PLANNER & SITE TEAM GUIDE · Updated November 4, 2026
Review a contractor’s monthly schedule update
A monthly review should explain what changed, why it changed and what needs action. Use this checklist with the contractor's XER file, schedule narrative and site records; use XER Viewer to inspect the evidence.
Collect the review package
Request the current and previous accepted updates, the approved baseline, the contractor's narrative, the reporting cutoff and supporting progress records. Confirm which project and baseline are included in each export. Agree how corrections and comments will be recorded.
GAO's scheduling guidance emphasizes regular status updates, actual progress, a recorded data date and review of schedule structure. Those are useful foundations for a construction review. Source: GAO Schedule Assessment Guide, Best Practice 9.
Work through the update
- Verify the data date. Open the file and confirm the reporting period. Separate changes in forecast dates from a simple shift in the cutoff.
- Validate reported progress. Inspect completed and in-progress activities, actual dates and remaining durations. Cross-check key claims against diaries, inspection records, installed quantities and delivery evidence.
- Review milestones and driving work. In Gantt, inspect completion milestones and the Critical Path filter. Read the critical path and total float guide before interpreting float or bar colors.
- Check schedule health. Open Reports → Schedule Report for warnings and activity lists. Run Schedule Check → DCMA 14-Point Check and investigate relevant findings rather than accepting the score alone.
- Review resources and uncertainty. Use Histograms when assignments are available. If appropriate, run Monte Carlo with documented assumptions after resolving major logic issues.
- Record comments and actions. Export relevant tables or a Gantt PDF and keep a comment log with an activity ID, observation, evidence, requested response, owner and due date.
Questions for the contractor
| Area | Ask for an explanation |
|---|---|
| Completion | Which milestones moved, by how much, and why? |
| Logic | Which relationships, lags or constraints changed, and what supports the change? |
| Progress | Which actual dates and remaining durations are supported by site evidence? |
| Recovery | Are proposed crews, access, approvals and delivery dates achievable? |
| Baseline | Is the approved baseline unchanged, or is a change formally authorized? |
What XER Viewer supports
The app helps inspect a schedule, review warnings, chart resource data and produce meeting outputs. It does not automatically write the contractor's narrative, verify site records or decide whether a delay is excusable or compensable.
This workflow does not assume an automated comparison between two updates. To identify changes, reconcile exported tables using stable activity IDs or an appropriate comparison tool, and ask the scheduler to explain additions, deletions and logic revisions. Planned dates in a current file are not automatically the approved baseline.
Close the review with a usable record
Separate confirmed errors, clarification requests and accepted explanations. Retain the source filenames, data dates, report settings and responses. Agree the next actions before the meeting ends, then recheck the corrected export.