Project Pulse Brief

Overview

Project Pulse Brief is a lightweight playbook for turning raw project status updates into an executive-ready pulse brief. The skill focuses on repeatable steps, reusable checklists, and a template you can copy into any document or collaboration space. No scripts, bots, or external integrations are required.

Quick Start

1. Collect weekly status inputs from project leads by reviewing your shared project email thread and the relevant Google Drive folders.
2. Open assets/templates/pulse_brief_template.md and duplicate it in your preferred editor or knowledge base.
3. Summarize the latest highlights, watchlist items, risks, and next steps directly from the email and Drive updates.
4. Share the completed brief with stakeholders via your usual communication channels (email, workspace doc, meeting deck, etc.).

What This Skill Provides

• Repeatable workflow for consolidating project updates each reporting cycle.
• Editable template that keeps highlights, blockers, and upcoming work in a consistent structure.
• Curation checklist to maintain quality: confirm owner, dates, status, and key decisions before publishing.

What This Skill Does NOT Provide

✗ Automated data ingestion from portfolio tools.
✗ Command-line utilities or runtime scripts.
✗ Direct integrations with chat platforms or email services.

Recommended Workflow

1. Skim project email updates and shared Drive docs to capture the latest wins, issues, and upcoming milestones.
2. During a short review session, triage updates into highlights, watchlist, and risks so the brief stays focused on executive-ready talking points.
3. Populate the markdown template with the agreed priorities. Use callouts or bolding (see template) to emphasize decisions and support requests.
4. Capture follow-up actions in a shared tracker so the next brief can close the loop on open items.

Success Criteria

• Every project entry lists owner, current status, recent wins, blockers, and next steps.
• Sponsors can skim the brief and understand portfolio health within two minutes.
• Follow-up actions from the previous pulse are either completed or reprioritized in the new brief.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Brief Curator: Coordinates intake, validates completeness, and drafts the pulse brief.
• Project Leads: Provide weekly updates aligned to the required fields.
• Executive Sponsor: Reviews the brief for alignment and approves distribution.

Guardrails

• Keep the brief under two pages to preserve executive readability.
• Highlight no more than five items per section; link to supplemental docs for deep dives.
• Use neutral, objective tone—avoid speculative language without data backing.
• Document open risks with clear owners and mitigation dates.

Troubleshooting

• Missing information? Send a quick reply-all on the project email thread with a bulleted request for the specific details you need.
• Conflicting updates? Leave a comment in the source Drive doc or schedule a short huddle to resolve the discrepancy before publishing.
• Updates running long? Prioritize the bullets that require decisions and move the rest into linked reference docs.

Related Skills

• set-up-workday: Pair with Project Pulse Brief for a wider view of operational signals plus delivery progress.
• recent-files: Helps locate supporting artifacts referenced in the pulse brief.

Version History

• 1.1.2 (2024-03-13): Simplified the workflow to rely solely on email and Google Drive inputs—no supplemental guides required.
• 1.1.1 (2024-03-12): Removed the project update worksheet in favor of lightweight intake prompts embedded in the configuration guide.
• 1.1.0 (2024-03-11): Simplified into a documentation-first workflow without CLI tooling or chat integrations.
• 1.0.0 (2024-03-09): Initial release with automation scripts.