Monitoring progress on a Gantt chart

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A task bar runs from Monday to Friday. By Wednesday evening it is shaded about 60% of the way along. Which describes how to read progress shading?

A The shaded part shows the percentage of the task that is complete

B The shaded part shows the days that were originally planned

2. Today is the end of Day 6. A task was planned to finish on Day 5, but its bar is only shaded to 70%. What is the task's status?

A On time, because more than half of the bar is shaded

B Late, because the planned end date has passed and it is not fully shaded

3. Which is the best way to spot a late task on a Gantt chart?

A Check that every task bar is the same length

B Draw a line at today's date and check that each bar is shaded up to it

4. A task has a planned duration of 10 days. After 5 days it is shaded to 50%. Is it on track?

A Yes, the shading matches the time that has passed

B No, it should be 100% shaded after 5 days

5. A data collection task is late and delays the tasks after it. What should the project manager do?

A Adjust the plan, such as moving later tasks, and record why the change was made

B Leave the original dates unchanged and hope the team catches up

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Task bar shaded 60%		AThe shading does not match the real progress. It should be shaded only to about 50% to show actual work completed.
2Shading ends before today's date line		BThe task is behind schedule (late) because less work is done than the plan required by today
3Shade the completed part of a task bar so progress can be compared with the planned dates		C60% of the task is complete, so the shaded part of the bar shows the work done so far
4When the plan changes, adjust the bar and record why in the project log		DThe change to the plan was not recorded. The reason for the adjustment must be written in the project log.
5Task planned 1-10 Mar, 100% shaded, but work is only half done		ETesting moved to 15-19 Mar \| Reason: survey data arrived late
6Task is late, so the end date is changed on the chart with no note in the log		FDesign task: bar 1-10 Mar, shaded to 5 Mar (50%)

Definitions

Progress shading

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

=D2_C2

=IF(___(E2<TODAY(),F2<1),"Late","On time")

IF actualPercent _ plannedPercent THEN status ← "Late" END IF

newEnd ← oldEnd _ delayDays log ← "Delay: supplier was late"

=C2_F2

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A dur <- 10

B daysGone <- 4

C exp <- dur / daysGone * 100

D pct <- 30

E IF pct < exp THEN

F status <- Late

Question 2

A READ pct, expected

B IF pct < expected THEN

C status <- Late

D ELSE status <- Late

Question 3

A pct <- done / total * 10

B width <- pct * barLen / 100

C OUTPUT width

Question 4

A READ plannedEnd, today

B IF today < plannedEnd THEN

C IF pct < 100 THEN

D status <- Late

E ENDIF

F ENDIF

Question 5

A READ oldEnd, delay, reason

B newEnd <- oldEnd + delay

C LOG oldEnd, newEnd

D REDRAW bar TO newEnd

Answer Key

Monitoring progress on a Gantt chart

Section A: Quick Questions

A — The shaded part shows the percentage of the task that is complete

B — Late, because the planned end date has passed and it is not fully shaded

B — Draw a line at today's date and check that each bar is shaded up to it

A — Yes, the shading matches the time that has passed

A — Adjust the plan, such as moving later tasks, and record why the change was made

Section B: Match the Pairs

Task bar shaded 60% → 60% of the task is complete, so the shaded part of the bar shows the work done so far

Shading ends before today's date line → The task is behind schedule (late) because less work is done than the plan required by today

Shade the completed part of a task bar so progress can be compared with the planned dates → Design task: bar 1-10 Mar, shaded to 5 Mar (50%)

When the plan changes, adjust the bar and record why in the project log → Testing moved to 15-19 Mar | Reason: survey data arrived late

Task planned 1-10 Mar, 100% shaded, but work is only half done → The shading does not match the real progress. It should be shaded only to about 50% to show actual work completed.

Task is late, so the end date is changed on the chart with no note in the log → The change to the plan was not recorded. The reason for the adjustment must be written in the project log.

Section C: Definitions

Progress shading — Shading the completed part of each task bar on a Gantt chart, then comparing it with the planned dates to see whether the task is on time or late.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

=D2/C2

=IF(AND(E2<TODAY(),F2<1),"Late","On time")

IF actualPercent < plannedPercent THEN
  status ← "Late"
END IF

newEnd ← oldEnd + delayDays
log ← "Delay: supplier was late"

=C2*F2

Section E: Spot the Error

C — The expected percent complete is days gone divided by the task duration, times 100. The broken line divides the duration by the days gone, which gives the wrong number. It should be exp <- daysGone / dur * 100.

D — If the shaded percent is at or above the expected percent, the task is on time. The ELSE branch must set status <- On time, otherwise every task is reported as late.

A — Percent complete is done divided by total, multiplied by 100. Multiplying by 10 gives a value ten times too small, so the shading would be wrong. It should be pct <- done / total * 100.

B — A task can only be late once today is after its planned end date. Using < checks tasks whose end date has not arrived yet. It should be IF today > plannedEnd THEN.

C — When the plan is adjusted, the log must record why the change was made. The reason is missing from this line. It should be LOG oldEnd, newEnd, reason.