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Project Status and Progress

Every project has a status that shows where it stands, and a progress percentage that shows how much work is done. This article explains both, including the rule that controls when a project can be marked Finished.

Where to find itOpen a project from WorkProjects and look at the Overview tab. The status control and progress bar are shown there.

Project statuses

The available statuses are:

Status Meaning
Not started Work has not begun.
In progress Work is underway (the usual default).
On hold Work is paused.
Under review Work is being reviewed.
Finished Work is complete.
Canceled The project was stopped.

Your administrator may customise the colour and display name (alias) of each status, but these are the underlying states.

How to change a project's status

  1. Open the project and go to the Overview tab.
  2. Use the status dropdown to pick a new status.
  3. The change is saved immediately.

You need edit rights on the project to change its status.

The "Finished" rule

A project can only be set to Finished when its progress is at 100%. If you try to mark a project Finished before it is fully complete, the status will revert to In progress. Make sure all tasks/milestones are complete (or progress is otherwise at 100%) before finishing a project.

How progress is calculated

When you create a project you choose how progress is measured (the Calculate Project Progress Through field):

Method How progress is worked out
Manual You set progress yourself; it does not update automatically.
Task Completion Based on the proportion of tasks completed.
Project Total Time Based on logged time against the project.
Based On Project Deadline Based on how far through the project timeline you are (requires a deadline).

You can change this setting by editing the project.

Permissions

  • Changing status and editing progress settings require the edit projects permission (or being the Project Admin of the project).

Tips

  • Use Task Completion progress for delivery-focused projects so the bar tracks real work.
  • If a project stalls, set it to On hold rather than leaving it In progress, so reports stay accurate.
  • Remember the 100% rule: if "Finished" will not stick, check for incomplete tasks or milestones.