Factorial turns a goal's start value, target value and current value into a progress percentage, and turns that percentage and the goal's dates into a status. This article explains the exact rules, with numbers, for single goals, goals split into periods and goals measured based on sub-goals. Customers sometimes call progress "attainment", "completion" or an "OKR score".
Before you start
- Cascading goals (parent goals, sub-goals and the Based on sub-goals type of metric) are available on the Enterprise plan.
- You need See key results to see a goal and its progress.
- The words used here match the goal detail page: Attainment is the value reached so far, Target is the value to reach, and Overall progress is the percentage.
Step by step
Check a goal's progress and status
- Go to Performance > Goals.
- In the goals list, read the Status and Progress columns. For a goal split into periods, Progress shows one bar per period, and Status shows the status of the period that contains today.
- Click the goal to open its detail page. The cards Overall progress, Attainment and Target show the totals for the whole goal.
- If the goal is split into periods, Target allocation shows each period's target, attainment, progress and status.
Rules and behavior
Progress of a single value
- Progress = (current value − start value) ÷ (target value − start value) × 100, rounded to two decimals.
- If the result is below 0, then progress shows 0%. Progress never goes negative.
- If the result is above 100, then progress keeps the real number, for example 120%. Overachievement is shown, not capped.
- If the start value equals the target value, then progress is 100% when the current value equals the target, and 0% otherwise.
- If the target is lower than the start value (a goal where lower is better, such as reducing churn), then the same formula applies, so moving down toward the target increases progress.
Example: increasing goal. Start value 0, target value 100 deals, current value 40 deals. Progress = (40 − 0) ÷ (100 − 0) × 100 = 40%.
Example: start value matters. Start value 5, target value 10, current value 6. Progress = (6 − 5) ÷ (10 − 5) × 100 = 20%, not 60%.
Example: decreasing goal. Reduce open tickets from 15 to 10. Current value 14. Progress = (14 − 15) ÷ (10 − 15) × 100 = 20%.
Example: overachievement. Start value 0, target value 50 leads, current value 60 leads. Progress = 120%.
Progress by type of metric
| Type of metric | How progress is calculated |
|---|---|
| Numeric and Currency | Formula above. For a goal split into periods, the periods are added up: total attainment against total target. |
| Percentage | Formula above per period. For a goal split into periods, the goal's progress is the average of its periods' progress, because a percentage target repeats in each period instead of adding up. Its attainment is the average of the periods' values. A period with nothing recorded counts as 0%. |
| Achieved / not achieved | Achieved = 100%, Not achieved = 0%. For a goal split into periods, the goal's progress is the average of its periods. |
| Based on sub-goals | Calculated from the sub-goals. See "Progress of a goal based on sub-goals" in this article. |
Example: numeric goal split by quarter. Target 100 deals for the year, split equally (25 per quarter), start value 0. Q1 attainment 30, Q2 attainment 20, Q3 and Q4 nothing yet. Total attainment 50 ÷ total target 100 = 50% overall. Q1 shows 120% and Achieved, Q2 shows 80%.
Example: percentage goal split by quarter. Target 80% in each quarter, start 0%. Q1 reaches 80% (100% progress), Q2 reaches 40% (50% progress), Q3 and Q4 are at 0%. Overall progress = (100 + 50 + 0 + 0) ÷ 4 = 37.5%. The Attainment column of the goals list shows the average of the periods' values: (80 + 40 + 0 + 0) ÷ 4 = 30%.
Example: achieved / not achieved goal split by quarter. Q1 and Q2 marked Achieved, Q3 and Q4 Not achieved. Overall progress = (100 + 100 + 0 + 0) ÷ 4 = 50%.
Start value of each period
- If a goal starts at 0, then every period starts at 0.
- If a goal starts at another value, then each period's start value is the goal's start value scaled by the period's share of the target. For example, a goal from 40 to 100 split into four equal quarterly targets of 25 gives each quarter a start value of 10.
Status
Each goal and each period gets one of four statuses, checked in this order:
| Status | When |
|---|---|
| Achieved | Progress is 100% or more. |
| Missed | Progress is below 100% and the due date has passed. |
| On track | Progress is above 0% and the due date has not passed. |
| Not started | Progress is 0% and the due date has not passed. |
- If a goal is split into periods, then the goals list and the status tag on the goal detail page show the status of the period that contains today. If no period contains today, they show the status of the whole goal.
- On track means "has some progress and is still open". It does not compare progress with the time elapsed.
Example. A quarterly period that ends on 31 March with 80% progress shows On track on 15 March and Missed on 1 April.
Progress of a goal based on sub-goals
A parent goal measured Based on sub-goals has no values of its own. Factorial recalculates it from its sub-goals every time it is read.
- If all sub-goals use the same type of metric and the same unit, and they all move in the same direction (all increasing or all decreasing), then their start values, targets and attainments are added up and the parent's progress uses the formula above.
- If the sub-goals mix types, units or directions, then the parent's progress is the average of the sub-goals' progress percentages.
- If the sub-goals are Percentage goals, then the parent's progress is the average of their progress.
- If the sub-goals are Achieved / not achieved goals, then the parent's progress is the average of their progress.
- If a sub-goal is a Percentage goal split into two or more periods, then the parent uses that sub-goal's overall progress (the average of its periods), the same number shown on the sub-goal's page, not only its current period.
- If a sub-goal is itself Based on sub-goals and has no sub-goals, then it is skipped.
- If all sub-goals are split into the same periods, then the parent shows the same periods, each combined with the same rules.
Example: same unit. Sub-goal A: 10 of 20 deals. Sub-goal B: 15 of 30 deals. Both start at 0. Parent attainment 25, target 50, progress 50%.
Example: mixed types. Sub-goal A (Currency) at 80%, sub-goal B (Numeric, clients) at 40%. Parent progress = (80 + 40) ÷ 2 = 60%.
Limitations
- There is no At risk or Needs attention status. Status does not compare progress with the time elapsed.
- You can't choose a different formula or weighting per goal. Sub-goals inside a parent all count equally when their progress is averaged.
- Goal weights do not change a goal's own progress. See Review and weight an employee's goals.
- You can't set a progress percentage by hand for a Based on sub-goals goal.
- Progress is never shown as negative, even when the current value moves away from the target.
Troubleshooting
- Symptom: "My goal shows 0% but I entered a value." → Cause: The value is equal to or worse than the start value. → Fix: Check the goal's Start value. Progress counts only the distance from start toward target.
- Symptom: "My goal shows more than 100%." → Cause: The current value passed the target. → Fix: Nothing to fix. Overachievement is shown on purpose.
- Symptom: "The parent goal's percentage is not the sum I expected." → Cause: The sub-goals mix types, units or directions, so Factorial averages their progress instead of adding their values. → Fix: Use the same type and unit for sub-goals that should add up.
- Symptom: "My goal says Missed but we hit the target the next day." → Cause: The value was recorded after the due date, or recorded in the wrong period. → Fix: Update the right period's value. When progress reaches 100%, the status becomes Achieved.
- Symptom: "My goal used to say At risk." → Cause: That status belonged to the previous goals experience. → Fix: None. See Get started with goals.
FAQ
1. Is time taken into account in progress?
No. Progress depends only on values. Time only decides whether an open goal is Missed after its due date.
2. Do deadlines of sub-goals need to match the parent?
Yes, for a parent measured Based on sub-goals. Its sub-goals must have the same period and frequency. See Cascade goals with parent goals and sub-goals.
3. Why does a monthly goal show 12 small bars in the list?
Each bar is one period. Its color follows the period's status, and hovering shows the attainment and target of that period.
4. How does a "lower is better" goal work?
Set a target lower than the start value. Progress grows as the value goes down. See Create a goal: measurement, period, targets and assignees.