Analyze the project status
After you update the project schedule, Fusion recalculates your project’s buffer consumption, critical chain, and task projections. One of the most effective ways to assess the status of your project is by viewing the Fever Charts for its endpoint.
Fever Charts give you a visual summary of how much buffer has been used compared to how much of the critical chain is complete—helping you quickly determine if the project is on track or at risk.
Accessing the fever chart
To view the fever chart:
Go to the Endpoints tab of the Project Details view, or open My Endpoints from the workspace.
Locate the endpoint for your project.
From the action menu, click View fever chart.
This will open the Fever Chart tab in the selected endpoint's Task Details view.
Interpreting the fever chart
In the Fever Charts view, you can switch between the traditional fever chart and the Time Chart.
Both chart types are divided into zones:
🟢 Green – On track; buffer is being consumed proportionally to progress
🟡 Yellow – Some risk; progress is slower than expected and buffer is being consumed faster
🔴 Red – High risk; immediate corrective action may be necessary
The most recent status point on the chart represents the current state of the project. Historical points show the trend of progress over time.
If your project is in the yellow or red zone, it’s a signal to investigate what's causing the delay and take corrective action to prevent further buffer erosion.
Using the Time Chart
The Time Chart allows you to:
Visualize how the project has progressed across schedule updates
See the estimated landing zone, which forecasts when the project is likely to complete if the current pace continues
Understand how buffer consumption has trended over time
The Time Chart is especially useful for long-running projects where trends matter as much as the current status.
Using the traditional fever chart
The traditional fever chart plots:
% Chain Complete on the x-axis – How much of the endpoint’s critical chain is completed
% Buffer Used on the y-axis – How much of the project buffer has been consumed
Take action based on the status
If the charts indicate risk:
Analyze the impact chain to identify which tasks are driving buffer consumption
Analyze delays to see what's preventing a given endpoint from finishing more quickly
These tools help project managers not only monitor progress but also guide the team’s focus toward the work that will make the biggest difference.
See also
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