# Project Status Report

Turns your raw project notes into a formatted status report ready for distribution. Use it at the end of any reporting period when you need a clean document without spending an hour writing from scratch.

## Prompt

## Context
You are assisting a [ROLE: e.g., project manager, logistics coordinator, operations lead] who needs to produce a status report for [PROJECT NAME] covering [REPORTING PERIOD: e.g., Week 3, June 1-7]. The audience is [AUDIENCE: e.g., the project team, the program manager, the client]. Overall status: [OVERALL STATUS: Red, Amber, or Green]. This status was determined by the person running the project, not by the AI.

Project notes to work from:
- Accomplishments this period: [ACCOMPLISHMENTS]
- Planned work not completed and reason: [INCOMPLETE WORK]
- Planned work for next period: [NEXT PERIOD PLAN]
- Schedule: [SCHEDULE STATUS: e.g., on track, 3 days behind]
- Budget: [BUDGET STATUS: e.g., within budget, $4,200 over]
- Open risks and issues: [RISKS AND ISSUES]
- Decisions needed: [DECISIONS NEEDED: or "none"]

## Task
Produce a status report with these sections:
1. Header: project name, reporting period, date, prepared by [PREPARER NAME], overall status (Red/Amber/Green).
2. Summary: two to three sentences on where the project stands. Lead with the most important fact.
3. Accomplishments: bulleted list from my notes.
4. Next period plan: bulleted list from my notes.
5. Schedule and budget: one line each, restating the status I provided.
6. Risks and issues: each as a short entry with description and current action.
7. Decisions needed: if any, state them clearly with the owner and needed-by date I supply.

## Standards
- Restate all dates, dollar figures, percentages, and statuses exactly as I provided them. Do not compute, estimate, or adjust any number.
- Overall status (Red/Amber/Green) must match what I set above. Do not reassess it.
- Plain, direct language. One idea per sentence. Under 400 words for the full report.
- Do not invent accomplishments, risks, or issues not in my notes.
- If a section field above is blank, write "None reported" for that section and do not fill it in.
- If any named input is missing or ambiguous, ask me before drafting rather than guessing.

## Variables

- ROLE
- PROJECT NAME
- REPORTING PERIOD
- AUDIENCE
- OVERALL STATUS
- ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- INCOMPLETE WORK
- NEXT PERIOD PLAN
- SCHEDULE STATUS
- BUDGET STATUS
- RISKS AND ISSUES
- DECISIONS NEEDED
- PREPARER NAME

## Input checklist

- [ ] Your own notes from the reporting period: what got done, what did not, and what is next
- [ ] The overall status (Red, Amber, or Green) set by you, based on actual schedule and budget data, not the AI
- [ ] Schedule and budget figures pulled from your project records, not estimated
- [ ] Any open risks, issues, and decisions needed, with owners and dates you can confirm
- [ ] Confirm that all dates, dollar figures, and percentages come from your project records, not from memory or AI output
- [ ] Privacy step: keep vendor names, personnel details, and contract values out of the prompt unless your organization has approved this tool for that data

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Overall status (Red/Amber/Green) matches your independent assessment, not whatever the AI produced
- [ ] Every dollar figure and date in the report matches your project records exactly, recheck each one
- [ ] No accomplishment, risk, or issue appears that you did not supply in your notes
- [ ] Schedule and budget status lines restate your words, not a reinterpreted version
- [ ] Decisions-needed section names the correct owner and a real deadline, not a placeholder the AI invented
- [ ] Word count: trim the summary if it runs past three sentences
- [ ] Check for invented percentages or completion figures: the AI fills gaps with plausible-sounding numbers

## Sample output

Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:

Project Status Report
Project: Atlas Warehouse Migration
Prepared by: Dana Ruiz, Project Manager
Reporting Period: Week 3, June 1-7, 2026
Overall Status: AMBER

Summary
The Atlas migration is three days behind the baseline schedule due to a delayed rack delivery from the vendor. Electrical rough-in is complete and all staff have completed safety orientation. Recovery plan is in place; the team expects to return to schedule by June 14 if the racks arrive as now confirmed.

Accomplishments
- Electrical rough-in completed in all four aisles (June 3)
- 47 of 50 staff completed forklift safety orientation
- Interim storage layout finalized and signed off by operations lead

Next Period Plan
- Receive and stage rack shipment (ETA June 9)
- Complete remaining 3 safety orientations
- Begin rack assembly in Aisles 1 and 2

Schedule: 3 days behind baseline. Recovery plan active; revised milestone dates distributed June 6.
Budget: Within approved budget. No variances to report this period.

Risks and Issues
- Rack delivery delay (Northwind Shelving): Racks originally due June 2 now confirmed for June 9. Vendor confirmed in writing. Monitoring closely.
- 3 staff not yet oriented: Rescheduled for June 8.

Decisions Needed
- None this period.

## Customization notes

For programs with multiple projects, add a one-line rollup table at the top showing each project's status and owner. If your organization uses a specific template, feed that structure into the Task section and the AI will follow it. For classified or sensitive programs, run the prompt with sanitized notes and restore proper nouns in the final document before distribution.

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From The Logistics, Operations & Project Management Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/logistics-pm