Use These Eight Sections for a Terrific Status Report

The International Community of Project Managers (ICPM) is a great website where project managers and HR directors alike can come together and read informative articles, grab free downloads and learn from each other on the best tips and tricks of being a project manager. They’ve even been kind enough to publish articles from our very own CEO Curt Finch.

This article titled, “Use These Eight Sections for a Terrific Status Report” highlight the key areas on how to accomplish the most data driven and insightful reporting for your company. Visit their site here for the full story.

Why is it that most of us don’t have a problem working 60 hours a week taking care of our stakeholder’s needs, and yet we have difficulty writing a decent status report? There are two major problems. First, some people do not have great written communication skills. However, in most cases, the problems with communication are not a lack of skills, but a lack of focus. Many project managers do not appreciate the value of communicating proactively. When they do communicate, it tends to be short and cryptic, as if they are trying to get by with the minimum effort possible.

The key to communicating is to keep the reader as the focal point – not the sender. Try to think about what the receiver of the communication needs and the information that will be most helpful to them. Ask yourself whether the information on the status reportis there to really communicate something valuable or is it just taking up space.

Typically the complete status report should include the following information:

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