Template

Project status meeting template

Where the project is against the plan, what changed, and the decisions needed to keep it moving.

30 minutesFor Project managers and project teamsAgenda room

The agenda, with a time for each part

Where we are against the plan6 min
- Ahead, on time or behind — and by how much?
What changed since last time6 min
- What do we know now that we did not?
What is at risk7 min
- What could make us miss the date?
- What are we doing about it?
Decisions needed6 min
- What is waiting on a decision, and who makes it?
Who does what before next time5 min
- One name and one date for each.

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Against the plan. Four days behind: the data import was bigger than estimated.

At risk. The launch date, if testing finds anything serious.

Decision. Launch without the reporting page. Maya decided; sales told today.

Running it well

Say “behind by a week” out loud. Green lights on a late project are how it becomes very late.
If nobody needs a decision, send the status in writing.
Show the same one-page picture every week: the dates you promised beside the dates you now expect. People spot a slip faster in a picture they already know.

Ways to change it

Weekly written statusThree lines: where we are, what is at risk, what we need. Meet only when the last line is not empty.

For people outside the teamFifteen minutes: where we are, the date, and what could move it.

When to skip it. When nothing needs deciding. A status meeting with no decisions is a report read aloud.

Questions

What should a project status update include?

Where the project is against the plan, what changed, what is at risk, and what decisions are needed.

How often should you hold a status meeting?

Weekly for most projects. Daily in the last week before a launch.

Who should come to a project status meeting?

The people doing the work and the one person who can decide. Everybody else reads the notes.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Staff meetingEverybody who works here, once a week or once a month: news, numbers, problems and who is doing what.Safety meeting (toolbox talk)Ten or fifteen minutes before work starts: one hazard, what happened lately, and what everybody does differently today.Handover meetingWhen work changes hands: what is in progress, what is promised to whom, and what only the person leaving knows.Strategy offsite (half day)Half a day away from the daily work: where the company is, the few choices that matter, and three priorities for the year.Budget review meetingSpending against the plan, line by line where it matters, and the decisions that follow.Decision meetingOne decision, the choices on the table, and a written record of what was chosen and why.Quarterly planning meetingOnce a quarter: look honestly at the last three months, choose a few things for the next three, and check there are enough people to do them.Daily standupFifteen minutes, three questions, everybody once.

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