My Free Status Report Template

My Status Report

When reporting status to my boss, we have worked out a format that works well for both of us. It conveys an entire year's worth of information, yet lets us focus on just the past few weeks as we discuss it in our weekly one-on-one meeting. I can also print just the currently-relevant portion easily, and bring it with me.

This excel-based report shows all the projects currently in process, along with projects that have recently been completed. The Status column is green if the project is doing well, yellow if it is in danger, and red if it has already gone beyond the expected completion date. This column also shows the initials of the currently assigned tester(s). copyrightjoestrazzere

The Dates column typically shows the expected release date for the project. Sometimes the next milestone date is used instead.

The Comments column is where I put important information about the then-current state of the project. If something significant has changed in the past week, it is bolded.

Each week, I hide the oldest visible Status-Date-Comments columns (note how columns B,C,D are hidden) and insert a new group to the right. Then I update the status of each project row.

If a project has been released to Production, I move it into the "Completed Projects" group. After two weeks, that row will be hidden (note how row 15 is hidden).

The bottom portion of the report lists vacations and important scheduling issues, such as new hires arriving, contractors leaving, etc.

I update this report throughout the week as events occur. I finish it up on Friday, then email it to my boss before I leave for the weekend.  We use it during our Monday discussion.

I also use this report to help me prepare quarter-end and year-end reviews.

Check it out at:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1X3i44SoVGlODdkODdlNTAtNTQyMy00N2NkLTk2ZTUtMjBkOGRmZjY3OTg1&hl=en_US

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.