Skip to main content

RAG Status Indicators: Best Practices for Project Health

Red/Amber/Green (RAG) status indicators are the universal language of project health. When implemented well, they give managers and stakeholders instant visibility without lengthy status meetings.

What Makes a Good RAG System

The best RAG implementations share three qualities:

  1. Clear definitions — everyone agrees on what red, amber, and green mean
  2. Consistent updates — status is refreshed regularly, not just before reviews
  3. Actionable — a red status triggers a specific response, not just anxiety

Defining Your RAG Criteria

Green — On Track

  • Delivery is on schedule (within 5% of planned timeline)
  • No blocking issues
  • Resource allocation is stable
  • Stakeholder expectations are aligned

Amber — At Risk

  • Timeline slippage of 5-15%
  • Blocking issues exist but have mitigation plans
  • Resource constraints emerging
  • Scope changes under discussion

Red — Off Track

  • Timeline slippage exceeding 15%
  • Critical blocking issues without clear resolution
  • Key resources unavailable
  • Major scope or requirements changes

Implementing RAG in Jira

Native Jira doesn't include visual RAG indicators. Traffic-Lights for Jira adds color-coded status fields to any issue type, with dashboard gadgets for portfolio-level views.

Setting Up Traffic-Lights

  1. Install from the Atlassian Marketplace
  2. Add the traffic-light custom field to your issue screens
  3. Configure default status per project
  4. Create dashboard gadgets for team and portfolio views

Dashboard Strategy

Create three levels of dashboards:

  • Team dashboard — individual issue status for the team lead
  • Program dashboard — project-level aggregation for program managers
  • Portfolio dashboard — cross-project health for executives

Common Mistakes

  • Too many colors — stick to three. Adding "blue" or "grey" creates confusion
  • Status inflation — everything is green until it's suddenly red. Encourage honest amber reporting
  • Update lag — stale status is worse than no status. Update at least weekly
  • No escalation path — define what happens when something goes red

Beyond Manual Updates

The most mature teams combine manual RAG assessment with automated signals from Jira data — sprint velocity trends, blocker counts, and timeline adherence can automatically flag issues for review.

Try Traffic-Lights for Jira — the only RAG status app with the "Runs on Atlassian" Forge badge.