Tier 4

progress_tracking

Monitor and report project status effectively

Usage in Claude Code: /progress_tracking your question here

Progress Tracking

Overview

Monitor and report project status effectively

Steps

Step 1: Collect progress data

Gather information on work completed and status:

  1. Define what to track (select appropriate for project): Work completion:
    • Tasks/stories completed vs. planned
    • Milestones achieved
    • Deliverables produced
    • Features implemented Time:
    • Actual hours/effort expended
    • Calendar time elapsed
    • Time remaining estimates Cost (if budget is tracked):
    • Actual spending
    • Committed spending
    • Budget remaining Quality:
    • Defects found/fixed
    • Test coverage
    • Code review completion
    • User acceptance results
  2. Establish collection mechanisms:
    • Daily standups (team verbal updates)
    • Task/issue tracking system updates
    • Time tracking entries
    • Milestone sign-offs
    • Deliverable acceptance
  3. Collect from team:
    • Status on assigned tasks
    • Percent complete (caution: be specific about meaning)
    • Hours worked (if tracking effort)
    • Estimated time to complete
    • Blockers or issues
  4. Gather from systems:
    • Pull data from project tracking tools
    • Extract from version control (commits, PRs)
    • Collect from CI/CD (builds, deploys)
    • Pull from testing systems (test results)

Step 2: Calculate progress metrics

Compute quantitative measures of progress:

  1. Basic progress metrics: Percent Complete (Scope):
    • Completed items / Total items
    • Be specific: completed means done-done (tested, accepted) Schedule Performance:
    • Planned work by now vs. actual work completed
    • Days ahead/behind schedule
    • Milestone status (on track/at risk/missed) Effort/Burn Rate:
    • Hours/effort consumed vs. planned
    • Current weekly burn rate
    • Effort remaining estimate
  2. Velocity metrics (for iterative projects):
    • Points/items completed per sprint
    • Average velocity over last 3-4 sprints
    • Velocity trend (improving, declining, stable)
  3. Earned Value basics (for cost-tracked projects): Planned Value (PV):
    • Budgeted cost of work scheduled by now
    • What should have been spent based on plan Earned Value (EV):
    • Budgeted cost of work actually performed
    • Value of work completed Actual Cost (AC):
    • Actual cost of work performed
    • What was actually spent Key Indicators:
    • Schedule Variance (SV) = EV - PV (positive = ahead, negative = behind)
    • Cost Variance (CV) = EV - AC (positive = under budget, negative = over)
    • Schedule Performance Index (SPI) = EV / PV (> 1 = ahead, < 1 = behind)
    • Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV / AC (> 1 = under budget, < 1 = over)
  4. Calculate forecast:
    • Estimate at Completion (EAC)
    • Estimated completion date based on current pace

Step 3: Create visualizations

Build visual representations of progress:

  1. Burndown chart: Shows remaining work over time:
    • Y-axis: Work remaining (points, tasks, hours)
    • X-axis: Time (days, sprints)
    • Ideal line: Straight line from start to target
    • Actual line: Actual remaining work Interpretation:
    • Above ideal = behind schedule
    • Below ideal = ahead of schedule
    • Flat sections = no progress (investigate)
    • Upward slope = scope added
  2. Burnup chart (alternative): Shows work completed and scope over time:
    • Y-axis: Work (points, tasks)
    • X-axis: Time
    • Scope line: Total planned work
    • Completed line: Work done Advantage: Shows scope changes explicitly
  3. Milestone tracker: Visual status of key milestones:
    • Milestone name and target date
    • Status (complete/on-track/at-risk/missed)
    • Color coding for quick assessment
  4. Dashboard (for stakeholders):
    • Overall RAG status (Red/Amber/Green)
    • Key metrics at a glance
    • Trend arrows
    • Top issues
  5. Keep visualizations simple:
    • One main message per chart
    • Consistent scales and colors
    • Easy to interpret quickly

Step 4: Identify and manage blockers

Track and resolve impediments to progress:

  1. Identify blockers:
    • Issues preventing task completion
    • Dependencies not met
    • Resource constraints
    • Technical problems
    • Decision delays
    • External delays (vendors, approvals)
  2. For each blocker, document:
    • Description: What is blocked and why?
    • Impact: What work is affected?
    • Owner: Who is working to resolve?
    • Actions: What’s being done?
    • Target resolution date
    • Status: Open/In Progress/Resolved
  3. Prioritize blockers:
    • By impact on critical path
    • By number of people/tasks affected
    • By duration if unresolved
  4. Escalate appropriately:
    • Blockers that persist without resolution
    • Blockers requiring authority beyond team
    • Blockers with significant schedule impact
    • Define escalation paths and timing
  5. Drive resolution:
    • Daily focus on blocker resolution
    • Remove obstacles for the team
    • Involve right people to resolve
    • Track time blockers remain open
  6. Learn from patterns:
    • Recurring blocker types
    • Root causes
    • Prevention opportunities

Step 5: Analyze variances

Understand and explain deviations from plan:

  1. Identify variances:
    • Compare actual progress to planned
    • Note schedule variances (ahead/behind)
    • Note effort variances (under/over)
    • Note scope variances (more/less than planned)
  2. Analyze causes: For negative variances (behind):
    • Underestimation of complexity?
    • Resource issues (availability, skill)?
    • External dependencies?
    • Scope changes?
    • Technical problems?
    • Process inefficiencies? For positive variances (ahead):
    • Overestimation?
    • Efficiencies found?
    • Scope reduction?
    • Be cautious: is quality being sacrificed?
  3. Assess significance:
    • Is variance within acceptable range?
    • Will variance self-correct or compound?
    • What’s the impact on overall objectives?
  4. Determine response:
    • Adjust plan (re-baseline)?
    • Add resources?
    • Reduce scope?
    • Accept schedule slip?
    • Implement process improvements?

Step 6: Prepare status report

Create clear, useful status communication:

  1. Status report structure: Executive summary:
    • Overall status (RAG)
    • One-line summary of current state
    • Key achievements this period
    • Top issues requiring attention Progress section:
    • Work completed this period
    • Milestone status
    • Key metrics and trends
    • Burndown/burnup chart Issues and risks:
    • Active blockers
    • Escalations needed
    • Risk updates Plan for next period:
    • Planned work
    • Key milestones upcoming
    • Decisions needed
  2. Tailor for audience: Executive level:
    • High-level status only
    • Focus on outcomes and milestones
    • Key decisions needed
    • Brief (one page or less) Management level:
    • More detail on progress and issues
    • Resource and budget status
    • Risks and mitigations Team level:
    • Detailed task-level status
    • Daily/weekly coordination
    • Technical issues and solutions
  3. Be honest and clear:
    • Report reality, not wishes
    • Bad news early, not late
    • Provide context for numbers
    • Recommend actions, don’t just report problems
  4. Make it actionable:
    • Clear asks for decisions
    • Specific help needed
    • Next steps defined

Step 7: Communicate and follow up

Distribute status and drive actions:

  1. Distribute status report:
    • Send to appropriate stakeholders
    • Post to project repository
    • Review in status meetings
  2. Status meeting best practices:
    • Keep focused and time-boxed
    • Review status, don’t create it
    • Focus on exceptions and actions
    • Capture decisions and action items
  3. Follow up on actions:
    • Track action items to closure
    • Follow up on blocker resolution
    • Confirm decisions are implemented
    • Update status based on outcomes
  4. Solicit feedback:
    • Is reporting useful?
    • Right frequency and detail?
    • Missing information?
    • Adjust based on feedback

Step 8: Update baseline and forecast

Maintain accurate plans and projections:

  1. Update task/activity status:
    • Mark completed items
    • Update remaining estimates
    • Adjust assignments as needed
  2. Update forecast:
    • Estimated completion date
    • Estimated final cost
    • Expected final scope
    • Confidence level in forecast
  3. Re-baseline if needed: Triggers for re-baselining:
    • Significant scope change approved
    • Major replanning occurred
    • Current baseline no longer meaningful Re-baseline process:
    • Document reason for re-baseline
    • Get sponsor approval
    • Maintain record of original baseline
    • Update all tracking to new baseline
  4. Maintain historical data:
    • Keep records of actuals
    • Preserve variance history
    • Enable future estimation improvement

When to Use

  • Throughout project execution phase
  • When stakeholders need visibility into progress
  • When projects have schedule or budget constraints
  • For distributed or remote teams needing coordination
  • When projects have dependencies on other work
  • When project health needs to be assessed
  • At regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly)

Verification

  • Progress data is accurate and current
  • Metrics are calculated correctly
  • Visualizations clearly show status
  • Blockers are tracked and being resolved
  • Variances are explained with root causes
  • Status reports are timely and actionable
  • Stakeholders are appropriately informed
  • Forecasts are realistic based on actuals

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Apply this procedure to the input provided.