Is there a way to change how Planner calculates % complete in a plan?

Question

The default calculation makes no sense in the way I work. For this task, I want it to show as 75% complete because I am basing completion on how much of the actual effort is completed, not duration of the task.

Answer 1

Hi @Cinthia Allred-Portugal, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Microsoft Planner currently calculates Percent Complete based on the default formula: 

Percent Complete = (Actual Duration / Duration) × 100 

You could refer to this article : Percent (%) Complete fields - Microsoft Support 

This means Planner determines progress using the scheduled duration of the task, not the actual effort you have completed. At the moment, Planner does not provide a built-in option to change or customize this calculation method for example, to base completion percentage on work effort instead of task duration. 

I completely understand why you would want the task to show 75% complete based on actual effort rather than duration. Many users who manage work based, effort based, or agile style tasks prefer a more flexible approach to progress tracking. 

However, this behavior aligns with the current Planner design, and there is no supported way for moderators or users to modify how Percent Complete is calculated. 

To help influence future improvements, the best way is to submit your suggestion directly to the Planner product team can review and evaluate the suggestion. This is the most effective path forward, as the Microsoft Teams product team actively monitors customer feedback, and many features and product improvements are driven by customer suggestions.  

How to submit your suggestion 

Option 1: From Microsoft Planner (via Microsoft 365 web) 

1. Select the Help icon
2. Select Suggest a feature 
3. Describe your request, for example:  “Allow users to customize how Percent Complete is calculated (e.g., based on effort instead of duration).” 

Option 2: Microsoft Feedback Portal 

Visit: Planner · Community , then submit your suggestion with the details above. 

If you share the feedback link here, I’ll be happy to upvote it, and other community members can support it as well. 

As forum moderators, we can’t modify Planner’s product behavior, but we’re always here to clarify the current capabilities and guide you to the right channels for feature requests. 

Thank you again for your time and understanding. While this response may not offer an immediate solution, I hope it helps explain what is and isn’t currently possible in Planner. 

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Answer 2

Planner does not expose any setting to change how % Complete is calculated.

In Microsoft Project, there are two separate concepts:

• % Complete – based on task duration:
  Percent Complete = (Actual Duration / Duration) * 100
• % Work Complete – based on work/effort:
  Percent Work Complete = (Actual Work / Work) * 100

Project lets tracking be done either by duration (% Complete) or by work (% Work Complete), and entering one can recalculate the other according to these formulas. However, Planner does not provide an equivalent configurable option; its % Complete field follows the duration-based model and cannot be switched to use effort/work instead.

To track progress by effort in Planner, effort fields must be interpreted manually or managed in Project where % Work Complete is supported.

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References:

• Update work on a project
• Percent (%) Work Complete fields
• Percent (%) Complete fields