How Motion's Predictive System Helps You Adjust Projects on the Fly
Note: This article assumes you've read "How to Make a Project: Workflow Projects and Regular Projects" [Link] and "Tasks Not Scheduling Where You Expect?" [Link]. Here's What's Actually Happening. If you haven't, we recommend starting there for foundational concepts.
TL;DR:
A fundamental element of what makes a project management software so helpful is the ability to… you guessed it… manage your projects!
We all know life can be unpredictable and plans can change at the drop of a hat; requiring you to be flexible and adaptable with your project planning. Fortunately, Motion has your back with the power of predictive systems.
Motion’s predictive system is powered by an intelligent algorithm designed to proactively schedule your tasks and projects. It identifies potential issues before they become problems, such as tasks slipping past deadlines or projects missing key milestones.
Learn about Motion's Time Windows: (e.g., 30-day vs. 92-day logic — 30 days for individuals, 92 days for teams)
Proactive Insights: Motion flags potential delays well in advance, so you can take action early.
In this article, we will discuss the ways in which you can take full advantage of Motion’s predictive system to help you make adjustments on the fly. We will walk you through how the predictive system works by default, how to interpret its warnings, and how to use those insights to work smarter.
Motion's Predictive System:
Motion’s predictive system focuses on four key predictions:
When a task cannot fit at all in your calendar.
(Assumes you know what a "can't fit task" is — [here])
When a task is past due.
(Assumes you know what a "past due task" is — [here])
When a project is going to miss its deadline.
When a milestone within a project is going to miss its deadline.
1. What Happens When a Task Cannot Fit?
Definition:
A can't fit task means that Motion could not find any available time in your calendar to schedule it.
How It Looks:
A "can't fit" task will look like this on your calendar:
Example Scenario:
Motion scans your calendar and determines that there is no available time to fit the task within the scheduling window (e.g., 30-day or 92-day logic— 30 days for individuals, 92 days for teams).
Steps to Resolve:
Hover your mouse over the red exclamation ‘could not fit’ icon in the task modal (located to the right of the auto-schedule toggle) to learn why this task cannot fit in your schedule.
Adjust your task settings accordingly to accommodate the ‘could not fit’ error.
Ex: Your task duration is too long to fit in your schedule availability. You can break this task into chunks to allow for the auto-scheduling algorithm to fit this task in your busy schedule.
2. What Happens When a Task is Past Due?
Definition:
A past due task is scheduled after its original deadline, signaling that it will not be completed on time.
How It Looks:
When a task is past due, it will look like this on your calendar:
Example Scenario:
Today is Monday.
The task had a deadline of Wednesday.
Motion schedules it for Friday.
You now know, on Monday, that this task won’t make the deadline. This early warning system allows you to act proactively instead of realizing too late.
Steps to Resolve:
Hover your mouse over the red exclamation point icon in the upper right-hand corner of the task.
Open the task modal and select a new deadline for the task with a later date than the task is currently auto-scheduled.
(Ex: Task is auto-scheduled for July 5th, but the deadline is July 3rd. Selecting a new deadline of July 6th will resolve the ‘past due’ error).
3. Worried About Missing a Deadline?
Adjusting PWT Stage Deadlines:
Deadlines for project workflow stages can be manually adjusted with ease directly from the project modal.
PWT stages can contain up to dozens of individual tasks; making adjusting each specific task deadline quite tedious. Fortunately, with Motion, you have the option to adjust full-stage deadlines which saves you time and hassle.
To adjust your project’s stage deadline:
Open the project modal with the stages displayed on the right-hand side.
Select either the color-coordinated timeline displayed above the task list, or the specific stage deadline located to the right of the stage you’d like to adjust.
Select the new deadline for that particular stage.
You will be prompted to select if you would like to ‘Resize the Stage and Resize the Project’ or simply ‘Resize Stage Only’.
Resizing the stage and project will adjust all other stages in the project by the designated number of days selected.
Resizing the stage only will simply adjust that particular stage by the designated number of days selected.
Adjusting full-stage deadlines, streamlines project adjustment and improves flexibility to adapt to unexpected changes. With just a few clicks of your mouse, your project is streamlined to fit your needs.
Advancing, Cancelling, and Completing Project Stages:
As we learned in the previous section, editing entire stages of a project saves you time and streamlines the alteration process; making it ideal for adding changes on the fly.
Naturally, Motion will only allow one project stage at a time to be actionable unless you choose to advance, complete, or cancel a particular stage. These options provide another set of tools to expedite your project alterations and completion.
Let’s take a look at how these features operate!
Completing Project Stages: allows you to bulk-complete all tasks in a specific stage.
To complete all tasks in a specific stage simply select the green ✅ icon located to the right of the specific stage in your project modal.
Upon selecting this option, you will be prompted to confirm the action by selecting ‘complete stage’.
Upon confirming the stage completion, your project will automatically complete all tasks in the previous stage while simultaneously opening the next stage of tasks to be actioned.
Cancelling Project Stages: allows you to bulk-cancel all tasks in a specific stage.
To cancel all tasks in a specific stage simply select the grey ‘x’ icon located to the right of the specific stage in your project modal.
Upon selecting this option, you will be prompted to confirm the action by selecting ‘cancel stage’.
Upon confirming the stage cancellation, your project will automatically cancel all tasks in the previous stage while simultaneously opening the next stage of tasks to be actioned.
Advancing Project Stages: allows you to begin work on tasks in the following stages.
To advance to the next stage of a project simply select the ‘>>’ icon located to the right of a future stage in your project modal.
Upon selecting this option, you will be prompted to select if you would like to: complete or cancel all incomplete tasks in the previous stage, or simply ‘do nothing’.
The ‘Do Nothing’ option will keep all tasks in the previous stage active and actionable while still allowing the next stage’s tasks to be accessible and actionable.
Turning On/Off Auto-Scheduling for Project Stages:
Another way to bulk-action your project stages in Motion is through the 'auto-scheduling' of project stages. Whether you are deciding to table the project stage to work on at a later time, or simply looking to de-clutter the amount of tasks on your calendar, there are a variety of use-cases for this feature.
To turn on/off auto-scheduling for all tasks in a project stage:
Select the project you wish to edit.
Hover your mouse over the specific project stage to display the editing options.
If the tasks in your project stage are already auto-scheduled, select 'turn off auto-scheduling'.
If the tasks in your project stage are not auto-scheduled, select 'turn on auto-scheduling'.
Note: Turning off auto-scheduling for tasks in a project stage will remove the tasks from your calendar. You can still access and edit these tasks in the project modal or in the 'All Tasks' section.
4. Beacons of Assistance: Harnessing the Power of ETA
The ETA feature provides a helpful visual aid that clarifies the status of a particular project or task in a project. These statuses give you a quick indication of any adjustments that need to be made to optimize your timely project completion.
Note: ETA statuses are only provided for auto-scheduled tasks.
In just a few clicks, you can take your project from at risk of missing its deadline to right on track; making it a must-have tool for managing projects on the fly.
These ETA statuses include:
✅ Green Check: 'Project/Task is On Track' to meet its deadline.
🚀 Rocket: 'Project/Task is Ahead of Schedule by X Days.'
❗ One Exclamation Mark: A specific stage is past its deadline; you're semi-fine for now but need to address it soon.
❗❗ Two Exclamation Marks: The entire project is currently at risk; it’s scheduled to miss the deadline, so you’re going to be in trouble if it’s not fixed.
❗❗❗ Three Exclamation Marks: The project has already missed its final deadline; it’s in the past now—basically, you’re screwed.
❓ Grey Question Mark: 'No ETA because the Project/Task is Not Scheduled.'
Simply clicking on the ETA status icon will provide actionable steps to ensure the specific project/task meets its intended deadline. Whether you would like to extend your project deadline, fix individual task deadlines, or complete/cancel the project; you can do so by utilizing the ETA icon.
What Each Indicator Means:
✅ Green Check:
Definition: The task or project is progressing as expected and is on track to meet the deadline.
Example Scenario: A project with all tasks scheduled and completed on time.
Steps to Resolve: No resolution required.
🚀 Rocket:
Definition: The task or project is ahead of schedule by a certain number of days.
Example Scenario: Tasks are completed earlier than expected, freeing up additional time.
Steps to Resolve: Adjust the project deadline to an earlier date, or leave as is.
❗ One Exclamation Mark:
Definition: A specific stage is past its deadline; you're semi-fine for now but need to address it soon.
Example Scenario: A milestone was due yesterday but hasn’t been addressed yet.
Steps to Resolve: Either complete the project/task or select the status indicator and choose a new deadline.
❗❗ Two Exclamation Marks:
Definition: The entire project is currently at risk; it’s scheduled to miss the deadline, and immediate action is required.
Example Scenario: Multiple tasks are running behind, and the project is now flagged as at risk.
Steps to Resolve: Either complete the project/task or select the status indicator and choose a new deadline.
❗❗❗ Three Exclamation Marks:
Definition: The project has already missed its final deadline; it’s too late, and immediate action is critical.
Example Scenario: The project deadline passed last week, and tasks remain incomplete.
Steps to Resolve: Either complete the project/task or select the status indicator and choose a new deadline.
❓ Grey Question Mark:
Definition: No ETA is available because the task or project isn’t currently scheduled.
Example Scenario: A task was created but not assigned a specific date or time.
Steps to Resolve: Choose to auto-schedule, or leave as is.
Applying This Logic Across Projects and Tasks
Motion applies the same predictive logic across both tasks and projects, using the ETA indicators to flag risks and opportunities.
Key Takeaways
Motion predicts scheduling issues well in advance, allowing you to make proactive adjustments.
Pay attention to visual indicators like ETA's at both the task and project levels to understand priorities quickly.
Utilizing project stages effectively helps keep your projects on-track and your team in-sync.
This predictive system ensures you’re never caught off guard by missed deadlines or overbooked schedules.
Whether you're managing individual tasks or overseeing complex projects, the visual indicators and predictive alerts help you make informed decisions about your time. Remember, seeing a warning isn't a sign of failure – it's an opportunity to take control and reprioritize before deadlines slip away.
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