Write status updates people actually read — the traffic-light-plus-narrative format (state first, story second), the blockers-are-asks rule, and the skimmable structure that respects a reader with thirty seconds.
SkillScore88Maintained
Automatic
◆Project Management pack
Last verified 8/14/2026
What it changes
Passed 21 of 24 test cases with the skill, and 13 of 24 without it.
Without skill54%
With skill88%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Each ask explicitly contains a target resolution deadline
The dependency on Data Science specifies a required task, team lead, and target date
The dependency on SecOps specifies a required signoff task, team lead, and target date
and 8 more in the full report
8 fixed13 passed either way3 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+33 pp
Tokens
+59%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-5%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/14/2026v121 of 24 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 8 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 8
Prompt
Here is what happened on Project Titan this past sprint: We finalized the API docs and migrated 30% of database tables, but we are stuck waiting on Dave from DevOps to grant prod access so we can finish migration by Friday. Can you format this raw information into a clear async status update that I can post in our Slack channel?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The status update explicitly leads with an unhedged status signal and one-line rationale before any details
Missed
Passed
The response presents a single formatted status update rather than multiple alternative options or traditional completed and in-progress categories
Missed
Passed
case-02 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/14/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md53 linessingle file
Async Update Format Skill
Status updates die of two diseases: the activity log ("attended meetings, worked on the project") that says nothing, and the essay that says everything to readers with thirty seconds. The format that survives: state first (on-track / at-risk / blocked, with the one-line why), then the delta (what changed since last time — not what exists), then blockers written as asks with names ("blocked on X — need [person] to approve Y by Friday"), then the next milestone with its date. Skimmable in thirty seconds, expandable for the reader who wants more.
What This Skill Produces
The format — state → delta → asks → next, with length budgets per section
A filled example — realistic, showing the delta-not-inventory discipline
The blockers-as-asks rule — every blocker names a person and an action, or it's just weather
The reader-time contract — the 30-second skim layer and the optional depth layer, separated
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
The update's audience and altitude — the manager (risks and asks), the team (coordination detail), stakeholders (outcomes) — one update rarely serves all three; the format flexes or splits
The cadence and the vehicle — weekly in a channel? Biweekly in a doc? The format compresses for chat, breathes in docs
This period's raw material — what actually happened, honestly including the nothing-moved weeks (the format has an honest shape for those too)
Framework: The Format Rules
State leads, unhedged: 🟢 on-track / 🟡 at-risk / 🔴 blocked — plus one line of why. Readers triage by state; burying "we're going to miss the date" in paragraph three is how misses become surprises. A 🟡 with a clear why builds more trust than a 🟢 streak that flips red overnight.
Delta, not inventory: what changed since the last update — shipped, decided, learned, slipped. The inventory ("still working on X, Y continues") is noise wearing progress's clothes; a nothing-moved week says so in one line with the why, which is itself information.
Blockers are asks with names and dates: "blocked on legal review" is weather; "need [name] to approve the DPA by Thu or the launch slips a week" is an ask that can be actioned — by the reader, which is the point of telling them. Every blocker that stays nameless stays blocked.
Next is a milestone with a date: "next: ship the beta to 10 customers by the 28th" — the line that makes the following update verifiable, which is what makes the whole cadence honest. "Continue making progress" is the anti-milestone.
Two layers, visibly separated: the skim layer (state/delta/asks/next — the 30-second contract) and below a divider, the depth (details, links, numbers) for the readers who want it. Respecting the skimmer is what keeps updates read; the depth layer is what keeps them useful.
Output Format
Update: [project] — [date]
State: 🟢/🟡/🔴 — [the one-line why]
Since last time: [2–4 delta bullets — shipped/decided/learned/slipped]
Asks: [each: what, from whom, by when — or "none"]
Next: [milestone + date]
Depth (optional): [details, links, metrics for the interested]