Horses are big and powerful; they are strong and capable of incredible feats, either in the field or on an equestrian course. But they’re also jumpy. If you sneak up on one, you’ll scare it half to death. This is like a project; it can be a big, powerful initiative, but also skittish if problems sneak up on it. To ensure that your workhorse is inured to sudden movement, loud noises, and other problems, consistent and timely project reporting is a must. Here are some guidelines we’ve developed over the years for effective communication at all levels of an organization.

It is important that project reporting be done at all levels – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be done the same way for everyone.

C-Level and Steering Committee

Project reporting at an executive level is done as a snapshot. We’ll include a quick look at:

• Key deliverables and functions for the week.
• A run-down of the work streams and their color-coded status (green: all systems go; yellow: potential to impact budget and schedule; and red: will impact budget and schedule).
• Risks that come into play this week.
• What is the trend going into the next period (red, yellow, green)

This is all done on one dashboard; here’s what you need to know at a glance. Busy schedules mean executives want the broad strokes, not the minute details.

Project Leads

Here, we get into more detail. Each work stream is broken down, and we talk about the issues they face. Again: what are the key deliverables? What risks could impact progress this week? We don’t spend a lot of time on the green stuff; it’s the yellow and red statuses that are key here:

• If red, why is there an issue?
• If yellow, why are we forecasting it will be red in the next few weeks?
• What is the mitigation strategy
• What actions and decisions does the team need to make going forward
• What do we need from the steering committee to make it green?

This gives us a chance to review where we are and talk about what we need to do to keep the project on track.

Individual Project Meetings

Who, what, when, where, how, how much? At this level, we are drilling down into even more detail with individual work stream meetings. We’ll talk about:

• Budgets.
• Resources.
• Deliverables.
• Risks.
• Individual roles and responsibilities.
• What is working well within that project stream?
• What do we need to change or improve upon?

Now individual team members can be kept in the loop with a newsletter or some other format that gives them the information they need. They don’t necessarily need that detailed, specific, accounting of every aspect of the project, but an overview is helpful.

We use the same basic format for project reporting at all levels, but we continue to roll it up and aggregate it. We still have that detail available to talk about, which can be important. For instance, we often schedule briefings with senior executives before going to the steering committee. We’ll give them a ½-hour meeting on what’s going on and where we might need their help in the meeting, whether it is in dealing with a personnel issue or a financial one.

Different types of communication are needed to ensure everyone has the information they need to continue with their roles in the project. Problems don’t have a chance to sneak up on a project; people know what to expect; no one is skittish, and no one will be thrown.