Draft reference — content review pending
Project On-Time Completion Rate
The percentage of eligible completed projects finished on or before the committed completion date under the agreed cohort rules.
Business question
What share of eligible completed projects met their committed completion date?
Formula
Project on-time completion rate = eligible projects completed on or before the committed completion date ÷ eligible completed projects × 100.
Calculation notes
Define completion, committed date, project cohort, and the treatment of approved scope changes, revised deadlines, paused work, and client-caused dependencies.
Edge-case guidance
Document cancelled projects, projects without a committed date, incomplete records, partial delivery, and deadlines changed after work began. Do not silently treat revised deadlines as the original commitment.
Required data
| Input | Type | Status | Available source hints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible projects completed on timeEligible completed projects with an actual completion date on or before the applicable committed date. | Number | Required | Project management system · Excel · Google Sheets |
| Eligible completed projectsCompleted projects included after applying the cohort, completion, commitment, and cancellation rules. | Number | Required | Project management system · Excel · Google Sheets |
Interpretation
Use the measure to understand delivery reliability against commitments. Interpret it with scope changes, client dependencies, project complexity, quality, and the definition of completion.
Caution
A higher on-time rate can be produced by weak commitments, silent deadline changes, or reduced scope. Review delivery reliability with quality and client-commitment evidence.
Implementation recommendation
Require a recorded committed date and completion definition for eligible projects, then annotate approved changes and client dependencies before comparing periods.
Target guidance
Set the first target from comparable historical performance for project on-time completion rate, then adjust it for the service model, strategy, delivery capacity, seasonality, data quality, and client commitments. Review the direction with the accountable owner and consider this trade-off: improving timeliness must not come from lowering scope, hiding pauses, or accepting commitments that are not realistic for the team.