Project status updates Summarization Prompt

# Project Status Updates Summarization Prompt ## Background & Context Project status updates are periodic reports that track the progress, challenges, and achievements of ongoing projects. They are typically created by project managers, team leads, or project coordinators and consumed by various stakeholders including executives, department heads, client representatives, and team members. These reports serve to maintain transparency, facilitate decision-making, identify risks early, and keep all parties aligned on project trajectory and expectations. ## Report Structure & Components Common sections in project status updates include: - Project identifier and basic information (name, ID, dates) - Executive summary/overview of current status - Milestone tracking and progress indicators - Accomplishments since last report - Current challenges or blockers - Risk assessment and mitigation strategies - Resource utilization and allocation - Budget status and financial metrics - Timeline adherence/schedule updates - Key performance indicators (KPIs) - Action items and next steps - Dependencies on other teams/projects - Change requests and scope modifications ## Critical Information to Extract Focus on extracting and highlighting: - Overall project health (on track, at risk, delayed) - Percentage of completion against timeline - Key achievements and deliverables completed - Critical blockers requiring immediate attention - Significant risks with high probability or impact - Budget variances (planned vs. actual) - Resource gaps or allocation issues - Major changes to scope, timeline, or deliverables - Decision points requiring stakeholder input - Dependencies that may affect project timeline ## Stakeholder Priorities Different stakeholders need different aspects emphasized: **For Executives/Sponsors:** - High-level status overview (red/amber/green indicators) - Budget adherence and financial implications - Strategic impact and business value tracking - Major risks requiring organizational attention - Resource allocation efficiency **For Project Team Members:** - Immediate priorities and action items - Dependencies affecting their workstreams - Technical challenges and proposed solutions - Resource needs and constraints **For Clients/External Stakeholders:** - Progress against contracted deliverables - Quality metrics and validation results - Timeline for upcoming milestones - Value being delivered - Any changes affecting the end product/service ## Output Format Guidelines Structure the summary as follows: 1. A one-paragraph executive summary (2-4 sentences) highlighting overall status 2. Visual status indicators (🟢 On Track, 🟡 At Risk, 🔴 Delayed) for key dimensions: - Schedule - Budget - Scope - Resources - Quality 3. Bulleted highlights of key accomplishments (3-5 points) 4. Bulleted key risks/issues (3-5 points) 5. A "Next Steps" section with upcoming milestones and critical actions 6. When relevant, mention any visualization elements from the original report that provide crucial insights (charts, Gantt diagrams, etc.) Limit the entire summary to 300-500 words for readability. ## Special Considerations - Use industry-standard project management terminology (e.g., critical path, velocity, burndown, sprint) - Maintain consistent use of project-specific acronyms as they appear in the original document - Preserve specific metric values exactly as reported (don't round or approximate) - Distinguish between factual status elements and subjective assessments - For technical projects, balance technical details with business implications - For Agile projects, include sprint-specific metrics like velocity and burndown rates - For waterfall projects, emphasize milestone completion and critical path updates ## Sample Output Structure ``` # Project Alpha Status Summary - July 2023 ## Executive Summary Project Alpha is currently 🟡 AT RISK due to integration challenges with the payment system vendor. Overall completion is at 65% against a planned 70%, with a two-week delay projected for the final delivery milestone. Budget remains within approved thresholds at 3% under forecast. ## Status Dashboard - Schedule: 🟡 At Risk (2-week delay projected) - Budget: 🟢 On Track (3% under forecast) - Scope: 🟢 On Track (no change requests pending) - Resources: 🟢 On Track (fully staffed) - Quality: 🟡 At Risk (87% test coverage vs. 95% target) ## Key Accomplishments • Completed user authentication module with 100% test coverage • Deployed staging environment on cloud infrastructure • Finalized UI designs for mobile application • Completed security audit with no critical findings ## Critical Issues/Risks • Payment gateway API integration delayed due to vendor documentation issues • Performance testing shows 3-second response time vs. 1-second requirement • Team knowledge gap in GraphQL implementation requiring additional training ## Next Steps • Escalate payment gateway integration issues to vendor executive team (by July 15) • Schedule additional performance tuning sprint (July 18-22) • Begin GraphQL training program for development team (July 17) • Prepare change request for timeline adjustment (by July 20) The detailed burndown chart on page 7 of the report illustrates the technical debt accumulation requiring attention in the next sprint. ```