How I keep a project on-track as a Delivery Lead

Leading delivery is not filling in a Gantt chart; it is honestly answering three questions in every status: are we on track, what can derail us, and when do we really finish?

1. Status (RAG). I compare actual progress against elapsed time. If 80% of the schedule is gone but only 40% of the work is done, the project is red even if it "feels" fine. An objective traffic light beats hallway optimism.

2. Risks. I keep a register with probability and impact (1 to 5). Probability times impact gives a severity that orders the list: I tackle the critical ones first, not the loudest. A risk with no owner and no mitigation is not managed, it is just written down.

3. Projection (burndown). The ideal line runs from total scope to zero; the actual line shows where we are. With the observed velocity I project the completion date. If the projection slips past the committed date, I say it early, not on the last day.

What changes the game is not the tools, it is early, unvarnished communication with stakeholders. Bad news on time is actionable; bad news late is a crisis. I built an open Delivery Dashboard that computes these three indicators, precisely to have that conversation with data.