Despite the fact that each company has its own reporting standards, there are key elements that should be included in each of them.
General information
At the very beginning of the report is to give general information about the project and its current state.
Literally several sentences or theses
Perhaps the manual will not have time to read beyond this point, but they will already be able to get certain information. At what stage is the project? What is next? Are there any serious problems? With the chicago writing format you can find the solutions now.
Progress on control points
If the project is carefully planned out, then most likely in the plan are the dates of the beginning and end of specific operations on the project. They should be included in the report, as well as indicate how the project fits within these deadlines. If any tasks are still in progress, you can indicate their readiness as a percentage.
Depending on how detailed information the addressee requires, the degree of detail of the plan also varies. This can be either a progress report on the implementation, or just basic control points.
Key issues
Even with good planning, most projects encounter problems on their way. There is a temptation to downplay their number or significance, especially if the report is intended for a person who is seriously interested in the success of the project. But it is necessary to clearly identify these problems for the following reasons:
One of the main tasks of a project manager is to help solve problems during project execution. The sooner the problem becomes known, the easier it will be to cope with it, with the help of the resources possessed by the superior person.
If the project does not go as planned, it will be better if this is known in advance. At an early stage, you can try to find a solution and still meet the deadlines or make some other adjustments to the project. The last thing any project needs is problems that they will learn about at the last moment.
The next steps
If the report talks about problems, you need to try to propose solutions. For each problem mentioned in the report, the steps to be taken should be described. Even if you ask for support or assistance in the report, suggest at least a draft outline.
It is also worth mentioning the scheduled tasks. For example, what is planned before the next report? What is the next milestone in the project. From the report it should be clear where the project is going.
Visualize
A simple graphic is able to speak more clearly about the status of a project than a few pages of text. You can find the right visualization tool for any kind of information.
Color indicators
Use primary colors: red, yellow, and green to mark the status of a project or individual tasks. Without explanation, it is clear that the task marked in red is behind the schedule. Histograms Simply and clearly show the extent to which each task.
