Narrative Updates
What is an Update?
An update is a timestamped, free-text log entry attached to your project. It is not a comment thread — it is a structured decision record. Each update captures what changed, why it changed, and what the impact is on the plan.
Updates sit on the project timeline alongside tasks and milestones, giving any reader a complete picture of both what was planned and what actually happened.
The Decision Audit Trail
Projects are shaped by decisions, not just tasks. When the deadline shifts, when scope is cut, when a risk materializes — those are the events that actually explain the final outcome. Narrative updates let you record these moments on the timeline so that months later, anyone can reconstruct the full story of the project.
Without an audit trail, a project’s history is visible only through its final state. With one, every fork in the road is preserved.
What to Log
Log anything that changes the trajectory of the project:
- Schedule changes with the reason — e.g. “Backend API delayed by 3 days — blocked on third-party dependency”
- Scope decisions — e.g. “Feature X descoped by product team for MVP — moved to v1.1”
- Risk materializations — e.g. “Infrastructure risk #4 occurred — contingency plan activated”
- Stakeholder communications — e.g. “Client approved revised timeline on March 4, 2026”
The goal is not to log everything — it is to log anything that a future reader would need in order to understand why the plan looks the way it does.
Updates vs Task Comments
| Task Comments | Narrative Updates | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Implementation detail | Strategic record |
| Audience | The team delivering the work | Stakeholders, leads, future reviewers |
| Examples | PR links, implementation notes, blockers | Scope changes, deadline shifts, risk events |
| Visibility | On a specific task | On the project timeline |
Use both, but keep them at the right level. Task comments are for how — updates are for why.
Structure of an Update
Each update contains:
- Author — who logged the entry
- Timestamp — when it was recorded
- Title — a single-line summary of what changed
- Body — narrative text describing the context, decision, and impact
Future roadmap includes linking updates to specific tasks or milestones, so that each record is anchored to the part of the plan it affected.