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Status reports are a common aspect of communication plans and are used to cover overall project progress. It's the project manager's responsibility to communicate regularly with stakeholders and team members about the project status,
The minimum information that should be included in a status report is:
Activity/Task Last Period | Status |
Discussions with Stakeholders | 100% |
Create Design Specification | 100% |
Develop System Modules | 10% |
Activity/Task Current Period | |
Develop System Modules | |
Integrate System Modules | |
Risk/Issue | Mitigation |
System Modules more complex than anticipated | Added additional programmer |
Team Contributions | |
Janet Brown spent extra time working on weekend to complete design spec in time. |
A project dashboard, which is another method of communicating progress, can be part of the status report, or it can be its own method of reporting.
The dashboard should contain a list of activities and high-level tasks worked on during a particular time period, as well as the status of the work.
The work status on dashboards is often color-coded as:
Activity/Task Last Period | Status | Notes | |
Discussions with Stakeholders | 100% | ||
Create Design Specification | 100% | ||
Develop System Modules | 10% | Adding One Programmer to Work |
The dashboard should stay focused on high-level tasks or activities since it is intended as a summary of the project schedule status, not as a replacement.
When project statuses are communicated, it's important for the project manager to remember the levels of confidentiality needed with each piece of information.
Part of the project manager’s role is to determine who should and shouldn't receive each update, especially when there are issues with the team as a whole, individual personnel, or with vendors. To determine who should receive confidential information, the project manager may need to consult with the project sponsor.
It's crucial to restrict certain updates to those who need to know this information, not the entire team. This also helps reduce the noise that can come when too much information is communicated about project status.
If there is a question about confidentiality, the project manager should:
Source: This work is adapted from sophia author jeff carroll.