress calculation.

Formula:

Calculated progress = (% t1 * h1 / H) + (% t2 * h2 / H) + ... + (% tn * hn / H)

Where: - %tx: Progress percentage of task x. - hx: Estimated hours for task x. - H: Total estimated hours of the project or summary task.

The total estimated effort includes: - The combined efforts of all team members assigned to the task. - Any unassigned effort, if applicable.

This method is particularly useful when task duration does not reflect the total effort involved, such as tasks with varying team sizes.

When Does Progress Get Calculated?

Progress calculations are updated automatically whenever a task’s progress is updated. This applies to: - Task file (Progress section). - Gantt view. - API or connectors, such as: - Teambot for Slack. - Jira Connector.

Creating Automatic Progress Reports

To create an automatic progress report along with calculated progress: 1. In the Gantt section, check the box labeled Create an automatic progress report next to the "Save" option. 2. In the Progress section of the task, check the same option.