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)
## 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
## 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
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
## 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
/alex-act-core status → Generate session status
/alex-act-core status weekly → Weekly team update
/alex-act-core status exec → Executive summary
/alex-act-core status email [name] → Stakeholder email draft
Integration Points
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
Would Revise If
Revisit this skill by 2026-08-26 (90 days) or sooner if any of the following fires:
- Stakeholder feedback reports the templates as unclear, jargon-heavy, or missing decisions-needed sections ≥3 times within a quarter
- The audience-adaptation table produces tone mismatches when applied verbatim ≥2 times in observed reports
- Reports generated via these templates consistently bury bad news or miss escalation triggers that surface later as preventable surprises
Good status reports build trust. Great ones prevent surprise.
1---2name: status-reporting-43description: Create stakeholder-friendly project status updates and progress reports. Use when writing a status update, progress report, weekly or milestone recap, release summary, or any stakeholder-facing account of where work stands.4---56# Status Reporting Skill78Generate clear, audience-appropriate project status updates. Transform technical progress into stakeholder-friendly communication.910## Core Philosophy1112> "Stakeholders don't need to know HOW you did it — they need to know WHAT it means for them."1314Status reports serve different audiences with different needs:1516- **Executives**: Impact, risk, timeline17- **Managers**: Progress, blockers, resources18- **Teams**: Details, dependencies, next steps19- **Customers**: Value delivered, what's coming2021## Report Templates2223### Executive Summary (30 seconds)2425```markdown26## Project Status: [Project Name]27**Date**: [Date] | **Status**: 🟢 On Track / 🟡 At Risk / 🔴 Blocked2829### One-Line Summary30[Single sentence: what happened and what it means]3132### Key Metrics33| Metric | Current | Target | Trend |34|--------|---------|--------|-------|35| [Metric 1] | [Value] | [Goal] | ↑/↓/→ |36| [Metric 2] | [Value] | [Goal] | ↑/↓/→ |3738### Decisions Needed39- [ ] [Decision 1 with deadline]4041### Timeline Impact42[On schedule / X days ahead / X days behind — why]43```4445### Weekly Team Update4647```markdown48## Week of [Date Range]4950### Completed ✅51- [Achievement 1] — [impact]52- [Achievement 2] — [impact]5354### In Progress 🔄55- [Task 1] — [% complete, ETA]56- [Task 2] — [% complete, ETA]5758### Blocked 🚫59- [Blocker] — need [resolution] from [who] by [when]6061### Next Week Focus621. [Priority 1]632. [Priority 2]643. [Priority 3]6566### Metrics67- Velocity: [X] story points68- Bugs: [X] open, [Y] closed69- Coverage: [X]%7071### Risks & Mitigations72| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |73|------|------------|--------|------------|74| [Risk] | H/M/L | H/M/L | [Action] |75```7677### Stakeholder Email7879```markdown80Subject: [Project] Status — [Date] — [Status Emoji]8182Hi [Name],8384**Quick Summary**: [One sentence on where we are]8586**This Week's Wins**:87• [Win 1 — business impact]88• [Win 2 — business impact]8990**Coming Up**:91• [Next milestone] — [Date]92• [Key deliverable] — [Date]9394**Need Your Input On**:95• [Decision needed] — [Context, options, recommendation]9697Happy to jump on a call if you have questions.9899[Sign-off]100```101102### Sprint Retrospective Summary103104```markdown105## Sprint [N] Retrospective106107### What Went Well 🎉108- [Positive 1]109- [Positive 2]110111### What Could Improve 🔧112- [Improvement 1]113- [Improvement 2]114115### Action Items116| Action | Owner | Due |117|--------|-------|-----|118| [Action] | [Who] | [When] |119120### Sprint Metrics121- Planned: [X] points | Completed: [Y] points122- Carry-over: [Z] items123- Team satisfaction: [Score]/5124```125126## Audience Adaptation127128### Language Translation129130| Technical Term | Executive Translation |131|----------------|----------------------|132| "Refactored the authentication module" | "Improved security and login reliability" |133| "Reduced technical debt" | "Reduced maintenance costs and risk" |134| "Implemented CI/CD pipeline" | "Automated our release process — faster, safer updates" |135| "Fixed race condition" | "Resolved intermittent bug causing data issues" |136| "Migrated to microservices" | "Made the system more scalable and reliable" |137138### Detail Levels139140| Audience | Detail Level | Focus On |141|----------|--------------|----------|142| **C-Suite** | Minimal | Business impact, risks, decisions |143| **VP/Director** | Summary | Progress, resources, timeline |144| **Manager** | Moderate | Tasks, blockers, team health |145| **Team** | Detailed | Technical specifics, dependencies |146| **Customer** | Outcome | Value delivered, what's next |147148## Status Indicators149150### Traffic Light System151152| Status | Symbol | Meaning | Action |153|--------|--------|---------|--------|154| **Green** | 🟢 | On track, no issues | Continue |155| **Yellow** | 🟡 | At risk, needs attention | Monitor closely |156| **Red** | 🔴 | Blocked, needs escalation | Immediate action |157| **Blue** | 🔵 | Complete | Celebrate |158| **Gray** | ⚪ | Not started | Plan |159160### Trend Indicators161162| Symbol | Meaning |163|--------|---------|164| ↑ | Improving |165| ↓ | Declining |166| → | Stable |167| ⚠️ | Needs attention |168169## Automation Triggers170171### When to Generate Status172173| Trigger | Report Type |174|---------|-------------|175| End of day Friday | Weekly summary |176| Sprint end | Sprint report |177| Before stakeholder meeting | Executive summary |178| Milestone completion | Achievement update |179| Blocker encountered | Escalation notice |180| User asks "what did we do" | Session/period summary |181182### Data Sources183184Pull information from:185186- Git commits and PR descriptions187- Issue tracker (completed, in-progress, blocked)188- Calendar (milestones, deadlines)189- Session history (what we worked on)190- Metrics dashboards (if available)191192## Best Practices193194### DO ✅195196- Lead with the most important information197- Use consistent formatting across reports198- Include specific dates and numbers199- Highlight decisions needed200- Acknowledge blockers honestly201- Show progress, not just activity202203### DON'T ❌204205- Bury bad news206- Use jargon with non-technical audiences207- Include unnecessary detail208- Report activity without outcomes209- Over-promise on timelines210- Skip risk assessment211212## Session Protocol213214### Generating a Status Report2152161. **Clarify audience**: Who will read this?2172. **Determine scope**: What period? What project?2183. **Gather data**: Commits, issues, conversations2194. **Identify highlights**: What matters most?2205. **Draft report**: Use appropriate template2216. **Adapt language**: Match audience level2227. **Review for clarity**: Can a newcomer understand?223224### Quick Status Commands225226```227/alex-act-core status → Generate session status228/alex-act-core status weekly → Weekly team update229/alex-act-core status exec → Executive summary230/alex-act-core status email [name] → Stakeholder email draft231```232233## Integration Points234235### Triggers for This Skill236237- "status update", "status report"238- "what did we accomplish", "summarize progress"239- "stakeholder update", "email to [stakeholder]"240- "sprint report", "weekly summary"241- End of day/week (proactive)242243## Metrics244245- **Clarity score**: Can reader understand in 30 seconds?246- **Completeness**: All sections filled appropriately247- **Accuracy**: Numbers and dates verified248- **Audience fit**: Language matches recipient249250## Would Revise If251252Revisit this skill by **2026-08-26** (90 days) or sooner if any of the following fires:253254- Stakeholder feedback reports the templates as unclear, jargon-heavy, or missing decisions-needed sections ≥3 times within a quarter255- The audience-adaptation table produces tone mismatches when applied verbatim ≥2 times in observed reports256- Reports generated via these templates consistently bury bad news or miss escalation triggers that surface later as preventable surprises257258---259260*Good status reports build trust. Great ones prevent surprise.*
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