The % Complete fields contain the current status of a task, expressed as the percentage of the task's duration that has been completed. You can enter percent complete, or you can have Project calculate it for you based on actual duration.
There are several categories of % Complete fields.
Data Type Percentage
Percent (%) Complete (task field)
Entry Type Calculated or entered
How Calculated When a task is first created, the percent complete is zero percent. As soon as you enter actual duration, remaining duration, or actual work (which affects actual duration), Project calculates percent complete as follows:
Percent Complete = (Actual Duration / Duration) * 100
If the % Complete field is set to a value greater than zero, the Actual Start field is set to the scheduled start date if you have not yet entered an actual start date. If the % Complete field is set to 100, the Actual Finish field is set to the scheduled finish date.
If you type a value in the % Complete field, Project automatically calculates actual duration and remaining duration. Likewise, entering a value in the Actual Duration or Remaining Duration field automatically recalculates the other fields.
Best Uses Add the % Complete field to a task sheet when you want to display, filter, or edit the percent complete for a task.
Example The "Write proposal" task is scheduled for a duration of 10 days. The assigned resources have been working on the task for five days. Project calculates that the task is 50 percent complete.
In addition, you had estimated a duration of three days for the "Conduct client meetings" task. The assigned resources have reported that they are done. In the % Complete field, you enter 100. The Actual Duration field changes to 3 days, and the Actual Finish field changes to the scheduled finish date.
Remarks By default, changes to a task's percent complete value affect the actual work value. Similarly, changes to the actual work value affect the task's percent complete value. You can change this default and have percent complete and actual work independent of one another in the Project Options dialog box.
You can control whether changes to total percent complete are distributed through the status date or to the end of the task's actual duration so far. You can do this in the Project Options dialog box.
When you enter percent complete, Project might adjust actual and remaining work around the current status date. If you prefer, you can leave these tracking fields in the project as originally scheduled, even if completed work is shown in the future or remaining work is shown in the past. You also do this in the Project Options dialog box.
You can set the status date to a date other than today's date in the Project Information dialog box.
Percent complete indicates the status of the duration of the task so far. By contrast, percent work complete shows the amount of work completed on the task so far.
Percent (%) Complete (task-timephased field)
Entry Type Calculated or entered
How Calculated When a task is first created, the timephased percent complete is zero. As soon as you enter actual duration, remaining duration, or actual work (which affects actual duration), Project calculates percent complete as follows:
Percent Complete = (Actual Duration / Duration) * 100
This total percent complete is then divided and distributed across the duration completed so far.
Best Uses Add the Complete field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view when you want to display or edit the percent complete for a task for a particular time period. To see the total percent complete for the task, review the % Complete field in the timephased portion of the Task Usage view or other task sheet view.
Example The "Write proposal" task is scheduled for a duration of 10 days. The assigned resources have been working on the task for five days. You add the % Complete field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view and see that for this task, 10 percent appears in cells for each of the 5 days, for a total of 50 percent. You had estimated a duration of two days for the "Conduct client meetings" task. The assigned resources have reported that they are done. In the % Complete field in the timephased portion of the Task Usage view, you enter 50 in each of the two cells.
Remarks You can control whether edits to total percent complete are distributed through the status date or to the end of the task's actual duration so far. You can do this in the Project Options dialog box.
When you enter percent complete, Project might adjust actual and remaining work around the current status date. If you prefer, you can leave these tracking fields in the project as originally scheduled, even if completed work is shown in the future or remaining work is shown in the past. You also do this in the Project Options dialog box.
You can set the status date to a date other than today's date in the Project Information dialog box.
