Project Status Report Template

Toolkits
Toolkits January 15, 2022

Project Status Report Template

This project status report template enables you to record all key data needed to communicate with all those connected with the project.

This project status report template enables you to record all key data needed to communicate with all those connected with the project. The report needs to include the status of the projects key deliverables, a financial report and key performance indicators, as well as updates on risks, issues and change requests.

This report will be one of the most significant and updated reports of the whole project. This will form the foundation of how you communicate and monitor the progress of your project within the project team and its third parties. As part of your communications plan you will have defined whom within the project team, which stakeholders and sponsors should receive copies of this report.

It is an important aspect of the monitoring and managing processes and one of the key ways in which you manage the expectations of all those connected with your project and keep the informed of your projects progress. Within this report you will also provide detailed information as to how your project is progress in terms of its scope, schedule, budget and potential risks.

As project manager you will also have provided detailed reporting criteria for each activity and work package ‘owner’ so that you have all the necessary inputs you require for this report in a timely and efficient manner. Any meetings that you hold as part of the process of producing your project status report must be properly chaired with a timed agenda and accurate minutes produced so that only those who need to be kept informed receive the minutes. Avoid falling into the trap of informing too many people about the project details, inappropriate communication will cause delays and hold-ups.

The project status report is a complex one and requires input from a variety of sources within the project team. It has several major sections, the first outlines deliverables, followed by a financial report. Then you provide the details of your current key performance indicators (KPI’s), which is followed by any issues, risks and changes that are pertinent to that period or the remainder of the project.

Our free template provides a comprehensive guide as to what items should be recorded and communicated within this important report. Each report will be headed by the project title, project manager, its sponsors name the period the report covers and a date.

Then your report will go on to detail the key deliverables for that period stating which ones have been completed. It will then outline the expected deliverables, with their target dates, for the next period. Any outstanding deliverables are listed separately with the planned delivery date shown first and then the expected completion date following.

Many senior members of the project team, its sponsor and stakeholders will be very attentive to the financial and KPI section of your project status report. This is because you record the full costing details of your project’s budget items. This will show what the planned budget was for the item, what has actually been spent so far with any remaining balance. It also details any forecast expenditure that may have not been foreseen and then gives a grand total for each item.

The key performance indicators focus on the scheduling and costs of your project. So you need to record whether you are on target or falling behind your planned schedule and variance has occurred. You then detail how your budget to-date relates to the planned one, whether you are overspending or on track which will be reflected in your cost variance.

The final section of your report records the status and any required actions in relation to the risks outlined in the risk management plan and any issues that have arisen during the project. An important area that this report also communicates within this final section is that of the management of requested changes and their stats. It describes each one along with its change request number, unique work breakdown structure number and its inter-dependencies.