Project controls usually measures progress using man-hours as the common unit, as in most projects, it is believed that doubling man-power will reduce time required to half (the mythical man-month).

And, the project plans to meet a resource leveled schedule or, more typically, a resource loaded schedule with implied logic for resource (man-power) limitations. So, the project team compares actual progress to the “baseline” or plan schedule. Thus, scheduling packages, such as, Primavera P6, can be used to report progress. However, experience highlights that the project schedulers should focus on schedules not progress reporting.

So … yes, projects can track progress with Primavera P6 or MS Project, but a better solution requires a separation between schedule maintenance and progress reporting. So, we suggest three alternatives for tracking progress:

1. Primavera P6
2. MS Project
3. Macro-enhanced Excel Workbook

A look at progress reporting: