Writing an Effective Status Report: 5 Status Report Template

Here is a scenario. You start your office in the morning, open your email and see three different requests for status updates on one of your projects.

• The manager wants to know when the budget will get finalized
• One of your team members is thinking about how much time they should devote to the project
• The leader is asking how the project’s most recent delay will affect the goals and discussing things to ensure that the workload is dividing fairly 

Such frequent requests from every direction can be overwhelming, right? But there is a better way to inform stakeholders of project updates. It is through writing simple project status reports.   

What to include in the status report? That’s what we will be covering in this blog. We will also be sharing a status report template for you to use in your projects. So, let’s continue reading this blog.

What to Include in a Status Report?

Here are the things that you should keep in mind when working on a project status report template. 

• Create a clear structure for your update
• Be consistent in using that structure for future status reports and updates
• Ensure that it matches your project brief. It will keep your report focused on the topic

Follow these eight examples to understand what to include in your project status report.     

1. Give a Name To Your Report

   Using a name for your project report brings clarity to it. Include timestamps and dates. It will come in handy if you have to provide a daily project summary report to the management. 

   For Example, March 2021 – Employee satisfaction initiative 

2. Determine Whether Project is on Track, at Risk, or off Track

   A project management tool like CloudTutorial enables you to communicate the project status and whether it is on track or not. 

   You can use a color-coding system for it. For example (green = on track, yellow= at risk, red= off track) 

   For example, project status is at risk.

3. Provide a Status Report Summary

   The summary of the project status report should be brief. Approx 4-5 sentences. 

   The aim here is to give readers who may not have enough time to read the whole report a quick summary of the essential project details.  

   For example, our survey results have come and are getting reviewed. The project team is working with the executive team on new engagement initiatives to add in the project.  

4. Pick Key Milestones or Areas to Feature in your Status Report

   Pick what the team has been working on the most since the last update. You can go through things chronologically.

   • What team is working on in the project? 
   • What’s coming up next – shown in a calendar

   Break it down into weekly, monthly, and quarterly segments. There is another option. You can group updates by role- design, copy, web developer within the report. 

   Project milestones conduct engagement surveys, survey results, and implement feedback. It is another chronological method.  

   For example, plan engagement surveys, observe survey results and implement feedback.  

5. Add an Overview of Every Significant Area

   Add a few bullet points on every key area in the status report. It will help give an update on project progress, accomplishments, and upcoming work. 

   For example, survey outcomes show:

   • The overall satisfaction rating is 80%
   • 70% of employees participated in the satisfaction survey
   • Results are getting reviewed by the executive team before the engagement committee convenes again

6. Add Links to Other Resources or Documents

   It’s not necessary to add every little detail regarding how the project is going. But sometimes, clients and stakeholders may want to know more. They may want more in-depth information. Hence, provide links to documents or resources like the project portfolio 

   For example, include a link to the employee satisfaction survey.  

7. Give Attention to Any Challenges or Issues the Project has Run Into

   All projects face issues and roadblocks.

   Hence, keeping stakeholders in the loop when any issues arise will help keep everything on track. It will also allow teams to adjust due to changes in the project plan. 

   For example, the executive team wants to look at results before the engagement committee convenes again. But, they won’t be able to do it for another three weeks, so it delays our overall project timeline.  

8. Include Extra Notes or Highlights

   It could be a list of the following steps to get taken in the project implementation. 

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Status Report Template

You can use this project status report templates for writing your subsequent project status report.

Report name: 

Give a name to your report. It could be the name of your project that you’re working on and the date. 

Project status: 

Is the project on track? 

Is it at risk? 

Is it delayed? 

Summary: 

Add a short description of the most significant takeaways from your project status report. 

Topic/Milestone 1: 

• Overview point
• Overview point
• Overview point 

Topic/Milestone 2: 

• Overview point
• Overview point
• Overview point

Topic/Milestone 3: 

• Overview point
• Overview point
• Overview point 

Issues/Challenges: 

Are there any challenges your project is experiencing? how will your business resolve them? 

Additional notes or highlights: 

Are there any additional things your team needs to know? 

We will share with you five project status report template for you to use.

1. Project Status Report Template

   Organizations can use this simple project status report template to regulate the process of their project status reports. 

   This project status report template includes sections where managers can record overall project tasks, a summary, project budget, work accomplished so far, risks and roadblocks, and a project plan.       

   This project status report sample also comes with a timeline and project report card section. Both will give your business an insight into a project’s status at a peek. 

   All the project status report sample here are compatible with Excel, Powerpoint, and Word. 

   Here is the link to the status report sample.  

2. Project Summary Report Template

   An easy-to-use template that enables a team to deliver the project on time. You can provide a summary of your project’s status through this template. 

   Here is the link to the status report template. It is available for Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. 

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3. Daily Project Progress Report Template

   You can use this daily project progress report template to show the progress of your project to the stakeholders. It will show in-depth, day-to-day project details. 

   This customizable report keeps everyone in the loop on the project’s daily progress. The template also has sections to note the day’s overall progress. It can describe any incidents or delays.   

   This project report template ensures that it takes into account every aspect of the project.  

   Here is the link to the template. 

4. Weekly Status Report Template

   You can use a customizable weekly status reports template to obtain a week-by-week idea of your project’s overall development. This template enables you to enter and keep tabs on project-specific information, including status reports, scope, resources, work completed so far, roadblocks and risks, key takeaways, and highlights. 

   The template also provides a graphically rich timeline that can show roadblocks, milestones, etc. 

   Here is the link to the template. 

5. Monthly Project Status Template

   The template can keep a manager apprised of the project’s status every month. It will help them get a big picture of their project’s health, budget status and use color-coding to see if the components of the project are healthy, halted, or risk.

   Stay organized and proactive in your work, and keep track of every task of your project with this project report template.    

   Here is the link to the template 

   We have shared all the project status report templates and hope it helps you and your organization create excellent reports for your projects. Now we will answer the most common questions regarding this topic.

Conclusion

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