Final answer:
Senior management can best determine the status of ongoing projects through project management plans, bar charts, and milestone reports. These reports provide a high-level view of the project timelines and progress against key objectives, ideal for informed decision-making.
Step-by-step explanation:
To provide summary information to senior management that reflects the status of ongoing projects, certain types of reports are particularly useful. Among the options presented, project management plans, bar charts (such as Gantt charts), and milestone reports would be the most beneficial in providing a high-level overview of project progress and timelines. Detailed cost estimates, while important, tend to offer a deep dive into financial specifics that may not be as useful for a summary view. Senior management is often concerned about the overall health and adherence to key milestones of projects rather than granular financial details at a summary level.
Project management plans offer a broad outlook on the project's intentions, scope, and approach but may not communicate current status as accurately as ongoing reports. Bar charts, especially Gantt charts, provide a visual representation of project schedules, which helps in understanding the sequence and duration of activities against a timeline. Milestone reports focus on significant events or delivery points in a project's timeline, showing progress against planned objectives. These reports are adept at illustrating whether a project is on track or if there are delays that senior management should be aware of. It's important to understand that while senior management requires insights into project progress, the provided content loaded reports must balance detail with clarity to ensure they can comprehend the information quickly and make informed decisions.