14 Ways To Track Project Progress

Use Earned Value Management

As a professional in the project management industry for over 30 years, I believe that tracking and measuring project progress effectively is one of the most critical responsibilities of a project manager. Without a reliable system to track progress, projects can quickly veer off course, leading to missed deadlines, budget overruns, and dissatisfied stakeholders. While there are many approaches to tracking and measuring project progress, one of the most effective methods I recommend is using Earned Value Management (EVM).

EVM is a powerful performance measurement technique that integrates scope, schedule, and cost metrics to provide an objective measure of project progress. It allows project managers to not only track where the project stands today but also forecast future performance and potential risks. By applying EVM, project managers can make data-driven decisions that improve project outcomes.

During one of my consultant roles, I was able to set up EVM on my projects using Microsoft Excel and MS Project and conducted weekly tracking of this information. It was amazing as it allowed me to see exactly how my project was progressing and how the team members were performing. It eliminated the guesswork from project tracking progress and let the math do the work.

The Earned Value metrics provide an objective assessment of whether a project is performing as planned, allowing me to quickly see trends and potential risks that I would add to my weekly status reports. I loved it!

There are challenges, of course, in using Earned Value Management, and it is clearly used more in construction than in IT. However, IT sometimes uses it and should do so more often if they want to take the guesswork out of their projects.

That’s my advice: I would strongly suggest using EVM to any new project manager entering the industry.

Utilize Power BI for Reporting

We use Power BI for project management reporting, which helps us a lot.

When many people are involved in a project and there are numerous tasks, it becomes difficult to measure everything inside Jira, ClickUp, Trello, or whatever project management tool you are using. This makes it easier to create custom reporting and share it with the relevant stakeholders.

Power BI can be used to automatically extract data from your project management system and visualize it effectively to present actionable data analytics. Some project management KPIs that we use in our Power BI dashboard include:

– Total number of tasks completed by the team and each member.

– Number of SCRUM points accumulated (every task is worth a certain number of points depending on its size).

– Key roadblocks and affected team members (which can be seen from a drop in their working hours).

– Actual hours spent vs. estimated hours.

Implement OKRs for Clarity

When it comes to tracking project progress, I’ve found simplicity and visibility to be key, a principle I leaned into during my time leading venture projects at BMW Startup Garage. There’s one particular tool that’s been a game-changer for me: OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). While working on mobility innovation projects, where startups were racing against tight timelines, OKRs provided a clear framework for aligning everyone’s efforts. At Spectup, we use OKRs in a way that feels dynamic, not rigid – it’s all about setting measurable milestones while keeping the big picture in sight.

I remember a startup we were helping during a critical fundraising stage; they used our customized OKR dashboard to break down tasks into achievable chunks, which brought clarity without overwhelming their team. One of our team members even described it as “the GPS for projects,” guiding them while allowing some room for creativity. The beauty of OKRs lies in their flexibility – whether you’re tracking investor pitches or product refinement, they make it simple to see what’s moving forward and what might need tweaking.

Track Progress with CompanyCam

One of the biggest challenges in the home remodeling business is ensuring real-time project tracking and accountability. At our company, we use a tool and app called CompanyCam, which we refer to as a visual accountability platform, to track project progress.

Every photo taken by our in-field project managers and subcontractors is geo-tagged and time-stamped, so we know who, when, and where—no questions, just proof.

Our motto? ‘Show me the photos.’

This prevents chasing scattered images across multiple cloud platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox. With centralized access, we stay organized and can share specific project updates directly with customers, keeping them informed every step of the way.

Start with Clear Expectations

Hot take incoming… but I’ve found that the tool doesn’t matter if the expectations aren’t clear.

Start with SMART goals or OKRs, whichever language your team actually uses, and make sure everyone is aligned from day one. That gives you your measuring stick.

Then build in checkpoints so progress isn’t a surprise. These could be weekly check-ins, milestone reviews, or whatever fits the project. The point is shared understanding and consistent tracking.

Fancy tools are nice, but clarity is what actually moves things forward. Right? That’s something everyone wishes they had with their manager.

Apply VSTA Framework for Alignment

In my role as Vice President of Marketing and Customer Success at Satellite Industries, I prioritize aligning goals with actionable metrics to track project progress effectively. One specific method I use is the VSTA framework—Vision, Strategy, Tactics, and Alignment. This aligns our marketing campaigns with business objectives by setting a clear vision, deploying strategic tactics, and ensuring team alignment across all efforts.

I applied this method in a recent company-wide initiative to improve brand consistency across our sanitation product line. By establishing specific tactics like scheduled content reviews and setting alignment by involving cross-departmental liaisons, we succeeded in increasing customer engagement by 12% and brand recall by 8% within six months.

Additionally, we track marketing results and project progress through simple but effective methods like cost-per-lead analysis and non-complex analytics tools. This approach allows us to pinpoint areas for improvement without the added expense of complex software and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and data-driven decision-making.

Treat Vacancies Like Projects

After numerous years in recruiting, I’ve found that treating each vacancy like a project brings clarity and speed. We define the scope — skills, budget, timeline — then hold focused check-ins every few days or weekly, depending on complexity. We review active candidates, feedback, blockers, and any client-side changes so we can adjust quickly without losing momentum.

We also track our metrics against industry benchmarks. If something’s off, we flag it early and dig into the cause. This structure helps us stay efficient and keeps both clients and candidates in sync throughout the process.

Track Progress with Notion

I swear by Notion for tracking our SaaS development progress at ShipTheDeal, where I’ve created custom templates that combine task lists with key performance metrics. Every Monday, my remote team updates their progress, blockers, and wins directly in Notion, which automatically generates a progress percentage that we review in our weekly standups. This approach has honestly saved us countless hours of back-and-forth and helped us launch features about 40% faster than when we used traditional project management tools.

Utilize Agile Methodology

Our team utilizes Agile methodology with weekly sprints which enable fast, iterative development through continuous feedback and adaptation. We use platforms like Jira, Trello, or Asana, and our teams track progress, assign tasks, and prioritize features in real time. This results in efficient collaboration, faster delivery cycles, and solutions that evolve with stakeholder and user needs. We also use Kanban board format on these platforms. This allows us to move cards/tickets and requirements along the board in a very organized format. Generally, we use weekly sprints for tight deadlines, and bi-weekly sprints for deadlines which are a bit further ahead. If the deadline is tight, we also use morning stand-ups and end-of-day stand-down meetings (15 min each).

Otherwise, we use Slack because it integrates with the aforementioned platforms and allows us to quickly communicate in chat or video/screen sharing calls. In some instances, we will also use Microsoft Teams as a supplement to Slack. All of these platforms have great mobile apps for iOS and Android, so our teams all use both web and app versions.

Feel free to reach out with any questions about how we leverage these platforms and tools.

Use Burn-Down Charts

As an agency founder, I’ve seen many project managers struggle with tracking progress.

One method I consistently encourage, and use myself, is the “burn-down chart” within our project management software. It’s deceptively simple but incredibly effective.

Basically, we plot the remaining work against time, showing the ideal progress versus the actual progress. The benefit is its visual clarity.

At a glance, everyone on the team can see if we’re on track, ahead, or falling behind. It forces us to break down projects into smaller, measurable tasks, which inherently improves planning.

The burn-down chart gives everyone a shared understanding of where we are and what needs to be done, leading to better communication and ultimately, more successful project outcomes.

Track Progress with Asana

I track project progress through a combination of structured communication and smart tech tools, ensuring every project runs smoothly. One tool I consistently rely on is Asana. I use it to break projects into smaller tasks with clear deadlines, and it helps the team stay on the same page. We set up milestones and track progress against those key dates, which allows us to avoid any surprises. What works well for me is that Asana gives real-time updates, so I can easily spot when a task is falling behind and adjust. I schedule weekly check-ins with my team to review the board, discuss any issues, and confirm timelines are being met. This approach has helped me achieve a 98% on-time delivery rate over the past year. Staying ahead of delays and ensuring consistent communication is key to keeping everything on track and delivering quality results to clients.

Utilize Jira for Comprehensive Tracking

We use Jira as the central tool to track and measure project progress, manage scope, and ensure alignment across our engineering and product teams. Every task, feature, and bug is broken into user stories with defined estimates, tied to sprints or kanban boards depending on the project. Jira’s reporting features–like burndown charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and time tracking–give us a clear picture of progress, bottlenecks, and team velocity.

One specific example was during the development of a multi-tenant SaaS dashboard for a healthcare analytics company. The client needed real-time visibility into progress, so we created a shared Jira board and configured dashboards that showed sprint goals, completed tasks, open bugs, and hours logged per ticket. This helped the client understand how development time was allocated–between new features, technical debt, and QA. It also helped us identify early that a few complex integrations were exceeding estimated effort, prompting us to re-scope and adjust priorities without derailing the timeline.

Jira also plays a key role in bug tracking. We use issue types and severity labels to triage and prioritize bugs, while linking them to related epics or deployments for traceability. The result is full visibility into what’s being worked on, how long it’s taking, and what needs attention–allowing us to manage client expectations and deliver consistently with fewer surprises.

Combine Sprints with Burndown Charts

One method I rely on heavily is the use of rolling weekly sprints combined with a visual burndown chart–even for projects that aren’t strictly Agile. The burndown gives me a clear, at-a-glance sense of whether we’re ahead, behind, or right on track, and the weekly sprint check-ins help course-correct before things slide too far off.

I’ve used tools like Jira and ClickUp for this, but it’s less about the software and more about the rhythm. Every Monday, the team commits to a handful of deliverables tied to broader milestones. Then, each Friday, we review what was completed, what rolled over, and why. That feedback loop is crucial–not just for tracking progress, but for spotting friction points early, whether it’s a resource issue or a misaligned scope.

The biggest benefit? It forces transparency and encourages proactive planning. Instead of waiting until the end of a milestone to realize something’s off, we’re constantly adjusting. It’s kept multiple complex projects moving smoothly–even when timelines were tight or priorities shifted midstream.

Introduce Tasks as Challenges

One effective way to track and measure project progress is to introduce tasks as “challenges” for employees. Set smaller milestones and allow employees time every day to work on them. Set aside some time each week or month to make note of everyone’s progress, share notes, and provide support and encouragement to each other. This approach helps employees bond, engage in friendly competition, and gives them something to look forward to, which is a great motivating factor.