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Status reporting guidelines

More help with writing status reports

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Status reporting guidelines

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  1. Advice & examples for writing good status updates Selena Sol selena@selenasol.com http://sg.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53/ http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol http://www.selenasol.com/selena SUMMARY This guide argues that there are 3 types of events that warrant reporting in a progress report, provides advice, and gives examples of effective update content. SITUATION ADVICE Big project completed acknowledged big chunk or work, or the entire project, was finished.  A meaningful milestone was passed.  A key project risk was mitigated  The project advanced to a point where tangible business value began accruing demonstrably (beta launch or minimal viable product released) EVENT AVOID UPDATES LIKE THIS....  Pilot environment security and risk reviews requested  Assessment of Option A initiated  Continued building out messaging component  Improved single-sign on module  Supporting Korea Reliability Audit  Worked with project team and stakeholders to define Project Metrics  Kicked off working group to define requirements for Cloud Operating Platform  System X successfully integrated into System Y  Operations IT Design Council met REFERENCE EXAMPLE The Messaging Component was completed and put into production on March 20th. This component will allow us to feed 100% of the Indonesian Commodities transactions through Straight-Through Processing (STP) leading to faster settlement times and fewer transaction errors due to human error. We’ll be monitoring the production code for the next few weeks but the team will start turning its focus towards the next Asset Class, Equity Derivatives. Thanks to Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb for high quality code and after-hours support during productionization.  Make clear what business value was delivered Say what’s next Recognize contributors A generally  Key meeting held Do not turn this into meeting minutes, but do communicate:  Key formal agenda items  Key Statements for the record  Key Decisions  Key action items Since the last report, the Operations IT Design Council (OPSDC) met twice, covering 1) APAC Enterprise Architecture proposal, 2) Project Z update, and 3) Vendor Q analysis. With respect to Enterprise Architecture, the OPSDC agreed to adopt the proposed model (URL to document) and extend Phase 2 deliverables until June 16th. Meeting minutes including outstanding actions are available at (URL). Completed regional syndication of the, “Electronic Transaction Reporting System (ETRS) eBanking Target Architecture” (URL to document). At a high-level, key themes included 1) decommissioning of System X, 2) procurement of System Y, and 3) support for Regulatory requirement of 6-factor authentication. Syndication was completed for Investment Banking Tech (IBIT) stakeholders from the Chief Technology Office (CTO). No issues were raised that might derail further progress, though it is worth repeating that the rollout plan has an aggressive timeline. Minutes from the meetings are available at (URL). Project Steering Committees Function Governance/Board Meetings Design Committees / Standard Setting Bodies / Quality Reviews Meetings with external parties (auditors/regulators) I have finished sharing a strategy deck with all relevant stakeholders and am now ready to publish it as final I made a decision, set a standard, or defined a business process and have finished notifying all stakeholders. I have made a significant change to strategic intent, objectives, program goals or scope, or organizational structure and have      We syndicated ETRS related eBanking target architecture with IBIT CTO stakeholders Syndication completed Include an embedded link to the document List 1-3 critical syndication messages as part of the update. Don't tell us "that" you syndicated, tell us "what" you syndicated List key stakeholders impacted, especially if there are business benefits or costs    

  2. finished sharing this with stakeholders. to them List key themes/decisions/ changes that came out of any related discussions  1. BIG PROJECT COMPLETED Hopefully most of what we do is work on projects that lead to tangible business value. And when we make significant progress against such a project, it is worth shouting about. However, shouting effectively assumes that a meaningful phase of project work was actually completed such as:  A generally acknowledged big chunk or work, or the entire project, was finished.  A meaningful milestone was passed.  A key project risk was mitigated  The project advanced to a point where tangible business value began accruing demonstrably (beta launch or minimal viable product released) Whatever the case, the key to a good project update is that it should communicate why the reader, who is usually not in the direct project team, should care. The update should make clear what business value was delivered. For example, what can now be accomplished as a result, or how much revenue can be made, or cost avoided, as a result of the accomplishment, or what risks are now mitigated? If you cannot define what business value was delivered, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the project is bad, it’s just that this is probably not a time to report on it. Wait until it is newsworthy. Also, because the audience of reports tends to include secondary or tertiary stakeholders, who do not attend in-person project meetings, when you describe the event, you need to add enough detail so that someone, not in the immediate project team, can immediately understand the relevant context without needing a one-on-one project briefing. Further, it is useful to place the delivery within the larger context. What’s next? Finally, it is worth recognizing folks who made an outstanding contribution to the delivery. Here are some examples of updates that are not newsworthy or updates that are newsworthy, but not detailed enough: Pilot environment security and risk reviews requested Assessment of Option A initiated Continued building out messaging component Improved single-sign on module Supporting Korea Reliability Audit Worked with project team and stakeholders to define Project Metrics Kicked off working group to define requirements for Cloud Operating Platform System X successfully integrated into System Y

  3. Here are some updates that might be more effective: The Assessment of Option A was completed. Using a rubric that included A, B, and C, the project team determined that Option A was unsuitable given the project requirements. The complete assessment report is available at (URL). The next major project milestone will be to agree on pricing and contractual terms for Option B by August 15th. Thanks to Mickey Mouse for preparing the market research report and meeting deck. The Messaging Component was completed and put into production on March 20th. This component will allow us to feed 100% of the Indonesian Commodities transactions through Straight-Through Processing (STP) leading to faster settlement times and fewer transaction errors due to human error. We’ll be monitoring the production code for the next few weeks but the team will start turning its focus towards the next Asset Class, Equity Derivatives. Thanks to Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb for high quality code and after-hours support during productionization. 2. KEY MEETING HELD Communicating decisions made as well as making the process of decision-making transparent, is critical if you want people to actually own those decisions. There are many types of key meetings including:  Project steering committees  Function governance/board meetings  Design Committees / Standard Setting Bodies / Quality Reviews  Meetings with external parties (auditors/regulators) While most banter at a meeting will be relevant only to those present, most meetings can be summarized quickly but effectively:  Key formal agenda items  Key statements for the record  Key decisions  Key action items If readers of your report have reason to be interested, but meeting minutes are too detailed, these things should be communicated in a report within reason. Here is an example of a status update that leaves significant value on the table: Operations IT Design Council met Here is how you might improve it: Since the last report, the Operations IT Design Council (OPSDC) met twice, covering 1) APAC Enterprise Architecture proposal, 2) Project Z update, and 3) Vendor Q analysis. With respect to Enterprise Architecture, the OPSDC agreed to adopt the proposed

  4. model (URL to document) and extend Phase 2 deliverables until June 16th. Meeting minutes including outstanding actions are available at (URL). 3. SYNDICATION COMPLETED There are many circumstances in which you want to communicate messages throughout an organization, and finishing that communication is a key milestone because you will now move from Syndication to Operationalization, and you need to mark this state change. After this milestone, there will be no more talking and sharing. It is now time for everyone to be onboard and execute. Examples could include:  I have finished sharing a strategy deck with all relevant stakeholders and am now ready to publish it as final  I made a decision, set a standard, or defined a business process and have finished notifying all stakeholders.  I have made a significant change to strategic intent, objectives, program goals or scope, or organizational structure and have finished sharing this with stakeholders. At the same time, because syndication is usually a dialog, rather than a broadcast, it is important to ensure that key statements of record, changes, or compromises that came up during syndication are communicated as well. Because this is an important milestone, it is appropriate to report. But make sure that all the relevant information is included. For example:  Include an embedded link to the document  List 1-3 critical syndication messages as part of the update. Don't tell us "that" you syndicated, tell us "what" you syndicated  List key stakeholders impacted, especially if there are business benefits or costs to them  List key themes/decisions/changes that came out of any related discussions Here is an example of a status update that leaves significant value on the table: We syndicated ETRS related eBanking target architecture with IBIT CTO stakeholders Here is how you might improve it: Completed regional syndication of the, “Electronic Transaction Reporting System (ETRS) eBanking Target Architecture” (URL to document). At a high-level, key themes included 1) decommissioning of System X, 2) procurement of System Y, and 3) support for Regulatory requirement of 6-factor authentication. Syndication was completed for Investment Banking Tech (IBIT) stakeholders from the Chief Technology Office (CTO). No issues were raised that might derail further progress, though it is worth repeating that the rollout plan has an aggressive timeline. Minutes from the meetings are available at (URL).

  5. 4. APPENDIX: SPELL OUT ACRONYMS And remember, always Spell Out Acronyms (SOA).

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