The Today line simply indicates the current date on a project timeline.
Planned progress represents the percentage of work that is expected to be completed by a specific point in time, based on the project schedule and how effort is distributed across the duration of tasks or the overall project.
Because work is rarely completed at a constant, linear pace, planned progress will not always align exactly with the Today line.
This article covers:
Planned Progress ahead of the Today line
This typically occurs when most of the work is planned earlier in the schedule.
This means that most of work is done in the 1st half of the schedule. As a result, planned progress may appear significantly ahead of the Today line.
Common scenario: Activities such as research, analysis, or design often account for a large portion of progress early in the timeline.
Example (project-level):
- The Today line is halfway through the project timeline.
- Planned progress is at 75% because most of the work is scheduled in the first half. Majority of the work will be happening on Task 1, 2 & 3 below.
- Actual Progress of 57% is beyond today’s line even though the project is 18% behind the schedule.
Planned Progress behind the Today line
This usually happens when most of the work is planned for later in the schedule. Early in the timeline, planned progress may therefore lag behind the Today line.
Common scenario: Phases such as testing, rollout, or migration often ramp up toward the end of a project.
Example (project-level):
- The Today line is halfway through the project timeline.
- Planned progress is at 25% because most work is expected in the second half of the project. Majority of the work will be happening on Task 2, 3 & 4.