what is duration weightage, % progress complete and % Achieved?
For the two %ages, what are the numerator and denominator?
The tracking and progress status reporting and the necessary update can be done from the facts, and there is no need for, and no benefit from, using any artificial metrics and especially anything with a % sign on it
Gary,
If I may add a bit to the conversation, I thought you might provide us with a picture, but here is one I cooked up. Of course the % complete of the summaries is meaningless, and the % complete of the tasks is lmost meaningless, but not quite. It does mean something. It means actual duration/duration, where duration = actual duration + remaining duration. And that's all it means. This progress update has been done entirely with mark on track and move incomplete parts to the status date, and re-estimating remaining duration. The choice between the second and third scenarios is a matter of whether the task has started or not. If there was any actual work or actual cost before the status date then of course it has actually started, but if not then it is just a matter of making a decision yes or no. Either way, if no bricks are laid then there is still 5 days of remaining duration. There is no need to even display or report %ages of anything, even at the task level, and it gets less and less meaningful the higher up the WBS levels that you go. It is a bad idea which has persisted for a very long time. I am not saying it should not be part of the software, because it is part of the software, but the use to which %ages are put is wrong.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2834:]]
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2812:]]
Member for
21 years 8 months
Member for21 years8 months
Submitted by Rafael Davila on Sun, 2015-11-01 15:46
Hope this helps, just a user defined field and a formula or global change are needed. Be aware fields in P6 are different so you need to adjust the formula and watch for possible traps.
I am explaining the calculation breakup for each. I understood that it is not the way to measure the progress but how can we substantiate. Is there any standards or any regulataions stating that it is not right measure to evaluate the progress.
Sl NoActivity NameDurationDuration WeightageCalculation breakup for Duration Weightage% progress completeCalculation breakup for % progress complete% AchievedCalculation breakup for % Achieved WBS140100%sum of 14%+36%+43%+7%8.50%sum of 1.4% +7.1% 1Activity -12014%.=20/14010%as per progress1.4%.= 10% x 14%2Activity -25036%.=50/14020%as per progress7.1%.= 20% x 36%3Activity -36043%.=60/1400% 0.0% 4Activity -4107%.=10/1400% 0.0%
Member for
19 years 11 months
Member for19 years11 months
Submitted by Trevor Rabey on Sun, 2015-11-01 04:22
what is duration weightage, % progress complete and % Achieved?
For the two %ages, what are the numerator and denominator?
The tracking and progress status reporting and the necessary update can be done from the facts, and there is no need for, and no benefit from, using any artificial metrics and especially anything with a % sign on it
Gary,
If I may add a bit to the conversation, I thought you might provide us with a picture, but here is one I cooked up. Of course the % complete of the summaries is meaningless, and the % complete of the tasks is lmost meaningless, but not quite. It does mean something. It means actual duration/duration, where duration = actual duration + remaining duration. And that's all it means. This progress update has been done entirely with mark on track and move incomplete parts to the status date, and re-estimating remaining duration. The choice between the second and third scenarios is a matter of whether the task has started or not. If there was any actual work or actual cost before the status date then of course it has actually started, but if not then it is just a matter of making a decision yes or no. Either way, if no bricks are laid then there is still 5 days of remaining duration. There is no need to even display or report %ages of anything, even at the task level, and it gets less and less meaningful the higher up the WBS levels that you go. It is a bad idea which has persisted for a very long time. I am not saying it should not be part of the software, because it is part of the software, but the use to which %ages are put is wrong.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2812:]]
Member for
15 years 2 months
Member for15 years2 months
Submitted by Robin Clare-Talbot on Mon, 2015-10-19 05:02
Firstly I feel this is a massive issue in our industry, when a client requests progress to be reported on Duration. As Gary mentioned, the fact that you have spent 5 days on a 10 day long planned activity, certainly does not mean that you have earned 5 days worth of work.
It is such a dangerous way to even consider progress.
I have had this discussion many times before with both clients or project managers who simply cannot understand that progress has to be based on a physical quantity of work executed versus that of the total work to be executed. Too many people in the project related industry cannot divorce themselves from the old MS Proj adage that time = deliverables.
That being said, the easiest would be as Gary suggested a dummy resource that you assign to each activity you want to include in the progress reporting, where the budgeted units is equal to the originally duration of that activity, you can then even get a time distribution in your assignments table of that "duration" which could give a nice s-curve and all the graphically appeasing tools.
I hope to hear more thoughts on this topic as for me it is a far too often occurance discussing this on projects.
Thank you so much for vide explanations on my query.
Can you please explain me the following and how to make ready in P6.
Activity NameBudgeted QtyPlanned for the Month of Oct'15Achieved for the Month of Oct'15Behind / Ahead of ScheduleCumulative Planned upto Oct'15Cumulative Achieved upto Oct'15Behind / Ahead of ScheduleActivity-11005040-107050-20Activity-21507050-207050-20Activity-3200
Thanks & Regards,
P.Pavankumar.
Member for
16 years 7 months
Member for16 years7 months
Submitted by Gary Whitehead on Tue, 2015-08-11 12:55
P6 can give you the duration & % progress complete data, but it cannot calculate the total Duration at the WBS level to use in the weightage calculation. The duration at the WBS level is calculated as difference between earliest start and latest finish, rather than the sum of all the activity durations, so you can't do it that way.
What you can do is create a "Progress" resource with zero cost and nonlabour type, and load each activity with this at 1 unit per day, with no resource curve.
So long as you have no other nonlabor resources in your programme, you then just have to display the nonlabor units % complete column.
If you are using other nonlabour resources in your project, then things get more tricky. -best bet is probably to take a copy of the programme when it is time for a client update, and delete all the other nonlabor resources before reporting % complete.
The other option is to export the data to excel and do the calcs there.
As to wether it is the right measure to track progress: almost certainly not. Progress of activities like "Project Management", "Government Statutory notification period" or "Planning Support" can be tracked with this method no problem, but for most activities on most projects, 50% of time elapsed does not mean 50% of progress achieved. And using duration as the weighting factor for rolling up progress is just ridiculous. Example below:
Activity 1: Build a wall of 100 bricks in 5 days
Activity 2: Project Management of the walll activity (5d)
Activity 3: cost control of the wall activity (5d)
Activity 4: planning for wall activity (5d)
Activity 5: contract management for wall activity (5d)
On day 3, no bricks have been laid. But activities 2, 3, 4 and 5 have all progressed as planned.
The Brick Wall WBS has a % complete of 48% according to your client's method. Actual physical progress is of course 0%.
It's so easy for the contractor to add lots of silly little activities that require very little effort to complete on plan, and thus mask the effects of real delays to real activities.
Member for
19 years 11 monthsPavan,How are these numbers
Pavan,
How are these numbers arrived at?
what is duration weightage, % progress complete and % Achieved?
For the two %ages, what are the numerator and denominator?
The tracking and progress status reporting and the necessary update can be done from the facts, and there is no need for, and no benefit from, using any artificial metrics and especially anything with a % sign on it
Gary,
If I may add a bit to the conversation, I thought you might provide us with a picture, but here is one I cooked up. Of course the % complete of the summaries is meaningless, and the % complete of the tasks is lmost meaningless, but not quite. It does mean something. It means actual duration/duration, where duration = actual duration + remaining duration. And that's all it means. This progress update has been done entirely with mark on track and move incomplete parts to the status date, and re-estimating remaining duration. The choice between the second and third scenarios is a matter of whether the task has started or not. If there was any actual work or actual cost before the status date then of course it has actually started, but if not then it is just a matter of making a decision yes or no. Either way, if no bricks are laid then there is still 5 days of remaining duration. There is no need to even display or report %ages of anything, even at the task level, and it gets less and less meaningful the higher up the WBS levels that you go. It is a bad idea which has persisted for a very long time. I am not saying it should not be part of the software, because it is part of the software, but the use to which %ages are put is wrong.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2834:]]
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2812:]]
Member for
21 years 8 monthsHope this helps, just a user
Hope this helps, just a user defined field and a formula or global change are needed. Be aware fields in P6 are different so you need to adjust the formula and watch for possible traps.
Member for
10 years 2 monthsDear Trevor Rabey,I am
Dear Trevor Rabey,
I am explaining the calculation breakup for each. I understood that it is not the way to measure the progress but how can we substantiate. Is there any standards or any regulataions stating that it is not right measure to evaluate the progress.
Sl NoActivity NameDurationDuration WeightageCalculation breakup for Duration Weightage% progress completeCalculation breakup for % progress complete% AchievedCalculation breakup for % Achieved WBS140100%sum of 14%+36%+43%+7%8.50%sum of 1.4% +7.1% 1Activity -12014%.=20/14010%as per progress1.4%.= 10% x 14%2Activity -25036%.=50/14020%as per progress7.1%.= 20% x 36%3Activity -36043%.=60/1400% 0.0% 4Activity -4107%.=10/1400% 0.0%
Member for
19 years 11 monthsPavan,How are these numbers
Pavan,
How are these numbers arrived at?
what is duration weightage, % progress complete and % Achieved?
For the two %ages, what are the numerator and denominator?
The tracking and progress status reporting and the necessary update can be done from the facts, and there is no need for, and no benefit from, using any artificial metrics and especially anything with a % sign on it
Gary,
If I may add a bit to the conversation, I thought you might provide us with a picture, but here is one I cooked up. Of course the % complete of the summaries is meaningless, and the % complete of the tasks is lmost meaningless, but not quite. It does mean something. It means actual duration/duration, where duration = actual duration + remaining duration. And that's all it means. This progress update has been done entirely with mark on track and move incomplete parts to the status date, and re-estimating remaining duration. The choice between the second and third scenarios is a matter of whether the task has started or not. If there was any actual work or actual cost before the status date then of course it has actually started, but if not then it is just a matter of making a decision yes or no. Either way, if no bricks are laid then there is still 5 days of remaining duration. There is no need to even display or report %ages of anything, even at the task level, and it gets less and less meaningful the higher up the WBS levels that you go. It is a bad idea which has persisted for a very long time. I am not saying it should not be part of the software, because it is part of the software, but the use to which %ages are put is wrong.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2812:]]
Member for
15 years 2 monthsThis is a very well presented
This is a very well presented question.
Firstly I feel this is a massive issue in our industry, when a client requests progress to be reported on Duration. As Gary mentioned, the fact that you have spent 5 days on a 10 day long planned activity, certainly does not mean that you have earned 5 days worth of work.
It is such a dangerous way to even consider progress.
I have had this discussion many times before with both clients or project managers who simply cannot understand that progress has to be based on a physical quantity of work executed versus that of the total work to be executed. Too many people in the project related industry cannot divorce themselves from the old MS Proj adage that time = deliverables.
That being said, the easiest would be as Gary suggested a dummy resource that you assign to each activity you want to include in the progress reporting, where the budgeted units is equal to the originally duration of that activity, you can then even get a time distribution in your assignments table of that "duration" which could give a nice s-curve and all the graphically appeasing tools.
I hope to hear more thoughts on this topic as for me it is a far too often occurance discussing this on projects.
Member for
10 years 2 monthsDear Mr.Gary Whitehead,Thank
Dear Mr.Gary Whitehead,
Thank you so much for vide explanations on my query.
Can you please explain me the following and how to make ready in P6.
Activity NameBudgeted QtyPlanned for the Month of Oct'15Achieved for the Month of Oct'15Behind / Ahead of ScheduleCumulative Planned upto Oct'15Cumulative Achieved upto Oct'15Behind / Ahead of ScheduleActivity-11005040-107050-20Activity-21507050-207050-20Activity-3200
Thanks & Regards,
P.Pavankumar.
Member for
16 years 7 monthsP6 can give you the duration
P6 can give you the duration & % progress complete data, but it cannot calculate the total Duration at the WBS level to use in the weightage calculation. The duration at the WBS level is calculated as difference between earliest start and latest finish, rather than the sum of all the activity durations, so you can't do it that way.
What you can do is create a "Progress" resource with zero cost and nonlabour type, and load each activity with this at 1 unit per day, with no resource curve.
So long as you have no other nonlabor resources in your programme, you then just have to display the nonlabor units % complete column.
If you are using other nonlabour resources in your project, then things get more tricky. -best bet is probably to take a copy of the programme when it is time for a client update, and delete all the other nonlabor resources before reporting % complete.
The other option is to export the data to excel and do the calcs there.
As to wether it is the right measure to track progress: almost certainly not. Progress of activities like "Project Management", "Government Statutory notification period" or "Planning Support" can be tracked with this method no problem, but for most activities on most projects, 50% of time elapsed does not mean 50% of progress achieved. And using duration as the weighting factor for rolling up progress is just ridiculous. Example below:
Activity 1: Build a wall of 100 bricks in 5 days
Activity 2: Project Management of the walll activity (5d)
Activity 3: cost control of the wall activity (5d)
Activity 4: planning for wall activity (5d)
Activity 5: contract management for wall activity (5d)
On day 3, no bricks have been laid. But activities 2, 3, 4 and 5 have all progressed as planned.
The Brick Wall WBS has a % complete of 48% according to your client's method. Actual physical progress is of course 0%.
It's so easy for the contractor to add lots of silly little activities that require very little effort to complete on plan, and thus mask the effects of real delays to real activities.