Percent Complete Types
Last reviewed 9 September 20261,747 words8 min read
Duration, Physical, Units — three numbers called "percent complete" that measure three different things
🟩 In one line: Duration % is time elapsed, Units % is resource consumed, Physical % is work in place — only the last is progress, so it is the type on every production activity, with Units % allowed where the only loaded resource is the measured quantity itself.
👤 Who this is for: J/M. Prerequisites: progress-measurement-and-rules-of-credit, quantity-tracking-and-physical-progress. Companion to p6-activity-types-explained and p6-duration-types-explained.
First, let's be honest about why this page exists
The column is labelled "Activity % Complete" and it shows one number. Which of three calculations produced that number is decided by a setting on the General tab that most people leave at the project default — and the project default, on a copied project, is often Duration. A schedule on Duration % can be "62% complete" with nothing installed, because the data date moved and P6 counted the days.
Three types, one table, and the rule. The argument about rules of credit is on its own page; this page is only the mechanics.
🟨 The standard — what "good" looks like
| Source | What it asks for (paraphrased) | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| AACE RP 38R-06 | Progress measurement method recorded in the basis | % type stated per activity type in the SBM |
| GAO Schedule Assessment Guide, BP 9 | Progress based on actual work performed, not elapsed time | Physical (or Units on measured quantity) |
| PMI Practice Standard for Scheduling, 2nd ed. | Percent complete method selected to reflect actual accomplishment | Same |
| DCMA 14-Point, Metrics 9, 13, 14 | Status consistent with data date; CPLI, BEI | BEI counts actual finishes — a Duration-% activity "finishes" by calendar |
| Client schedule specifications (typical Gulf) | Usually mandate Physical % with quantity substantiation | Check; rarely permit Duration % |
| FIDIC 1999 Cl 8.3 / 2017 Cl 8.3; NEC Cl 32.1 | Programme reflects actual progress | Actual progress = work done, not time passed |
🟢 Rule: Physical % on production work, entered from the quantity sheet or earned through steps; Units % only where the sole resource is the measured quantity; Duration % on nothing that is measured — and remaining duration is always set separately, never derived from the percent.
How it actually works
1. The three types
| Type | Formula | What you type | What P6 changes | Measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | (Original − Remaining) ÷ Original × 100 | Either the % or the Remaining Duration — they are locked together | Editing one changes the other | Time elapsed |
| Units | Actual Units ÷ At Completion Units × 100 | The % or the actual units | Editing the % writes actual units; remaining units = At Completion − actual | Resource consumed (hours or quantity) |
| Physical | None — user-entered, or from weighted steps | The % (or tick steps) | Nothing — remaining duration is independent and must be set by hand | Work in place, as assessed |
2. Where each is set and read
| Action | Path |
|---|---|
| Project default | Enterprise → Projects → Details → Defaults → Percent Complete Type |
| Per activity | Activity Details → General → % Complete Type |
| Steps drive Physical % | Project Details → Calculations → "Activity percent complete based on activity steps" (ticked); Activity Details → Steps, weights per rule of credit |
| Column showing the selected type | Activity % Complete (add the three specific columns — Duration %, Units %, Physical % — when diagnosing) |
| What earned value uses | WBS → Earned Value tab → Technique for computing performance % complete (default from Admin → Admin Preferences → Earned Value) |
"Performance % complete" is a fourth number: it is what EV multiplies against the budget. Set to "Activity percent complete" it follows the type above; set to 0/100 or 50/50 it applies the rule of credit regardless of what was typed. The SBM says which applies per WBS node.
3. Choosing per activity type
| Activity | % type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Measured trades — concrete, block, plaster, tiling, cable pulling, pipework | Physical from quantity sheet; or Units where the only resource is a non-labour quantity resource (m², m³, m) | Both equal installed ÷ total; Units removes a typing step if the quantity resource is the sole assignment |
| Labour-loaded activities with hours as the resource | Physical | Units % would be hours spent — a crew that is slow earns more |
| Short activities under 0/100 or 50/50 rules | Physical (or performance % via WBS EV setting) | Rule of credit, not calendar |
| Multi-step activities (slab: rebar / formwork / pour) | Physical via Steps, weights 40/30/30 | Each step earned on an inspection record |
| LOE — supervision, scaffold, hoist | Duration | It genuinely is time-based; the only place Duration % belongs |
| Milestones | None — 0 or 100 | — |
| Approvals, curing, review periods | Duration | Elapsed time is the work |
4. The trap inside Duration %
Tools → Update Progress ("progress spotlight") statuses everything in the window as if it went to plan: actual dates set, remaining durations reduced, and — on Duration-% activities — percent moved. It is the fastest way to produce a schedule that is exactly on time and completely untrue. Never used on a contractual update; every actual comes from records.
5. The two numbers that must be set separately
On Physical %, entering 60% does nothing to the remaining duration. That is the point: 60% installed at an achieved rate below plan means the remaining 40% takes longer than 40% of the original. The monthly update enters Physical % from the quantity sheet and remaining duration from remaining quantity ÷ achieved rate (forecasting-honestly). Two columns, two sources, every activity.
6. Changing type mid-project
Changing from Duration to Physical on a progressed activity leaves Physical % at 0 until typed, and BEI/EV on that activity jump in the transition month. Do it in a baseline draft, note it in the change table, and re-enter the percents from the quantity sheet in the same session.
🟥 Where people go wrong
- Duration % left as the project default. The schedule progresses itself as the data date moves. The check is one column: group by % Complete Type and read the counts.
- Units % with labour hours as the resource. 1,200 hours spent of 1,920 shows 62% — but 400 m² of 640 is laid, which is 62% only by coincidence. Slow crews earn more under Units % on labour.
- Physical % typed and remaining duration left alone. 70% installed, RD still original − elapsed. The activity finishes on paper on the original date whatever the rate. Two entries, always.
- Update Progress on a contractual update. Every activity in the window hits plan. The narrative then explains a BEI of 1.00 against a site that visibly isn't.
- Percent as a substitute for steps. "Slab 75%" with no record of which steps. Steps with weights and an IR reference per step — the percent is then a result, not an opinion.
- Milestones with a percent. A milestone is 0 or 100. Anything between is a corrupt import or a Task pretending.
⚖️ When you're challenged
"Why is the activity 40% but you've only reduced the remaining duration by 6 days of 24?" Forty percent installed in 12 days means 27 m² a day against the 32 planned. The remaining 384 m² at 27 a day is 15 days, rounded up. The percent measures what's done; the remaining duration measures how fast — they're set separately because they say different things.
"Just use Update Progress, it's the end of the month and nothing's late." Update Progress statuses to plan; it doesn't look at the site. If nothing's late the quantity sheet will show that and the entries take the same hour. If something is late, Update Progress hides it and we find out next month.
"The sub's programme shows 71% on the risers. Yours shows 58%." Theirs is Units % on labour hours — 71% of the budgeted hours are spent. Ours is Physical from the joint walk sheet — 58% of the pipe is installed and IR'd. The reconciliation table shows both with the reason; payment is on ours.
📄 Related pages
- Progress measurement and rules of credit — which rule earns the percent
- Quantity tracking and physical progress — the sheet the percent comes from
- Forecasting honestly — the remaining duration entered alongside it
- Statusing a schedule — the monthly entry sequence
- Earned Value Basics: SPI and CPI — performance % and what EV multiplies
- P6 Duration Types Explained — the second General-tab setting
- Setting Up a P6 Project — the project default
✏️ Worked example
Level 5 blockwork, Dubai mid-rise, data date 1 October. Original 24 days, started 6 September, 640 m² total, 384 m² installed and IR'd, 1,240 mh booked of 1,920.
| % type | Value shown | Where it came from | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | 88% | 21 of 24 working days elapsed | Fiction |
| Units (labour hours) | 65% | 1,240 ÷ 1,920 | Hours, not walls |
| Units (quantity resource, m²) | 60% | 384 ÷ 640 | Correct — equals Physical |
| Physical (from quantity sheet) | 60% | 384 ÷ 640, IR-1102 | Correct |
Remaining duration entered separately: 256 m² ÷ 18.3 m²/day achieved (384 ÷ 21) = 14 days. Forecast finish moves 8 working days later than original. Notebook "Forecast Basis" written. Both the 60% and the 14 days go in the update; neither was derived from the other.
📖 References
- AACE International RP 38R-06, Documenting the Schedule Basis
- GAO Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 9
- PMI Practice Standard for Scheduling, 2nd ed.
- DCMA 14-Point Schedule Assessment, Metrics 9, 13, 14
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction, 1999 and 2017, Cl 8.3; NEC3/NEC4 ECC Cl 32.1 (check the edition in your contract)
- Oracle Primavera P6 Professional User Guide — Percent Complete Types; Activity Steps; Earned Value settings; Update Progress (field labels as in P6 Professional v20; earlier versions differ)
From the field
Experience from working planners. Unreviewed — read it as experience, not guidance.
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