Escalation and Status — Template¶
Version: 1.1.0 | Licence: CC BY 4.0
Set tolerances when a mandate is approved, escalate on forecast breach rather than after failure, and report status in a way that surfaces decisions instead of hiding them.
Purpose: Make exceptions, forecast breaches, decisions and delivery confidence visible to the authority that can act.
When to use: At initiative mandate approval, during routine governance reviews and whenever a tolerance breach is forecast.
How to use: Agree tolerances in advance, report actuals separately from forecasts, identify the decision required and owner, and maintain a RAID log with actions and due dates.
Related: Executive Playbook, Section 5, and Digital Portfolio Governance, Sections 7 and 8.
Tolerance sheet (set at mandate approval)¶
| Dimension | Approved tolerance | Escalate to | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key milestones | |||
| Cost at completion / delegated funding envelope | |||
| Critical dependency (credible owner and recovery date) | |||
| Scope change affecting outcome or risk | |||
| Security, privacy, safety, regulatory or service exposure | |||
| Required capacity, adoption or operational ownership | |||
| Benefit assumptions |
Escalate when a forecast, not only an actual, shows a breach. Thresholds must be tailored and agreed in advance.
Escalation brief¶
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Exception (what has changed or is forecast to change) | |
| Evidence and forecast | |
| Impact if unresolved | |
| Options and trade-offs | |
| Recommended decision | |
| Decision owner | |
| Latest safe decision date | |
| Decision recorded by the receiving authority (decision and conditions) |
Status report¶
Report these separately. A traffic-light colour may summarise a defined rule but never replaces the explanation.
| Element | Content |
|---|---|
| Actual progress | What has been completed |
| Forecast | What is expected to happen, and when |
| Confidence | How reliable the forecast is, and why |
| Top risk / issue | What could materially change the outcome |
| Decision needed | The management action required, from whom, by when |
| Outcome evidence | Adoption and outcome data, not only delivery output |
Colour rule: green means within agreed tolerances with evidence; it does not mean "no issues". Do not report green where material risks are merely being deferred.
RAID log (columns)¶
| ID | Type (risk / assumption / issue / decision) | Description | Owner | Next action | Due | Status | Linked initiative or dependency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Every high-priority item needs an owner and a next action; overdue items need an explicit disposition.
Template for adaptation. Independent professional reference material.