epic-progress-report

Epic Progress Report

"Epic is 60% done" is the least useful sentence in delivery — 60% of what, and is the remaining 40% the easy part or the terrifying part? This breaks the epic into its child work by status, surfaces the pieces most likely to blow the date, and — instead of just reporting — offers a cut menu and an honest read on whether the deadline survives contact with reality.

What This Skill Produces

• The completion picture — child items grouped by status (done / in progress / not started / blocked), with what % and which work remains
• The riskiest remaining work — the unfinished pieces most likely to slip (unknowns, dependencies, the hard 20%)
• The cut menu — what could be descoped or deferred, and the impact of each cut
• The date call — will it make the target as-is; if not, what has to give

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The epic & its children — the stories/tasks under it and their statuses (a board export or list)
• The target date & goal — what "done" means for this epic and when it's needed
• Dependencies & unknowns — anything waiting on another team, or work that's still fuzzy
• Who it's for — a standup, a stakeholder, or a go/no-go — tunes depth and bluntness

Framework: Progress You Can Act On

1. Remaining work, not just percent. Report what's left and how hard it is — the last 20% is often the risky 80%.
2. Status by child, honestly. Blocked and not-started are different from in-progress; don't average them into a comforting number.
3. Name the riskiest pieces. Dependencies, unknowns, and the one hard component are where dates die — call them out.
4. Offer cuts, don't just warn. A scope-cut menu with impact turns "we might slip" into a decision the team can make.
5. Give a straight date call. "On track," "at risk — here's why," or "won't make it without cuts." Vague green status is the enemy.

Output Format

Epic: [name] · target [date] · for [audience]

Completion

| Status | Count | Which work |

|---|---|---|

| ✅ Done | | |

| 🔨 In progress | | |

| ⬜ Not started | | |

| ⛔ Blocked | | |

Riskiest remaining

• [item] — why it's risky (unknown / dependency / complexity).

Cut menu (to protect the date)

| Could cut/defer | Saves | Impact if cut |

|---|---|---|

Date call

> On track / At risk / Won't make it without cuts — because [reason].

Quality Checks

• [ ] Remaining work is described, not just a percentage
• [ ] Children are grouped by real status (blocked ≠ in-progress ≠ not-started)
• [ ] The riskiest unfinished pieces are named with why
• [ ] A concrete cut menu with impact is offered, not just a risk warning
• [ ] A straight date call is made — not a vague "green"
• [ ] No invented statuses — unknowns are marked unknown

Anti-Patterns

• A single % with no breakdown — hides where the risk is.
• Averaging blocked and not-started into a reassuring number.
• Warning of slip with no options — leaves the reader stuck.
• Watermelon status (green outside, red inside) — a comfortable date call that isn't true.
• Guessing a child's status instead of flagging it unknown.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Give me an epic progress report for the checkout revamp."
• "Where are we really on this initiative, and can we cut to hit the date?"
• "Break down this epic's status by child work and flag the risky bits."
• "Is this epic going to make the deadline? What would we have to drop?"