The dimensions
- Schedule — are we on track to ship by date?
- Scope — is what's being built still what was committed?
- Cost / Budget — within tolerance?
- Quality — defect trend, test health.
- Risk — the top risks and their trend.
- Team — morale, attrition, burnout indicators.
Honest RAG
Green — on track, no concerns. Amber— at risk; the PM has a recovery plan but needs awareness. Red — off track; intervention required. The most credible PM reports show colors moving — green to amber and back. Reports that stay green every week are watermelons.
↳ the watermelon problem
Green on the outside, red on the inside. PMs who fear delivering bad news report green until they can't. By then, sponsors' options are gone and credibility is destroyed. Move to amber early — it preserves both.
Weighted dimensions
On large programs, dimensions have different weights. A schedule-driven project (regulatory deadline) weights schedule heavily; a quality-driven project (medical device) weights quality. Don't average dimensions equally without thinking — the weights signal which trade-offs the project is willing to make.