Here are 5 ways to track the progress or the performance of your project so you can report whether you are on schedule ( or not ) .
FIXED FORMULA
Assign a fixed percentage when the work starts e.g. 20% . When the task completes , make the task up to 100%. Not very accurate but easy and quick ; suitable for more tasks .
WEIGHTED MILESTONE
Pre-assign progress ( percent complete ) to milestones e.g. when you hit Milestone 1 , say the project is 15% complete , at Milestone 2 it goes up to 20% , at Milestone 3 you’re 65% complete etc. At your Final milestone , the project becomes 100% complete .
PERCENT COMPLETE
Assign a % complete for each task based on professional judgement . Watch out for team members reporting tasks as almost complete for too long , without being able to demonstrate progress .
LEVEL OF EFFORT
Track effort against elapsed time . A very simple approach that works best when you can accurately estimate how long activities should take .
PERCENT COMPLETE WITH GATES
This is similar to weighted milestone , but instead of waiting to hit the ‘gate’ point before you report any progress , report any percent complete up to the approved limit for that milestone e.g. if Milestone 1 is equal 15% complete , set an interim percent complete up to 15% at the point of hitting the gate ( the target milestone date ) .
