Progress Updates
ALICE supports updating task progress directly within the Plan page. Users can bring in a plan and update progress data as part of the schedule optimization workflow, without re-importing an updated schedule from another tool.
Supported Fields
The following fields can be updated directly from the Plan page:
- Task Status (Not Started / In Progress / Completed)
- Progress (% Complete)
-
Duration
- Original Duration
- Remaining Duration
- Actual Duration
- At Completion Duration
- Dates
- Actual Start
- Actual Finish
- Data Date
Which fields are editable depends on task status. See What Changes When You Edit a Field below.
Editing Fields
Single field: Double-click the field on the Plan page. If the column isn’t visible, click the settings cog in the upper right corner, go to Table Columns, and enable it.
Bulk edit: Select the checkboxes next to the tasks, right-click, select Edit/Assign, and choose the field to modify. Bulk edits skip any field that is read-only for a selected task’s status and display a message such as “Updates have only been applied to in-progress or not started tasks.”
Important: After updating progress fields or the Data Date, click Reschedule to recalculate the schedule. ALICE does not auto-cascade CPM calculations.
How Duration Fields Work
A Not Started task has one duration value. An In Progress task has three: Original, Remaining, and Actual. A Completed task has one again.
| Status | Original | Remaining | Actual | At Completion | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Started | Same as Remaining | Planned duration | 0 | Same as Remaining | 0% |
| In Progress | Frozen at the value held when the task started | Work left | Actual Start → Data Date | Actual + Remaining | (Original − Remaining) ÷ Original |
| Completed | Frozen | 0 | Actual Start → Actual Finish | Same as Actual | 100% |
Not Started tasks: Original, Remaining, and At Completion are the same value. Editing any one of them sets all three.
Original Duration is a baseline. Once a task starts, Original Duration is frozen. Rescheduling, calculations, and edits to other fields do not change it. Entering a new value directly in Original Duration re-baselines the task.
Actual Duration is derived from dates. For an In Progress task, Actual Duration is the working time from Actual Start to the Data Date, minus any suspend-to-resume gap. It is read-only until the task is Completed, and it increases when the Data Date moves forward.
Progress (% Complete)
Progress in ALICE is Duration % Complete, the same measure P6 uses. It shows how much of the Original Duration baseline is complete. It does not use logged hours or units.
% Complete = (Original Duration − Remaining Duration) ÷ Original Duration
The result is always between 0% and 100%. The following cases override the formula:
| Condition | % Complete |
|---|---|
| Not Started | 0% |
| Completed | 100% |
| Remaining Duration = 0 | 100% |
| Original Duration = 0 | 0% (Progress cell not available) |
Example: A task planned at 10 days has run for 5 days and needs 8 more. Original = 10, Actual = 5, Remaining = 8, At Completion = 13. Progress = (10 − 8) ÷ 10 = 20%. Actual Duration does not factor into Progress.
Entering a Percentage
Entering a percentage sets Remaining Duration to Original × (1 − %). Actual Duration does not change.
Entering a percentage also changes status in two cases:
- Any percentage entered on a Not Started or Completed task moves it to In Progress.
- Entering 100% completes the task.
Otherwise, status and Progress are independent. An In Progress task can show 0%.
Status Changes
Changing status sets or clears actual dates. It does not change Remaining Duration except when completing or resetting a task.
| Change | Result |
|---|---|
| Not Started → In Progress |
Actual Start = scheduled start. Original Duration is frozen. Actual Duration is measured from Actual Start to Data Date. Remaining is unchanged, so Progress reads 0% until a percentage or new Remaining Duration is entered. |
| Not Started → Completed |
Actual Start and Actual Finish = scheduled start and finish. Actual Duration = that span. Remaining = 0, Progress = 100%. Original Duration is frozen. |
| In Progress → Completed |
Actual Start is kept. Actual Finish = the forecast finish shown on the schedule. Actual Duration = that span. Remaining = 0, Progress = 100%. |
| Completed → In Progress |
Actual Start is kept. Actual Finish is cleared. Actual Duration is re-measured to the Data Date. Remaining stays 0, so Progress reads 100% until a new Remaining Duration or percentage is entered. |
| Any → Not Started | Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Actual Duration are cleared. Remaining returns to Original Duration. The task is planned from its scheduled start. |
What Changes When You Edit a Field
| Field edited | Task status | What changes | What stays the same |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original, Remaining, or At Completion Duration | Not Started | All three durations take the new value; planned finish moves | Status, Progress (0%) |
| Progress % | Not Started | Status → In Progress (or Completed at 100%); Original frozen; Actual Start set; Remaining = Original × (1 − %) | Actual Duration |
| Remaining Duration | In Progress | At Completion, Progress, forecast finish | Original, Actual, Actual Start |
| At Completion Duration | In Progress | Remaining = At Completion − Actual; Progress, forecast finish | Original, Actual, Actual Start |
| Progress % | In Progress | Remaining, At Completion, forecast finish; 100% completes the task | Original, Actual, Actual Start |
| Original Duration | In Progress | Progress, planned finish | Remaining, Actual, At Completion, dates |
| Actual Start | In Progress | Actual Duration, At Completion | Remaining, Original, Progress |
| Actual Duration | Completed | Actual Finish (Actual Start + new duration), At Completion | Actual Start, Original, Remaining (0), Progress (100%) |
| Actual Start or Actual Finish | Completed | Actual Duration, At Completion | The other date, Original, Progress |
| Original Duration | Completed | Planned finish | All other fields; Progress stays 100% |
The following fields are read-only:
- Remaining and At Completion on Completed tasks
- Actual Duration and Actual Finish on tasks that are not Completed
- Actual Start on Not Started tasks
Milestones and Zero-Duration Tasks
Milestones can only be Not Started or Completed. If a bulk selection includes a milestone, the In Progress option is unavailable for the whole selection.
Zero-duration tasks (Original Duration = 0) have no Progress cell, because there is no baseline to measure against. These tasks read 0% while work remains and 100% once Remaining Duration is 0.
Data Date
The Data Date is the plan’s “as of” date. It appears as a vertical line on the Gantt.
To change it, click the settings cog in the upper right corner of the Plan page. The Data Date field is on the General tab.
- The Data Date follows the date format set under General settings. If the format is date only, the Data Date accepts a date. If the format is date and time, it also requires a time.
- The Data Date can only move forward.
- The Data Date must stay within the project date range. It cannot be set before the project start date or after the project end date.
- Changes apply only to the current plan, not to other plans in the project.
How the Data Date affects progress:
- For an In Progress task, the completed portion of the bar ends at the Data Date (or the Suspend date, if set), and the remaining portion starts there (or at the Resume date). Actual Duration is measured to this point.
- Moving the Data Date does not change any task by itself. Click Reschedule to position remaining work from the new Data Date.
- Schedule Quality flags actual dates after the Data Date as invalid. It also flags Completed tasks with remaining work, In Progress tasks without an Actual Start, Actual Finish before Actual Start, and successors started before their predecessor finished.
Import and Export
| Source | Behavior |
|---|---|
| P6 (XER / XML) | Status, Actual Start, Actual Finish, Actual Duration, Remaining Duration, and Original Duration import as stated and round-trip unchanged. Progress is not imported or exported; both tools calculate it the same way. The P6 status date becomes the Data Date. On export, In Progress tasks write Actual Duration as Actual Start → Data Date, with no Actual Finish. |
| MS Project | MS Project has no status field and no Original Duration. Status is inferred from % Complete. |
| Excel (Edit Data) | Carries Status, Remaining Duration, Actual Start, and Actual Finish. Progress is not a column; it is recalculated on import. |
Known Limitations
- No automatic re-progressing. Moving the Data Date does not advance task progress. Status and Progress are set by the user or by import.