Projektstatusrapporter är ett ständigt faktum för alla projektledare. De flesta projektledare skapar minst en projektstatusrapport per projekt och vecka, men det antalet kan snabbt öka om chefen behöver rapportera oftare eller rapportera separat till olika grupper av intressenter.
Unfortunately, when it comes to status reports, practice does not always make perfect. Project managers, even those who have written hundreds of reports in the past, often make their own lives more difficult by omitting important information or including more details than are necessary. Before you sit down to create your next project management status report, take a moment to review these tips.
Inkludera en sammanfattning på hög nivå
How certain can you be that your audience will read your report all the way through? If you use a standard project status report template for all of your reports, consider adding a space near the top for a quick summary of what’s included in the report below. A sentence or two stating that the project remains on track, or (if needed) highlighting a few key areas of concern, can help ensure that stakeholders get the critical information they need, even if they get distracted before reading the rest. These quick summaries can also help set the right tone and expectations at the beginning of status update calls or meetings.
Ge de senaste siffrorna
Other than your high-level summary, the most important information you can provide in a status report is up-to-date data on project financials and timelines. The specific metrics you use and the level of detail you provide will depend on your audience and the project, but every status report should let team members and other stakeholders know how the project is performing compared to its budget and schedule. Project management solutions like Planview AdaptiveWork make it easy to pull real-time data in these areas, so there’s no excuse for leaving them out of your reports.
Identifiera riskområden och frågor
Every project manager needs to pay special attention to risk management. In addition to identifying risks in the first place, PMs should help their teams maintain ongoing awareness of them by adding risk discussions to meeting agendas and project status reports. You should also be sure to provide the latest information on any issues that have already emerged, including notes on how the team plans to resolve them.
Lev inte i det förflutna
Naturligtvis kommer huvuddelen av din rapport att handla om saker som redan har hänt, men framgångsrika PM:er använder också sina statusrapporter för att kommunicera planen för den kommande veckan. Se till att du listar de uppgifter som planeras att slutföras, tillsammans med uppgifter om viktiga möten eller milstolpar som kommer att äga rum mellan din nuvarande rapport och nästa (lika perfekta) projektstatusrapport.
Also, be aware there is a bright future for project managers who are now able to automate their reports with a modern project management tool like Planview AdaptiveWork. Project managers can literally “get their lives back” when they remove themselves from the manual process of report creation.
Want to know more? Take a Planview AdaptiveWork product tour today.
