# What is RAG status?

> **RAG status:** RAG status is a traffic-light rating that reports a project, task or metric as red, amber or green: green means on track, amber means at risk and needs attention, and red means off track and needs a decision or help.

- Source: https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/rag-status/
- Updated: 21 October 2026
- Language: English
- German version: https://ai-presentations.com/de/glossar/ampelstatus/

Also called: RAG rating, traffic light status, traffic light report, red amber green, BRAG

**RAG status** is a traffic-light rating for the state of a project, task or metric: **red, amber or green**. Green means on track, amber means at risk and needs attention, and red means off track and needs a decision or help. It compresses a long status report into one signal per item, which is why it appears in project updates, steering committee packs, board reports and quarterly business reviews.

## Example

In the table below, three of five initiatives are green, one is amber and one is red. Each status has a word next to its color, and the amber and red items state the reason.

*Each status shows a color and a word, so the table reads without the color. Example with fictional data.*

6. Three of five initiatives are on track; two need the Board's attention

## What each color means

| Status | Meaning   | Typical rule                                           | What the reader does                      |
| ------ | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| Green  | On track  | On plan for time, cost and scope                       | Notes it, nothing more                    |
| Amber  | At risk   | A deviation the owner can still fix within tolerance   | Watches it and asks for the recovery plan |
| Red    | Off track | A deviation outside tolerance, or a decision is needed | Decides or helps                          |

The rules differ by organization. What matters is that they are written down and the same in every report.

## How to use it well

1. **Define the thresholds before the first report.** Put them in a footer or the appendix, for example amber when a milestone is at risk, and red when it will be missed without a decision.
2. **Add the reason and the next step to every amber and red.** “Red” alone starts a discussion about the color. “3 months late, revised go-live Q2 2027” starts a discussion about the decision.
3. **Pair every color with a word.** Red and green look alike to many people with color vision deficiency, and a grayscale printout loses the color.
4. **Show the change since the last report.** A stable amber differs from an amber that was green last month.
5. **Sort by urgency.** Put red first, then amber, then green, so the problems come before the good news.
6. **Keep the definitions identical across projects.** Amber must mean the same in every report, or nobody can compare them.

## Typical mistakes

- **Watermelon reporting.** Green outside, red inside: owners avoid amber until a problem is too big to hide. Report amber early and treat it as a normal signal, not a failure.
- **No definition.** Every owner uses a private scale, and the colors cannot be compared.
- **Amber as a parking spot.** It becomes the safe middle for items nobody wants to call red. Tie amber to an action.
- **Color alone.** A dot without a word is unreadable for some and lost in print.
- **Rating effort, not outcome.** A busy team on a late project is still red.
- **One overall color for a mixed picture.** An overall green with a red workstream hides the problem. Show the workstreams or the worst status.

## Related terms

[Harvey balls](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/harvey-balls/) show how far something is done, while RAG status shows whether it is on course. Status slides belong in the [project status report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/) and the [steering committee](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/steering-committee/) templates, and a RAG rating often hangs on a [KPI](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/kpi/) with a target. On a [Gantt chart](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/gantt-chart/), it shows whether each bar is on course.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does RAG stand for?

Red, amber, green. The colors copy a traffic light: green for on track, amber for at risk, red for off track. BRAG adds blue for work that is complete.

### What is the difference between amber and red?

Amber means a deviation the owner can still correct within tolerance, with a recovery plan. Red means the deviation is outside tolerance and needs a decision or help from above. Each organization sets its own thresholds, so write them on the slide.

### What is watermelon reporting?

A status that shows green on the outside while the real situation is red on the inside. It happens when owners avoid reporting amber or red. Define thresholds in advance and ask for a reason with every status.

### How do I make a RAG status readable for people with color vision deficiency?

Add a word to every color, such as On track, At risk and Off track, and sort the most urgent items to the top. Color must never be the only signal.

## Related pages

- [Harvey balls](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/harvey-balls/): Harvey balls are round pictograms that show how far a criterion is met, from empty to full in quarter steps. Meaning, symbols and how to use them on slides.
- [KPI](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/kpi/): A KPI (key performance indicator) is a measurable value that shows progress toward a business goal. Learn the definition, examples and how to present KPIs.
- [Project status report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/): Report overall status, progress KPIs, schedule, workstreams, budget and risks on 8 slides, and ask sponsors for the decisions you need. With an example deck.
- [Steering committee](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/steering-committee/): A steering committee presentation template with 8 slides: status headline, key figures, schedule, budget bridge, workstreams, risks and the decisions you need.
- [Gantt chart](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/gantt-chart/): A Gantt chart shows a project's tasks as bars on a time axis, with milestones as markers. Definition, how to read it and how to simplify it for a slide.

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