One thing that key project stakeholders do not like in projects is bad surprises such as not knowing of or expecting an event impacting a project. The best way that Project Managers can control this risk is by providing weekly status reports on the progress of their projects. There are multiple variations of weekly status reports, some that are manually created by the Project Manager, and others that originate from project management tools and software.
A weekly status report should not be extremely detailed because it needs to be a high-level snapshot of the project on a given week. Besides, as a Project Manager, you do not want to spend too much time weekly drafting a status report since time is of the essence and should be prioritized towards other more critical tasks. A basic template should suffice so that information is merely updated on the status report as the weeks go by.
The components of a weekly status report may slightly differ depending on the project but there are several elements that always need to be included. Always keep in mind that the audience of a status report could include high level company executives, which further emphasizes the profound significance of using it to communicate the progress on a project. Let us review the basic components below:
Key Accomplishments for the Current Week
A description of the current week’s key accomplishments needs to be included, which lists out the tasks and milestones that have been completed by the project team. These should preferably be in the form of bullet points so that it remains a high-level snapshot of the project at the end of each week, and can be used to compare against the project baseline to get a better understanding on whether any task slippage has occurred.
Planned Tasks and Activities for the Next Week
The importance of listing out the plans for the upcoming week on a status report is to ensure that all stakeholders have advance notice of project areas that will be under focus – some of which may require their input or participation. It also helps showcase that the project is moving according to plan and identifies the teams that will be working on pre-determined task for that particular week.
Risks and Issues
The communication of risks to project stakeholders allows the team to identify any potential issues before they arise, which consequently enables them to effectively mitigate the risks and promote a problem-solving culture. Some Project Managers often attach a risk register and issue log as part of their weekly status report but in most cases, it is better to list out the risk and issues along with a brief description of actions being taken to address them.
Project Timeline
A project timeline is an image that shows a comprehensive visual of project milestones in a chronological order from start to finish. This image helps identify all the milestones that have been completed since the start of the project, the current stage of the project, and all the remaining milestones. It functions as a simplified roadmap for the project and helps keep all stakeholders on the same page without providing too much detail. Timeline visuals can be created using tools such as MS Project, JIRA, or Smartsheet, and most of the existing project management tools already possess this feature so that a Project Manager does not have to manually develop one.
Budget Overview
A budget overview provides a summarized view of all the costs that have been booked against the approved project budget. The costs include:
- Resource hours
- Software licensing
- Materials
- Miscellaneous
As a Project Manager, the last thing you want is to run out of funds on your project without anticipating this outcome and taking appropriate proactive action. By communicating the budget status on a weekly basis, it eliminates the chances of unanticipated increased funding requests because it keeps the Project Manager fully aware of their budget outlook on a weekly basis. The use of graphs and pie charts is preferred for the budget overview, but always be prepared to provide full budget details upon request.
At PM Imperative, we cover the latest trends in Project Management and Product Management. As PM practitioners, we understand the value the Project Managers and Product Managers bring to each organization and that’s why we focus on the most practical strategies that Project and Product Managers can implement immediately. If you found this post useful, be sure to check out our latest book: The PM Imperative – Guide for Leading & Managing Projects, People & Delivering Value. https://pmimperative.com/shop/
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