Episode 5: The Task That Wouldn’t End

Why “95% complete” stayed on screen for three months.

It started innocently enough.
The mechanical testing team proudly told me, “We’re almost done, just a few tweaks left.” I typed it in: 95% complete.

That was on a Friday. I thought, “Great, by next update this will be history.”

Fast forward one week: still 95%.
Second week: 95%.
By the third week, my Gantt chart was starting to look like a museum exhibit. Dusty, outdated, and very, very awkward.

Last time, I shared how lag dependencies created hidden traps in schedules. This week, it’s about the task that just wouldn’t die: 95% forever.

The Trap of “Almost Done”

Here’s the thing about 95% complete—it’s the Bermuda Triangle of project schedules. Once a task enters it, nobody knows when (or if) it will ever come out.

Why does it happen? A few familiar reasons:

• The team thinks admitting “not done” sounds like failure.
• Testing always takes longer than the glossy plan assumed.
• A “small adjustment” gets added, then another, and another…
• No one has the guts to call it what it really is: stuck.

Side note: If I had one Ringgit for every task that hovered at 95%, I could retire and write a book called Fifty Shades of Almost Done.

The Fallout

Meanwhile, management loved that “almost done” number.

• “At least we’re progressing,” they said.
• Except… cash flow didn’t move
• Milestones slipped quietly.
• The client started asking, “Are you sure this thing even works?”

The illusion of progress was more dangerous than the delay itself.

The Lesson

As a scheduler, my job isn’t to decorate the project with comforting numbers. It’s to tell the truth, even when it stings.

What I should’ve done (and what I do now):

• Break the work into smaller, measurable steps. No hiding behind “almost.”
• Define what progress really means. (Hint: 95% means nothing if the system doesn’t run.)
• Reset that 95% to 70% if needed, and explain why. Yes, people will frown. But at least they won’t be blindsided later.

Of course, none of this works without clear ground rules. I’ve written before about how to ensure accuracy and avoid manipulation in progress updates. Those rules can stop a task from sitting at “95% complete” forever.

And proper planning at the start, such as in the Panduan Penyediaan Program Kerja Mengikut Format JKR, prevents tasks from getting stuck in “almost done” limbo.

📚 Coming Up Next:

Episode 6 – The Magic Show Schedule: Top 10 Bad Scheduling Tricks.
If you think 95% forever is frustrating, wait till you see the magic tricks some schedulers pull. 🎩✨