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I'm trying to improve the way I read and analyse status reports and was hoping for some thoughts from the community. 

I see the purpose of reading a status report is to look for:

  • RAG status
  • Things that require action from me or my team
  • Risks, issues, assumptions & dependencies that may affect me or my team
  • Completeness and correctness of status
  • Understanding the progress of key deliverables and when they will be delivered
  • Keeping tabs on items under escalation

So the questions I ask: 

  • Is the overall status correct (assuming a RAG status is present)
  • Do the status items require action from me?
  • Does this describe a risks or issues that requires attention?
  • Are risks and issues being explicitly called out?
  • Are the risks and issues being managed? If yes, managed appropriately
  • Are the assumptions and dependencies being explicitly tracked? Are they complete / correct?
  • Is the report itself complete and correct?
  • Is there anything requiring an escalation or that may lead to an escalation

Anything other considerations?