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Project completion rate: the denominator moves under you

The Completion Rate widget divides two different points in time by each other: projects that moved to Done sometime in your window, over the board's total project count right now. Most completion-rate KPIs you've seen elsewhere use a fixed cohort — ours doesn't, and that one detail changes how you're allowed to read the number.

deckgauge · Board · Intelligence
Completion rate
34%
17 of 50 projects done — 30d window

Completion rate, 30-day window.

What it measures, and where the data comes from

No per-source split here — this widget never touches Jira, ADO, or GitHub. It runs entirely on the board's own status pipeline: whichever columns your team drags project cards through.

  • Completed — the count of distinct projects whose status changed to a Done-named column at some point inside the selected window, pulled from the board's status-change history. A project counts as completed even if it later got reopened and moved back — the widget looks at whether it crossed the line during the window, not where it sits today.
  • Total — every project currently on the board, full stop. Not the count when the window started. Not the count of projects that existed back then. Whatever is on the board when you load the widget.
The floating denominatorAdd ten new projects to the board today and your completion rate drops tomorrow — with zero change in how much work actually finished. Archive a chunk of stale projects and the rate jumps for the same reason in reverse. This isn't a bug; it's what "against the board's current size" means. Just don't compare this number month-to-month if the board's project count moved a lot in between.

How to read it

Check the total before you trust the percentage. A 34% on a 50-project board and a 34% on a 3-project board are not the same claim — one is a real signal, the other is a coin flip away from looking completely different. This widget always shows both numbers together for exactly that reason; use them together, every time.

Then flip between the 7/14/30-day window options. A rate that's roughly flat across all three means completions are a steady drip. A rate that jumps around a lot between windows means completions are bursty — clustered right before a deadline rather than spread evenly — which is worth knowing on its own.

What it tells you over time

Track the percentage and the total as two separate stories, not one. A climbing percentage on a stable total is real throughput improving — believe it. A climbing percentage next to a total that's bouncing around because projects got archived or bulk-added just means the board reshuffled, not that anyone shipped faster. Check which story you're actually in before you repeat the number in a meeting.

Example situations

1. Stuck in single digits, no matter which window you pick

deckgauge · Completion Rate
Completion rate
6%
3 of 50 projects done — same low number at 7d and 14d too

Same story at 7, 14, and 30 days.

What you're seeing: it's not a bad week — flip the window and the number barely moves. A big chunk of this board simply isn't finishing, regardless of how far back you look.

How to react: resist the urge to add more projects to "get things moving." A board that's already struggling to finish what's on it doesn't need more starts — it needs fewer things open at once. Cross-check against Work in Progress; a high WIP number sitting next to this is the same disease showing up twice.

Managerial playPut a hard WIP limit on the board and enforce a finish-before-start rule: nobody picks up a new project while their current one is unfinished, no exceptions for "just a quick thing." Pick the three oldest not-done projects and make finishing them this month's actual priority, out loud, in the next planning meeting. Revisit the rate in three or four weeks — a real fix shows up as a genuine climb, not a one-window blip.

2. A high number sitting on a tiny board

deckgauge · Completion Rate
Completion rate
80%
4 of 5 projects done — 30d window

Looks great until you notice the total.

What you're seeing: 80% reads as a great quarter. It's also four projects. One more project landing on the board next week — finished or not — swings this number by 20 points either way.

How to react: don't put this number in a deck without the total sitting right next to it. A tiny board isn't a bad thing, but a percentage built on five data points doesn't behave like a percentage built on fifty, and treating them the same is how a good quarter gets oversold to the next one up.

Managerial playAlways quote the fraction, not just the percentage — "4 of 5," not "80%." If the board genuinely stays this small, consider whether it should be tracking completion rate at all, or whether a simple project list review does the same job with less false precision. Save the percentage framing for boards big enough that one project's fate doesn't move the needle by double digits.

Frequently asked

How is completion rate calculated?
Projects that moved to Done within your selected window, divided by the board's total project count right now. The numerator is historical and the denominator is current, which is unusual and matters for interpretation.
Why does the completion rate change when nothing was completed?
Because the denominator moves. Adding new projects to the board increases the total count immediately, so the percentage falls even though no completed work was lost. Most completion-rate KPIs elsewhere use a fixed cohort; this one does not.
How should I read it, given the floating denominator?
As a directional indicator over a stable period rather than a precise figure. If the board's project count is changing quickly, prefer Completion Trend, which counts actual transitions.

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