Auto-Calculated Tasks – How Status and % Complete Are Determined
Schedule tasks can be set to auto-calculated. This means their status and percentage complete are automatically updated based on the progress of their subtasks. You don’t need to manually adjust the parent task — the system keeps it in sync whenever a child changes.
How % Complete Is Calculated
When a task is auto-calculated, its completion can be derived in one of two ways, depending on your schedule settings:
By Duration – the system looks at how long each subtask runs compared to the total duration of all subtasks. Longer tasks count more towards the parent’s overall progress.
By Booked Hours – the system looks at how many hours are allocated to each subtask compared to the total hours across all subtasks. Tasks with more hours count more towards the parent’s overall progress.
The Booked Hours option is only available if Schedule Flex Hours are enabled. Once enabled, you can use the toggle in the Gantt View to decide how progress is calculated for that schedule.
The Calculation Logic
For an auto-calculated task, only direct subtasks are considered. The calculation works as follows:
Each subtask is given a weight based on its share of total duration (if using Duration) or total hours (if using Hours).
Each weight is multiplied by the subtask’s percentage completion.
The parent’s % complete is the sum of these weighted completions.
Example in Practice
Imagine a parent task with two subtasks:
Subtask | Duration | Booked Hours | % Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
Task A | 10 days | 40 hours | 50% |
Task B | 5 days | 80 hours | 100% |
If calculated By Duration
The total duration of both tasks is 15 days (10 + 5).
Task A makes up two-thirds of the total time (10 of 15 days). Task B makes up one-third (5 of 15 days).
Task A is halfway complete (50%). Task B is fully complete (100%).
The system combines these:
Task A’s contribution= 10/15 × 50% = 33%.
Task B’s contribution = 5/15 × 100% = 34%.
Add them together → the parent is 67% complete.
If calculated By Booked Hours
The total hours across both tasks is 120 (40 + 80).
Task A is one-third of the effort (40 of 120 hours). Task B is two-thirds (80 of 120 hours).
Task A is halfway complete (50%). Task B is fully complete (100%).
The system combines these:
Task A’s contribution = 40/120 × 50% = 17%
Task B’s contribution = 80/120 × 100% = 67%
Add them together → the parent is 83% complete.
✅ What this shows
With Duration, Task A dominates because it takes more time.
With Booked Hours, Task B dominates because it requires more effort.
How Status Changes with Auto-Calculation
When a task is set to auto-calculated, Fluid updates not only the percentage complete but also the task’s status. The way status is set depends on whether progress is being calculated by Duration or by Booked Hours.
When calculated by Duration
If the percentage complete is 0%, the task status is set to Not Started.
If the percentage complete is greater than 0% but less than 100%, the task status is set to In Progress.
If the percentage complete reaches 100%, the task status is automatically set to Completed.
When calculated by Booked Hours
If the percentage complete is 0% (no hours have been booked), the task status is set to Not Started.
If the percentage complete is greater than 0%, the task status is set to In Progress.
The task status is never set to Completed automatically when using booked hours.
Logging the forecast number of hours does not necessarily mean that the task has been finished. It remains the Project Manager’s responsibility to mark the task as Completed once the work is actually complete.