From: Mike Barker To: dcns-dev@MIT.EDU, watchmakers95@MIT.EDU Cc: moties@MIT.EDU Subject: status report format Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:42:12 EST 1. Milestones Planned Last Week a. xxxxxx xxxxxxx - done b. yyy yyyyyyyyyy - done, but took longer than expected c. gggggg ggggggg - delayed due to garfield eating mouse; see new plan below d. uuuuuuuuu uuuu - cancelled due to lack of interest 2. Unplanned Accomplishments 3. Milestones Planned for Next Week a. asdfasdf asdfasdf b. qwertqwerty c. will get new trackball; may avoid garfield eating it? 4. Dependencies, needed help, questions, problems 5. Changes in Plans and Priorities Some notes-- email on or before Midnight Tuesday to moties@mit.edu (the mailing list consisting of Paul Hill, Bill Cattey, and Mike Barker). The Moties will read them and discuss issues or questions with individuals as needed. May include planned effort and expended effort as an individual means of getting better at time estimation. This is NOT MANDATORY. The list of milestones should be short. If there are more than ten, you need to think about aggregating or changing the level of detail. Too few, you may want to think about getting more detailed. There was considerable discussion about what the right kind of "milestones" are. If inchpebbles feels right, use that. If tasks feels right, use that. Basically, you should be coming up with three to nine pieces that represent what you are doing this week--including meetings, papers, and other things. They should be specific, realistic, observable, and result in benefits for both you and the groups you are working with. If the format needs adjustment when reporting, please do so. The idea here is to have something that helps us work together. If we need to change it, we will. This should not mean arbitrary changes just for the fun of it, but rather intentional changes which are explained and discussed. Larger Scale: I consider this part of an approach to planning work that starts with setting goals (specific, realistic, observable, with payoffs for the individual and the group). A working plan is then made by listing steps to accomplish the goal. The time needed to do each is estimated. That plan (directly in simple cases, or laid out in Gantt chart in more complex cases) feeds directly into status reports, since the milestones called out in the plan are what get reported in the status reports. Status reports then feed quarterly reports or other collective reports. (some words from tim's status reporting format--you may want to consider them in filling out our current format) Accomplishments: what you accomplished during the last week: in as tangible a form as possible, and ideally, tied to a project plan. Open Items: briefly summarize any major issues, questions, comments, concerns, etc. related to your project assignments, be they managerial or technical issues.