Writing Project Reports That Address Stakeholder Concerns

The most valuable skill an engineer can develop isn't writing more, it's writing less. Engineers have a natural tendency to be comprehensive. We document every technical detail, edge case, and potential issue. This works great for pull requests, technical documentation, and architectural diagrams. It fails spectacularly when communicating with non-technical stakeholders. Here's what I tell my engineering team about stakeholder communication: • Concise > Comprehensive. Five sentences beats five paragraphs every time. • Put blockers and critical issues at the TOP of status reports. Not buried at the bottom. • 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳. Your executive contact is scanning this on their phone between meetings. • Action items should be crystal clear. Who needs to do what by when? • Save the technical deep-dive for people who ask for it. Remember: When stakeholders get 1,000+ emails and juggle dozens of issues daily, your meticulously crafted 3-page status report isn't being read, it's being skimmed in 30 seconds. #TechnicalLeadership #EngineeringCommunication #StakeholderManagement

What can keep project status reports from being read?   I'll never forget my first project status report that I presented to 29 people. I was incredibly nervous, despite my fears, I presented it to the large group. I felt relieved after I finished the presentation. It was a huge personal success. But the impact was not what I expected. There were no follow up questions from the team. All I tried was to be: →  Informative →  Structured →  Consistent →  Less overbearing It kept me thinking about what I could do better. Fast forward, I have a different approach today which is more impactful. I focus on what the people reading the report need from it. Here’s what I do before working on the status report. Ask the following questions to my team, stakeholders and sponsors: ·↳ What level of details do you expect in the report? ↳ What are you trying to achieve with this information? ↳ What should be the frequency of the report? ↳ Who is the target audience for the report? ↳ What kind of format does the team prefer? ↳ Is there an existing template that you found impactful? I just DON’T try to be: →  Informative-  I focus on to be relevant for everyone → Structured- I focus to keep it clear and concise →  Consistent- I focus on the standard format of the organization →  Less overbearing- I prioritize on the key metrics Remember, a project status report is NOT just about wins, blockers and action items. It’s a way to communicate how each of us is accountable to the success of the project. It’s about letting the executives know what the project team needs from them and when. PS: How do you make your status report impactful? Do you map stakeholder needs and communication styles when preparing these reports?

Customers need a parent, not a fun uncle. This is a root concept of Customer Success. I learned a long time ago, that the customer experience is about advocacy, boundaries, reliability, proactivity, and transparency. Similar to the oversight and conducting a parent will do over a child. It is NOT about feelings, like having fun or good report on calls, celebratory high fives, and wining and dining., which is the role of the fun uncle. Show up occasionally, give the kids a bunch of sugar, let them break all the rules, then get to go home at the end with no care in the world. Customers want a parent, not a fun uncle. A customer wants to hear if something is going wrong. Not that everything is all right, but in reality, it's ALL WRONG. A customer wants to understand the steps to completing a task and their respective delivery timelines, not that there are "no updates this week to report." A customer wants to know if they need to escalate something sooner, rather than later, which compromises bandwidth, attitude, success, and trust. For my career, I got into the habit of delivering an End of Week recap to each customer, designed to be a candid overview of the engagement, accountability model, and summary for anyone uninvolved in the day-to-day. This weekly notice goes to the entire client-side team inclusive of POCs, Stakeholders, Signators, and procurement reps as well as the entire team internally that is assigned to this account, from leadership, down. Here is the template that my team at Cause of a Kind uses for our customers. I hope you find it useful. ______________________________________________________ End of Week Summary Report From: [Your Name], CSM/PM To: Client Stakeholders & Internal Team Members Date: [Insert Date] Project: [Project Name] Overview of the Week Progress continues on [Project Name], with steady advancement in key areas. Despite a few challenges, we remain on track with our project timeline. Completed Tasks [Task 1] [Task 2] [Task 3] Blockers [Blocker 1] [Blocker 2] Action Items in Progress [Action Item 1] [Action Item 2] [Action Item 3] Concerns [Concern 1] [Concern 2] Wins [Win 1] [Win 2] Next Steps [Next Step 1] [Next Step 2] Please reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification. Let's keep up the momentum as we head into next week. Best Regards, [Your Name] CSM/PM __________________________________________________________ Follow Justin Abrams for more client-facing tips and tricks.