Monthly Review

Conduct a monthly review of project alignment and progress toward aims.

When to Use

• First week of each month (RA will prompt)
• After completing a major milestone
• When feeling uncertain about direction
• Before reporting to PI/collaborators

Execution Steps

1. Gather Context

Read these files:

• .research/project_telos.md – Aims and goals
• .research/phase_checklist.md – Phase progress
• .research/logs/weekly/*.md – All weekly reviews this month
• .research/logs/monthly/ – Previous monthly reviews
• manuscript/ – Manuscript progress
• Git log for the month

2. Generate Monthly Review

# Monthly Review: [MONTH YEAR]

## Executive Summary

**Project**: [Project name from project_telos.md]
**Current Phase**: [PHASE]
**Overall Health**: 🟢 On Track / 🟡 Needs Attention / 🔴 At Risk

## Progress Against Aims

### Aim 1: [Title]
- **Status**: [Not started / In progress / Complete]
- **Progress this month**: 
  - [Specific accomplishment]
  - [Specific accomplishment]
- **Blockers**: [None / List]
- **On track for completion?**: [Yes/No - by when]

### Aim 2: [Title]
- **Status**: 
- **Progress this month**: 
- **Blockers**: 
- **On track?**: 

### Aim 3: [Title]
[Continue pattern]

## Phase Progress

| Phase | Last Month | This Month | Change |
|-------|------------|------------|--------|
| SETUP | ✅ | ✅ | - |
| PLANNING | 80% | ✅ | Completed |
| DEVELOPMENT | 20% | 60% | +40% |
| ANALYSIS | 0% | 10% | Started |
| WRITING | 0% | 0% | - |
| REVIEW | 0% | 0% | - |

## Manuscript Status

| Section | Status | Last Updated |
|---------|--------|--------------|
| Background | [Draft/Revision/Complete] | [Date] |
| Methods | [Draft/Revision/Complete] | [Date] |
| Results | [Draft/Revision/Complete] | [Date] |
| Discussion | [Not started/Draft/Complete] | [Date] |

## Key Metrics

### Productivity Dashboard
| Metric | Target | Achieved | YTD Total |
|--------|--------|----------|----------|
| Weekly reviews completed | 4 | | |
| Active coding days | 15 | | |
| Commits | 20 | | |
| Scripts documented | | | |
| Figures generated | | | |
| Manuscript sections drafted | | | |

### Pipeline
- DVC stages defined: [N]
- Pipeline runs successfully: [Yes/No]
- Figures generated: [N]

### Off-Track Indicators

Check for these warning signs:

- [ ] Behind schedule by >2 weeks on milestones
- [ ] Same blocker appearing across multiple weeks
- [ ] Scope expanding without adjustment
- [ ] Key decisions being deferred
- [ ] Documentation falling behind

## Next Month Goals

### Must Complete
1. [Critical goal]
2. [Critical goal]

### Should Complete
1. [Important goal]
2. [Important goal]

### Stretch Goals
1. [Ambitious goal]

## Action Items

- [ ] [Specific action from this review]
- [ ] [Specific action]

---

*Review completed: [TIMESTAMP]*
*Next monthly review: [DATE]*

3. Save Review

Save to .research/logs/monthly/YYYY-MM.md

4. Suggest Next Steps

Monthly review saved!

Based on your progress:

A) Adjust project timeline or scope
   [If off-track indicators detected]

B) Update aims or methodology
   [If direction has shifted]

C) Plan next month's priorities
   Run /plan_week for immediate focus

D) Continue with current work
   You're on track!

What would you like to focus on?

Related Skills

• weekly-review – Tactical progress
• quarterly-review – Strategic alignment
• next – Get next suggestion