Project status report: the status, then what you need decided

A status report has two jobs: say where the project stands, and get decisions out of the people who read it. The example is report 7 on a made-up project, new tills in six hardware stores, sent to the client's steering group four days before they meet. A page can't record an answer, so the sample says how to give one: at the meeting, or by replying to the project lead's email.

Who it's for

Project leads at agencies and consultancies who report to a client's steering group every week or two. Those readers give your project ten minutes, often on a phone, and only they can release money or move a date.

Don't send it to the delivery team. They need the task board and the full risk log.

What a good one contains

• One overall status, with its meaning written down. The sample sets At risk in the largest type on the page, above a three-step scale, and defines it: a date has slipped but the finish still holds. Without that line, every reader brings their own idea of amber.
• Why, in a paragraph. Two stores go live two weeks late because the pilot found the tills can't price rope sold by the foot. A reader who stops there can still explain the project upstairs.
• Decisions before detail. Each of the two has its options side by side, a recommendation, who decides and why the deadline is the 9th. A deadline with a reason gets an answer. "As soon as possible" doesn't.
• Milestones, planned against now. Seven rows: four done, two late, and a finish that holds with no slack. The planned dates keep their own column, so a slip can't quietly become the plan.
• Budget with a forecast. $116,500 spent sits beside $171,200 forecast and $186,000 approved. Spend alone can't tell a steering group whether the money will last.
• Risks with one owner each. Three open risks, each with a chance, an impact, a named person and the date of the next check.
• Done and next. Three lines each. The rest lives in your tracker.

When the status drops

The report that matters most is the one where the status gets worse. Say so at the top, say what it was last time, as the sample does with report 6, and arrive with a recommendation. A steering group forgives a slip it heard about early. It won't forgive finding one in the milestone table.

Number the reports and publish each as its own page instead of replacing the last. Someone will ask what you said three reports ago, and the old link should still show it.