Status Reporting Skill

Generate clear, audience-appropriate project status updates. Transform technical progress into stakeholder-friendly communication.

Core Philosophy

"Stakeholders don't need to know HOW you did it — they need to know WHAT it means for them."

Status reports serve different audiences with different needs:

•Executives: Impact, risk, timeline
•Managers: Progress, blockers, resources
•Teams: Details, dependencies, next steps
•Customers: Value delivered, what's coming

Report Templates

Executive Summary (30 seconds)

markdown

## Project Status: [Project Name]
**Date**: [Date] | **Status**: 🟢 On Track / 🟡 At Risk / 🔴 Blocked

### One-Line Summary
[Single sentence: what happened and what it means]

### Key Metrics
| Metric | Current | Target | Trend |
|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| [Metric 1] | [Value] | [Goal] | ↑/↓/→ |
| [Metric 2] | [Value] | [Goal] | ↑/↓/→ |

### Decisions Needed
- [ ] [Decision 1 with deadline]

### Timeline Impact
[On schedule / X days ahead / X days behind — why]

Weekly Team Update

markdown

## Week of [Date Range]

### Completed ✅
- [Achievement 1] — [impact]
- [Achievement 2] — [impact]

### In Progress 🔄
- [Task 1] — [% complete, ETA]
- [Task 2] — [% complete, ETA]

### Blocked 🚫
- [Blocker] — need [resolution] from [who] by [when]

### Next Week Focus
1. [Priority 1]
2. [Priority 2]
3. [Priority 3]

### Metrics
- Velocity: [X] story points
- Bugs: [X] open, [Y] closed
- Coverage: [X]%

### Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|------------|--------|------------|
| [Risk] | H/M/L | H/M/L | [Action] |

Stakeholder Email

markdown

Subject: [Project] Status — [Date] — [Status Emoji]

Hi [Name],

**Quick Summary**: [One sentence on where we are]

**This Week's Wins**:
• [Win 1 — business impact]
• [Win 2 — business impact]

**Coming Up**:
• [Next milestone] — [Date]
• [Key deliverable] — [Date]

**Need Your Input On**:
• [Decision needed] — [Context, options, recommendation]

Happy to jump on a call if you have questions.

[Sign-off]

Sprint Retrospective Summary

markdown

## Sprint [N] Retrospective

### What Went Well 🎉
- [Positive 1]
- [Positive 2]

### What Could Improve 🔧
- [Improvement 1]
- [Improvement 2]

### Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due |
|--------|-------|-----|
| [Action] | [Who] | [When] |

### Sprint Metrics
- Planned: [X] points | Completed: [Y] points
- Carry-over: [Z] items
- Team satisfaction: [Score]/5

Audience Adaptation

Language Translation

Technical Term	Executive Translation
"Refactored the authentication module"	"Improved security and login reliability"
"Reduced technical debt"	"Reduced maintenance costs and risk"
"Implemented CI/CD pipeline"	"Automated our release process — faster, safer updates"
"Fixed race condition"	"Resolved intermittent bug causing data issues"
"Migrated to microservices"	"Made the system more scalable and reliable"

Detail Levels

Audience	Detail Level	Focus On
C-Suite	Minimal	Business impact, risks, decisions
VP/Director	Summary	Progress, resources, timeline
Manager	Moderate	Tasks, blockers, team health
Team	Detailed	Technical specifics, dependencies
Customer	Outcome	Value delivered, what's next

Status Indicators

Traffic Light System

Status	Symbol	Meaning	Action
Green	🟢	On track, no issues	Continue
Yellow	🟡	At risk, needs attention	Monitor closely
Red	🔴	Blocked, needs escalation	Immediate action
Blue	🔵	Complete	Celebrate
Gray	⚪	Not started	Plan

Trend Indicators

Symbol	Meaning
↑	Improving
↓	Declining
→	Stable
⚠️	Needs attention

Automation Triggers

When to Generate Status

Trigger	Report Type
End of day Friday	Weekly summary
Sprint end	Sprint report
Before stakeholder meeting	Executive summary
Milestone completion	Achievement update
Blocker encountered	Escalation notice
User asks "what did we do"	Session/period summary

Data Sources

Pull information from:

•Git commits and PR descriptions
•Issue tracker (completed, in-progress, blocked)
•Calendar (milestones, deadlines)
•Session history (what we worked on)
•Metrics dashboards (if available)

Best Practices

DO ✅

•Lead with the most important information
•Use consistent formatting across reports
•Include specific dates and numbers
•Highlight decisions needed
•Acknowledge blockers honestly
•Show progress, not just activity

DON'T ❌

•Bury bad news
•Use jargon with non-technical audiences
•Include unnecessary detail
•Report activity without outcomes
•Over-promise on timelines
•Skip risk assessment

Session Protocol

Generating a Status Report

•Clarify audience: Who will read this?
•Determine scope: What period? What project?
•Gather data: Commits, issues, conversations
•Identify highlights: What matters most?
•Draft report: Use appropriate template
•Adapt language: Match audience level
•Review for clarity: Can a newcomer understand?

Quick Status Commands

code

/status              → Generate session status
/status weekly       → Weekly team update
/status exec         → Executive summary
/status email [name] → Stakeholder email draft

Integration Points

With Other Skills

•proactive-assistance: Offer status prep at end of day
•scope-management: Include scope health in reports
•alex-effort-estimation: Include timeline projections
•project-management: Pull from project tracking

Triggers for This Skill

•"status update", "status report"
•"what did we accomplish", "summarize progress"
•"stakeholder update", "email to [stakeholder]"
•"sprint report", "weekly summary"
•End of day/week (proactive)

Metrics

•Clarity score: Can reader understand in 30 seconds?
•Completeness: All sections filled appropriately
•Accuracy: Numbers and dates verified
•Audience fit: Language matches recipient

Related Skills

•proactive-assistance — Trigger status prep proactively
•scope-management — Include scope health
•project-management — Project tracking context
•executive-storytelling — Advanced narrative techniques

Good status reports build trust. Great ones prevent surprise.