Automatically update progress in Primavera: The difference between Apply Actuals and Update Progress

When you need to quickly update a project in Primavera P6 (assuming everything is going as planned), there are two options for automatically applying progress:

• Apply Actuals
• Update Progress (Progress Spotlight)

Both options update activities automatically, but they work differently. Let’s explore.

Apply Actuals

The Apply Actuals function updates activities that have the Auto Compute Actuals checkbox marked in their settings.

Update Progress (Progress Spotlight)

The Update Progress feature updates activities that fall within the spotlighted region, regardless of whether the Auto Compute Actuals checkbox is selected.

Rules for Automatic Actuals

When Primavera applies actuals (in both options), it follows these rules:

• Apply Actual Start to all activities with Planned Start < Data Date.
  (Actual Start = Planned Start)
• Level of Effort and WBS Summary activities get dates from other activities.
• Planned Finish is not changed.
• Remaining Duration = Early Finish – New Data Date.
• Actual Duration = Original Duration – Remaining Duration.
• Actual Units = Activity % Complete × At Complete Units.
• If Planned Finish < Data Date, then Actual Finish is applied.
  (Actual Finish = Planned Finish)
• Actuals are subtracted from budgeted values to calculate remaining values.

Key Difference

• Apply Actuals → Works only for activities with Auto Compute Actuals enabled.
• Update Progress → Works for all activities in the spotlighted date range.