Mohit Aggarwal Epic Progress Report
"Epic is 60% done" is the least useful sentence in delivery — 60% of what, and is the remaining 40% the easy part or the terrifying part? This breaks the epic into its child work by status, surfaces the pieces most likely to blow the date, and — instead of just reporting — offers a cut menu and an honest read on whether the deadline survives contact with reality.
What This Skill Produces
- The completion picture — child items grouped by status (done / in progress / not started / blocked), with what % and which work remains
- The riskiest remaining work — the unfinished pieces most likely to slip (unknowns, dependencies, the hard 20%)
- The cut menu — what could be descoped or deferred, and the impact of each cut
- The date call — will it make the target as-is; if not, what has to give
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The epic & its children — the stories/tasks under it and their statuses (a board export or list)
- The target date & goal — what "done" means for this epic and when it's needed
- Dependencies & unknowns — anything waiting on another team, or work that's still fuzzy
- Who it's for — a standup, a stakeholder, or a go/no-go — tunes depth and bluntness
Framework: Progress You Can Act On
- Remaining work, not just percent. Report what's left and how hard it is — the last 20% is often the risky 80%.
- Status by child, honestly. Blocked and not-started are different from in-progress; don't average them into a comforting number.
- Name the riskiest pieces. Dependencies, unknowns, and the one hard component are where dates die — call them out.
- Offer cuts, don't just warn. A scope-cut menu with impact turns "we might slip" into a decision the team can make.
- Give a straight date call. "On track," "at risk — here's why," or "won't make it without cuts." Vague green status is the enemy.
Output Format
Epic: [name] · target [date] · for [audience]
Completion
| Status | Count | Which work |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Done | ||
| 🔨 In progress | ||
| ⬜ Not started | ||
| ⛔ Blocked |
Riskiest remaining
- [item] — why it's risky (unknown / dependency / complexity).
Cut menu (to protect the date)
| Could cut/defer | Saves | Impact if cut |
|---|
Date call
On track / At risk / Won't make it without cuts — because [reason].
Quality Checks
- Remaining work is described, not just a percentage
- Children are grouped by real status (blocked ≠ in-progress ≠ not-started)
- The riskiest unfinished pieces are named with why
- A concrete cut menu with impact is offered, not just a risk warning
- A straight date call is made — not a vague "green"
- No invented statuses — unknowns are marked unknown
Anti-Patterns
- A single % with no breakdown — hides where the risk is.
- Averaging blocked and not-started into a reassuring number.
- Warning of slip with no options — leaves the reader stuck.
- Watermelon status (green outside, red inside) — a comfortable date call that isn't true.
- Guessing a child's status instead of flagging it unknown.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Give me an epic progress report for the checkout revamp."
- "Where are we really on this initiative, and can we cut to hit the date?"
- "Break down this epic's status by child work and flag the risky bits."
- "Is this epic going to make the deadline? What would we have to drop?"