I defined a Level of Effort (LoE) activity in P6 spanning the entire project duration and assigned a cost resource to it that should be expensed according to project progress. However, even though the activity has an SS relationship and has started, the LoE activity shows zero progress and zero actual units. How can I make it automatically pick up progress?

Why LoE Activities Show Zero Progress:
This is a very common issue in Primavera P6. A Level of Effort (LoE) activity derives its progress automatically from the actual dates of its predecessor and successor activities via SS and FF relationships. If only an SS relationship exists but there is no FF relationship, P6 cannot determine the finish boundary of the LoE activity and therefore cannot calculate its duration-based progress.

The Root Cause:

• LoE activities do not accept manual progress input in the same way as normal activities


• They rely entirely on bounding relationships (SS and FF) to calculate their actual start, actual finish, and percent complete


• Without both boundaries defined, P6 leaves progress at zero

The Fix — Add Both SS and FF Relationships:
To make the LoE activity calculate progress automatically:

• Connect an activity at the start of the project to the LoE with an SS relationship


• Connect an activity at the end of the project to the LoE with an FF relationship

Once both relationships are in place, P6 will automatically calculate the LoE's progress based on the Data Date relative to its bounded duration.

Additional Settings to Check:


• % Complete Type: Set to Duration (most appropriate for LoE activities)


• Project Settings: Ensure Link Actual to Date of Planned is enabled so actuals align with the Data Date


• Always advance the Data Date correctly before running the schedule — LoE progress is driven by the Data Date


• Run Schedule (F9) after updating the Data Date to recalculate LoE progress

Regarding the Cost Resource:
If you need the cost resource to spread automatically in line with project progress:

• Use a Resource Curve or Cost Account setup that reflects the intended spend profile


• Consider whether a Material resource or an Expense line item better suits your reporting needs


• Actual units/costs on LoE will only populate once the activity correctly calculates progress through its bounding relationships

Summary Checklist:


• LoE has an SS relationship from the project's first activity


• LoE has an FF relationship from the project's last activity


• % Complete Type is set to Duration


• Data Date is correctly set and Schedule has been run

Once these conditions are met, the LoE activity will automatically calculate progress and distribute the associated cost resource accordingly.