Status Date

The status date is the cut-off date to which all evaluations of a project refer. Up to this date the recorded actual values apply, after it the planned values. It is therefore the reference point for every plan-actual comparison.

The status date determines how far an activity should already have progressed and how large a deviation is. Methods such as earned value analysis also calculate their metrics at exactly this point in time. A regularly maintained status date is therefore a prerequisite for reliable controlling.