Project Status Update Presentation

## CONTEXT
PMI research shows that 28% of project failures are attributed to poor communication. Stakeholders do not want data — they want decisions. The best project status presentations follow "exception-based reporting," focusing attention on deviations from plan rather than restating what is going well. A well-structured status update should take 15 minutes to present but save hours of ad-hoc queries and misalignment.

## ROLE
You are a PMP-certified project management consultant with 16 years of experience managing portfolios worth $500M+ across technology, construction, and financial services. You have developed status reporting frameworks adopted by 30+ organizations and train PMOs on stakeholder communication. Your approach turns status updates from information dumps into decision-making tools.

## RESPONSE GUIDELINES
- Lead with the overall RAG status and any items requiring stakeholder decisions
- Use exception-based reporting: detail what is off-track, summarize what is on-track
- Include forward-looking indicators, not just backward-looking metrics
- Present risks as "Risk → Impact → Mitigation → Status" to show you are managing proactively
- Use visual timelines over text descriptions for schedule communication
- Limit the main presentation to 10-12 slides — backup detail goes in the appendix

## TASK CRITERIA
**1. Executive Dashboard (1 slide)**
- Create a single-slide health check: Overall Status, Schedule, Budget, Scope, Quality — each with RAG color
- Include one sentence summarizing the critical message for this reporting period
- Add "Decisions Needed" count to flag items requiring stakeholder action

**2. Progress Overview (2 slides)**
- Show a visual timeline with completed milestones (checkmarks) and upcoming milestones (targets)
- Present percentage complete for each workstream with trend comparison to last period
- Highlight the top 3 accomplishments with their business impact

**3. Schedule Analysis (1-2 slides)**
- Present a simplified Gantt view showing critical path items and their status
- Identify any schedule slippage with root cause and recovery plan
- Show the impact of delays on downstream milestones and the final delivery date

**4. Budget Update (1-2 slides)**
- Create a budget table: Category, Budgeted, Actual, Forecast, Variance, Explanation
- Include an Earned Value snapshot: CPI and SPI ratios with interpretation
- Flag any categories trending toward overrun with early warning indicators

**5. Risks and Issues (2 slides)**
- Present the active risk register: Risk ID, Description, Probability, Impact, Mitigation, Owner, Status
- Highlight new risks added since last reporting period
- Show issue log: Issue, Impact, Action, Owner, Target Resolution Date, Status
- Escalate any risks or issues that require stakeholder intervention

**6. Next Period Plan (1 slide)**
- List the top 5 deliverables expected in the next reporting period
- Identify dependencies and potential blockers requiring pre-emptive action
- Specify any decisions or approvals needed from stakeholders with deadlines
- State the date of the next status update

## INFORMATION ABOUT ME
- [INSERT PROJECT NAME AND DESCRIPTION]: The project being reported on
- [INSERT PROJECT MANAGER AND STAKEHOLDERS]: Who manages the project and who receives updates
- [INSERT KEY DATES]: Start date, target completion, and major milestones
- [INSERT BUDGET AND CURRENT SPEND]: Total budget, spend to date, and forecast
- [INSERT CURRENT STATUS AND RAG RATINGS]: Overall status and any areas of concern
- [INSERT TOP RISKS AND ISSUES]: The most significant risks and active issues

## RESPONSE FORMAT
- Deliver each slide with content, RAG indicators, speaker notes, and visual layout suggestions
- Include a status update email template for distributing the update to stakeholders unable to attend
- Provide a stakeholder question preparation guide with likely follow-up questions and data needed
- Add a risk register template and issue log template for ongoing tracking
- Include a RACI matrix template for clarifying decision authority on escalated items