This feature is in beta and functionality is being added on an ongoing basis. We'd love to hear what you think.
Project Performance helps project teams see whether a project in execution is on track or at risk. For projects at risk, it works with Optimize to evaluate recovery scenarios and get the project back on track.
Key Metrics
After you upload a schedule, ALICE shows three metrics:
- % Complete: Actual % complete, weighted by planned labor hours. Excludes LOE and WBS summary tasks.
- Expected Finish: The finish date from your most recently imported schedule.
- Forecast Finish: The finish date ALICE calculates from your actual production rate. Available after at least 3 progress updates have been tracked.
Expected vs. Forecast Finish Dates
Expected Finish is the finish date reflected in the imported schedule. Forecast Finish is a calculated date that projects the finish date based on the actual progress rate implied from imported progress updates. When they match, your schedule is on track with real production. When they diverge, one is more optimistic (or conservative) than what's happening on site.
How it's calculated:
- Measure production rate. Compare actual % complete to planned % complete at today's date, both weighted to planned labor hours.
Production rate = actual % complete ÷ planned % complete - Calculate forecast finish. Apply that rate to the time remaining.
Forecast time remaining = planned time remaining ÷ production rate
Forecast finish = today + forecast time remaining - Shape of the forecast curve. The forecast line follows the same shape as your remaining baseline work, just stretched by your production rate. So a slower closeout phase still looks like a slower closeout phase, not a flat daily rate.
The forecast finish date becomes available when:
- A baseline is set in the schedule manager window
- At least 3 progress update schedules are uploaded, or when the project is at least 20% complete.
The Forecast Finish recalculates every time you upload a new progress update.
Project Progress vs. Baseline Chart
This large chart allows project teams to visualize the timeline of the project from start through completion, with different progress curves overlaid. A “Today” divider splits actuals from forecast.
- Baseline (light blue, solid): Progress curve derived from the schedule that was tagged as the “baseline”, weighted to planned labor hours/BLUs. Always present when a baseline exists.
- Actual (blue, solid): Actual % complete per uploaded schedule, weighted using the same method as Baseline. One dot per upload at the user-entered data date.
- Expected Finish (grey, dashed): Finish projected from the remaining activity logic in the latest official schedule. Present from Period 1.
- Forecast Finish (orange, dashed): Finish calculated from actual production rate applied to the remaining baseline curve—preserving its shape. Starts where the Actual line ends.
Solution Overlay
Overlay an ALICE Optimize scenario directly on your progress chart to see its impact on the completion date. For example, a recovery scenario after a delay.
Managing Schedules and Baselines
Open Manage Schedules (top right) to upload, remove, or tag a schedule as baseline.
- Only one baseline is active at a time.
- Any schedule can be set as baseline, at upload or after.
- Setting a new baseline archives the current one; archived baselines stay available for historical comparison.
- Re-baselining mid-project is supported and doesn't reset your period count.
- You can select from schedules already in ALICE — no re-upload needed.
Getting Started with Project Performance
- Go to Project Performance, located on the left navigation panel.
- Add a schedule via Schedule Manager (upload a file, or pull one already in ALICE).
- Tag a schedule as baseline.
- Add progress-update schedules. Forecast Finish appears after 3.
- Overlay an ALICE-generated scenario from the dropdown above the chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the forecast only appear after 3 updates?
One or two progress updates may not reflect your project's steady-state production rate. Early updates can be affected by mobilization, weather, or front-loaded work. Three updates gives ALICE enough data to produce a reliable projection.
Does the forecast account for the type of work remaining?
Yes. The forecast curve follows the shape of the remaining planned work in your baseline schedule — it does not assume a flat daily rate. If your remaining work is slow-paced closeout activities, the forecast reflects that. If the remaining work is heavy parallel production, it reflects that too.
What happens if I upload a new schedule?
The Forecast Finish is recalculated each time you upload a new progress update. The new actual % complete and the updated baseline curve are used to produce a fresh forecast.
Is this the same as an Earned Value SPI forecast?
It uses the same concept as Schedule Performance Index (SPI) from Earned Value Management — comparing actual achievement to planned achievement at a point in time. The difference is that ALICE uses resource hours, which makes it applicable to schedules that are not fully cost-loaded. For most construction projects, this gives a more accurate picture of physical production than a financial metric would.