Status Report

Definition

A status report is the management work product that is regularly used to report the status of the endeavor.

Objectives

The typical objectives of a status report are to:

• Report the:
  • Current status of the endeavor.
  • Achievements that were made since the previous status report.
  • Planned achievements that were not made since the previous status report.
  • Planned vs. actual staffing level.
• Minimize risks due to inadequate or miscommunication.

Benefits

The typical benefits of a status report include:

• Keep all stakeholders (e.g., customer organization, project team) informed regarding the current status of the endeavor.
• Identify problems early so that they can be fixed (assuming that endeavor status is reported regularly).

Contents

A status report typically has the following contents:

• Date
• Overview (On schedule, behind schedule)
• Requirements - Number and estimated percentage of total requirements (e.g., use case paths):
  • Identified.
  • Specified.
  • Implemented.
  • Under test.
  • Passed validation testing.
• Architecture - Number and estimated percentage of total architectural decisions (e.g., views, models, components, mechanisms, etc.):
  • Identified.
  • Documented.
  • Implemented.
  • Under test.
  • Passed unit and integration testing.
• Testing - Number and estimated percentage of total testing (e.g., suites, cases) by test type:
  • Identified.
  • Documented.
  • Implemented.
  • Being used.
  • Passed.
• Staffing - Open positions
• Major Risks

Stakeholders

A status report typically has the following stakeholders:

• Producer:
  • Program Management Team or Project Management Team
• Evaluators:
  • Technical Leader
• Approvers:
  • Project Manager
  • Technical Leader
  • Customer Representative
• Maintainers:
  • Program Management Team or Project Management Team
• Users:
  • Program Management Team or Project Management Team
  • Customer Organization, Subcontractor Organization, or Vendor Organization
  • Project Team

Phases

A status report is typically produced and maintained during the following phases:

• Business Strategy: Not Applicable
• Business Optimization: Not Applicable
• Initiation: Completed
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Completed
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

A status report can typically be started if the following preconditions hold:

• The standard time since the last status report has passed.
• The project teams have maintained the relevant information.
• The metrics team has gathered relavent progress metrics.

Inputs

A status report typically has the following inputs:

• Work Products:
  • Requirements status from the requirements team
  • Architecture status from the architecture team
  • Test status from the independent test team
  • Overall project status from the metrics team
  • Staffing and budget status from the project management team
  Stakeholders:
  • Requirements Team
  • Architecture Team
  • Independent Test Team
  • Metrics Team
  • Project Management Team

Guidelines

• It is easier to generate accurate status reports if the collection of status information is [semi]automated.
• Use the procedure in the associated work flow to produce this work product.
• If you tailor this work product, then tailor its associated standard, template, and inspection checklist.

Conventions

A status report is typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Work Flow
• Content and Format Standard
• MS Word Template
• XML Template
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Status Report