Project Status Report Template

Instructions:

Items that are intended to stay in as part of your document are in bold;
explanatory comments are in plain text. Italic text is used where you might insert
wording about your project.

A project status report is a concise summary of the current condition of the project. It is
like a snapshot of the project at a point in time. The change log of a project is what
tracks the changes from the baseline to the present condition. This is much like your
monthly bank statement tracks the changes from your previous month’s balance
(baseline) to your current balance (current condition). Status reports need not occur by
the calendar only, but may also occur as the result of achievement of an important
milestone, or completion of a major phase of work.

Just about every organization will have its own special form, style, or format for a status
report. But generally, they all contain much the same information, at a minimum:

?? Objective Statement - what the project is trying to do (stated concisely)

?? Milestones – key accomplishments (not too many) planned in the project schedule
?? Cost Summary – cost or effort summations for the period, and the project to date
?? Accomplishments – major items completed for this period
?? Plans – key work to be done in the upcoming period
?? Risks – Summary of top 5 or 10 risks to the accomplishment of the objectives
?? Issues – top issues discovered in the last period needing disposition

At the minimum, every project status report should convey the status of the project with
respect to the elements of the Triple Constraint:

?? Scope
?? Schedule
?? Cost
?? Quality

Sometimes, the information about schedules and costs is summarized in a spreadsheet

format for convenience.
 <Name of Project>

1. Objective
State the objective here. This is usually lifted straight from the charter. It is stated here
to keep the reader focused on the goal. And it is also useful for orienting new readers.

2. Milestones
List the important milestones of the project here. Usually this is just a few key ones, not
all of them (This, in the interest of brevity. The complete list is maintained in the project
plan).

The Baseline dates get set when the sponsor, customer, or other management body
approves the final plans. The Last/Actuals column is used to show changes in date
forecasts from last period’s report. The New This Period column shows changes to
either the Baseline or Last/Actual dates, depending on whether any prior changes had
occurred.

Milestone Description Done Baseline Last/Actual New This

Period
<milestone #1> <short description> ?
<milestone #2>
<milestone #3>
...

3. Cost Summary
Cite all major cost categories here. Show costs for this period, and project to date. A
forecast may also be supplied for each item, similar to the way the milestone dates are
shown above.

Category/Item Description Baseline Last/Actual New Forecast

<cost #1> <short description>
<cost #2>
<cost #3>
...