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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteTo track project progress in Microsoft Project, save a baseline before work begins, update tasks with the progress information your team actually collects, set a consistent status date, and compare the current schedule with the baseline in Tracking Gantt. Use earned value when you also need to report cost and schedule performance.
1. Save a baseline before tracking changes
A baseline is the reference plan for comparing actual progress with the dates, durations, work, and costs you intended. Review and refine the schedule first, then save the baseline in Project desktop using Project > Set Baseline > Set Baseline. Microsoft describes baselines as reference points for monitoring actual progress; a project can hold up to 11, including the original. Treat a new baseline as a deliberate change to the comparison plan, not as a way to make a variance disappear. Microsoft’s baseline guidance
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2. Choose how to enter task progress
Use a reporting method that matches the evidence available. Percent complete describes duration progress; percent work complete describes effort or work-hour progress. If your team records time or actual milestones directly, enter actual work, dates, or duration instead. These measures are not interchangeable: a task that is 50% complete by duration is not necessarily halfway through its effort or deliverable value.
| Method | Best suited to | What Project calculates or shows | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent complete | Duration-based status | Actual duration and remaining duration can be calculated from task duration and percent complete. | It does not by itself measure effort spent or value delivered. |
| Percent work complete | Progress measured in work or effort | Actual work and remaining work can be calculated from planned work and percent work complete. | Use consistent effort-reporting practices across the team. |
| Actual work, duration, or dates | Teams that capture time or know actual milestone dates | Actuals can be entered directly; related remaining or scheduled values may recalculate. | Actual dates can change corresponding scheduled dates, so record what happened rather than what was planned. |
In Project desktop, use the Update Tasks dialog to enter actual start and finish dates, or show the Work table to access Percent Work Complete. Entering an actual finish marks a task 100% complete. In ordinary use, summary-task completion is calculated from its subtasks. Microsoft’s task-update instructions
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3. Set a status date for each reporting period
Set the status date to the cutoff through which the team is reporting. In Project desktop, use Project > Status Date. Keeping the date aligned across reports makes it clearer which work is actual and which remains planned. The status date affects where Project places actual and remaining work in some update methods and is used in certain earned value calculations. Microsoft’s status-date instructions
Project’s default status-date behavior can move completed work to end at the status date and place remaining work after it; advanced calculation settings can change that behavior. Work entered by time period is an exception to these settings. An actual start or finish updates the corresponding scheduled date but does not alter the baseline date, so compare the resulting schedule with the baseline rather than assuming the original plan has changed. Microsoft’s schedule-review guidance
4. Find schedule slippage in Tracking Gantt
For a direct visual comparison, switch to Tracking Gantt and display the Variance table. The lower bar shows baseline start and finish; the upper bar shows current scheduled dates. Review baseline and current or actual starts and finishes to identify when a task has moved. The baseline remains the comparison point even when actual-date entry changes scheduled dates.
Microsoft’s guide to tracking progress recommends reviewing schedule progress at least weekly and responding promptly when work deviates from expectations. Make each review use the same reporting cutoff so changes from one period to the next are meaningful. Microsoft’s progress-tracking guide
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Add earned value when budget performance matters
For a view that includes both schedule and cost performance, use earned value measures at the reporting date:
- Planned value (PV/BCWS): the budgeted value of work scheduled by the date.
- Earned value (EV/BCWP): the budgeted value of work actually completed.
- Actual cost (AC/ACWP): the cost incurred for the work performed.
Compare EV with PV to assess progress against the planned schedule, and EV with AC to assess cost performance. These measures depend on a meaningful baseline and a clear status date; Project calculates earned value through the status date or current date depending on the field. Microsoft’s earned value material explains the measures and provides illustrative calculations, not universal performance benchmarks. BCWP (Earned Value or EV) fields · Earned value analysis, for the rest of us
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Important cautions when updating progress
- Entering 100% complete can cause Project to assign an actual finish based on the status date or scheduled finish, depending on settings. Enter the actual finish date directly when it is known and should be reflected.
- Actual start and finish dates can change scheduled dates, but not baseline dates. Use the Variance table to see the difference.
- Baselines can represent contractual commitments. Agree on the reason for creating an additional baseline and preserve earlier comparison points when substantial project changes warrant it.
- These labels and workflows refer to Project desktop. Microsoft lists relevant support for Project Online Desktop Client and desktop Standard/Professional editions from 2016, 2019, and 2021, as well as Project Standard 2024; labels and availability can vary by edition and update. They should not be assumed to apply unchanged to every web-based Project interface. Microsoft’s available-fields reference
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