1. STATUS REPORT

2. The purpose of this report is to detail the work completed to date, which should be near the end of the preliminary analysis/design phase.

3. The report should have the following elements:
Title page
Table of contents
List of tables and figures
Body
Appendices (if needed)

4. The body should include the following sections and information:

5. Introduction –
This section contains the purpose of the report and a brief summary of its contents.

6. Project Description –
Includes a summary of the company and problem background,
a review of the problem definition (as it is presently understood), and
the details of the project final work product.
You should include the proposed methods and approach planned to develop final recommendations.

7. Progress Summary – A summary of what has been accomplished to date.
In this section you should include
some details, especially a review of
the methods used,
models developed,
data collected, and
calculations made.
If the problem has changed you should describe how and why it has changed.
Any additional results and details that may be tangential to your current work but you think are important to record may be included in appendices.

8. Candidate Solutions –
In this section, you include details of all the recommendations, operational changes, system layout and/or system designs that have been developed by your team and are currently under consideration as solutions to the stated problem.
You should also include details of how you plan to evaluate the candidate solutions to arrive at final solutions.
You might discuss what evidence you will provide to convince the sponsor of the worthiness of the final solutions.

9. Schedule and Budget Update –
Here you should provide an updated/revised schedule and budget as well as a review of how well you are progressing against the original project plans and budget.

10. Appendices (may not be needed) –
If appendices are used they should include the following types of items:
Sample data collection forms
Simulation models
Optimization models
Formulas and equations used for making calculations
Theory used in solving the problem
Samples of data collected
Other relevant information not included in the Body.