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.

Project management

What separates project from a program is that project has a defined beginning and end, while program is an ongoing operation. In most cases project is launched to establish, adapt or simply improve a product or service and is constraint with several factors such as resources, time, scope etc. Project manager position can vary from one project to another. However, regardless of the subject matter area involved, every project manager has to fulfil a common set of responsibilities and duties to gain a project success. These duties are in relation to the four function of management framework and are as follows; planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

• In the planning phase the project manager defines what needs to be done, by whom and when it has to be done. Planning is an iterative process and is ongoing throughout the lifespan of the project.
• In the organizing phase, the project team structure is analyzed as well as roles and positions are identified.
• The leading phase is ongoing throughout the project. This task can be challenging for new project managers, as it involves a lot of intercommunication skills. The key duties for successfully leading a project includes directing the project team, coordinating activities, assigning team members to tasks alongside motivating the team.
• The controlling phase is all about making sure the project is running according to the plan. This step is very important and has to be well monitored. One of the key controlling duties performed by the project manager is project status reporting, which will be discussed further in the chapter below.

Project management reporting according to PRINCE2 standards

In a successful organization, it is vital to learn from previous experiences. Thus, it is highly recommended to spent time in making a detailed end project report and a lessons report, that highlight what was learned during the lifespan of the project. This can help to improve the estimation for projects the organization will work on in the near future. Before making those reports several things has to be reviewed, such as baseline of the project and approved changes throughout the project. When the project manager prepare the End project report, he has to go through how the project was performed and how it accomplished compared to planned target and tolerances. The results of the project compared to the expected benefit in the business case, the team performance and a review of the project’s product and a brief summary of recommended actions taken, if appropriate. If the project was brought to a premature closure, the end project report should contain documented reasons for the decision.

The lessons report identifies lessons that can be learned from in upcoming projects. The report includes a review what went well and what could have been done better and any abnormal events that the project team was facing in the lifespan of the project that occur a deviation from the scheduled plan. The report should also include useful measurements such as, required effort from the project team, how the quality management approach was designed and developed and statistics on risks and issues.

Application

As mentioned in this article, it is vital to conduct a good communication between all involved in the project. As a project manager, several reports have to be written throughout the project process. When organization is performing according to PRINCE2 standards, the following reports have to be made by the project manager.

Checkpoint report

Used to report status of the work package, written at a frequency which is defined in the work packages. Includes :

• Date of checkpoints
• What period is being followed and what products/activities are being developed by the project team
• Completed products
• Quality management activities that are being carried out and lessons learned.
• Outstanding items from previous reports, actions completed and unresolved issues.
• What is the next step for the following reporting period, what products are planned to be completed prior end of that period.
• Where the project stands compared to the tolerance, such as cost, time, baseline, scope etc.
• Updated risks and issues the project is facing

As people tend to be more motivated when seeing their accomplishment more visually, as well as how far from goals and milestones they are. One way a project manager can do to motivate his project team is to conduct a status report template. According to Template Lab, the following benefits can be attained :

• Focus point more 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.
• The big picture: 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.
• Motivational: 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.

End stage report

Gives the status of the project and a sufficient information for the project board to decide which actions should be taken in the project, such as:

• Authorize next stage
• Modify the next stage
• Put a closure on the project.

The End stage report can take different formats, depending on the project. It can be be done via presentation to the project board, in a document or email issued to the project board or simply included in a project management tool.

Exception report

Used when a stage plan is forecast to exceed the predefined tolerance level. It includes description of the cause of a deviation and what consequences it can affect the project if it is not addressed properly. The exception report is used to inform the project board of the situation, so they can plan which actions should be taken.

Highlight report

Used to provide the project board and other stakeholders a summary of the management stage status of the project

• How it stands
• What is completed
• Which actions will be taken in the next stage

This report is given with regular frequency that can be different from one project to another.

End project report

Purpose? Used to review how the project performed, compared to the plan. The information are used to evaluate the project and authorize a project closure. The report can take various formats as the End stage report. However, the following topics should be covered in the report:

• What can be learned from the project
• Details of unfinished work and ongoing risks in the project
• Project manager‘s report about the project‘ s performance
• Review of the benefits and deviations from the approved business case
• Review of how the project performed against the planned goals and tolerance for project objectives
• Review of the team performance
• A review of what can be learned from, what went well and what could be done better next time

Issue report

An issue report is needed when arisen issues need to be handled systematically. The report includes a description of the issue, impact assessment and recommendation for the problem. The report is created when the issue is arising and is updated when the issue has been verified and closed. According to PRINCE2 standard, the issue report consist of:

• Issue identifier
• Issue type
• Date on which issue was raised
• Name of the individual/team who raised the issue
• Issue report author
• Description of the causes and impacts of the issue
• Impact analysis
• Recommendation
• Priority
• Severity
• Which decision have been taken, by whom and when
• What date the issue was closed

Lessons report

The lessons report can be very helpful when starting a new project. The main purpose of the report is to provoke actions within the organization, so the project team is able to learn from previous mistakes/success on future projects.