I need to indicate status in projects with a formula show status based on progress. So, is there any tool than MS project using different formulas and more accurate.
What does project status mean to you and your stakeholders? While there are certain success criteria which can be numerically measured (e.g. schedule variance, cost variance), how do you intend to measure stakeholder satisfaction? Also, any tool is only going to be as good as its inputs so do you have quality data going in as far as baselines and actuals?
Kiron
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1 reply by anonymous
Aug 22, 2022 1:08 AM
anonymous
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I need formulas to measure project progress and calculate scheduled progress ( the planned progress against the actual progress ) I usually assign weigh to each phase of the project according to it's priority and then calculate the weighted percentage (weigh *complete \100)
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
We need more clarity as to what you are exactly looking for. If you use EVM formulas, those are straight forward and you can set them up in excel but if you are inquiring about another thing, then maybe it’s different.
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1 reply by anonymous
Aug 22, 2022 1:07 AM
anonymous
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I need formulas to measure project progress and calculate scheduled progress ( the planned progress against the actual progress ) I usually assign weigh to each phase of the project according to it's priority and then calculate the weighted percentage (weigh *complete \100)
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Aug 21, 2022 12:59 PM
Replying to Rami Kaibni
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We need more clarity as to what you are exactly looking for. If you use EVM formulas, those are straight forward and you can set them up in excel but if you are inquiring about another thing, then maybe it’s different.
I need formulas to measure project progress and calculate scheduled progress ( the planned progress against the actual progress ) I usually assign weigh to each phase of the project according to it's priority and then calculate the weighted percentage (weigh *complete \100) Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Aug 21, 2022 8:33 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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What does project status mean to you and your stakeholders? While there are certain success criteria which can be numerically measured (e.g. schedule variance, cost variance), how do you intend to measure stakeholder satisfaction? Also, any tool is only going to be as good as its inputs so do you have quality data going in as far as baselines and actuals?
Kiron
I need formulas to measure project progress and calculate scheduled progress ( the planned progress against the actual progress ) I usually assign weigh to each phase of the project according to it's priority and then calculate the weighted percentage (weigh *complete \100) Saving Changes...
MSP can certainly do this for you so long as you have saved a baseline to reflect the approved timelines. You could even create a stoplight indicator which will update dynamically based on the variance amount between baseline finish date and current finish date.
I agree with Kiron. You need to define the project status.
However, you likely can define a custom formula for different software. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
If the functionality provided in Project is insufficient for your needs, you can set up user-defined columns with desired functions to return the results. Saving Changes...
Most modern project management tools can do what you've described, either out of the box or with minor changes/custom fields.
If your tool does not provide reports that people can pull (rather than wait for you to push to them), you can get tools that do that - it's usually better to have a report or dashboard to display status for your stakeholders, especially if the people in your organization are accustomed to accessing and understanding project management tools. I've had very few stakeholders, outside of the PMO, ask for a Gantt chart or use one to track progress.
You'll also want to make sure you have clearly defined and communicated processes (and expectations) for updating task status and when it should be done by. It doesn't matter how good your tool is, it's only as accurate and up to date as the data it contains. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
There is no accurate status, it always is a judgement by different stakeholders. We know the watermelon effect (a red status from the inside of the project becomes green, depending on who you ask and the context, not facts).
Yet, you can give your status judgement a rational approach by using formulas (we often hide behind formulas). For example your budget outlook is 10% above the baseline. Most formulas would give you a red status. Our job as PMs is to take on this challenge by
- increasing the budget e.g. by issuing a change request or finding another funding source or selling the benefits of more money spent
- bring the outlook down again - often done by tweaking the scope or by beefing up team performance (CPI)
Just presenting red status is a defeat, we are here to make it happen.
Thomas Saving Changes...
Manuel PerezProject Management Coordinator| Las Vegas Valley Water DistrictNorth Las Vegas, Nv, United States
Project performance status can be determined using Earned Value Management (EVM). But for that to work, you need to have resource loaded/cost loaded schedules since the key variables are Earned Value (EV) - The calculated cost of the work completed, the Planned Value (PV) - The calculated cost of the work that should have been completed at a point in time, and Actual Cost (AC) - The actual cost to complete a task. Key indicators will the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) = EV/PV with a less than one meaning you are falling behind schedule and greater than one that you are ahead of schedule. Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV/AC with a less than one meaning the project is overbudget and more than one is under budget. There are other calculations in EVM to help determine Estimate at Completion (EAC), Estimate to Complete (ETC), and other... What EVM don't capture are things like quality of deliverables and other items that cannot be expressed as a cost assigned to a task. Saving Changes...
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