Committed Cost vs Progress Calculator

The earliest reliable warning that a construction package will overrun is the gap between what you have committed and what you have built. Enter the four numbers below.

How the rule works

If committed plus incurred cost exceeds 85 per cent of budget while the package is less than 70 per cent complete, the package will overrun. Both halves are known accurately and early: you know what you ordered, and you can see how much is built. Neither waits for an invoice.

The thresholds are deliberately early, so the signal will occasionally fire on a package that turns out fine. That is the correct trade — investigating a healthy package costs an hour, missing a sick one costs the job its margin.

The full explanation, including what to do when it fires, is in Committed Cost: The Earliest Warning That a Package Will Overrun.