Pulse
Auto-generated project status updates
Thesis
'How's the project going?' requires chasing people. AI can synthesize status from existing communication and tools.
The Problem
Status updates are broken: PMs spend hours chasing people for updates. By the time the report is compiled, it's already stale. Nobody reads the 2-page update anyway. Stakeholders just want to know: on track or not? The information exists. It's in Slack threads, email chains, and ticket comments. It just takes forever to synthesize.
Implementation Approaches
Multi-Source Synthesis (Recommended)
Pull from Slack, email, tickets, and time logs to generate status
Implementation
- →Connect Slack, email, Jira/Linear/Asana, time tracking
- →AI synthesizes activity into structured status
- →Output: what happened, blockers, risks, next steps
- →Scheduled delivery (weekly) or on-demand
- →Stakeholder-appropriate summaries (exec vs team)
Pros
- +Eliminates status meeting prep entirely
- +Always current, based on real activity
- +Flywheel: learns what 'good status' looks like
- +Connects naturally to Guildry's project view
Cons
- −Lots of integrations to build and maintain
- −Quality depends on team actually using those tools
- −Privacy concerns with broad access
- −Synthesis accuracy is critical
Slack-Only
Generate status from Slack activity in project channels
Implementation
- →Slack bot watches project channels
- →Summarizes: key updates, decisions, blockers mentioned
- →Weekly digest or on-demand /pulse command
- →Highlights threads that need attention
Pros
- +Single integration, faster to build
- +Many teams already discuss in Slack
- +Lower privacy scope
- +Can expand to other sources later
Cons
- −Misses work that happens outside Slack
- −Quality depends on Slack communication culture
- −Some teams don't use Slack for project work
Template + AI Fill
AI helps fill standard status template from prompts
Implementation
- →Standard status template with sections
- →AI prompts user with smart questions
- →Suggests content based on last update + time passed
- →User reviews and sends
Pros
- +Fastest to build, no integrations
- +Works for any team/tool setup
- +User stays in control of content
- +Good starting point to learn what works
Cons
- −Still requires user effort
- −Not truly automated
- −Doesn't solve the 'chasing people' problem
Validation Plan
Hypothesis to Test
PMs will pay $19/user/mo to generate project status updates automatically
Validation Phases
Manual Synthesis
1 week- •Get Slack export from 2 active projects
- •Manually synthesize weekly status using Claude
- •Show to PMs: 'Is this accurate? Would you send this?'
- •Understand: what's missing, what's wrong
Slack Bot MVP
2 weeks- •Build Slack bot with /pulse command
- •Summarize last 7 days of channel activity
- •Test with 5 project channels across 2 teams
- •Iterate on summary quality
Multi-Source Beta
2 weeks- •Add one more source (Jira or Linear)
- •Combine for richer status
- •Test scheduled delivery vs on-demand
- •Validate pricing at $19/user/mo
Kill Criteria
Stop and move on if any of these become true:
- ✕Synthesis quality too inconsistent
- ✕Teams don't communicate enough in connected tools
- ✕PMs prefer manual control over automated status
- ✕Price sensitivity below $10/user/mo