Process · Topic 8 of 12
Evaluating Project Status
Measure and report project health using variance and trend analysis, burndown and burnup charts, velocity, cumulative flow and status dashboards.
- 5 min
- Work performance data is raw, information is analyzed, and reports are shared with stakeholders.
- Variance analysis compares planned and actual results, and trend analysis looks at direction over time.
- Burndown shows remaining work, and burnup shows completed work against total scope.
What it is
Evaluating project status means checking how the project is really doing against its plan, understanding why, and telling the right people early enough to act. It looks at schedule, cost, scope, quality, risk, resources and benefits, not only one measure.
Good status reporting is honest and forward looking. A report that arrives late or hides trouble has little value.
How it works
Work performance data, information and reports
Raw measurements, such as percent complete or hours spent, are work performance data. When data is compared with the plan and analyzed, it becomes work performance information. When presented to stakeholders, it becomes a work performance report.
Meetings, dashboards, status reports, forecasts and progress charts are common formats. Choose the format and frequency agreed in the communication plan.
Analysis techniques for predictive work
| Technique | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Variance analysis | Difference between planned and actual results, then the cause |
| Trend analysis | Whether performance is improving or worsening over time |
| Earned value analysis | Cost and schedule performance as numbers, with forecasts |
| Reserve analysis | How much contingency has been used compared with remaining risk |
| Critical path review | Whether the longest path is slipping |
| Milestone and slip charts | Progress against key dates |
After finding a variance, decide whether to accept it, correct the work or raise a change request. Corrective action brings future performance back in line with the plan.
Metrics for agile work
Agile teams measure progress by working product, not by effort spent. The main tools are as follows.
- Sprint burndown: remaining work in the sprint against time, falling towards zero.
- Release burnup: completed work against total scope over time. It shows scope changes clearly because the target line moves.
- Velocity: the amount of work, usually story points, a team completes per sprint. It helps forecasting.
- Cumulative flow diagram: shows how many items are in each workflow state over time. Widening bands reveal bottlenecks.
- Cycle time and lead time: cycle time is how long an item takes once work starts, and lead time includes the wait before work starts.
- Throughput: items completed in a period.
Burndown versus burnup
| Chart | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Burndown | Simple view of remaining work | Hides added scope, since the line just flattens |
| Burnup | Shows completed work and total scope separately | Slightly more to read |
When scope changes often, burnup is the clearer choice.
In a hybrid project, report both views: earned value or milestone status for the predictive parts, and burnup or velocity trends for the iterative parts. Present them together so that sponsors see one picture.
Reviewing other areas
Status covers more than the schedule. Review risk exposure, open issues, quality results, resource use, stakeholder engagement and expected benefits. A project can look healthy on cost and schedule while risk grows or stakeholder support falls.
Check that the plan is still the right one. If assumptions no longer hold, update the plan through change control.
Managing project artifacts
Artifacts are the documents and tools a project uses to plan, track and communicate, such as plans, registers, logs, dashboards and reports. Manage them lightly but deliberately.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Identify and tailor | Choose the set the project needs and drop the rest. Predictive projects lean on formal documents. Agile projects lean on task boards, a backlog and information radiators |
| Create and maintain | Give each artifact an owner, a review and update cadence, and documented approval where needed. Typical examples are the risk register, issue log, change log and stakeholder register |
| Make accessible | Keep them in a shared repository with suitable permissions and version control, so there is one source of truth that every authorized stakeholder can find |
| Assess effectiveness | Check whether artifacts are current, used and trusted, using spot audits, user feedback and stale document checks. Simplify or retire those that add no value |
An out of date register is worse than none, because people make decisions from it. Keep fewer artifacts, and keep them current.
Reporting honestly
Be clear about what is known, what is forecast and what is uncertain. Use visuals for trends and keep the message short for senior audiences. Raise an issue when you need a decision, not only when the project has failed.
When data shows the project drifting, the strongest answer usually analyzes the cause and proposes a corrective action, rather than just reporting the variance.
What to remember for the exam
- Work performance data is raw, information is analyzed, and reports are shared with stakeholders.
- Variance analysis compares planned and actual results, and trend analysis looks at direction over time.
- Burndown shows remaining work, and burnup shows completed work against total scope.
- Burnup shows scope changes more clearly than burndown.
- Velocity is the work completed per sprint, and it supports forecasting.
- A cumulative flow diagram reveals bottlenecks as widening bands.
- Cycle time starts when work begins, and lead time starts when the request is made.
- Review risk, issues, quality, resources, engagement and benefits as well as cost and schedule.
- After a variance, decide whether to correct, accept or raise a change.
Common mistakes
Reporting activity instead of progress. Hours worked are not progress, so measure completed work.
Using velocity to compare teams. Story point sizes differ between teams, so velocity suits only one team's forecasting.
Reading a burndown chart without noting scope changes. A flat line may hide added work.
Waiting for the monthly report to raise trouble. Serious variance should be escalated when found.
Looking only at cost and schedule. Risk, quality and benefits matter equally.
Do not report a story as complete unless it meets the definition of done, because counting partial work inflates velocity and hides risk.
Check yourself
Which chart makes scope changes easiest to see?
A burnup chart, because the scope line is shown separately from the completed work line.
What does a widening band on a cumulative flow diagram suggest?
A bottleneck in that workflow state.
What is the difference between lead time and cycle time?
Lead time runs from request to delivery, while cycle time runs from the start of work to delivery.
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