A project status report includes all the business-critical efforts, progress and risk associated with a single project. A snapshot of where things are at.
The best project status reports create accountability and ownership within your team. They uncover issues, mitigate risks, and most of all – ensure you’re on track towards your project goals.
For clients, project status reports provide value. It gives them confidence that their money is delivering value. It can make them look good to their bosses. It can ensure funding continues in the future. It can also totally save your ass in that you have a paper trail in case things go off the rails.
Project status reports are created after your project plan is in place and things are in motion. If we want to get super precise, it’s during the Monitoring & Controlling phase. Typically, they are sent on a weekly or monthly basis. Heck, you can even do it on the daily – but only if necessary.
Project Status reports can be delivered in a variety of methods. There is no perfect way to do it. Email. Through a PM tool. Verbally, and then followed up with a PDF. The options and combinations are endless.
Project Status Reports are not, and should not serve as a task Producers & PMs do because it’s part of the job responsibilities. It’s a Producer/Project Manager’s duty to make meaningful and useful status reports. Not just to “do the status report” that nobody reads.
