Weekly status update
Standardizes RAG highlights, blockers, asks, and risks for execs vs practitioners.
Overview
Stakeholders get incompatible stories when every PM writes status in a different shape. A single skeleton surfaces accomplishments, slips, and asks in predictable places—so portfolio reviews and client QBRs reuse the same truth.
Who should use it
Project leads, implementation managers, and pod leads reporting across clients or internal steering.
Use it for
Weekly client memos where tone must stay confident but honest about dependency risk.
Internal portfolio reviews where leadership needs blockers and decisions, not activity theater.
Executive readouts when you have five minutes and need severity-ranked risks.
Inputs
Bullet notes for the week: wins, misses, and surprises—rough is fine.
Milestones hit or missed versus plan, with any re-baselining noted.
Decisions you need from someone else, and who can make them.
Optional metrics or KPI snapshots if they exist in agreed tools.
Context
Name the audience up front—client leadership vs internal-only changes tone, transparency, and which risks belong in the narrative. Instruct the model to separate facts from assumptions and to avoid blamey or passive-aggressive phrasing.
Prompt Skeleton
Write a status update. Audience: <client leadership | internal steering> Week ending: ... Raw notes: """ <paste> """ Sections: - Summary (4 bullets max) - Completed - In flight (with ETA confidence: high/med/low) - Blockers / decisions needed (owner suggested) - Risks (severity 1-5 + mitigation) - Next week focus Rules: separate facts vs assumptions; no blamey language.
Review checklist
Numbers tie to source systems or are clearly labeled as estimates.
Blockers name who can unblock, not just that the team is waiting.
Risks pair severity with mitigation—you are steering, not venting.
Common mistakes
Hiding schedule slip behind vague "progress" language that will not survive a direct question.
Mixing internal drama into client-facing text.
