Do you want to make your project reports really easy to understand and super clear for your stakeholders? Make sure that you include these 3 layout elements. These are the things that I think set your reports out from everyone else’s.
Subheadings
Subheadings break big chunks of text into smaller sections.
You can do this within a cell in Excel or within a table cell in Word, so don’t feel constrained by the text boxes you have to complete. I’ll give you an example. In the weekly report template that I use there is a box for progress this week. In that, I use a subheading which is the name of a major workstream in the project, one that everyone is very interested in right now. Then I use a bulleted list of what was achieved in that area. Then underneath I do another subheading for ‘other progress’ which covers all the other tasks and workstream activity, with another list. So within one box I have used subheadings to break up what I’m talking about and group topics logically together.
You’ll also use the in other types of project communications – most of the articles on this site have subheadings too. See how they make it easier to work out where you are in the article and what the important points are?
Color
Use colour to draw attention to key parts of your report, especially the project status. If you can’t use colour, or know viewed in black and white at least use a colour code like RAG (Red, Amber, Green, which shows if your project is on track, in trouble, or irrecoverable).
You can put your headings in colour, or use a background fill to highlight the project status section in red, yellow or green, for example.
You can also use colour in a different way: through incorporating images into your reports. Often an image will tell a clearer story than a long piece of descriptive text. Screenshots from ScheduleReader for example, can give your readers a snapshot of where you are in the project timeline. Even if they have access to ScheduleReader to see it in real time, a picture embedded in your report (or, even better, hyperlinked back to where they can see ScheduleReader on their own machines) can prompt them to go back and check out the project schedule for more detail.
Lists
I have already talked about using lists in the reports I do. Basically the less text the better. Use bullet points or numbered lists for work completed this week, due next week, top risks, issues, etc. it saves your stakeholders time when they read it as well because they don’t have lots of paragraphs to look through.
Lists can also help you with grammar because they are typically fragments of sentences rather than full sentences.
If you don’t feel confident in your own grammar then pass it to someone else to read. The closer you are to the report, the less likely you are to be able to see the errors, which is why it’s a good idea to leave time between writing it and proofreading it, or you give it to someone else to check for you. Build that time lag into your reporting timetable so you’re never sending out anything that’s been rushed and not adequately checked.
The Benefits of Clear Reporting
By using clear signposting in your reports to point out the important sections, using colour and making use of lists, you actually end up writing less! Your reports are clearer so fewer queries from stakeholders who don’t understand them. In fact, they probably wouldn’t ask if they didn’t understand what you had written. They are more likely to carry on in ignorance so by being clearer you have more chance of increasing understanding and getting people to know more about what you are doing.
Having said that, I do acknowledge that sometimes it takes longer to write a short report than a long one because you have to put more thought into keeping it brief. Editing can take a while. Factor that in if you aren’t used to having to cut your documentation down.
If you include subheadings, lists and use color intelligently in your reporting, you will find that stakeholders consider what you’ve produced to be of better quality. And it should be easier for you to put together because you are focusing on what matters.
What elements do you consider to be important for your reports? What do you make sure to include time and time again? We’d love to know! Tell us in the comments section below.