For complex implementations, regular risk and pulse checks are essential to ensuring clients reach go-live on time and on budget. In Baton, project risk is regularly evaluated to ensure project timelines are realistic and deadlines aren’t missed.

Baton Risk Algorithm

When managing a project, Baton helps users create achievable deadlines by calculating realistic project due dates based on the estimated time it should take to complete each project task.

Once a project is underway, Baton makes it easy to track internal and external progress, while proactively monitoring risk levels to avoid any bottlenecks or missed deadlines. To calculate a project’s level of risk, Baton evaluates data at both project and task levels to identify potential issues and delays.

Projected Project Due Dates

Baton determines a project’s projected due date by evaluating the due dates of each task within the project. The project’s projected due date is always equal to the projected due date of the final project task.

Based on this data, project risk is determined and color-coded as follows:

🟩 Projected due date is early

🟨 Projected project due date is within 10% of assigned due date

🟥 Projected project due date is beyond 10% & late

Projected Task Due Date

In Baton, task projected due dates play a key role in determining a project’s projected due date and its level of risk. When calculating a task’s projected due date, we evaluate the task’s status (not started, in progress, stuck or completed) and the estimated time it should take to complete the task to determine the expected completion date.

Reviewing Task Level Data & Status in Baton

To easily understand bottlenecks and trends that drive a project's risk, reference the Task Insights tab. This gives aggregated views into tasks which may be projected past the project's established due date under Due Last, tasks which are projected to be most delayed under Problematic, tasks which are upcoming and require immediate attention under Due Next, etc.

Calculating Projected Task Due Dates

Projected Due Dates for Tasks with Parents & Dependencies

Task parents and dependencies are pivotal when determining project and task projected due dates. For tasks whose start date is dependent on the completion of a parent task, the projected due date is calculated by adding the projected due date of the parent task to the estimated time it should take to complete the task.

For example, if a parent task is 4 days late and the task itself should take 5 days to complete, 9 days would be added to the task’s projected due date.

Editing Task Time Tracking

Under the Tasks tab in Baton, users have the ability to edit start and completed dates for individual tasks. Once edited, the task’s projected due date and risk level will automatically update to reflect that change.