Have You Sent Your Status Reports

In organizations with many teams owning different charters, it's crucial for stakeholders and the engineering teams to be in sync. How do we achieve this? In KMS we do it through well-crafted status reports, specifically Project Status Reports and Sprint Goal Reports. Here is the controversial statement - these reports are mostly sent by engineers. We only use Technical Project Manager to send reports for cross organization projects. * The Case for Project Status Reports The Project Status Report is a cornerstone in long-term projects that span more than two sprints. This report gives a timeline-based view, providing information about where the project stands and whether it's on track. More importantly, it reminds both the execution team and stakeholders of the project's value. Ever been in a project where halfway through you wonder, "Wait, why are we doing this?" Well, that's precisely what Project Status Reports aim to counter. They compel us to revisit the value, scope, and complexity as we gain more insights. This may lead to a timely pivot, or even, in some cases, scrapping the project altogether to cut losses. * The Need for Sprint Goal Reports You may ask, why require Sprint Goal Reports when we already have Project Status Reports and Sprint Demos? Sprint Goal Reports give a snapshot of the team's progress at any given moment. It's a horizontal view that complements the holistic, time-spanning perspective provided by the Project Status Report. These reports use user-story templates, helping all stakeholders understand the value proposition, even without diving into technical details. * Sprint Demos: Not Always Enough Time Sprint demos are valuable but limited in scope. In a large team setting, not every project gets demo time. Sending sprint planning and goal completion reports ensures clear visibility and accountability, even when a public demo isn't feasible. * "Isn't This Too Much Work for Engineers?" The short answer? No, if done correctly. We found it is extremely valuable to make sure every engineer understands the value they are delivering and keeps challenging themselves what is the simplest, fastest and cheapest way to deliver the value. Writing the status report is a effective way to clear their minds and in fact, the managers’ minds. We ask managers to help project leads write high quality reports and use it as growth opportunity for both sides - engineers get more insights on the business value and managers learn more about what is in the trenches. Misalignment often occurs when teams drift away from focusing on the value proposition and start adding unnecessary complexities. These reports act as a reality check, guiding teams to deliver value incrementally and iteratively. In essence, both Project Status and Sprint Goal Reports play distinct, yet complementary roles in enhancing project visibility, ensuring accountability, and preserving focus on delivering value.