Project Management Reporting

Developed by Dana Rut Gunnarsdóttir - in progress

Abstract

Proper communication is one of the key components of successful project management. It helps to make sure vital information are exchanged properly and to control and monitor scheduled tasks proactively. Project status reporting is one way to ensure effective communication is maintained throughout all project phases. The main purpose of reporting is to keep the project stakeholders as well as the internal project board informed of the project status at regular intervals.

By having consistent reporting, proactive actions can be taken to an unexpected risk and issues that can affect the project health such as cost, time schedule, resources etc. A documented history of the project can help organizations to establish lesson learned in their future projects by reviewing and evaluating old projects and see where they succeeded and which difficulties the project team was facing. The frequency of reporting varies from project to project depending on various factors such as stakeholders, project size, risk, complexity. However, status reports are only a formal document that summarize the progress of the project and should not replace ongoing project communications between project manager, project teams and other relevant parties.

This article will discuss different types of reporting that project manager has to follow to ensure high quality management throughout the project. Many different methods exist in project management, but most widely used method is the PRINCE2. According to PRINCE2, each project consists of seven processes; Starting up a project, initiating a project, directing a project, controlling a stage, managing a stage boundary, managing product delivery and finally closing a project. For each step reporting is essential to keep internal and external partners informed. This methodology will be used as a guideline when discussing different types of reporting.

Status report template

About status report template .. picture?

Benefits of making a status report template

People tend to be more motivated when seeing their accomplishment more visually as well as how far from goals and milestones they are. The following list, shows why making a status report template can be beneficial.

• Focus point clear: All involved focus on same issues each and every week.
• Clarifies activities of the project: Projects can have several complexities and having a visual template can help to clarifies these things and bring them forward. In the report template, milestones can be highlighted so team members are all aware what they are aiming for in their work, which accomplishments they have achieved etc. Any concerns regarding issues and delays that can affect the project budget can also be involved in the project template, to keep everyone informed.
• Keeps projects progress documented: Even though the project manager is not around, the project does not have to go on hold, as the team members can use the report as a reference.
• To see the bigger picture of the project: By seeing the bigger picture of the project, all the process and what needs to be done can be seen more clearly. This leads to better decision making for the success of the whole project.
• Keeps all involved updated: One of the most important in successful project management, is to keep everyone updated.
• Enforces regular analysis of the project’s performance: Makes the project manager perform a regular analysis of the project’s performance and what actions need to be taken.
• Motivating for all involved: The status report template is motivating and inspiring for the project participants. By seeing the milestones and accomplishments gives the team a motivation to keep on working on the project.