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FIGURE 10.5 Scatter diagram

Dashboards and Status Reports

The project manager can analyze project centric documentation in any number of

ways. This section will look at dashboards, status reports, and other documents that
communicate the status of the project and alert stakeholders with updated
information.

Once the project enters the Executing phase, you should conduct regular status
meetings that are supplemented with dashboard reports and status reports.
Dashboards are a way to visually depict the progress of the project and are often used

by executives in the organization. They are easy to read and are usually updated with
real-time information so they are always up to date. A dashboard typically displays the
most important elements of the project such as cost, time, and deliverables. The
information is usually succinct and abbreviated. The most common ways to display
this data are graphs or charts, numbers, and/or status-level indicators such as Red-
Yellow-Green. Red means the project element being reported is in trouble (perhaps

over budget, behind schedule, and so on), Yellow means it’s moving toward trouble,
and Green means everything is going according to plan.

Status meetings should occur regularly during the project. The purpose of the status
meeting is to exchange information and provide updated information regarding the
progress of the project. You’ll want to hold status meetings with the stakeholders,
sponsor, project team members, and customers on a regular basis to report on project
progress.

Status meetings may include separate meetings with stakeholders, project
team members, and the customer. Take care that you don’t overburden yourself

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