Problem: Project complexity makes it hard for Project Managers to provide accurate status reporting

Tracking the status of tasks can be a complex and error-prone process due to reliance on multiple conditions and manual assessments. Project managers and team members are tasked with considering various factors such as task completion, dependencies, start dates, due dates, and other interrelated elements. The intricate web of dependencies and conditions often leads to:

  • Human errors, 
  • Inconsistent reporting,
  • Delays in identifying bottlenecks, and
  • Increased risk of project timeline overruns.

As project complexity increases, so does the difficulty in manually navigating and interpreting these conditions, making it challenging to provide stakeholders with timely and reliable status updates. Additionally, the potential for discrepancies arises when different team members interpret and apply conditions differently, leading to inconsistent reporting practices across the project. 

Solution: Automate project status computation based on defined conditions

To address these challenges and streamline the project tracking process, Project Managers need to rely  on an automated status computation mechanism. Project Tables computation capabilities eliminate the burden of manual calculations and interpretations, providing real-time, consistent, and error-free status updates.

By leveraging automated status computation, project managers can:

  •  Ensure a standardized approach to status tracking,
  • Reduce the risk of human error, and
  • Enhance the overall reliability of project status reporting.


The adoption of automated status computation not only improves efficiency but also contributes to more informed decision-making and, ultimately, the successful and timely delivery of projects.


Use Case: Compute status based on Start Date, Due Date and Confidence Level

Let's consider the following Project tracker:


Where:

  • Tasks is a Text-type column
  • Task Completion is a Number-type column formatted as a percentage
  • Start Date and Due Date are Date-type columns
  • Confidence Level is a Calculation-type column configured to output a confidence level based on different threshold levels of the "Task Completion" column
IF(
	{Task Completion (%)} = 100, 
	"High", 
		IF(
			AND(
				{Task Completion (%)} >= 50, 
				{Task Completion (%)} <= 99
				), 
			"Medium", 
				IF(
					AND(
						{Task Completion (%)} >= 1, 
						{Task Completion (%)} <= 49
						), 
			"Low", 
			"Very Low"
			)
		)
	)
CODE


  • Status is a Calculation-type column configured to output a status based on Confidence level, the Start Date, and the Due Date conditions
IF(
	{Confidence Level} = "High", 
	"Completed", 
		IF(
			AND(
				TODAY >= {Start Date}, 
				TODAY <= {Due Date}
				), 
			"In Progress", 
		IF(
			AND(
				TODAY >= {Start Date}, 
				TODAY >{Due Date}), 
			"In Progress", 
		IF(
			AND(
				TODAY < {Start Date}, 
				TODAY <= {Due Date}
				), 
			"Not Started", 
	"Not Started"
			)
		)
	)
)
CODE