5 Essentials For Your Project Reports
1: Identify Major Risks
Every project has risks, so use your project dashboard to identify the top 3 to include in your report.
Whether you just want stakeholders to know the risks, or if they require action, calling them out
makes everyone aware of them. Need a decision about options or next steps? Use the report to point
that out.
And since risk status changes frequently, check in with the risk owners to make sure you have the
latest update… the last thing you want is to report out-of-date information!
2: List Major Issues
Like risks, problems with a project are inevitable. Provide a list of the top issues the project is facing,
and what steps are being taken to resolve them. If you require input or action from your project
sponsor or stakeholder, let them know what you need to keep the project moving forward. Be sure to
include the name of the person handling the issue, as well as the timeframe in which the problem will
be resolved.
3: Give a Progress Summary
One of the biggest things sponsors and stakeholders focus on is how far along a project is and
whether or not it’s on schedule.
Include major project milestones – and their status – in your report. You don’t need to list every one,
just pick those that are most significant for this reporting period. Missed a milestone? Note the
slippage and provide the new date so any significant changes to the plan are clearly visible.
4: Update the Budget Forecast
Your stakeholders are also likely to be focused on how the project is tracking to budget. If it looks like
a project will be over budget, the status report is an opportunity to raise this as a potential issue. And
if you’re running under budget, let them know too, as the extra money could be used on other work.
Don’t worry about providing a lot of detail, just a high-level overview of what was budgeted, what’s
been spent and where the project will be, spend-wise, when it’s over.
5: Use a Simple Status Indicator
Make it easy for your stakeholders to know how a project is going. The standard traffic light colors
(red/yellow/green) are known by everyone, and provide an at-a-glance view into how the elements of
your project are progressing.
Use a colored box at the top of your report to define your status codes. Typically, green means an
element is progressing as planned, yellow indicates something isn’t tracking as planned, and red flags
an item for sponsor or management attention.
