Using Project Stages

⏱️ 3 minute read

A project's stage describes where it sits in its lifecycle, from an unwon opportunity through to completed work. The stage does more than label the project: it controls whether time can be registered against it, whether its tasks can be edited, whether Insights are calculated, and how the project is valued in the Project Portfolio Report.

Project stage is separate from Project Status, which records the project's RAG health. Both are set on the same page in project settings.

This article includes:

• Project Stage Types
• What Each Stage Changes
• Setting a Project Stage
• Before You Change a Project's Stage

Project Stage Types

Every project in Forecast sits in one of five stages: Opportunity, Planning, Running, Halted or Done. The stage is set per project and can be changed at any time.

New projects start in Planning. Projects created through the Jira integration start in Running.

What Each Stage Changes

Opportunity

• Win chance can only be set while the project is in Opportunity. Use it to record how likely you are to win the work.
• In the Project Portfolio Report, you can turn on the Use win probability toggle to weight each Opportunity project's value by its win chance. Opportunity projects also have their Actuals and Forecast to Complete columns hidden in the report and in its CSV export.
• Insights are not calculated. Predicted End Date, Performance, Focus, Budget Insight and Suggested Status are unavailable while the project is an Opportunity.
• The project's actuals are excluded from company-level reporting by default, so unwon work does not distort your company figures.
• New team allocations are created as tentative rather than confirmed.

Planning

• No restrictions. All project functionality is available.
• The project counts as active in health reporting.

Running

• The project counts as active in health reporting.
• If your account is connected to Sage Intacct, setting a project to Running creates the matching project in Sage Intacct, unless the project is already linked.
• Running projects are expanded by default in project lists.
• Planning and Opportunity projects offer a Set to Running quick action.

Halted

• Time cannot be registered against the project. Time already logged is kept.
• Tasks become read-only, and tasks and phases cannot be moved into the project.
• Budget editing, file uploads, adding team members, expense fields and Jira sync settings are disabled. Any timer currently running on the project is stopped.
• The project is removed from active-project views, including task search, sprints and task suggestions.
• Tasks keep their current workflow status. Unlike Done, halting a project does not offer to move its tasks to the Done workflow status.
• Halted projects are reported separately from Done projects.

Done

Everything listed under Halted applies, and in addition:

• When you set the project to Done, you are offered the option to move all of its tasks to the Done workflow status.
• Repeating tasks stop generating new instances.
• Deadline and overdue notifications are suppressed, and the project is excluded from overdue flagging.
• Project progress displays as 100%, regardless of the underlying estimates.
• Insights report the project as Done instead of calculating predictions.

Setting a Project Stage

To set a project's stage

1. Click Projects in the navigation bar.
2. Select All Projects from the dropdown.
3. Open the project.
4. Click Settings in the left side panel.
5. Click Status.
6. Locate Project Stage.
7. Select the stage you want.

Before You Change a Project's Stage

• Note: Setting a project to Running creates the matching project in Sage Intacct, if the integration is connected and the project is not already linked. Moving the project out of Running and back again does not create a second Sage Intacct project.
• Note: Moving a project out of Done does not reopen its tasks. If you chose to move all tasks to the Done workflow status when you closed the project, those tasks stay Done and must be reopened individually.
• Note: Win chance can only be edited in Opportunity. Moving a project out of Opportunity resets its win chance to 100%.
• Note: Setting a project to Halted or Done stops any timer currently running on that project.

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