Something I have been thinking about for quite a while is to use blogs to facilitate project status and progress tracking - I'd like to hear any opinions, experience, thoughts on this (I already got some decent feedback when I posted this on PMI's main online community website).

Blogging basically lets you build a project diary or journal that provides a great repository of information to build and support a summary report while also enabling anyone to view an up-to-the-minute de_script_ion of how the project is coming along.

A couple of reasons for contemplating the use of a blog are

Weekly reports may not be timely enough...

Example - If a project Manager reports the weekly status to their boss on a Tuesday, yet they report to their boss, (executives for instance), each Monday...the report will always be about a week late.

When further detail is required...

Example - Weekly status reports, (usually in a document fashion such as MS Word), are usually prepared by the Project Manager, and summarize the week's activities, milestones, issues etc... But if for some reason more detail is needed, the PM usually needs to scurry around getting this from project team leads and members.

Different sources of information

Example - in the majority of projects there are probably a number of teams working together but each providing their own status at certain intervals (weekly in most cases). The correlation and merging of these reports into one Status or Progress report can be time consuming.

Solutions via a blog....

In a blog scenario, the Project Manager and/or team leads could post the important happenings within the project on a daily or as-it-happens basis. Resolved issues with brief solution de_script_ions, escalated or new issues, risk activities, potential gotchas, vacations/sickness, etc....

Most existing project management software is designed for people to enter data but not to interact and collaborate with each other on the project. A blog facilitates open dialogue as well as being a repository for concrete project progress information from various sources.

Plus, most blogging applications allow people to subscribe via RSS and thereby these people have instant access to the latest project information as soon as it happens.

I'm not saying to do away completely with formal project status reports...(yet)...but it's an interesting idea....

Thoughts, comments, experiences, suggestions.......

Shea Heaver, PMP

I think blogs work well as running status reports for internal project teams, especially if they're distribute, but blog are less effective for the client or project sponsor. Email remains the killer app. I'm currently writing status reports directly inside the body of e-mail instead of in a Word doc, so the status report is 'BlackBerry friendly' to the executive mgmt team who is often on the go.

I think a blog would be an excellent idea if the project resources are currently using the technology. However one thing to consider is if some of the resources use the blog and others do not then what action is taken?

Are the resources in adherence for status reporting if they use the blog and not in adherence if they don't? Or is the blog optional.

We use a tool that has a similar feature and in every project team in which it has been introduced no one has used it. I have been successful in getting teams to enable "auto alerts" so that any new files, etc. that are posted the user is notified but I have not been successful in getting the team to use the "discussion" features.

There is a very interesting article on PMIs website, (currently on the Home page), that looks at this very question.

Called 'Blogging for Business Results' with the tag line 'Blogs have emerged as a serious project management tool', it makes for very good reading.

You can access it Here

It opens with 'This isn’t your teenager’s blog. Project managers are increasingly using blogs — more specifically, blogs installed behind an organization’s firewall — as a means to streamline and enhance communication on their projects.' and I think you will find it enlightening.