---
name: case-status-update-generator
description: "Converts raw case notes, ticket logs, or activity data into clean, consistent status update summaries formatted separately for internal stakeholders and customers, with a status classification, next steps, owner, and expected resolution date. Use when writing case status updates, summarizing case progress, drafting client-facing or internal case communications, or clearing a backlog of updates across a high case volume."
argument-hint: "[case-notes] [audience]"
allowed-tools: ["Read"]
---

# Case Status Update Generator

## Purpose
Turn messy case notes, ticket threads, or raw activity logs into polished, consistently structured status updates — one version for internal stakeholders and one for customers — so case managers can push out clear, professional updates fast without rewriting from scratch for every case.

## When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Write a status update for one or more open cases
- Summarize case notes into a clean progress update
- Draft a customer-facing update on a case, ticket, or claim
- Draft an internal update for a supervisor, team lead, or cross-functional partner
- Clear a backlog of pending case updates quickly and consistently
- Standardize how their team writes and formats case updates

## Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- **Raw case material**: The notes, ticket thread, activity log, or data dump to convert
- **Case identifier**: Case/ticket number and (if relevant) the customer or account name
- **Audience**: Internal stakeholder, customer-facing, or both versions
- **Case type**: What kind of case this is (support ticket, claim, escalation, service request, investigation, etc.)
- **Current status**: What has just happened or what stage the case is at, if not obvious from the notes
- **Known next step or owner**: If already decided — otherwise the skill infers from the notes
- **Tone preference**: Neutral-professional / warm-reassuring / firm-direct (defaults to neutral-professional)

If audience is not specified, produce both an internal and a customer-facing version. If case type is unclear, infer it from the notes and state the assumption.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Parse and Classify the Raw Material
Read the raw case material and extract the essential facts:
- **What has happened** since the case opened or was last updated (actions taken, findings, communications)
- **What is currently blocking or pending** (waiting on customer, waiting on internal team, waiting on vendor, under review)
- **What is decided vs. still open**
- Strip filler, duplicate log entries, and internal shorthand that won't read cleanly.

Assign a single **status classification** from this standard set:
- **New / Triaging** — received, not yet actioned
- **In Progress** — active work underway
- **Pending – Customer** — awaiting customer response or action
- **Pending – Internal/Third Party** — awaiting another team or vendor
- **Escalated** — elevated for priority or specialist handling
- **Resolved** — closed with outcome
- **On Hold** — intentionally paused

Pick exactly one. If the notes suggest more than one, choose the one that reflects the immediate blocker.

### Step 2: Build the Core Update Facts
Assemble the reusable facts both versions will draw from:
1. **One-line summary**: A single sentence capturing where the case stands right now
2. **What we did**: 2–4 bullet points of concrete actions or progress, in plain past tense
3. **Current status**: The classification from Step 1 plus a one-line reason
4. **Next step**: The single most important next action, with an owner (us or the customer) named
5. **Expected resolution / next update date**: A specific date or timeframe — never "soon" or "shortly"

If any of these cannot be determined from the notes, flag it explicitly rather than inventing it.

### Step 3: Generate the Internal Stakeholder Version
Write for a supervisor, team lead, or cross-functional partner who needs signal fast:
- Lead with the status classification and one-line summary
- Include specifics the customer wouldn't see: root cause notes, internal blockers, risk flags, effort/time spent, escalation triggers
- Be direct — no softening, no reassurance language
- Call out anything requiring a decision or help from the reader

### Step 4: Generate the Customer-Facing Version
Write for the customer or external stakeholder:
- Open with a clear statement of where things stand, in accessible language
- Translate internal jargon into plain terms; remove internal names, tools, and blame
- Confirm what has been done and what happens next, with a date
- Set expectations honestly — if delayed, say so and why, briefly
- Close with a clear point of contact or next-update commitment
- Apply the tone preference; default to neutral-professional and reassuring without over-apologizing

### Step 5: Handle Batches (If Multiple Cases)
When given multiple cases:
- Process each one through Steps 1–4
- Keep formatting identical across all cases so the batch reads as one consistent set
- Present them in a numbered sequence, each with its case identifier as a header

## Output Format
- **Structure**: Per case — a short header (case ID + status classification), then the internal version and/or customer-facing version as labeled blocks
- **Length**: 120–200 words per version per case; scale linearly for batches
- **Format**: Structured update — one-line summary, short bulleted "what we did," and a clear next-step line; prose for the customer-facing body
- **Sections**: Case header → Status classification → Internal version → Customer-facing version → Next update date
- **Tone**: Internal version is direct and signal-dense; customer-facing version is clear, calm, and professional — never vague, never over-apologetic

## Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Each case has exactly one status classification from the standard set
- [ ] Every update names a specific next step with an owner (us or customer)
- [ ] Every update includes a concrete date or timeframe — no "soon," "shortly," or "ASAP"
- [ ] The customer-facing version contains no internal names, tools, jargon, or blame
- [ ] Any fact not present in the source notes is flagged, not invented
- [ ] Batch updates use identical structure and formatting across every case

## Notes
- The most common failure in case updates is a vague next step — always force an owner and a date, even if the date is "next update by [specific day]."
- If the raw notes contain conflicting information, surface the conflict in the internal version rather than smoothing it over in the customer version.
- For sensitive or escalated cases, keep the customer-facing version shorter and more measured — less detail reduces the risk of committing to something the team can't deliver.
- This skill standardizes format; it does not make case decisions. When the notes don't support a next step, say what's needed to determine one.

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## How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in [Anthropic's standard format](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills) — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

**Installing in Claude Code:**
- `~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md` — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
- `<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md` — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

**Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:**

1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

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