PROGRESS COMMUNICATION
Publish a project update people can make decisions from
Separate the summary, blockers, decisions and next steps. Prepare a draft first, review its meaning, then publish the agreed project assessment.
Replace scattered status messages with a clear account
A useful project update explains what changed and which decision is needed. It should not require the reader to reconstruct a week of chat. Tsumira provides a structured record for the project assessment, summary, blockers, decisions and next steps. Drafting and publishing are separate actions, so preparing the wording does not immediately turn it into the team’s published account.
Structure the information the reader needs
Choose the project health assessment and write a summary. Separate blockers from decisions already made and from the next steps still to perform. An optional reporting period describes the interval the update covers. This structure helps a delivery lead make a short but meaningful report: what happened, what is stopping progress and what the team will do next.
- Summary and project health assessment
- Separate blockers, decisions and next steps
- Optional reporting period
Review a draft before publication
Create an update manually or use supported AI assistance to prepare the draft from the information available to the operator. The record remains a draft until publication is separately authorized. Check that the summary reflects the actual tasks and risks, correct any missing context and decide whether the proposed next steps have real owners. AI wording does not itself establish that an action was agreed.
- Human or AI-assisted draft source
- Publication as a separate authorized step
- Review against actual delivery evidence
Keep freshness and warnings honest
The project update cadence uses the latest published update, not an ordinary edit to a project field. Planning, active and on-hold projects follow a seven-day reporting signal; closed projects do not need the same ongoing update reminder. A published manual assessment also cannot override objective critical-risk or overdue-work warnings in the project health calculation. The status remains explainable rather than merely reassuring.
- Freshness based on publication
- Weekly reporting attention for ongoing projects
- Objective delivery warnings retain priority
A concrete workflow
Gather the facts
Read the task outcomes, current blockers and open risks for the reporting period.
Prepare the draft
Write the summary, decisions and next steps, using AI assistance only where available and useful.
Review the assessment
Confirm what is agreed, which issues remain open and whether the chosen health matches the evidence.
Publish deliberately
A colleague with project management authority publishes the reviewed revision for the project record.
An illustrative working example
Example: a weekly implementation update
A project manager prepares an update after the weekly delivery review. Testing is complete, content approval is blocked, and the launch date needs a customer decision. The draft separates those facts instead of saying only “almost finished.” After checking the wording, the manager publishes it. The next reporting reminder follows that publication; an unrelated title edit cannot make an old update appear current.
Questions about this topic
Does an AI-generated draft publish itself?
No. Draft creation and publication are separate supported operations. Review the wording and authorize publication through the appropriate workflow.
Can the update say the project is green despite a critical risk?
A manual assessment does not erase deterministic delivery warnings. Critical risk, blocked work and overdue facts remain part of the project health logic.
What makes an update fresh?
The reporting cadence is anchored to the latest published update, or project creation before the first publication. Ordinary edits do not reset it.
Is publication the same as emailing a customer?
No. A published project update is a project record. An external message uses its own recipient review and communication process.
Explore connections around this workflow.
Ideas for intended connections. Check the actual availability, permissions and supported data for each app before using a scenario.
Google Docs
Workflow concept: Prepare a reviewed status draft separating decisions, blockers and next steps.
Slack
Workflow concept: Compare the weekly discussion with the facts before publishing a project update.
Microsoft Teams
Workflow concept: Prepare a concise management handover from the checked delivery review.