Role

Status Reporting (Small Projects)

1

Team Members

Create team status reports for the project manager

Project team members send a status update to the project manager on a weekly basis.

2

Project Manager

Create sponsor and stakeholder status reports

It is important for the project manager to use Status Reports and other communication methods to manage expectations. See 3.2.3.1P for more information on managing stakeholder expectations.

The project manager sends a status update to the project sponsor and stakeholders on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Be careful about monthly reporting. If the project is small, the sponsor may get no updates before the project is completed – or maybe just one. This does not give the sponsor time to react if there is anything unusual. The project manager should report status bi-weekly or weekly in those cases.

3

Project Manager, Team Members, Clients

Schedule and attend status meetings (optional)

The entire project team should attend project status meetings. The meetings should focus on the status against the project schedule and uncovering any current issues, scope change requests or potential risks. The client should be invited to attend, but his attendance is not mandatory. The frequency of the meetings depends on the timetable for the project and the need to get information in a timely manner. For instance, if the project is three weeks, the team might want to meet twice a week. If the project is eight weeks, weekly is probably appropriate.

The status meeting is optional since on small projects the project team is probably only a couple people (or maybe just one) and the chances are that you meet often anyway to discuss what is going on.