Project managers and stakeholders with a project plan hold the road map to completing the project successfully. The status report, also known as a progress report, keeps them on track toward their goal.
The number of status reports required during a project depends on several factors, including project complexity, stakeholder conventions, disciplines involved, project deliverables, project duration, and project milestones. Unexpected problems also may necessitate additional status reports.
Using the structure of the project planning report from the previous post, the reporter of the status report answers a set of new but related questions:
Objectives
- Is the project addressing the problem or need?
- Is management engaged in achieving the objectives?
Participants
- How effectively is the project being managed?
Stakeholders
- Are the stakeholders benefiting from the project?
- If not, what is management doing to address the situation?
Site
- Is the site being occupied according to the plan?
- If not, is the change justified and described?
Timeline
- Are the activities proceeding according to the timeline?
- If not, is the change justified and described?
Methodology
- Do the strategies match those in the plan?
- If not, is the change justified and described?
- Do the activities match those in the plan?
- If not, is the change justified and described?
Resources
- Is management allocating, fiscal, human, property, and material resources according to the plan?
- If not, is the change justified and described?
Goals
- Are all criteria being used to measure progress?
- Is management progressing toward achieving established goals?
- What obstacles exist toward achieving established goals?
- Have expectations been set for management to overcome obstacles?
- Have project revisions been documented, justified, and agreed to?
Other reports in this series:
