> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.charle.agency/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Project Phases

> Organizing project work into phases

Phases organize project work into logical groups like Design and Development. They provide structure, budget tracking, and progress measurement.

## What are phases?

Phases are work groups within a project:

* Organize tasks by type of work
* Track budgets per phase
* Calculate progress independently
* Reorder for custom workflows

<Info>
  Projects can have Design, Development, or custom phases based on the work scope.
</Info>

## Phase types

### Standard phases

**Design:**

* UI/UX design work
* Visual assets
* Creative direction
* Prototypes
* Brand work

**Development:**

* Code and features
* Technical implementation
* Integrations
* Performance work
* Bug fixes

### Custom phases

Create phases for any work type:

* SEO
* Content
* Testing
* Migration
* Training
* Whatever fits your workflow

## Budgeted vs non-budgeted

### Budgeted phases

Phases with quoted time allocation:

* **Allocated days** - Core work time
* **QA days** - Testing and review budget
* **Actual minutes** - Time logged against tasks
* **Contributes to project progress**

**Example:**

* Allocated: 35 days (15,750 minutes)
* QA: 5 days (2,250 minutes)
* Total budget: 40 days (18,000 minutes)

### Non-budgeted phases

Organization-only phases:

* No time allocation
* Still track actual time
* Don't affect project progress
* Useful for ad-hoc work

<Tip>
  Use budgeted phases for quoted work and non-budgeted phases for additional scope or organization.
</Tip>

## Creating phases

### During project creation

Add initial phases when creating project:

* Select Design, Development, or both
* Specify allocated days
* Specify QA days
* System marks as budgeted automatically

### After project creation

Add phases to existing projects:

* Click "Add Group" (Managers/PMs only)
* Enter phase name
* Created as non-budgeted by default
* Cannot add budget to phases after creation

<Warning>
  Phase budgets can only be set during project creation. This ensures budget integrity and matches quoted work.
</Warning>

## Phase details

### Information shown

For each phase:

* **Name** - Phase title (editable)
* **Task count** - Number of tasks in phase
* **Budget** - Allocated + QA minutes (if budgeted)
* **Actual** - Time logged on tasks
* **Progress** - Percentage complete

### Editing phase names

Managers and PMs can rename phases:

* Click phase name to edit
* Enter new name
* Changes reflect immediately
* Does not affect budget or tasks

## Managing phases

### Reordering phases

Change phase order to match workflow:

* Use "Move Up" / "Move Down" buttons
* Phases stay in custom order
* Affects both list and board views
* Only available to Managers/PMs

**Common orderings:**

* Design → Development (typical flow)
* Development → QA → Deployment
* Planning → Execution → Review

### Deleting phases

Remove phases no longer needed:

* Only Managers/PMs can delete
* Deletes all tasks within phase
* Confirmation required
* Cannot be undone

<Warning>
  Deleting a phase permanently deletes all tasks in that phase. Time entries remain but are orphaned.
</Warning>

## Progress calculation

### Phase progress

Calculated from task completion:

* Based on number of tasks complete
* Simple percentage: completed / total
* Updates automatically when tasks complete
* Shown as percentage on phase header

**Example:**

* 10 tasks total
* 7 tasks complete
* Progress: 70%

### Impact on project progress

**Budgeted phases:**

* Contribute to project progress
* Weighted by allocated time
* Larger phases have more impact

**Non-budgeted phases:**

* Do not affect project progress
* Still show their own progress
* Useful for tracking extra work

### Weighted average example

Project with two budgeted phases:

* Design: 10 days budget, 50% complete = 5 days progress
* Development: 30 days budget, 75% complete = 22.5 days progress
* Project progress: (5 + 22.5) / 40 days = 68.75%

## Budget tracking

### Allocated time

Core work budget for phase:

* Specified in days during creation
* Converted to minutes (day = 450 min)
* Time for building/designing
* Does not include QA time

### QA time

Testing and review budget:

* Also specified in days
* Separate from allocated time
* For internal testing
* For fixing issues found

### Actual time

Time logged on tasks:

* Sum of all time entries
* Across all tasks in phase
* Compared to total budget
* Shows over/under budget

## Phase workflow

### Typical progression

<Steps>
  <Step title="Phase created">
    Added during project setup or later
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tasks added">
    Break work into individual tasks
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tasks assigned">
    Team members assigned to tasks
  </Step>

  <Step title="Work progresses">
    Tasks move through statuses
  </Step>

  <Step title="Phase completes">
    All tasks marked complete
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Parallel vs sequential

**Sequential:**

* Design completes before development starts
* Clear handoff between phases
* Easier to manage

**Parallel:**

* Multiple phases active simultaneously
* Requires coordination
* Faster delivery

## Best practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Match quoted phases" icon="file-contract">
    Create budgeted phases that match your quote
  </Card>

  <Card title="Realistic QA budget" icon="bug">
    Allow 10-15% of work time for QA
  </Card>

  <Card title="Logical grouping" icon="layer-group">
    Group tasks by type of work, not timeline
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom phases sparingly" icon="sparkles">
    Too many phases creates overhead
  </Card>

  <Card title="One phase at a time" icon="focus">
    Complete phases sequentially when possible
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review before delete" icon="trash">
    Deleting phases is permanent
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Common scenarios

### Scenario 1: Design-first project

**Setup:**

* Design phase: 20 days + 5 days QA
* Development phase: 30 days + 5 days QA

**Workflow:**

1. Complete all design tasks first
2. Client reviews designs
3. Start development after approval
4. Development tasks reference designs

### Scenario 2: Parallel development

**Setup:**

* Frontend phase: 20 days
* Backend phase: 20 days
* Integration phase: 10 days

**Workflow:**

1. Frontend and backend work simultaneously
2. Integration phase combines both
3. Final testing across all work

### Scenario 3: Adding unquoted work

**Situation:** Client requests additional work

**Solution:**

* Add custom non-budgeted phase
* Create tasks for new work
* Track time separately
* Shows as extra scope

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can't edit phase budget">
    Phase budgets can only be set during project creation to maintain budget integrity.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Phase progress seems wrong">
    Phase progress is based on task count, not time. If tasks vary greatly in size, consider breaking large tasks into smaller ones.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Project progress doesn't match phase progress">
    Project progress is a weighted average of budgeted phases only. Non-budgeted phases don't affect it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can't delete phase">
    Only Managers and PMs can delete phases. If you need a phase removed, contact your PM.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Deleted phase by mistake">
    Phase deletion is permanent and also deletes all tasks. Contact support if you need to restore data.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Project Tasks" icon="check-square" href="/user-guide/projects/project-tasks">
    Learn about tasks within phases
  </Card>

  <Card title="Progress & Budgets" icon="chart-line" href="/user-guide/projects/progress-budgets">
    Understand budget tracking
  </Card>

  <Card title="Projects Overview" icon="folder-kanban" href="/user-guide/projects">
    Back to projects overview
  </Card>

  <Card title="Time Tracking" icon="clock" href="/user-guide/time-tracking">
    Log time against tasks
  </Card>
</CardGroup>