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What to Report

November 24, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Communications Management, Performance Reporting

What to Report
By Barry Otterholt

You have one minute and one page. More than that has to be earned.

Sure, your meeting is scheduled for more time and you’ve been given no “one-page” rule, but what you do with the first minute and on the first page will determine whether you have the audience’s interest beyond that or not. Here are some tips I’ve found useful in reporting:

  • Make them curious. The Wall Street Journal gives one or two sentences on the front cover about a story that can be found in more detail inside the newspaper. Give your audience the one or two sentence summary, that will pique their curiosity.
  • Don’t presume they know their job. They are busy. They are likely in a position to know high level but not details. Their focus is on the business-as-usual environment and issues relating to it. Yours is a project, which by definition is being conducted outside of their business-as-usual environment.
  • Make it simple. Don’t require them to search for the point you’re making or the question you’re asking. Sponsors and other stakeholders love when you give them a grasp of the situation in really easy terms.
  • Use numbers and pictures. Well-chosen numbers are powerful. Graphical depictions make it easy.
  • If you don’t have facts, use logic. Often times data isn’t available. That doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist. Where data is lacking, use the “if… then…” logic to shed light on a situation. A useful sequence for logic-based reporting is: 1) this could happen, 2) the likelihood of it happening is [small, moderate, big], and 3) the consequences if it does happen are [small, moderate, big]. It is then easy persuade people to agree that two “bigs” are worrisome, whereas two “smalls” are not.
  • Don’t wait until the problem is so ripe, it’s obvious. You will usually sense a problem before it becomes obvious. The tendency is to wait until it’s obvious to report it. But by then the consequences are worse and the cure can be costly. Don’t wait for facts if your instincts are strong. Sometimes a Sponsor or other Stakeholder will know what you’re sensing and provide useful context, so you can go about solving it sooner.
  • Always offer a solution. It’s why you were selected. They can always opt for another course of action, but give them something to respond to. A blank page is usually not a good starting point when you need to discuss remedies. Odd as it sounds, I’ve found that things are better even when I offer weak ideas than no ideas at all. It gives them an “I don’t like that, but what about this?” way to start.
  • Call out actions required of them. Too often, needed actions are lost in the noise of the report. Restate, in list form at the end of the report, actions that are needed, by whom, and when. Where I sense the need for an extra nudge, I also gently remind them of the consequences of inaction.
  • Always say Yes, but include the cost of the Yes. A sponsor or other stakeholder doesn’t want a “no” or an “I can’t” from you. With that response, you are pushing the project back to them, and they are certainly at a disadvantage compared to you. Instead, inform them of what it would take to deliver something they ask for. If you can’t be precise, then offer a range of possible costs. But always offer them a “yes” and let them judge the merits of the investment, and decide whether or not to make it. It’s their right.
  • Two choices; a specific date or a range of dates. A specific date is seldom made, so must be offered with low confidence. However you can offer a range of dates within which the outcome is very likely. So you can offer that with high confidence.

One last tip: There are two times a Sponsor or other Stakeholder will cancel meetings; when the project is going really well, and when it’s not. It’s up to you to keep them informed. If you keep the information to yourself, you’re accepting responsibility for consequences. Don’t stop reporting just because stakeholders stop requiring it.

Barry Otterholt, CMC, PMP

Barry Otterholt has been a project management specialist and coach for the past 30 years. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He works with both public and private sector companies in the USA, Europe and Scandinavia. Mr. Otterholt was a Director with Microsoft, a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting, and a COO with a nationwide consumer electronics enterprise. In 1988 he founded Public Knowledge, LLC to provide independent management and operational support to the public sector. More recently, he founded Stouffer & Company, LLC to provide as-needed project management services to fill an obvious skills gap in both private and public sectors.

Mr. Otterholt is an adjunct professor teaching project management at Northwest University. His essays on project management have been published in PMI newsletters. His runs a blog, Project Management Essays, where he muses about various project management topics.

Mr. Otterholt is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He has a BA in Accounting and Computer Science and an MBA in Business Administration. He lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 and is filed under Communications Management, Performance Reporting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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