Generate a Project Status Report
Produce a periodic status report by analyzing project artifacts, calculating progress metrics, and summarizing accomplishments, blockers, and upcoming work with RAG (Red/Amber/Green) health indicators.
When to Use
- End of sprint or reporting period (weekly, biweekly, monthly)
- Stakeholder requests for project health update
- Before steering committee or governance meetings
- When project health indicators change (e.g., new blocker or risk materializes)
- Periodic checkpoint against charter milestones
Inputs
- Required: Reporting period (start date, end date)
- Required: At least one project artifact (BACKLOG.md, SPRINT-PLAN.md, WBS.md, or PROJECT-CHARTER.md)
- Optional: Previous status reports (for trend comparison)
- Optional: Budget or resource tracking data
- Optional: Risk register updates
Procedure
Step 1: Read Existing Artifacts
Scan the project directory for PM artifacts:
- PROJECT-CHARTER.md — milestones, success criteria
- BACKLOG.md — item counts by status, burn-down data
- SPRINT-PLAN.md — sprint goal, committed items, task completion
- WBS.md — work package completion percentages
- Previous STATUS-REPORT-*.md files — trend data
Read available files. Not all will exist — adapt the report to available data.
Expected: At least one artifact read successfully, key metrics extracted.
On failure: If no artifacts exist, report cannot be generated. Create a charter or backlog first using the draft-project-charter or manage-backlog skills.
Step 2: Calculate Progress Metrics
Compute metrics from available data:
Agile metrics (from BACKLOG.md / SPRINT-PLAN.md):
- Velocity: story points completed this sprint
- Sprint completion: items done / items committed
- Backlog burn-down: total remaining points vs previous period
- Cycle time: average days from In Progress to Done
Classic metrics (from WBS.md):
- % complete: work packages done / total work packages
- Schedule variance: planned milestone dates vs actual
- Effort variance: estimated effort vs actual effort consumed
## Metrics
| Metric | Value | Previous | Trend |
|--------|-------|----------|-------|
| Velocity | [N] pts | [N] pts | ↑/↓/→ |
| Sprint Completion | [N]% | [N]% | ↑/↓/→ |
| Backlog Remaining | [N] pts | [N] pts | ↓ (good) |
| Schedule Variance | [+/-N days] | [+/-N days] | |Expected: 3-5 metrics calculated with previous period comparison.
On failure: If no historical data exists (first report), omit Previous and Trend columns. If data is incomplete, note gaps in report footer with action items to establish tracking.
Step 3: Identify Blockers, Risks, and Issues
List active blockers and risks:
## Blockers & Risks
| ID | Type | Description | Severity | Owner | Status | Action Required |
|----|------|------------|----------|-------|--------|----------------|
| R-001 | Risk | [Description] | High | [Name] | Open | [Action] |
| B-001 | Blocker | [Description] | Critical | [Name] | Active | [Action by date] |
| I-001 | Issue | [Description] | Medium | [Name] | Investigating | [Action] |Cross-reference against the charter risk register. Flag any new risks not previously identified.
Expected: All active blockers and top risks documented with owners and actions.
On failure: If no blockers exist, explicitly state "No active blockers" — don't leave the section empty. If a blocker lacks an owner, escalate to project manager for assignment.
Step 4: Summarize Accomplishments and Next Period Plan
Write two sections:
## Accomplishments (This Period)
- [Completed item/milestone with evidence]
- [Completed item/milestone with evidence]
- [Completed item/milestone with evidence]
## Planned (Next Period)
- [Planned item/milestone with target]
- [Planned item/milestone with target]
- [Planned item/milestone with target]Expected: 3-5 accomplishments with concrete evidence, 3-5 planned items for next period.
On failure: If no accomplishments exist, report the reason (blocked, re-planning, team unavailable). If next period plan is unclear, list "Planning session scheduled for [date]" as the primary item.
Step 5: Assign RAG Indicators and Write Report
Assess project health across four dimensions:
| Dimension | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule | On track or ahead | 1-2 weeks behind | >2 weeks behind or milestone missed |
| Scope | No uncontrolled changes | Minor scope adjustments | Scope creep affecting deliverables |
| Budget | Within 5% of plan | 5-15% over plan | >15% over plan or untracked |
| Quality | Tests pass, criteria met | Minor quality issues | Critical defects or acceptance failures |
Write the complete report:
# Status Report: [Project Name]
## Report Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
## Reporting Period: [Start] to [End]
## Document ID: SR-[PROJECT]-[YYYY-MM-DD]
### Overall Health
| Dimension | Status | Notes |
|-----------|--------|-------|
| Schedule | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | [One-line explanation] |
| Scope | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | [One-line explanation] |
| Budget | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | [One-line explanation] |
| Quality | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | [One-line explanation] |
### Executive Summary
[2-3 sentences: overall status, key achievement, biggest risk]
### Metrics
[From Step 2]
### Accomplishments
[From Step 4]
### Blockers & Risks
[From Step 3]
### Planned Next Period
[From Step 4]
### Decisions Needed
- [Decision 1 — needed by date, from whom]
---
*Report prepared by: [Name/Agent]*Save as STATUS-REPORT-[YYYY-MM-DD].md.
Expected: Complete status report saved with RAG indicators, metrics, and narrative.
On failure: If data is insufficient for RAG assessment, use ⚪ (Grey) indicating "insufficient data" and list what data needs to be collected for next report.
Validation
- Status report file created with correct date-stamped filename
- RAG indicators assigned for all four dimensions with justification
- At least 3 metrics calculated from project artifacts
- Blockers section present (even if "No active blockers")
- Accomplishments listed with evidence
- Next period plan included
- Executive summary is 2-3 sentences, not a paragraph
- Every blocker and risk has an owner and action with deadline
Common Pitfalls
- Report without data: Status reports must be evidence-based. Every claim should reference an artifact or metric.
- All green, all the time: Persistent green RAG without evidence suggests the report isn't honest. Challenge green assessments.
- Blocker without owner: Every blocker needs an owner and an action. Unowned blockers don't get resolved.
- Metric without context: "Velocity = 18" means nothing without comparison. Always include previous period or target.
- Too long: A status report should be scannable in 2 minutes. Keep it to 1-2 pages.
- Missing decisions section: If the project needs stakeholder decisions, make them explicit with deadlines.
- Stale data: Using outdated artifacts leads to misleading reports. Verify artifact dates match reporting period.
- Missing trend data: First-time reports can't show trends, but subsequent reports must compare to previous periods.
Related Skills
draft-project-charter— charter provides milestones and success criteria for status trackingmanage-backlog— backlog metrics feed the status reportplan-sprint— sprint results provide velocity and completion datacreate-work-breakdown-structure— WBS completion drives classic progress metricsconduct-retrospective— status report data feeds the retrospective