When you are managing a project with a long duration or multiple phased deliveries, you will be asked to produce weekly or monthly status reports. In this article we will find out how to use the “Science of Incremental Delivery” to give your stakeholders an expert-level report
If you are in a situation where your stakeholders ask lots of questions and cut you off often when you present, it is a sign you are not delivering your message.
I am going to talk about 2 reasons why and how to resolve it.
- Reason 1 – You might not know your audience
- Reason 2 – Incremental delivery
Know your audience
Business stakeholders will ask for the progress, what is done in business sense. For technical stakeholders, progress is asked in a technical sense. If this is a 15-minutes update, communicate the business and technical benefits and leave out the “how” and “what was done” details. Know your audience.
Incremental delivery
What is the difference in delivering a fantastic report with minimum question and delivery a mediocre report with lots of questions or worse – lots of debates
It is the science of incremental delivery!
Mediocre report – speak in general terms
“We did a fantastic job this week and completed A,B,C,D” –
Result – lots of questions…
Vs
Great report – articulate the increment
We moved the project completion from 40% to 55%, a 15% increment this week because we completed A, B, C, D
Result – medium amount of questions
Vs
Fantastic report – articulate the increment, paint the future, talk about confidence level
- We moved the project completion from 40% to 55%, a 15% increment this week because we completed A, B, C,D
- Because we finished D this week, it set the stage to start E on time for the upcoming release
- We report that we are at a confidence level of 8/10 to complete on time
Notice a theme where moving the same message from mediocre to fantastic reporting, I mention numbers, %, forward thinking, projecting into the future. Even the confidence level, I expressed in a number 8 out of 10.
Is important to express progress in measurable metrics. Communicate in % and $ are measurements people can understand
If the metrics increase is a bigger range, e.g. 15% increase, you must also be able articulate the 15% in smaller increments, 4% for X, 6% for Y, 5% for Z etc.
Conclusion
- Know your audience – emphasize the benefits. Answer the “how” and “what” when asked.
- Incremental delivery – express your progress in %, $, #, breakdown a large % into increments. Practice forward thinking and explain what is upcoming as a result of current status
Happy reporting.
How Target Align Helps Startups with Agile OKRs
Target Align is a powerful platform designed to simplify OKR implementation and Agile execution for startups. With an intuitive interface and advanced tracking capabilities, Target Align helps startups:
- Set clear, measurable OKRs aligned with business strategy.
- Integrate OKRs with Agile workflows, ensuring teams stay focused.
- Enhance transparency with real-time tracking and reports.
- Encourage accountability through structured check-ins and peer feedback.
- Foster alignment between leadership and teams by breaking down top-level objectives into actionable key results.
By using Target Align, startups can eliminate confusion, streamline goal-setting, and drive sustainable growth.
If you’re interested in learning more about OKRs and its implementation, sign up for Target Align’s video course. For more resources, visit www.targetalign.com and check out their OKR 101 material.