Regular project reporting is critical to well communicated and well managed projects. However, project reporting is a tool of the Project Manager and shouldn’t evolve into its own cottage industry. At the beginning of the project, there are three key considerations that Project Managers (and Executives) need to keep in mind when setting up the reporting regime:
- Consistent (and Auditable)
- Timeliness
- Reporting blindspots
Consistent (and Auditable)
Whatever else is decided, regular project reporting must be auditable and consistently calculated. Consistency has two aspects; firstly that the definitions for labels is known and doesn’t change throughout the project - i.e. “late”, “high risk”, “within budget tolerance” are defined, documented and unchanged throughout the project. Secondly, and this is where consistent bleeds into auditable, the calculations that form the report need to be transparent, and identified. That is Project Managers need to resist the urge to curate the numbers with something they know, that doesn’t yet appear in source reporting. Which means if the project is reporting on units available for operators in the field, the project manager can’t curate, or update inventory lists to include units on road, or in boxes not yet available for operators in the field. By resisting this urge, Project Managers will deliver accurate, auditable reporting, that can be repeated by others and provides a reliable metric for Executives to make decisions.
Timeliness
Timeliness involves the balance between when project metrics are available and when the information is required. Ideally project reports are delivered when the information within is useful for executives and at its most accurate. They must also be able to be delivered on the required day, at the agreed interval. The consequences of late reports is concern and uncertainty in the mind of the executives when reporting should be doing the opposite.
Reporting Blindspots
And finally, consideration needs to be given to what to and what not to report. Given that what’s in the report will get the attention and be used to assess the success (or otherwise of the project), Project Managers (and Executives) need to ensure that the metrics selected are accurate indicators of desired project outcomes and not just the work of project. For example, Project Managers need to guard against simple reporting of number of procedures completed, when to do so risks creating a blind spot as to cause - i.e. why are the procedures required.
By spending time considering how a project report will be created, facilitating its consistency and timeliness as well as challenging what is in, and what is left out, Project Managers will ensure that the project reporting effort assists their delivery of the project.
