Exploring trends and developments
in project management today.
Progress Reporting
Progress reporting is a key activity of project management. The project manager issues regular reports of progress against budget, schedule and scope. Include these people on the circulation list:
- Project Sponsor
- Budget Holder
- Senior Users
- Team Members
Keep the report brief and sum up the key points in the project. I recommend this simple format on a maximum of 2 pages:
- Report Date
- Overall Status
- Project Summary
- Key Issues
- Identified Risks
- Tasks and Next Steps
- Decisions Needed
- Key Future Dates
- Budgeted Cost
- Spend to Date
Anyone reading the report must be made fully aware of progress and know when their help is needed to keep the project on track.
Keeping people updated ensures they remain involved and committed. Regular communication is essential to the well-being of any project. Common failings in this area are:
- Poor communication channels
- Lack of honest communication
- Unwillingness to communicate bad news
- Not asking for help when it's needed
Regular progress reporting creates a valuable written record of a projects' life. Later you can look back and decide how to improve the running of future projects.
Related Articles
How to Deliver Project Status
Status is project management communication, and any channel of communication available to you is a possible delivery method for status. There are two basic kinds of delivery method: presentation and verbal. When you give status in presentation format, you have a reference document that you are reviewing with a group of people. When you give status verbally, you are delivering it without much preparation and without referring to a common document.
How to Report Status on a Project
Your boss has asked you to take the lead on a project in your company. Maybe you are a project manager, or maybe you are not. One thing is certain. Very few people know how to report status on a project, even when they are expert project managers. Here are some basic rules of reporting status that you can use to further your reputation as someone who knows how to keep management and the project team informed and drive a project to success.
Essential Documents to Manage Your Projects
If you want your project to succeed, you need to spend a little time managing it. The trouble is, most people see project management as a big overhead. What is the number one thing you need to do to successfully manage your project that doesn't take up much time?
21 Ways to Excel at Project Management
The popular project management eBook now fully updated and available as a website for the first time.
Works as a good refresher if you are making a project plan after a while.