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What does Actual Finish Date mean in Project Management?

by | reviewed 2023-08-19

Actual Finish Date

The point in time that work actually ended on a scheduled activity. Project Managers record the date so they can track progress against the baselined project plan.
Actual Finish Date - meaning and definition
Most scheduling software will calculate the impact of the actual finish dates on the rest of the project tasks. For example, if a task is delivered late Microsoft Project will recalculate the estimated start and end dates of the successor tasks.

Actual Finish date is also important so that you know when resources are available. For example, if Sean the network engineer finishes his task early he may be able to move onto something else ahead of schedule.

See also

 

What does Actual Cost of Work Performed mean?
What does Actual Start Date mean?

See all project management words

Methodology specific dictionaries / glossaries