Retained logic vs progress override

Site crews do not always follow the schedule's logic. A slab pour starts before the last footings are done, or drywall starts in one area while framing is still open in another. When that happens, Oracle Primavera P6 has to decide what the unfinished link still means. One setting in the Schedule Options dialog, "When scheduling progressed activities use", makes that decision for the whole project, and it can move a forecast finish by weeks without a single date being typed. Owners should know which option a contractor used, and why.

Learning outcomes

• Explain out-of-sequence progress and why it forces P6 to make a choice.
• Describe how Retained Logic, Progress Override and Actual Dates schedule the remaining work of a progressed activity.
• Find and change the setting in P6 Professional and P6 EPPM.
• Set an owner's rule for which option a contractor uses in monthly updates and how out-of-sequence work should be fixed.

The lesson

Out-of-sequence progress

Take two activities linked finish to start: A must finish before B starts. If B reports an actual start while A is still in progress, B is out of sequence. The logic said B could not start yet, and the site says it did. When you next schedule the project, P6 must decide how to place B's remaining duration: after A finishes, as the link still says, or from the data date, as if the link no longer mattered.

Oracle's EPPM help describes the setting in exactly those terms: it decides the logic used for dependent activities with out-of-sequence progress, such as a finish-to-start relationship where the predecessor is unfinished but the successor has started [1]. The setting only matters once a project has progress. In a baseline with no actuals, all three options give the same dates.

The three options

Oracle's P6 Professional help defines the choices on the General tab of the Schedule Options dialog [2]:

• Retained Logic. The remaining duration of a progressed activity is not scheduled until all its predecessors are complete. B keeps its actual start, but its remaining work waits for A.
• Progress Override. Network logic is ignored and the activity can progress without delay. B's remaining work runs from the data date, and the A to B link stops driving anything.
• Actual Dates. Backward and forward passes are scheduled using actual dates. Oracle notes this option can cause negative total float if the schedule has actuals after the data date [2].

Retained Logic is the usual default and the cautious choice [5]: it assumes the remaining work in B still depends on A. Progress Override assumes the opposite. Neither is wrong in itself. The question is which one matches how the work is really being done.

Where the setting lives

In P6 Professional, choose Tools, Schedule, click Options, and on the General tab pick an option under When scheduling progressed activities use [3][2]. The Default button in that dialog resets the scheduling settings [2]. In P6 EPPM, open the project's Activities page from Projects in the navigation menu, click Schedule, and then Settings in the Schedule dialog [4]. The setting is saved with the project, so it travels with an XER.

A related option sits just below it: Calculate start-to-start lag from, either the predecessor's Early Start or its Actual Start. Oracle notes it is disabled when Actual Dates is chosen [2]. It matters for SS links on progressed work, but leave it at the specification's value unless you have a reason.

Screenshot to come

Finding out-of-sequence activities

You cannot judge the setting until you know where out-of-sequence progress exists. The schedule log covered in Lesson 10 has a Scheduling Settings section that confirms which progressed-activity option was used [1], and it lists out-of-sequence activities among its exceptions. Run the log after each update and keep a copy with the submission.

Why the choice moves dates

The two main options trade realism for caution in different ways. Retained Logic can be too pessimistic: if the crew started B because part of it truly did not need A, the remaining work waits for nothing. Progress Override can be too optimistic: the link is still in the file, but it no longer drives anything, so a real dependency can vanish from the critical path. A predecessor that loses its only driving successor also gains float it does not really have; Ten Six's worked example shows exactly that [5]. Both errors are fixed the same way: correct the logic so it reflects what the crew is actually doing, then schedule with Retained Logic.

Northgate worked example

Northgate Distribution Centre (fictional) is a 12,000 m² tilt-up warehouse in Vaughan, Ontario, under CCDC 2-2020, with Halvorsen Builders Ltd. (fictional) as general contractor for Northgate Logistics Inc. (fictional). The owner's scheduler reviews Halvorsen's first monthly update, saved in the NDC.SUB branch as NDC-UP01 beside the baseline NDC-BL00. The data date is Mon Apr 5, 2027. Dates for M3 and M4 come from the Northgate fact sheet; the progress figures are illustrative.

The progress reported

In WBS 3, the baseline has 3.1 Footings and piers finishing Fri Apr 9, 2027 and 3.2 Slab-on-grade following finish to start, with M4 foundations and slab complete on Fri May 14, 2027 (the same work shown in Lesson 7). Halvorsen reports:

• 3.1 Footings and piers: in progress, 5 working days remaining.
• 3.2 Slab-on-grade: actual start Thu Apr 1, 2027 in the west half of the building, where footings were complete; 20 working days remaining.

3.2 started while 3.1 was open, so it is out of sequence. Figure 2 shows what each option does with it.

View the data

Activity	Status at data date	Retained Logic	Progress Override
3.1 Footings & piers	In progress, 5 d remaining	Finish Fri Apr 9, 2027	Finish Fri Apr 9, 2027
3.2 Slab-on-grade	Started Thu Apr 1, 20 d remaining	Remaining Mon Apr 12 to Fri May 7, 2027	Remaining Mon Apr 5 to Fri Apr 30, 2027
M4 Foundations & slab complete	Not started	Driven by slab finish	Driven by slab finish

Reading the result

Under Retained Logic, the slab's 20 remaining days wait for the footings to finish on Fri Apr 9, so they run from Mon Apr 12 to Fri May 7. Under Progress Override, they run from the data date and finish Fri Apr 30. The difference is five working days on the path to M4, from the same progress report.

Which is right? Neither, quite. The west-half slab really did not need the east-half footings, so Retained Logic is too cautious for that part. But the east-half slab cannot be poured until the east footings are done, so Progress Override is too optimistic for the rest. The honest answer is to fix the logic: split 3.2 into a west pour and an east pour, link the east pour finish to start from 3.1, and leave the west pour with its actual start. Then schedule with Retained Logic, and the forecast follows the work.

Screenshot to come

Screenshot to come

Owner's move

• Specify Retained Logic for every update. Name the setting in the schedule specification, and ask for the schedule log with each submission so you can confirm it.
• Do not accept a mid-project switch without a reason. Changing to Progress Override can pull a forecast forward without any change on site. If the contractor wants it, ask for both runs and the difference.
• Ask for logic fixes, not setting changes. When work really has gone out of sequence, the relationship is wrong. Split the activity or change the link, and record the change in the narrative.
• Watch float on predecessors. If a predecessor's total float jumps after an update, check whether its successor started out of sequence under Progress Override. Lesson 12 covers float.
• Keep the setting the same in the baseline and every update. Comparisons between updates only mean something if the scheduling rules stay fixed.

Common mistakes

1. Using Progress Override to "recover" a date. The forecast improves because a dependency was dropped, not because the work moved faster.
2. Leaving out-of-sequence links unfixed for months. Each update adds more, and the critical path becomes a product of the setting instead of the logic.
3. Not checking the setting at all. It is not visible in the Gantt chart, so reviewers who skip the log never see it.
4. Choosing Actual Dates without understanding it. Oracle warns it can create negative total float when actuals fall after the data date [2].
5. Blaming the setting for bad progress data. An actual start entered in error looks like out-of-sequence work. Check the dates before debating the option.

Quick quiz

1. Under Retained Logic, the remaining duration of a progressed activity is scheduled:

   1. From the data date
   2. After all its predecessors are complete
   3. From its original planned start
   4. Using actual dates only

2. Under Progress Override, an out-of-sequence finish-to-start link:

   1. Is deleted from the file
   2. Still drives the successor's remaining work
   3. Is ignored for scheduling the progressed activity
   4. Is converted to start to start

3. Where is this setting in P6 Professional?

   1. Tools, Schedule, Options, General tab
   2. Project Details, Defaults tab
   3. Activity Details, Status tab
   4. Edit, User Preferences

4. In the Northgate example, why is the one-week gap between the two forecasts not a reason to pick Progress Override?

   1. Progress Override is not available in P6 v26
   2. The east-half slab still depends on the east footings
   3. Retained Logic always gives the correct date
   4. The data date was wrong

5. Which option can create negative total float when actuals are after the data date?

   1. Retained Logic
   2. Progress Override
   3. Actual Dates
   4. Longest Path

Show answers and explanations

1. B. Retained Logic does not schedule the remaining duration until all predecessors are complete [2].
2. C. Progress Override ignores network logic so the activity can progress without delay [2]. The link stays in the file.
3. A. Choose Tools, Schedule, click Options, and use the General tab [3][2].
4. B. Part of the remaining work still needs the open predecessor, so the right fix is to split the activity, not to drop the dependency.
5. C. Oracle notes the Actual Dates option can cause negative total float if the schedule has actuals after the data date [2].

Key terms

Out-of-sequence progress

An activity that has started (or finished) before its logic allowed, for example a finish-to-start successor that starts while its predecessor is open.

Retained Logic

Schedules a progressed activity's remaining duration after all its predecessors are complete.

Progress Override

Ignores network logic for a progressed activity so its remaining work runs from the data date.

Actual Dates

Schedules forward and backward passes using actual dates; can create negative float when actuals are after the data date.

Data date

The date up to which progress is reported and from which remaining work is scheduled.

Schedule log

The report P6 can write when you schedule, showing the settings used and exceptions such as out-of-sequence activities.

References

1. Oracle. Scheduling Settings Section of the Schedule Project Log Dialog Box of the Activities Page. Primavera P6 EPPM Help, Version 26.
2. Oracle. General tab, Schedule Options dialog box. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
3. Oracle. Schedule a project. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
4. Oracle. Settings Tab of the Schedule Dialog Box of the Activities Page. Primavera P6 EPPM Help, Version 26.
5. Ten Six Consulting. Options for Handling Out-of-Sequence Progress in Primavera P6. July 11, 2016.

Verified on November 6, 2026.

Next lesson in this trackActivity codes