How to inform Project Sponsors about the status of a Project?

As mentioned in a number of previous posts, communication is the key to a successful project. The objective is to share the right message with the right people in a timely manner. The messages (e.g. reports) that you can share depend on the Project Management Methodolgy that is used.

Agile Project Management (e.g. SCRUM)

• Product Backlog at the start of the previous Sprint
• Product Backlog at the start of the new Sprint
• Changes Report (Shows what has changed between the 2 reports above)
• Product Backlog Burndown Report (measures amount of remaining backlog work

Note: In addition to the formal (written/static) reports above there is also a more dynamic way to provide information

• The daily scrum which is open to everyone and provides daily up-to-date information. (e.g. face-to-face)
• The Sprint Review meeting provides monthly information into whether the project is creating valuable functionality.

Agile Project Management is all about sharing information early and often. More information can be found here.

Waterfall Project Management
You should have a regular report with a standard format. This format should be consistent throughout the project. The wording in this report has to be short, precise and easy to understand by someone who is NOT intimately familiar with the project. Refrain from putting in Team specific vocabulary (e.g. IT, Sales etc.).
Here are the proposed sections for this report:

• Start with a short Project Description: This should be a 2-3 sentence summary of what this project is about.
• Project Info:  should show Project Name + Project Manager Name
• Project Status: this should provide a short status overview of the triple constraint items (Scope, Cost, Time) and Quality. In order to communicate the information clear and quick you might want to use a color code (Green = ok, Yellow = some issues, Red = serious issues)
• Milestone Information: This shows the major milestones for this project and if they are on track with a short Milestone Status (e.g. Done, Work in Progress)
• Key Issues: Shows where and from whom you need help to address an issue with a short Issue Status (e.g. need xyz in order to close abc) and a due date
• Accomplishments: Give credit to the team! This is the place to promote what the team did.
• Next Steps/Priorities: Shows what needs to happen next.

This kind of report is sent to the project stakeholders on a regular basis (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). You might want to add information that shows how the different items have developed compared to a previous report.

To ensure you get the right message to the right people in a timely manner check with the project stakeholders

1. How do they prefer to get notified? Is an update via email ok? Is a face-to-face meeting prefered? If you need a meeting, who should be in the meeting etc.
2. How often do they want to get notified? daily/weekly/bi-weekly/monthly etc
3. What format do they prefer? e.g. PowerPoint, .pdf file etc.

If you follow these simple instructions you will be more successful in communicating with all your project stakeholder.