template · weekly client update

Weekly client update template

Copy-paste skeleton. Three sections, under 200 words. Sent the same day, the same time, every week. Consistency is the contract.

How to use

Replace every [...] with concrete content. The shape does not change week to week — only the content. If you find yourself adding sub-sections, you are bound for the bi-weekly sync, not the weekly update.

Subject: 200apps × [client name] · Week of YYYY-MM-DD

WHAT SHIPPED THIS WEEK
- [Shipped item 1 — in the client's language, not internal
   jargon. One line outcome they can recognise: who can now
   do what, or what changed in the system.]
- [Shipped item 2]
- [Shipped item 3 — most weeks ship 2–3 items; one or zero
   is data, name it as such.]

IN PROGRESS
- [Item 1 — what it is, expected ship date.
   "Hebrew-name flow for cohort 2 — flag-flip 2026-05-21."]
- [Item 2 — what it is, expected ship date.
   If the date slipped from prior week, name the slip and
   the new date.]

BLOCKED
- [Blocker 1 — what is blocked, who/what is blocking it,
   what would unblock it.]
[If nothing is blocked: "Nothing blocked this week."]

Next sync: [day, date, time, timezone — confirms the cadence.]

Best,
[Name (PO)]

Worked example — Friday, mid-cycle, mixed news

Subject: 200apps × Pilot Schools · Week of 2026-05-22

Hi Maya,

## WHAT SHIPPED THIS WEEK
- Grading shortcut went live for the 5 pilot schools on
  Wednesday at noon. First 48-hour watch clean — adoption
  at 78% by Friday morning across teachers who graded.
- The dashboard's "All graded" empty state ships with the
  next deploy on Tuesday.

## IN PROGRESS
- Watching pilot dashboards; signal check date is 2026-06-25.
  We'll bring the result to the bi-weekly sync after that.
- Hebrew language-pack timing — three pilot teachers reported
  a 2-3 second "freeze" feel at submit. We're observing on
  Sunday with one of them; will report next week.

## BLOCKED
- We're blocked on a decision about multi-section grading
  scope for cycle 6. We've asked the heads-of-grade at two
  pilot schools to weigh in by Wednesday 2026-05-28. If we
  don't hear back, we'll default to single-section only.

Next sync: Tuesday 2026-05-28, 14:00 Israel time.

Best,
Alex

A worked example that goes wrong — and what to do

Subject: Weekly update

Hi,

Good progress this week! The team is making strides on
several fronts. We have some exciting developments coming
soon, and we're excited to share more in our next sync.

Best,
Alex

Why this fails: WHAT SHIPPED is missing (no specifics). IN PROGRESS is vague. BLOCKED is hidden. The client cannot scan it; cannot file it; cannot trust it.

Fix: every line names a specific thing. "Submit shortcut went live for 5 schools Wed at noon" — not "good progress."

Where this lives in your project

The update is sent in email by default (the channel a client is most likely to scan within 24 hours). Some teams use a shared Notion or Confluence page if the client prefers it. Never sent only in Slack or Teams — those channels are not archival for the client side.

The PO sends; CC the team's leadership if the contract calls for it. Subject line follows the same shape every week — search-friendly across a year of updates.

What to do if a section resists

Resistance	What it means	Where to go
WHAT SHIPPED is empty	The week shipped nothing — or shipped infra-only work the client doesn't see	Name it: No client-visible changes this week. Behind the scenes: [one line]. Empty is data.
IN PROGRESS has 10 items	The team is fragmented across too much work	Cut to the 3–4 the client cares about; the rest is internal
BLOCKED is paraphrased as "in progress"	The PO is hedging	Move it. We are blocked on X by Y; we have asked Z by W.
A date slipped, you don't want to name it	The temptation to defer the awkward update	Name it. The surprise at the next sync is the larger cost.
Update goes over 200 words	Surplus is hiding hard news in volume	Cut. Surplus belongs at the bi-weekly sync.

Cadence

• When: same weekday, same time, every week. Friday before the team's wrap is the corpus default.
• Where: the named client contact's preferred channel. Archival, not chat.
• How long: under 200 words. Five minutes to write if the week's work was tracked; ten if it wasn't.
• What it feeds: the bi-weekly sync. The sync reads against the two prior weekly updates.

See also

• Practice — Weekly client update
• Checklist — Weekly update · three sections, 200 words
• Canon — After We Build · The Ongoing Relationship
• Template — Release brief to client — bound to a specific release; supplements the weekly update