Keeping attention over months.
WHAT THE DIFFICULTY IS
Interest declines while the work continues.
WHAT THAT PRODUCES
Stakeholders disengaging, then reappearing with objections.
WHAT TO DO
Report at a consistent cadence, however unremarkable.
WHAT TO INCLUDE
What is complete What is in progress What has changed since the plan What decisions are needed
WHY CHANGES FROM THE PLAN MATTER MOST
They are what stakeholders need to accept.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT SLIPPAGE
Report it when it becomes likely, not when it becomes certain.
WHY
Early warning permits response; late warning permits only blame.
WHAT TO AVOID
Reporting on track until the week of failure Percentage complete without meaning Detail nobody uses
WHY PERCENTAGES MISLEAD
The last portion takes disproportionate time.
WHAT TO REPORT INSTEAD
What is finished, in terms they recognise.
WHAT TO DO AT MILESTONES
Show something working.
WHY
Visible progress sustains support more than any report.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT SCOPE REQUESTS DURING
Record them, price them, and decide explicitly.
WHY EXPLICITLY
Accumulated informal additions are how projects fail.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT THROUGHOUT
Decisions and their reasoning.
WHY
They are questioned at the end.
