Practice status reporting vocabulary: RAG status, Amber risk communication, weekly steering committee updates, dependency risks, and executive status formats.
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What does 'RAG status' mean in project reporting?
RAG stands for Red/Amber/Green — a traffic light status system. Green means on track, Amber means at risk but manageable, Red means seriously off track and requiring immediate action. It gives executives an instant visual summary of project health.
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A PM reports 'the project is Amber — risk of missing Q3 target'. What action does Amber typically trigger?
Amber status means the project is at risk but not yet in crisis. It triggers proactive action: the PM should document the specific risk, present mitigation options, update the steering committee, and increase the monitoring frequency. Amber is a warning to act before it turns Red.
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'The weekly status email to the steering committee.' What should this typically contain?
A steering committee status email should be concise and executive-focused: current RAG status, what was accomplished, what risks or issues exist, what decisions are needed from the committee, and what happens next. Steering committees don't want implementation details — they want to know if they need to act.
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A PM says 'we're on track but have a dependency risk'. What does this mean?
A dependency risk means the project's progress relies on something outside the team's direct control — another team delivering an API, a vendor completing integration, or a third party approving access. Even if the project is currently on track, this external dependency could delay it.
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What is the purpose of 'executive status vocabulary' in project reporting?
Executive status vocabulary translates technical and operational details into business impact language. Instead of 'the CI pipeline failed 3 times', say 'we have a reliability risk in our delivery process that we're mitigating'. Executives need to understand risks, decisions, and impact — not implementation details.