Note: The following article shows the NextGen user interface. If the steps and/or screenshots do not match what you see in your organization's Betterworks instance, try this article that shows the same feature in the Classic user interface.
Contents
Overview
Accurate progress tracking is essential for maintaining transparency and alignment across your organization. In the Goals module, progress is a measure of how close a goal or milestone is to completion.
Configuration
Setting Progress Calculation
Users choose how a goal's progress is calculated.
Manual Goal: The goal owner clicks on the goal's progress bar and enters the progress update.
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Milestone-based Goal: The goal has milestones, and the progress of those milestones feeds into the goal.
Manual Milestone: The milestone owner clicks on the milestone's progress bar and enters the progress update.
Integrated Milestone: The milestone is connected to one of the Betterworks integrations (e.g., Asana, GitHub, Jira, etc.), and the progress made in the other application feeds into the milestone.
Defining the Metric
Users establish what they are measuring.
Percentage (%): The standard tracking method (0–100%).
Units (#): Useful for tracking specific counts (e.g., "Hire 5 engineers").
Dollars ($): Useful for revenue or sales targets (e.g., "Close 1M in ARR").
Complete or Incomplete: Useful for events that either did or did not occur (e.g., "Obtain PMP Certification"). This replaces the progress bar with an "Incomplete" label.
Starting & Target Values
Once the unit of measure is selected, users define the values:
Starting Value: The starting point. It is usually 0, but can be different depending on the goal.
Target Value: The end point. It is usually 100%, but can be different depending on the goal (e.g., "Increase customer referrals from 10 per month to 15 per month").
Usage
The Goals module allows users to view and update progress directly from the list view without navigating away from their workspace.
Updating Progress In-Line
Users can update progress quickly using the in-line actions on the Goals list view.
Go to the Goals module (list view).
Hover over the progress bar of the goal or milestone you wish to update.
Click the progress bar to enter "Edit-in-place" mode.
Enter the new value and add a comment if needed to provide context on the update.
Click Update.
Updating Progress via Actions
Users can also update progress through the Quick Actions menu:
Go to the Goals module (list view).
Hover over the goal or milestone you wish to update.
Click the 3 horizontal dots to the right of the goal row under Actions.
Select Edit from the drop-down menu to open the details panel.
Scroll down to Progress and click on it to expand the section.
Enter the new value and add a comment if needed to provide context on the update.
Click Update.
FAQs
Can I change how a goal's progress is calculated after it has been created?
Yes. You can edit the Progress Settings at any time.
What happens to my goal progress if I delete a Milestone?
If you have a milestone-based goal, deleting a milestone will trigger a recalculation. The goal progress will update based on the remaining milestones.
Can I set a goal to track reduction (e.g., "Reduce tickets from 50 to 10)?
Yes. In the Progress Settings, set your Starting Value to the higher number (e.g., 50) and your Target Value to the lower number (e.g., 10). As the number decreases, the percentage complete will increase.
Who can update progress on a goal?
The goal owner, anyone granted "Editor" in the goal's Privacy settings, and administrators can update goals.