It's no secret that quality project reports play an essential role in project management. A good report makes the team confident when making decisions. In addition, they also play a role in satisfying increasing demands from client's requests for accurate and timely project data.
But no one likes to make reports because they are tedious and time-consuming. And the fact is that a project is impossible without a report. Some projects require you to generate reports throughout their life cycle. So how to improve project quality? Let's discuss eight ways to make your report stand out in this post!
What makes a good project report
The report's purpose is to provide stakeholders with progress updates and identify project issues. The details may vary, but all project reports must include the following information:
- Project milestones
- Project update
- Project health
- Tasks
Its function is to provide a high-level overview of where things are. Stakeholders want to get a glimpse of the project's update, so your report needs to identify these things:
- Assessment of project progress against the plan. Is it progressing according to the timeline or faster/slower?
- Summary of actual costs to budget. Does the budget meet or exceed?
- Team performance. Is the team's performance good or not?
- Project risk. Is the project risk profile changing and are actions required?
- Resource status. Is the resource still sufficient, or does it need to be re-requested?
- An overview of the changes. What are the project bottlenecks? Are there any points that need updating?
8 ways to make your project report stand out
There are eight ways to make project reports stand out. Let's learn one by one!
1. Collect quality data
In any business, up-to-date and accurate data is the key to making the right decisions. This is also true in project management, where the consequences of poor decision-making are far-reaching. This is why it is crucial to collect quality and related data throughout the project cycle. Through data, project managers (PMs) can track achievements, progress, and other metrics to identify issues and correct them before it's too late.
In short, collecting quality data is vital for project management, especially in creating project reports. Without it, the project is likely to fail.
2. Make clear and concise timesheets
Regular schedules are not sufficient in project reports. It should be concise yet complete, so it has all the information. When readers see it, they can easily understand it.
Use weekly and monthly timesheets. Don't forget to include the resource name, task, date, day and result of the work. It's better to use time management tools integrated with project management tools, resulting in automatic absences.
3. Comprehensive project status
The report you create must explicitly convey the project status. Status not only contains project progress but also includes other data such as:
- Variations between estimated and actual costs
- Pending deadlines
- Schedule differences from plans and real-time
- Remaining tasks
- Possible risks and issues
You must create comprehensive reports from all possible angles. Try to think from the side of the team and stakeholders so that the reports you create are easy to understand.
4. Visualise data and capacity utilisation
Remember that a picture may be worth a thousand words, which can be the key to keeping the project on track. So visualise the existing data. The reporting and tier identification process is faster when viewing critical information in an easy-to-digest format.
Visualise capacity utilisation or project resource reports. It would be best if you separated billable utilisation from total resource utilisation. So create a separate column for each data. You can also enter the names of team members to reward their performances.
5. Project portfolio analysis
When you manage more than one project and need to create a report to analyse your portfolio, you need to be more detailed. First, create a dashboard to save project reports, then list all project names in bold. This process will make visualisation easier.
Put files about project summaries such as progress, achievements, budget deadlines, and resource allocations in one place. Again, you can visualise the data, so it's easier to summarise.
The project analysis process, of course, cannot be separated from reviewing reports regularly. The review process is vital to help identify issues in the project early on. It also speeds up the process of troubleshooting issues that cause further damage. Plus, you can enhance the reporting process more efficiently and effectively by reviewing reports regularly.
6. Add interactive charts and graphics
Whatever type of report you create, readers will prefer interactive charts. They are exciting and comfortable to read. Rows and columns full of numeric data make people disinterested. So, instead, create charts and graphics that display data. Paying attention to the type of graph with data is also essential. Do not use charts that do not match the existing data.
7. Use templates to generate reports
One way to improve the project report is to use templates. Templates provide a structure for creating reports so that multiple people can work on them simultaneously. This is undoubtedly useful on large projects.
Templates make sure everyone includes information that is important for their part. The result? Certainly more accurate and complete. Consistency of style and format also helps improve the quality. This makes reports easy to read and understand.
8. Provide a place for feedback
Every report requires feedback, either positive or negative. Well, all project reports should include a section for providing feedback. So you don't need to ask for feedback separately. The feedback column indicates that you are willing to make improvements and accept suggestions.
Summary
There are many tracking, improvement and analysis patterns from to-do lists and deadlines to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. Of course, with minimal issues.
Well, one way to understand the project is to make regular reports. Reports make it easier for you to know the current project situation. You can highlight which areas are developing, need improvement or are under-budgeted.
It is essential to suit your needs to get maximum results. The report revolves around the content, but it never hurts to improve. Use the eight ways above to make your report outstanding. See how a report can improve your project management!
