Finished on site is not the same as accepted
Ask a field team how the rollout is going and you will hear how much work is finished. Ask the customer and you will hear how much has been accepted. Both numbers are honest, and the distance between them is where delivery teams lose weeks.
Two definitions of done
For a crew, a site is done when the work is complete and they have left. For the customer, it is done when someone has seen proof and agreed. Between those two moments sit photos that were never sent, a reading that was missed, and a report that is waiting in an inbox.
Four months into a 120-site programme, the field team reports 96 sites finished. The customer's acceptance list shows 61.
Where the 35 sites went
18 finished sites have incomplete evidence. A further 17 have everything they need and are waiting for a decision.
Exact example values
| Stage | Sites | Share of plan |
|---|---|---|
| Sites planned | 120 | 100% |
| Work finished on site | 96 | 80% |
| Evidence complete | 78 | 65% |
| Accepted by the customer | 61 | 51% |
The chart splits one vague problem into two specific ones, and they need different people.
- 18 sites need a return to the record, and sometimes to the site. A missing photo found three weeks later can mean a second visit. Found the same day, it is a two-minute fix while the crew is still there.
- 17 sites need a decision. The work and the proof exist. What is missing is a reviewer who knows these are waiting and can see everything in one place.
Why the gap stays hidden
When evidence travels by message and acceptance by email, nobody holds both lists. The field team counts what it finished. The reviewer counts what reached them. The 35 sites in between belong to no report, so they surface late, usually when someone asks why the numbers disagree.
What changes when proof travels with the work
- Crews know what "complete" means before they leave. The required evidence is part of the job, so gaps show while they can still be closed on site.
- Reviewers see a queue, not an inbox. Each item arrives with its evidence attached and leaves with a recorded decision.
- Corrections are specific. A returned item says exactly what to fix, and only that part is reopened.
- Everyone reads the same number. Finished, evidenced and accepted are three counts from one record.
MSDP is built around that record: assigned work, the evidence collected for it and the decision made on it, kept together from the first visit to acceptance.