Project Status Reports are generally produced on a weekly or biweekly basis by key project team members. Identify in the Project Charter the agreed upon schedule for producing a status report and the recipients. These team members should know what they are responsible for performing on the project. Status reporting is an integral part of the project management process. It is the means by which the project team, stakeholders, and management stay informed about the progress of the project and key activities required to complete the project.
The purpose of the Project Status Report, like status meetings, is to develop a standard format for the formal exchange of information on the progress of the project. The Project Status Reports should be tailored to the individual project and should remain in the same format throughout the project.
This section describes the procedures for executing the Status Report form. The procedures deliver a guideline to completing the Status Report Template that follows this section.
The Project Lead is responsible for the completion of the Status Reports and should use resources that can be instrumental in recording the status of all aspects of any given project. For example, on a very large project, the Project Lead may need to task several resources to maintain the status of several part of the project and assemble the results in one overall project status report for the agreed upon intervals.
Provide general information about the project as requested by the form. Clearly state the Project ID and indicate the reporting period.
Provide the general status of the project. The amount of detail provided in this section is directly related to the amount of detail that the sponsor wants and also to whether the project is on plan or not. If the project is not on plan, it is advised to maintain a detailed explanation of the causes. Provide a list of the milestones that are either past due, that were completed since the last status report or that are due in the next 30 days. Check the appropriate box indicating whether the project is on plan or not determined by the fact there are no past due milestones.
Provide detail of important project activities that occurred during the reporting period. Highlight activities that are critical to the project’s overall success or that are related to the project being behind schedule. Attach a Gannt chart or detailed task list if necessary.
Identify any new, open or resolved issues affecting the project in this section.
Provide detail of received/approved/rejected change requests during the reporting period. Indicate status of each change request individually (I.e. Approved , Rejected, New or Pending). Indicate if change forms are attached.
Provide update and status of any risk factors since the last status report. Attach revised copy of Risk Assessment if necessary.
