Out-of-Sequence Progress
When reality ignores the logic — and the forecast breaks.
What it is
Progress that happens in an order the logic did not predict — a successor started before its predecessor finished.
Why it matters
Out-of-sequence progress means the network no longer reflects reality; the forecast and critical path can be wrong until the logic is corrected.
In practice
- P6 resolves it through the scheduling option Retained Logic or Progress Override — the choice changes the forecast.
- Retained Logic keeps the remaining relationships; Progress Override ignores them for the progressed work.
- Persistent out-of-sequence progress is a signal the logic is wrong, not just the sequence.
- Re-logic the network rather than repeatedly overriding it.
Watch for
- Leaving Progress Override on by default, quietly shortening the forecast.
- Treating out-of-sequence as noise rather than a symptom of bad logic.
- A critical path that only makes sense once the sequence is fixed.