After further discussion with the requesters, it was determined that only one record at a time needs to be created. The first record will be created based on a particular field being populated. Subsequent records will be created based on the first (or previous) record's progress status being updated. However, if that status is 'completed', then no additional records will be created. This allows for the ability to create unlimited records until no longer needed.
Thank you for all the suggestions as those still may come in handy with a different use case.
