Painless Project Management: A Step-by-Step Guide for Planning, Executing, and Managing Projects

Chapter 7. Status Reporting: What to Tell, When, and to Whom

The phrase that anyone associated with a project loves to hear is that the project is “on time and on budget.” Even more magical is when you hear that a project is “ahead of schedule and under budget.” What does that really mean, though, and how do you get to that place?

As we have acknowledged, a project consists of many moving and interrelated parts. These interrelationships span work activities, super sets of work activities, and the different stakeholders associated with the project. In order to make sure the project moves toward its intended goal, the project manager needs to be like a traffic officer at a very busy intersection, identifying and prioritizing the flow of information throughout the project and among its participants. He or she must make judgments on what information is important and what information is not important. Information that is deemed important must be delivered quickly. Some information—either because it is unimportant or incomplete without an explanation—has the potential to distract the project’s players and can lead to unintended, negative consequences. The project manager cannot discount this information out of hand, but rather will have to exhibit his or her professional business judgment on how best to handle it.

A project manager is responsible and accountable to the project sponsor, project resources, and other project stakeholders on three dimensions associated with a project’s progress: ...