Project management RAG status: thresholds and evidence

Project management RAG status turns approved red, amber and green thresholds into a readable project assessment. Calculate the underlying cost and schedule variances first, then apply the colors consistently. Each label needs a status date, a source and a responsible owner so readers can distinguish evidence from judgment.

Define what each color measures

A green cost rating does not establish that a project is on schedule, and a green schedule rating does not establish that delivery requirements have been met. Report cost, schedule and risk separately before deriving an overall status.

The GAO Schedule Assessment Guide, hosted by NASA, explains that a schedule status date separates completed effort from remaining effort. Use a supplied schedule with that date explicitly recorded. A recent file-save date does not establish that its progress evidence is current.

For this example, management approves the following reporting rules. These are illustrative thresholds, not industry standards or GAO-prescribed RAG bands.

The approved probability and impact scales run from 1 to 5. A risk owner supplies those ratings and the supporting rationale; the arithmetic does not independently validate that judgment. A material risk can also require a manual escalation under an approved policy, which should be labeled explicitly.

Use these thresholds only where their definitions fit the project. If schedule tolerances use working days, use the approved work calendar instead of the calendar-day subtraction shown here.

Assemble the evidence before calculating

Start with a ledger or project-cost export, approved total budget, remaining-cost forecast and schedule update. Retain project ID, budget version, reporting cutoff, forecast version, currency and evidence reference. Include a risk register extract with its assessment date and owner.

Use the project cost management guide for the underlying cost-control process. This RAG review consumes the resulting figures; it does not replace the review of forecast completeness or delivery evidence.

Actual costs and the remaining forecast must cover different portions of the same scope. If unbilled commitments already appear in the remaining forecast, adding the commitments again inflates the expected total. Resolve the overlap before a percentage receives a color.

Work the financial and schedule measures

A US company's October 23, 2026 review contains these supplied project forecasts. All approved finish dates are November 30, 2026, and amounts are USD.

Place the table in A:F, with dates stored as dates. In G2 calculate expected total cost, in H2 the dollar overrun, in I2 the percentage overrun, and in J2 calendar-day slippage. Fill down to row 4:

=C2+D2
=G2-B2
=H2/B2
=F2-E2

Percentages are displayed to one decimal place; threshold comparisons use unrounded values. The cost reconciliation is $620,000 + $332,000 = $952,000, and $952,000 − $900,000 = $52,000. The summed project overruns must also equal $52,000.

Do not average the colors or schedule delays to create a portfolio status. A finish-date gap belongs to its project; a single average could hide Beacon's late forecast.

Apply the threshold formulas

In K2, turn the cost percentage into text. In L2, classify schedule slippage:

=IF(I2>5%,"Red",IF(I2>2%,"Amber","Green"))
=IF(J2>10,"Red",IF(J2>3,"Amber","Green"))

Microsoft documents nested IF formulas for evaluating successive conditions. Testing the red boundary first preserves the intended bands. Covirage is not affiliated with Microsoft.

Test the boundary values against the rule table before using the workbook. Exactly 5% is amber here, while exactly 2% is green. Those choices must follow the approved policy; they should not change between reporting periods to improve the appearance of a project.

Separately, apply the supplied risk scores:

The overall rule is the worst of the three supported statuses. If the cost and schedule labels occupy K:L and the risk label is M, N2 is:

=IF(OR(K2="Unknown",L2="Unknown",M2="Unknown"),"Unknown",IF(OR(K2="Red",L2="Red",M2="Red"),"Red",IF(OR(K2="Amber",L2="Amber",M2="Amber"),"Amber","Green")))

This version preserves unknown evidence before assigning an overall color. Input validation must create that label when required evidence is absent or outdated; do not feed blanks into the earlier numeric formulas and assume the result is trustworthy.

Make the status useful in the review

Beside each rating, show the measure, threshold crossed, evidence date, owner and approved next action. Atlas is amber because its forecast overrun is 5.0% and its supplied finish forecast is four calendar days late. A useful response addresses those two exposures directly.

Carry the evidence and response into the project management report. For a compact presentation of status rules, see the KPI dashboard template; keep this project's detailed definitions attached to its reporting pack.

Where RAG reporting goes wrong

• Comparing actual spending with the full budget. An unfinished project can be under budget today while its expected total is over budget.
• Treating missing evidence as green. Flag incomplete forecasts and stale schedule updates before applying numerical thresholds.
• Changing the baseline silently. Preserve the approved budget and finish date, with explicit version changes when authorized.
• Averaging away a red exposure. Keep dimension-level ratings visible beside the approved overall rule.
• Confusing supplied dates with verified delivery. A reported forecast is evidence for comparison, not proof that a milestone has been achieved.

Compare your project evidence in Covirage

Bring your project-cost export, remaining-cost forecast and approved threshold file to Covirage, where its tools compute and check the financial comparisons from the supplied rows. The external AI model explains the results with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account and bring a sample of your own data; the project cost control page supports the review.