John --
The best method for tracking progress is dependent on what tracking
information is most relevant in your particular project. If you have
elected to use the % Work Complete method of tracking, you should know that
the two values in question are explained as follows:
% Complete represents the % Duration complete, which is the percentage of
the Duration expended to date.
% Work Complete is the percentage of the work completed to date.
Let me show you how this works. You have assigned me at 50% Units to a
Fixed Duration task with a 10-day Duration and 40 hours of Work. This
10-day task extends from Monday, June 28 through Friday, July 9. Microsoft
Project schedules the work in a flat pattern of 4 hours of work each day
over the 10-day life of the task. For the first week of work, I submit the
following Actual Work values to you:
M T W Th F
2 2 2 2 2
Because this is Fixed Duration task, I have now used up 5 of the 10 days
alloted for work on this task, and the % Complete (remember, it represents
the % of the Duration expended) is 50%. Since I have only performed 10 of
the 40 hours scheduled on the task, the % Work Complete is only 25%.
Therefore, in half the time available for the task I have completed only
one-fourth of the scheduled work. Hope this explanation helps.
