Status reporting
Every active project issues a weekly status report. Reports are short, honest and consistent. They help customers trust us and help Northwind spot problems early.
When and who
- Frequency: weekly, by 17:00 Thursday in the project's main time zone.
- Author: the project manager (for example Henry Brandt).
- Audience: customer sponsor, delivery manager, account owner.
- Storage: save the report in the project folder as
PRJ-<CUST>-NNdocuments in the Projects collection, for example PRJ-ACME-01.
Report structure
- Overall RAG status.
- Summary in three sentences.
- Progress against milestones.
- Risks and issues.
- Decisions needed.
- Plan for next week.
- Financials (internal copy only).
RAG definitions
| Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Green | On track for scope, schedule and budget | Continue |
| Amber | Slipping, but recoverable with actions the team controls | Describe the recovery plan |
| Red | Milestone or budget is at risk and needs help from outside the team | Escalate, see Customer escalation |
Do not turn a project amber or red as a surprise at a milestone; changing colour early is normal and expected.
Example milestone table
| Milestone | Planned | Forecast | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Design approved | 2026-03-13 | 2026-03-13 | Green |
| M2 Beta release | 2026-05-29 | 2026-06-12 | Amber |
| M3 Go-live | 2026-07-31 | 2026-07-31 | Green |
Customer-visible and internal content
The customer copy contains items 1 to 6. The internal copy adds financials: effort used against budget and forecast margin. For fixed-fee SOWs such as SOW-ACME-01 (fixed fee $145,000 invoiced against milestones), report which milestone invoices have been issued.
Escalating within the report
If you need a decision, name the person and the date by which you need it. If you need help, mark the project amber or red and ask. When a fault affects customers, do not wait for Thursday; follow Report an incident.
Quality checks
The delivery manager (for example Maya Torres) reads every report and may call the project manager if the colour does not match the facts. Changes in scope should be mentioned and handled via Handling change requests.
Reports and holidays
Plan reporting around Company holidays 2026; if Thursday is a holiday in the project's time zone, send on Wednesday.
Related
Overall project governance is in How we run projects.
Owner: Henry Brandt - Last updated: 2026-04-21