Recording progress: actual versus expected durations

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Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which entry in a project log records progress on a task?

A Task A: expected 3 days, to be started soon

B Task A: expected 3 days, actual 5 days

2. A task was planned to take 4 days and took 4 days. What does this show?

A The task finished on schedule

B The task finished late

3. A task was expected to take 2 days but took 6 days. Which statement is correct?

A The actual duration was 4 days longer than expected

B The expected duration was 4 days longer than actual

4. Which is a milestone achieved?

A Spent 3 hours writing the login code

B Prototype approved by the client on 12 May

5. Which duration should be written in the 'actual' column of a progress record?

A The time the task really took

B The time the team originally planned

Match the Pairs

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

Left column		Right column
1Task 3: Expected 5 days \| Actual 8 days		AThe milestone achieved was left out. Completing and signing off the design is a milestone and should be recorded with its date.
2Milestone: Prototype approved \| Achieved 14 Mar		BOnly the actual duration was recorded. Without the expected duration there is nothing to compare it with, so you cannot tell if the task is on track.
3Variance is found by subtracting the expected duration from the actual duration; a positive result means the task ran late.		CA key checkpoint was reached and its completion date was noted in the progress record.
4A progress record entry lists the task, its expected duration, its actual duration and whether a milestone was achieved.		Dvariance = actual_days - expected_days
5Task: Build GUI \| Actual: 6 days (no expected duration recorded)		ETask: Test login \| Exp: 2d \| Act: 2d \| Milestone: Yes
6Task: Design database \| Expected: 4 days \| Actual: 4 days \| Milestone: not noted although the design was signed off		FThe task took 3 days longer than planned, so the progress record shows it ran over its expected duration.

Definitions

actual vs expected duration

Fill in the Blanks

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

variance = actual _ expected

if actual _ expected: print("Task ran late")

variance = actual - expected print("Late by", ________, "days")

milestone = False if actual <= expected: milestone = ____

actual = [5, 3, 6] total = ___(actual)

Spot the Error

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

Question 1

A expected = 5

B actual == 7

C diff = actual - expected

D print(diff, 'days over')

Question 2

A expected = 4

B actual = 6

C if actual > expected

D print('Behind schedule')

Question 3

A expected = [3, 5, 2]

B actual = [4, 5, 3]

C total = sum[actual]

D print(total)

Question 4

A expected = '6'

B actual = 4

C saved = expected - actual

D print(saved, 'days early')

Question 5

A milestone_done = True

B actual = 8

C if milestone_done = True:

D print('Milestone met')

Answer Key

Recording progress: actual versus expected durations

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Task A: expected 3 days, actual 5 days

A — The task finished on schedule

A — The actual duration was 4 days longer than expected

B — Prototype approved by the client on 12 May

A — The time the task really took

Section B: Match the Pairs

Task 3: Expected 5 days | Actual 8 days → The task took 3 days longer than planned, so the progress record shows it ran over its expected duration.

Milestone: Prototype approved | Achieved 14 Mar → A key checkpoint was reached and its completion date was noted in the progress record.

Variance is found by subtracting the expected duration from the actual duration; a positive result means the task ran late. → variance = actual_days - expected_days

A progress record entry lists the task, its expected duration, its actual duration and whether a milestone was achieved. → Task: Test login | Exp: 2d | Act: 2d | Milestone: Yes

Task: Build GUI | Actual: 6 days (no expected duration recorded) → Only the actual duration was recorded. Without the expected duration there is nothing to compare it with, so you cannot tell if the task is on track.

Task: Design database | Expected: 4 days | Actual: 4 days | Milestone: not noted although the design was signed off → The milestone achieved was left out. Completing and signing off the design is a milestone and should be recorded with its date.

Section C: Definitions

actual vs expected duration — Progress is tracked by recording how long each task really took, comparing it with the planned time, and noting any milestone achieved.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

variance = actual - expected

if actual > expected:
    print("Task ran late")

variance = actual - expected
print("Late by", variance, "days")

milestone = False
if actual <= expected:
    milestone = True

actual = [5, 3, 6]
total = sum(actual)

Section E: Spot the Error

B — A single = stores the actual duration in the variable. == compares two values, so actual is never assigned and the next lines fail. It should be actual = 7.

C — An if statement must end with a colon. If actual is greater than expected, the task took longer than planned. It should be if actual > expected:

C — sum() is a function, so it is called with round brackets, not square brackets. It should be total = sum(actual).

A — Quotes make 6 a string, so expected - actual causes a TypeError. The planned duration must be a number: expected = 6.

C — A condition can't use = (assignment). Use the variable alone, or compare with ==. It should be if milestone_done: or if milestone_done == True: