Status Update Checklist

Use this checklist when updating project status to ensure ALL documentation stays synchronized.

Files to Update When Status Changes

When marking a milestone as complete or updating progress, check ALL these files:

1. RECOMMENDATIONS.md

Update header status line
Update current milestone/phase progress
Update "Completed Tasks" section
Move "Active Tasks" to "Completed Tasks" if done
Update "Next Focus" section
Update "Last Updated" date

2. README.md

Update "Current Status" section
Update "Recent Updates" or changelog section
Update any progress indicators
Update footer status/date if present

3. DOCS.md (if exists)

Update relevant phase/milestone descriptions
Update changelog reference
Update "Current Development Status" section

4. Phase/Milestone Documentation (if exists)

Update status header
Update progress percentage
Update "Overall Progress" section
Update "Last Updated" date

5. CHANGELOG.md (if exists)

Add new entry for completed work
Follow semantic versioning or project conventions

Quick Commands to Find Status References

# Search for progress indicators across documentation
grep -ri "progress\|status\|complete\|in progress\|todo" \
  RECOMMENDATIONS.md README.md DOCS.md docs/

# Search for date references that may need updating
grep -ri "last updated\|updated:\|date:" \
  RECOMMENDATIONS.md README.md DOCS.md

# Find percentage indicators
grep -r "[0-9]\+%" RECOMMENDATIONS.md README.md DOCS.md docs/

Standard Update Workflow

Identify — What milestone/task was completed?
Check ALL — Go through this entire checklist
Update — Edit all relevant files in one batch
Verify — Run grep commands to ensure consistency
Commit — Single commit with all changes together

# Good workflow — atomic updates
git add RECOMMENDATIONS.md README.md DOCS.md CHANGELOG.md docs/
git commit -m "docs: update status for [milestone/feature] completion"

# Bad workflow — fragmented updates
git commit -m "Update RECOMMENDATIONS.md"
# ... later notice README not updated
git commit -m "Update README.md too"
# ... creates inconsistent history

Principles

Atomic updates — All status changes in one commit
Consistency — Same information across all docs
Discoverability — Users should find accurate status anywhere
Traceability — Clear commit history of progress

Customization

Adapt this checklist for your project:

Add project-specific files — Include any additional docs that track status
Define status indicators — Decide on consistent progress format (%, fractions, checkboxes)
Set update triggers — Define what events require a status update
Assign ownership — Who is responsible for keeping docs in sync?

Remember: When status changes, update EVERYTHING at once. No exceptions.

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