Every measure in elyvate has a status. That status tells your team - and everyone overseeing the project - exactly where a measure stands right now. Used consistently, statuses make your project tracking reliable and your SteerCo updates trustworthy. Used inconsistently, they do the opposite.

elyvate uses six distinct statuses for measures. Each one has a clear meaning and a specific moment when it applies. This article explains what each status means, when to use it, and how it affects visibility and reporting across your project - plus how archiving works for measures that are no longer active.

A measure's status is not just a label - it feeds directly into work package summaries, the project Overview, and automated reports. When statuses are used correctly, leadership gets an accurate picture without anyone needing to chase updates. When they are not, critical issues stay invisible and reporting loses credibility.

Take five seconds to set the right status. It saves hours of follow-up.

Not Started
The measure has been created but work has not begun yet. Use this for measures that are planned and confirmed - but where the owner has not yet taken any action. A measure sitting on Not Started for too long is a signal to check in with the owner.

In Progress
Work is underway and on track. The owner is actively working on this measure, progress is being made, and no blockers are present. This is the default active state for a measure that is moving forward as planned.

Off Track
Work is underway, but the measure is falling behind - either on timing, quality, or expected outcome. Use this as an early signal that something needs attention. Off Track does not mean the measure has failed - it means it needs focus now, before it becomes a bigger problem.

Need Support
The owner cannot move this measure forward alone. A specific blocker exists that requires input, resources, or a decision from someone else. Use this status to make the dependency visible - so the right person can step in and unblock progress quickly.

Escalated
The measure has been formally escalated to leadership or a steering committee because it cannot be resolved at the current level. Escalated measures appear prominently in the project Overview and in SteerCo reporting. Only use this status when a real escalation has taken place - not as a substitute for Off Track or Need Support.
If your project has the escalation flow enabled, measures can also reach this status automatically: when a measure's due date is changed more often than the project's limit allows, it escalates on its own. Once a measure is Escalated, only Work Package Leads, Project Leads and Consultants can change its status or due date (see Escalation flow).

Completed
The measure has been fully executed and the defined outcome has been achieved. Once marked Completed, the measure moves out of the active view and no longer counts toward open items. Only mark a measure Completed when the work is actually done - not when it is nearly done.

Statuses can be customised at the project level. Project Leads and Consultants can rename existing statuses and add new ones in Project Details → Settings - changes are reflected across all measures in the project.

Status changes are reflected in real time across elyvate - in the work package One Pager, the Board, the project Overview, and in AI-generated reports. This means the quality of your automated reporting depends directly on how accurately your team maintains statuses.

Every status change is automatically logged in the measure's activity history - so there is always a clear record of what changed, when, and by whom (e.g. "Werner Warius changed the status from In Progress to Need Support").

Measures with Off Track, Need Support, or Escalated status surface automatically in the critical topics view on the Overview - sorted by owner and escalation reason. No manual flagging required. But only if the status has actually been set.

These are the default statuses - your project may have additional or renamed statuses depending on your project's settings.

Not Started - planned, not yet begun
In Progress - active and on track
Off Track - active but falling behind
Need Support - blocked, requires external input
Escalated - formally raised to leadership
Completed - fully done and delivered

Archive - separate action for measures that are no longer active. Removed from active views but kept for reference.

When a measure is no longer active - it became irrelevant, was replaced by a different measure, or was created by mistake - you can archive it. Archiving is a separate action, not a status. The measure is removed from active views and excluded from active reporting, but stays visible in the full history so the record is preserved. Use Archive instead of deleting. Completed measures are also archived automatically when the Project Lead completes and exports the report.

In the Plan section's Calendar view, measures without a due date appear under a "Backlog" bucket. That is a view grouping based on due date - it is not a status. A measure can be In Progress and still show in Backlog if no due date has been set.