# Project status report template > A project status report tells sponsors where a project stands, where it is heading and what they need to decide. This template is an eight-slide monthly report for a steering committee: it leads with the answer, tracks the same four numbers every month and ends on numbered decisions. The example is a fictional CRM rollout, so every slide shows what real content looks like. - Source: https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/ - Updated: 21 October 2026 - Language: English - German version: https://ai-presentations.com/de/vorlagen/projektstatusbericht/ For project managers, PMO leads and consultants who report to a steering committee, a sponsor or a client. ## Slide by slide ### 1. Title: project, reporting date and audience Names the project, the date the figures are valid for and who the report is for, so nobody has to ask which version they are reading. - Project name and the report period - The status date, such as “as of 30 September 2026” - Author and audience, such as the steering committee ### 2. Overall status The answer first. The status goes into the title, with the one number that shows progress and what the committee has to decide. A reader who stops here knows where the project stands. - The overall status as a color word and a sentence - One number for progress, with the plan next to it - The decisions needed, in a clause, and by when ### 3. Progress Four numbers that answer how far, how much, what is next and what could go wrong. They stay the same every month, so the trend shows without explanation. - Work complete against plan - Budget spent against the approved total - Milestones reached and how many are at risk - Open risks and how many are rated high ### 4. Schedule Shows what is finished, what is running and which dates cannot move. Putting the critical path in a different color shows the committee where a delay would hurt. - The main workstreams as bars across the months - Milestones as markers with their dates - The critical path in a different color ### 5. Workstreams One line per workstream with one named owner. Amber and red come first, so meeting time goes to the places where a decision is needed. - Status as a colored word, not only a dot - A comment with the reason and the next date - One owner per line ### 6. Budget A bridge from the approved budget to the forecast shows the drivers, so the discussion is about causes and not about the total. - A waterfall chart from the approved budget to the forecast - Each change labeled, one-off or recurring - The source and the date of the forecast ### 7. Risks Only the risks that can still change the outcome, each with a number, an owner and a date. The rest stays in the risk register, where it can be found without competing for attention. - The top three risks, rated high or medium - The impact as a number, such as cost, days or records - The owner and the date by which the risk is dealt with ### 8. Decisions Ends on the asks, numbered, so the minutes can record each decision and the go-live date stays safe. - Each decision as a numbered line with an amount or a date - The date by which each is needed to keep the plan - The contact for questions ## Example deck The example is about Sandmeyer GmbH, an invented company. Every figure in it is invented too. 1. Compass CRM rollout: status as of 30 September 2026. Monthly report to the steering committee. Katrin Albers, Project Manager · 2 October 2026 2. Compass is slightly behind plan, and the 16 November go-live holds if two decisions are made by 7 October. 62% Work complete, plan 65%. Data migration is two weeks late because the customer data is dirtier than expected, and the billing interface needs change request CR-07. Both are covered by the two decisions on the last slide. 3. Work is 3 percentage points behind plan, budget use is on track and one milestone is at risk: Work complete 62% (3 pp behind plan); Budget spent €378k (59% of €640k); Milestones reached 5 of 8 (1 at risk); Open risks 7 (2 rated high) 4. The 16 November go-live is still reachable; data migration and test load 2 are the critical path: Design and configuration; Data migration; Integrations; Training; Hypercare; Test load 2 (20 Oct); UAT done (30 Oct); Go-live (16 Nov) 5. Four of six workstreams are on track; data migration and billing need decisions: Workstream, Status, Comment, Owner 6. The forecast is €52k above budget, driven by data cleansing and the billing interface. Both increases are one-off. The new license terms recover €17k of the €69k, and the €692k forecast needs approval from the steering committee. 7. Three risks need attention, two of them rated high, and each has an owner and a date: Duplicate customer records: High risk. Cleansing runs from 8 to 16 October, before test load 2 on 20 October. Owner: T. Brandt.; Billing interface: High risk. CR-07 moves the go-live unless it is approved by 7 October. Owner: M. Yilmaz.; Users still to be trained: Medium risk. Sessions run from 5 to 29 October, and about 10 users could slip into November. Owner: S. Köhler. 8. Two decisions and one note by 7 October. Approve change request CR-07 for the billing interface (+€31k). Approve the data-cleansing package (+€38k, plus two Customer Service staff until 16 October). Note the new forecast of €692k (+€52k, +8%) ## Project status report format: the fields, in order A project status report has seven parts: overall status, progress, schedule, workstreams, budget, risks and decisions. Put the answer first and end on the decisions. The examples come from the fictional Compass rollout of the example deck. | Part | The question it answers | Format | Example from the Compass rollout | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Overall status | Are we on track, and does anything need a decision? | One RAG light (red, amber or green) and one sentence | Compass is slightly behind plan, and the 16 November go-live holds if two decisions are made by 7 October | | Progress | How far along are we? | Four numbers: work complete, budget spent, milestones reached, open risks | 62% of the work complete against a plan of 65% | | Schedule | Which milestones decide the date? | A timeline with 3 to 6 milestones | Test load 2 (20 Oct), UAT done (30 Oct), go-live (16 Nov) | | Workstreams | Where does each part stand? | A table of workstream, status, comment and owner | Four of six workstreams are on track | | Budget | Will we stay inside it? | Forecast against budget, with the drivers | The forecast of €692k is €52k above the €640k budget | | Risks | What could hurt next? | Three risks, each with an owner and a date | Three risks need attention, two of them rated high | | Decisions | What must the committee decide, and by when? | A numbered list, each decision with a date | Two decisions and one note by 7 October | ## Weekly, monthly, executive and one-page status reports Status reports differ by audience and length: weekly for the project team, monthly for the steering committee, one slide for the sponsor and one table for a PMO. The monthly report is the eight-slide template on this page; the others are shorter cuts of it. A status report is a snapshot at a date: health, forecast and decisions. A progress report lists what was done in a period. Many teams use the words interchangeably; this template treats the status report as the decision-oriented one. | Variant | Audience | Length | What changes in the deck | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Weekly | Project team and project manager | 1 to 2 slides | Progress, blockers and next week only | | Monthly | Steering committee | 8 slides, as in this template | All seven parts | | Executive | Sponsor | 1 slide | Overall status, the four numbers and the decisions | | Multi-project | PMO | 1 table | One row per project with status light, owner and next decision | ## How do I write a project status report? Lead with the overall status and the decision you need, then show progress, schedule, budget and risks in the same order every time. Keep to four KPIs, give every risk and action an owner and a date, and end with numbered decisions. One slide or page per topic is enough; the detail stays in the project plan. Work through five steps in this order, and repeat them every month. | Step | What to do | | --- | --- | | 1. Fix the date and the audience | Pick the status date and name who reads the report. Every number in it is valid for that date. | | 2. Pull the same four numbers each time | Work complete, budget spent, milestones reached and open risks. Define work complete once. | | 3. Set the light by written rules | Agree in the first report what green, amber and red mean, in numbers or days, and who sets the color. | | 4. Write the status as one sentence | Name the color, the forecast and what you need, such as a go-live that holds if two decisions are made by a date. | | 5. End with numbered decisions | Give each decision a number, an amount or a date and a deadline, so the minutes can record it. | ## Tips - **Put the status in the first title.** Make the overall status the first thing on slide 2, in the title and in a color word. A committee member who reads only that slide should know whether to worry. - **Report the same four numbers every month.** Choose four KPIs for the first report and do not change them: work complete, budget spent, milestones reached and open risks. Define “work complete” once, for example as weighted work packages rather than hours spent, so the trend stays comparable. - **Define red, amber and green before the first report.** Agree with the sponsor what each color means, in numbers or days, and print the rule in the first report. Without a definition every project manager picks a different amber, and the committee reads the colors as opinions. - **Sort by what needs a decision.** In the workstream table put red and amber first, then the green lines. Meeting time should go where something has to be decided, and a sorted table makes that visible without a word. - **Explain a variance with a bridge.** If the forecast differs from the budget, show the steps as a waterfall: approved budget, each driver, forecast. A sentence with a total starts a discussion about the total, while a bridge starts one about causes. - **Give every risk and action an owner and a date.** A risk without an owner is a worry. Name one person and the date by which the risk will be reduced or accepted, and ask them in the meeting, not afterwards. - **Reuse the same layout.** Keep the same eight slides, in the same order and with the same titles, every month. Readers learn where to look, and the report takes less time to write and to read. ## Common mistakes - “Watermelon” reporting: green on the outside, red inside, until a sudden red status that nobody saw coming - Reporting activity instead of progress: “held 12 workshops” says nothing about how much of the work is done - Changing the baseline silently, so that the project always seems to be on plan - Risks without an owner, a number or a date, which turns the risk slide into a list of worries - No decisions at the end, so the committee leaves without deciding anything the project needs ## Brief for the AI A complete brief for the AI. Replace the [placeholders] with your facts. ```text Create an 8-slide monthly project status report for [project name], as of [date], for [the steering committee]. Slide 1: title with the project, the status date and the author. Slide 2: overall status [amber] as the title, with one big number [work complete 62%, plan 65%] and the decisions needed. Slide 3: four KPIs [work complete, budget spent, milestones reached, open risks], each with its deviation. Slide 4: a Gantt chart of the workstreams from [month] to [month] with milestones and the critical path in a different color. Slide 5: a table of the workstreams with status, comment and owner, amber and red first. Slide 6: a waterfall chart from the approved budget to the forecast, one bar per change. Slide 7: the top three risks with a number, an owner and a date. Slide 8: the decisions needed as a numbered list with dates and a contact. Use action titles and a plain, technical style. Use only the figures I give; mark anything missing as a placeholder. ``` [Open this brief in the editor](https://app.slaide.de/registrieren?prompt=Create+an+8-slide+monthly+project+status+report+for+%5Bproject+name%5D%2C+as+of+%5Bdate%5D%2C+for+%5Bthe+steering+committee%5D.+Slide+1%3A+title+with+the+project%2C+the+status+date+and+the+author.+Slide+2%3A+overall+status+%5Bamber%5D+as+the+title%2C+with+one+big+number+%5Bwork+complete+62%25%2C+plan+65%25%5D+and+the+decisions+needed.+Slide+3%3A+four+KPIs+%5Bwork+complete%2C+budget+spent%2C+milestones+reached%2C+open+risks%5D%2C+each+with+its+deviation.+Slide+4%3A+a+Gantt+chart+of+the+workstreams+from+%5Bmonth%5D+to+%5Bmonth%5D+with+milestones+and+the+critical+path+in+a+different+color.+Slide+5%3A+a+table+of+the+workstreams+with+status%2C+comment+and+owner%2C+amber+and+red+first.+Slide+6%3A+a+waterfall+chart+from+the+approved+budget+to+the+forecast%2C+one+bar+per+change.+Slide+7%3A+the+top+three+risks+with+a+number%2C+an+owner+and+a+date.+Slide+8%3A+the+decisions+needed+as+a+numbered+list+with+dates+and+a+contact.+Use+action+titles+and+a+plain%2C+technical+style.+Use+only+the+figures+I+give%3B+mark+anything+missing+as+a+placeholder.&utm_source=ai-presentations.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=template%3Aproject-status-report&utm_content=markdown) ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I write a project status report? Lead with the overall status and the decision you need, then show progress, schedule, budget and risks in the same order every time. Keep to four KPIs, give every risk and action an owner and a date, and end with numbered decisions. One slide or page per topic is enough; the detail stays in the project plan. ### What should a project status report include? At minimum: the overall status, progress against plan, the schedule with milestones, the budget and forecast, the main risks and issues, and the decisions or help you need. Add changes to scope or baseline when there are any. Leave out lists of completed tasks that nobody asked for. ### How often should I send a project status report? Monthly suits most steering committees, and weekly suits short projects or those in trouble. Agree the rhythm with the sponsor at kickoff and keep it. A report that arrives on the same day every period gets read, while one that appears only with bad news causes alarm. ### What do red, amber and green mean in a status report? There is no universal standard, so define the colors in your first report. A common rule is green for on plan, amber for a deviation the project manager expects to recover and red for a deviation that needs a decision from the steering committee. Say who sets the color, and put a word next to it so that it also works in black and white. ### Can the AI build a status report from our Excel tracker? Yes, as a first version. Give the AI the tracker as Excel, the project plan as PDF and last month's report as a .pptx; it reads the values and builds the new report in the design of your file, one page after another. You check the figures against your tracker. ### Are the numbers in this template real? No. Sandmeyer GmbH and the Compass project are fictional. The arithmetic agrees across the slides: the budget bridge of €640k plus €38k plus €31k less a €17k discount comes to a forecast of €692k, and 38 users trained plus 47 still to train make 85. ## Related pages - [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. - [Project kickoff](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-kickoff/): Open a project on 9 slides: goal, scope, success measures, timeline, team, ways of working, risks and the next 30 days. A kickoff template with an example. - [Executive summary](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/executive-summary/): Lead with the recommendation, the one number that matters, the options compared and the decision you need. Template with an 8-slide example. - [Board presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/board-presentation/): A board presentation template with the 8 slides a quarterly board meeting needs: summary, KPIs, revenue, EBITDA bridge, initiatives, risks and decisions. --- ai-presentations.com is published by Slaide (https://www.slaide.de), a sole proprietorship run by Nathalie Scholl in Heilbronn, Germany. [How this site is written, checked and corrected](https://ai-presentations.com/editorial-policy/).