Good Practices for Monthly Reporting

 

One of the most obvious and far reaching arteries in the body of the project Communication Plans are the reports from the project team and contractors. The content of these reports is the life blood of the communication network to provide readers with objective information on the health of the project and individual contracts contributing to project realization.

From my experience on design and construction projects in the rail transit industry, the progress reports issued by the Project Manager (PM) will define current status and identify key performance indicators throughout the project life cycle. In addition to management accountability, the reports become the historical records for future use in planning projects and contracts. The reports provide data that can be used for estimates, schedules, production rates, and durations for design and construction processes as well as other qualitative project management knowledge areas such as risk management, quality, safety, procurement planning and contract administration.

Depending on the targeted audience, the monthly progress reports by the PM can have many formats, varied levels of content detail and different publishing and distribution dates. Reports may be tailored for internal customers, funding partners, executive management and oversight consultants. However, it is imperative that published reports use the same data base so that metrics match from report to report for the same reporting period.

Project Monthly Report content may include categorized topics such as: A) Project Scope/Description of Work/Project Changes. B) Summary Schedule/Project Milestones. C) Project Progress – Planned and Actual, Intermediate (Contractor) Milestones. D) Current Status-Reporting Period. E) History of Completed Work Milestones. F) Financial – Budget and Expenses. G) Other: Contingency Management, Contract Management, Risk Management, Resource Management.

Contractor Monthly Progress Report content may include categorized topics such as: A) Executive Summary, Contractor PM Assessment, and Issues Affecting Progress. B) Contract Scope/Description of Work. C) Summary Schedule/ Contract Milestones. D) Contract Progress – Planned and Actual. E) Subcontractor Milestones. F) Current Status-Reporting Period. G) Status Section – Critical Issues, Correspondence, Submittals, Deliverables, Contract Changes, Invoices. H) Financial Summary – Contract Amount, Payments, Proposed Changes. I) Other: Resource Management, Quality, Safety, Materials Management, Code Compliance. J) Attachments: Progress Photographs, Schedule, Logs, Certifications.

Good Practices for Monthly Reports
• Identify Project report requirements in the Project Management Plan (PMP)-Communication Plan, and in Project Management Office (PMO) procedures
• Specify Contractor report requirements contract documents
• Assure Key Performance Indicators (KPI) complement all type reports and supporting data is available to PMO and PM
• Ensure content, format, and language is consistent across all reports
• List contact information for PM and other primary content contributors

Good Practices for Distribution and Review
• Use a standard list of recipients including all project team members, designated PMO officers, and other targeted audience
• Distribute in a format that is readable across electronic medium such as tablets, and iPhone
• Discuss monthly reports at project/progress meetings
• Transmit reports with cover letter that summarizes PM cursory comments and assessments, items of interest, and items requiring project team action

TIP: KPIs that reflect unfavorably for multiple reporting periods and across significant number of projects in a program should be re-assessed against original assumptions.

TIP: PMO procedure should identify variance thresholds for KPI and planned/actual metrics where reports are required to specify PM project performance assessment and corrective action.

TIP: Photographs should integrated in reports and they should be updated for each reporting period, captioned, and reasonably reflect field conditions - no more than one month earlier.      

NEW TIP:   Report format, content and distribution cycle should be aligned with the client’s unwritten expectations.

NEW TIP:    Distribution cycles should be timed to allow the readers to assess project health, undertake action and initiate decisions with the best data available.    Some reports are published 10 calendar days after the reporting period (Best), while others may be up to 10 weeks after the reporting period (Worst).  

NEW TIP:   Metrics and content should be rigorously tested and validated against leading indicators such as:  A) % Earned Value Remaining VS % Project Duration Remaining.   B) Manpower Headcount Available VS Manpower Headcount Required.    C)  % Budget Remaining VS % Project Duration Remaining.