Schedule narrative template
The narrative goes with every monthly CPM schedule update and explains what happened, what changed in the schedule and why. This template covers the sections that NAVFAC, USACE and FDOT specifications ask for, in one order you can reuse.
The template
Write each section for this update period: from the last update's data date to this one. Name activities by ID and name every time. NAVFAC's wording: "Each entry in the Narrative Report must cite the respective Activity ID and Activity Name, the date and reason for any changes, and description of the change."
- Header. Contract number and name, schedule file name, data date, date of the report, who prepared it.
- Status summary. Contract completion date: original, and current with approved modifications. Projected completion date, how many calendar days early or late, and how much it moved since the last update. Time elapsed and work complete, in percent. Activities: total, complete, in progress, not started.
- Progress this period. Work started, finished and under way, by area of the project.
- Critical path. The activities on the critical (longest) path now, and the next path after it. If the critical path changed since the last update, what caused the change.
- Activities that should have started or finished but did not. By their late dates, which activities were due to start or finish this period and did not, and why.
- Delays and problem areas. Each current or expected delay: cause, the activities affected (ID and name), who is responsible, and the corrective action or recovery plan.
- Changes to the schedule. Every change since the last update, each with activity ID and name, what changed, why, and the approval it rests on: activities added or deleted, original and remaining durations, logic and lags, constraints, calendars and calendar assignments, activity types and names, cost loading.
- Out-of-sequence work. Activities progressed before their predecessors finished, and how the logic was corrected.
- Pending items. Change orders, time extension requests and time impact analyses (with their fragnets), permits, and where each stands.
- Weather and lost days. Days lost to weather or site restrictions this period, against the days the schedule allows for.
- Next 30 days. Work planned to start or finish, risks to the critical path, and anything that needs the owner: reviews, approvals, owner-furnished items, access.
- Responses to review comments on the previous update.
What each specification asks for
| Section above | NAVFAC UFGS 01 32 17.00 20 | USACE UFGS 01 32 01.00 10 | FDOT special provision 8-3.2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Status summary | Project summary data, item 1; completion status, items 8 and 9 | Status and potential delays, a; on, ahead of or behind schedule in calendar days, d | |
| 3 Progress | Item 2 | Item b | |
| 4 Critical path | Longest path, item 3 | Critical path and the next float path, b; why the longest path changed, g | Current critical path and whether it changed, e and f |
| 5 Should have started or finished | Item d | ||
| 6 Delays | Items 10 and 11 | Item c, including the party responsible | Recovery plan or delay event when behind, d; upcoming impacts, g |
| 7 Changes | Item 5; constraints not required by the contract, item 4 | Item e | Item h, with the basis for each change |
| 8 Out of sequence | Not allowed (1.4.2.f) | Item f | |
| 9 Pending items | Item 7 | ||
| 10 Weather | Item 12 | ||
| 11 Next 30 days | Work starting next period, a | Objectives for the next 30 days, c; owner actions, i | |
| 12 Review comments | Item h |
Sources, read 24 October 2026: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20 (May 2025), section 1.10.3.e; UFGS 01 32 01.00 10 (August 2026), section 3.5.2; FDOT special provision 8-3.2.2(5) as issued with DCE memo 21-10 (2021). Check your own contract: the section it names wins.
Where the numbers come from
Most of the narrative is a comparison of this update with the last one: what moved, what was added or deleted, which durations and links changed. P6 users run Schedule Comparison (Claim Digger in older versions) on the two files and write the narrative from its report. For the counts, the critical path and float in this month's file, open the .xer or MS Project .xml below; it is read in your browser and never uploaded. For the full monthly review checklist, see the UFGS 01 32 17 review page.
Primavera P6 .xer, or MS Project saved as .xml (File > Save As > XML). It is read on your computer and never uploaded.
Your monthly schedule update review, mostly done
Every logic, duration, float and date change since the last update and the baseline, in the browser, without Claim Digger. The UFGS / FDOT review checklist filled in, and a draft narrative for the owner: what moved, why the finish date changed, whose activities are affected.
One review report a month
One update, no subscription
For teams that review many contractors
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