Working in digital services, and in government, here in the UK - I am with you all in your scepticism.
To me, it smells of 'reduce the calls and tickets to the helpdesk saying "How long is left?"'
By adding this 'progress bar', which the cynic in me says will be a simple '12-current elapsed time' calculation, then people won't ask so often.
I had hoped my case would be one of the simpler ones, just needing a tickbox and grant... but with this as a metric for customers and agents, it means they can better prioritise the most overdue applications first, regardless of complexity. It means a fairer service overall but means simpler applications take longer and the complex cases get earlier attention to keep them within the 12 months.
However, I'd LOVE to hope that there are process checkpoints in the calculation making it more accurate than a simple burning fuse over 12 months (e.g. fingerprints are done, background check complete but not checked, 'only 2 days work left to produce the paperwork and do final checks.') - but I don't think so.
We'll see!
I think it's all just to reduce calls to the call centre and help desk, as IRCC take EVERY opportunity to push you to their 'It takes X months' page whenever you ask about anything or in any communications at all!
I got a flurry of activity in December, did everything as quickly as I could and am now faced with total inactivity and no discernable progress since.
I too will be glad when the waiting is over!
Stay strong folks!
Edit:
Ah! If I'd looked a bit further...
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1441&top=3
What does the progress bar in my application status mean?
The progress bar shows how long it may take to process your application. The bar and estimated dates are based on the date we received your application and our
processing times. It isn’t based on your application’s progress.
If our processing times change, so will the bar and dates. Processing times can change because of the number of applications currently being processed and other factors.