Understand project stages and status
Learn how the eight milestone stages, template phases, tasks, and project status relate.
A project's milestone stage and status describe different things. The stage shows where the work is in the project lifecycle. The status shows whether work has started, is active, is on hold, or is complete.
The eight project stages
- Pre-contract — project handoff before installation work begins
- Design — site assessment, design, and engineering
- Permitting — local permits and utility approvals
- Equipment — equipment ordering and readiness
- Installation — construction and installation
- Inspection — inspections and commissioning
- Activation — permission to operate and final handoff
- Complete — the project lifecycle is complete
The milestone names and descriptions shown for your team may differ.
Template phases and tasks
A project template provides phases and tasks for the work your team needs to complete. These are the project's checklist. Milestones show the broader stage and are separate from the template's phases and tasks.
Depending on your team's settings, completing project phases can advance the milestone automatically. If automatic advance is off, an authorized team member can update the milestone in Project settings.
Project status
- Not Started — project work has not started
- In Progress — project work is underway
- On Hold — work is paused
- Completed — project work is complete
Tasks, phases, and milestones show progress in more detail than the status label alone. See Change a project's status for status details.
Where to look
- Projects — review projects in the list, board, map, or Gantt views. Project analytics live under Analytics › Projects
- Project → Tasks — review the phases and tasks for a project
- Project settings — review milestone settings and reusable templates
- Project → Activity — review recorded activity for a project