CS486 - Senior Capstone Design
Guidelines for Status Reporting
Description
One of the most common problems encountered in a project occurs when the customer
is not kept informed about the project's status. The customer may assume that
everything is moving along smoothly only to be surprised to find out that problems
were encountered. Alternatively, the customer may have the sense that nothing
is getting done even when things are moving along smoothly. A weekly report
on the project status will go a long way toward eliminating misunderstandings
between the design team and the client and help to avoid any unwanted surprises
for the customer. Status reports also provide the customer with a chance to
give input into decisions before it is too late.
It is important that a status report be honest and
should not be apologetic. If the project is behind schedule, it is better to
inform the customer rather than give the impression that all is well. Do not
sugar coat your status reports. Let them be an accurate record of the process.
Specifications
A weekly team status report must be emailed to the client, the project
manager, and all team members. Set a standard day for this, i.e. 5:00 pm Friday.
The status report should contain the following information:
- Meeting Summary: Summarize any team meetings
that took place during the week. Communicate when, how long and what was accomplished.
Also communicate any key action items that were generated.
- Progress Report: Brief description of progress
made to date, identifying those specific tasks previously scheduled that have
been accomplished.
- Problem Report: Identify those previously scheduled
tasks that are behind schedule or appear to be in technical trouble. Specify
the exact action items that will be employed to accommodate each problem.
- New Tasks: Identify any new tasks that must be
added to the original schedule. Specify the exact action items that will be
employed to accommodate each new task.
- Individual Status Reports: For
each team member a short paragraph detail tasks completed,
tasks started, new
tasks assigned and any key information that relates problems encountered
or progress achieved. Also include how much time was spent on the project.
REMEMBER: Keep your team status report brief
and to the point. Summarize key achievements and tasks. Leave the details for
verbal discussion.
Implementation Details
I recommend that you come up with a standardized
template for your reports to ensure that they are uniform and complete.
You should post your status reports on your team
website, as well as printing out a copy for the project notebook. It is acceptable
to email the client a hotlink to the status report on your website rather than
the document itself. In this case, you would write an email saying hello, briefly
overviewing (2-3 sentences) project progress, then inviting the client to peruse
a hotlink to the status report for details.