/stakeholder-update

name: stakeholder-update
description: Generate a stakeholder update tailored to audience and cadence. Use when writing a weekly or monthly status for leadership, announcing a launch, escalating a risk or blocker, or translating the same progress into exec-brief, engineering-detail, or customer-facing versions.
argument-hint: "<update type and audience>"

Stakeholder Update

> If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md).

Generate a stakeholder update tailored to the audience and cadence.

Usage

/stakeholder-update $ARGUMENTS

Workflow

1. Determine Update Type

Ask the user what kind of update:

• **Weekly**: Regular cadence update on progress, blockers, and next steps
• **Monthly**: Higher-level summary with trends, milestones, and strategic alignment
• **Launch**: Announcement of a feature or product launch with details and impact
• **Ad-hoc**: One-off update for a specific situation (escalation, pivot, major decision)

2. Determine Audience

Ask who the update is for:

• **Executives / leadership**: High-level, outcome-focused, strategic framing, brief
• **Engineering team**: Technical detail, implementation context, blockers, decisions needed
• **Cross-functional partners**: Context-appropriate detail, focus on shared goals and dependencies
• **Customers / external**: Benefits-focused, clear timelines, no internal jargon
• **Board**: Metrics-driven, strategic, risk-focused, very concise

3. Pull Context from Connected Tools

If **~~project tracker** is connected:

• Pull status of roadmap items and milestones
• Identify completed items since last update
• Surface items that are at risk or blocked
• Pull sprint or iteration progress

If **~~chat** is connected:

• Search for relevant team discussions and decisions
• Find blockers or issues raised in channels
• Identify key decisions made asynchronously

If **~~meeting transcription** is connected:

• Pull recent meeting notes and discussion summaries
• Find decisions and action items from relevant meetings

If **~~knowledge base** is connected:

• Search for recent meeting notes
• Find decision documents or design reviews

If no tools are connected, ask the user to provide:

• What was accomplished since the last update
• Current blockers or risks
• Key decisions made or needed
• What is coming next

4. Generate the Update

Structure the update for the target audience using the templates and frameworks below.

**For executives**: TL;DR, status color (G/Y/R), key progress tied to goals, decisions made, risks with mitigation, specific asks, and next milestones. Keep it under 300 words.

**For engineering**: What shipped (with links), what is in progress (with owners), blockers, decisions needed (with options and recommendation), and what is coming next.

**For cross-functional partners**: What is coming that affects them, what you need from them (with deadlines), decisions that impact their team, and areas open for input.

**For customers**: What is new (framed as benefits), what is coming soon, known issues with workarounds, and how to provide feedback. No internal jargon.

**For launch announcements**: What launched, why it matters, key details (scope, availability, limitations), success metrics, rollout plan, and feedback channels.

5. Review and Deliver

After generating the update:

• Ask if the user wants to adjust tone, detail level, or emphasis
• Offer to format for the delivery channel (email, chat post, doc, slides)
• If **~~chat** is connected, offer to draft the message for sending

Update Templates by Audience

Executive / Leadership Update

Executives want: strategic context, progress against goals, risks that need their help, decisions that need their input.

**Format**:

Status: [Green / Yellow / Red]

TL;DR: [One sentence — the most important thing to know]

Progress:
- [Outcome achieved, tied to goal/OKR]
- [Milestone reached, with impact]
- [Key metric movement]

Risks:
- [Risk]: [Mitigation plan]. [Ask if needed].

Decisions needed:
- [Decision]: [Options with recommendation]. Need by [date].

Next milestones:
- [Milestone] — [Date]

**Tips for executive updates**:

• Lead with the conclusion, not the journey. Executives want "we shipped X and it moved Y metric" not "we had 14 standups and resolved 23 tickets."
• Keep it under 200 words. If they want more, they will ask.
• Status color should reflect YOUR genuine assessment, not what you think they want to hear. Yellow is not a failure — it is good risk management.
• Only include risks you want help with. Do not list risks you are already handling unless they need to know.
• Asks must be specific: "Decision on X by Friday" not "support needed."

Engineering Team Update

Engineers want: clear priorities, technical context, blockers resolved, decisions that affect their work.

**Format**:

Shipped:
- [Feature/fix] — [Link to PR/ticket]. [Impact if notable].

In progress:
- [Item] — [Owner]. [Expected completion]. [Blockers if any].

Decisions:
- [Decision made]: [Rationale]. [Link to ADR if exists].
- [Decision needed]: [Context]. [Options]. [Recommendation].

Priority changes:
- [What changed and why]

Coming up:
- [Next items] — [Context on why these are next]

**Tips for engineering updates**:

• Link to specific tickets, PRs, and documents. Engineers want to click through for details.
• When priorities change, explain why. Engineers are more bought in when they understand the reason.
• Be explicit about what is blocking them and what you are doing to unblock it.
• Do not waste their time with information that does not affect their work.

Cross-Functional Partner Update

Partners (design, marketing, sales, support) want: what is coming that affects them, what they need to prepare for, how to give input.

**Format**:

What's coming:
- [Feature/launch] — [Date]. [What this means for your team].

What we need from you:
- [Specific