What is Project Report

Project Report

Whether you are a project engineer or project manager you might have experienced making reports. The project consists of a lot of documents however project reports are made for various stakeholders.

 Usually, the project manager with the help of the project team prepares the reports and shares it with the stakeholders such as management, customers, and project team, etc. In this article, we will discuss the type of projects, the importance of the project reports, and how to make the project reports. Learn Project Management Certification Training at StarAgile with PMP certification.

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Types of Project Report  

 There are 5 types of Project Management Reports they are as follows,

 1.   Status Reports - You might have heard this very often if you are in the project management team that where is the daily project status report? There are various status reports such as Daily status report, Weekly status report, and Monthly status report. These reports are prepared by the project manager to share it with the project sponsor or the top management project board. The daily status report talks about the daily allocation or execution of the tasks and activities to the team members. The weekly consists of a consolidated report of the status of the project over the week. A monthly status project report consists of the progress of the project for over one month. These reports provide who is doing what and what work is going on a daily weekly basis, and monthly basis. They are produced manually or by software. One must make these reports faster and in an automated way without wasting much time.

2.   Risk Reports - Risk reports are produced every month and are prepared by the project manager for the project board. The reports highlight the risks, how it was assessed, how the risks were treated, and what are the residual risks. This report is very important as it highlights the risk profile and how the uncertainty was addressed. You can download the risk profiles from the project management software. Or Have a risk register in the form of an excel sheet that contains all the information. You need to ask and motivate all the team members to update the risk logs so that you get the accurate mention of the risks in the project. Learn how to address risks in the project with the help of Project Manager Certificate Online at StarAgile institute.

3.  Board or Executive reports - This report is tailored to be read by the board or executive. It consists of milestones, the issues, and how the issues were addressed, the position of the budget, and the progress made by the project currently. While preparing the report ensure it is short and crisp and do not produce long PowerPoint presentations with graphics. As the board and executive will usually see the report from email in a smartphone etc. So a pdf report will do for a static report or you can show the live dashboard from the project management software if you are using one. 

4.   Resource Reports - This report consists of who is working on what and how are the resources placed and allocated with work. This may take a lot of time if you are doing manually and may be error-prone. It is better to do with the Gantt chart or integrated timesheet software or project management software. It shows the work break down structure and the resources allocated with tasks. It also highlights the problems if more than one task is allocated to a single resource at the same time. The work will get hampered if you do not plan properly and the project may shift behind schedule. You can see when someone is available for the next work and when the task is completed so that the next person can carry on the task from the previously completed tasks.

5.     Variance Reports - This report provides you whether the project is progressing as planned. Are there any bottlenecks in the project? This question is answered by the variance reports. It provides the metric to track the progress of the project. It provides the cost variance, scheduled variance, and variance of completion.  This report is a great tool for the project manager as he can make informed decisions on the data. It is not only for the project manager but also for the top management to view whether the project is going on smoothly or not. This report can be produced by project management software.

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How to Make A Project Report

There are 7 ways to write reports they are as follows,

1.     Write the clear objective - Do not write the report elaborately or with too many words or jargon. It must be to the point and crisp.

2.     Know who your audiences are - If you are writing a report for your team members then it is different than a report written for the project board or executive. Use graphics, use of communicative language, and use of data as per the audience for the report.

3.     Think about report format and type - You must know that a senior executive report must not be exhaustive but clear, crisp, and simple, and to the point. Use pdf or dashboard when necessary for this. Use PowerPoint for the team members etc

4.     Write only the facts and data - Everyone is so busy in today’s world that they do not want long reports which are based on assumptions and stories. But everyone wants facts, figures, and data in the report.

5.     Structure of the report - Generally there are 4 elements in the report they are as follows.

·       Executive summary

·       Introduction

·       Body

·       Conclusion

6.     Readability - Communication and language place an important factor in the report. Let your report be readable and not too much jargon and readability must not cross 7th-grade students reading ability.

7.     Draft - You might have prepared your report and the first draft is never perfect, prepare it again after leaving after some days or let the report be reviewed by your colleague and then make the report ready after at least 2 iterations. Preparing reports is an art, learn how to prepare reports with PMP Certification Course at StarAgile institute.

Related Blog: Project Management Risk Register

Importance of Project Report

The 7 importance of project reporting are as follows,

1.     It helps to track the progress

2.     It helps to identify and treat risks

3.     You can do cost management through reporting

4.     It gives visibility on the project deliverables, progress, resources, tasks and activities, issues, problems, and risks

5.     It helps to control the project in the right way

6.     It helps to learn the lessons on the project, the best practices and what went right and what went wrong in the project

7.     Finally, it helps to drive the project successfully.

Also Read: Types of Project Management Certification to Pursue

How to get sample project reports

We have discussed the project reports in this article. To make a real project report takes time, experience, and training. You can download reports templates from the internet. However, if you want to see real-life examples of how to make a nice report take up PMP Certification Training Online at StarAgile. StarAgile is a training partner to the Project Management Institute (PMI) for providing PMP Certification Course Online. We recommend you register for the PMP training and reap the benefits such as high salary, high growth, and participation in the PMP community, Delivered by PMI® Authorized Training Partner