10.5 Report Performance

BSBPMG507A Manage Project Communication

10.5 Report Performance

• The process of collecting and distributing performance information, including status reports, progress measurements and forecasts

• Involves the periodic collection and analysis of actual data versus baseline data for Time, Cost, Scope and Quality

• Performance reports provide different levels of information for different audiences

• Undertaken during Monitoring and Control

Initiation Planning Execution Close

Monitor

Control

Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition



• The inputs into Report Performance are –

Project Management Plan

Work Performance Information and Measurements– Deliverable status– Planned versus actual schedule performance– Planned versus actual cost performance– Planned versus actual technical performance

Budget Forecasts

Organisational Process Assets– Project Reporting policies and procedures– Report templates– Defined variance and tolerance limits Initiation Planning Execution Close

Monitor

Control




• Tools and techniques to Report Performance include -


VarianceAnalysis

CommunicationMethods

ForecastingMethods

ReportingSystems

StatusReports

SteeringCommitteeMeetings



Variance Analysis –

After the fact look at what caused a difference between the baseline and actual performance

Common steps are -

– Verify the quality of the information

– Determine the variances, comparing actual information with the project baseline

– Determine impact and resolution options




Forecasting Methods -

The process of predicting future project performance based on the actual performance to date

Time Series Methods – use historical data to predict future outcomes

Causal or Econometric Methods – underlying factors that might influence the deliverable are used to predict future performance

Judgemental Methods – incorporate intuitive judgements, opinions and probability




Reporting Systems –Standard tool for the Project Manager to capture, store and

distribute information to stakeholders about budget, timelines and performance

Enables data and report consolidation and distribution - different levels of information can be distributed to different audiences according to different timeframes

Status Reports -Manual production of status reports by the Project Manager

normally using some form of standard templateDiffering levels of information and timeframes depending on

the audienceCan be a very intensive process, proceeded by status

meetings and capturing of performance dataAdapted from PMBOK 4th Edition



Steering Committee Meetings –

Steering Committees are commonly part of the project governance structure and require particular reporting and status updates

Senior stakeholders may not have time to read and interpret detailed status reports and often convene monthly meeting where the status is presented along with risks, issues and change requests for assistance and decision making purposes

Often requires the preparation of a high level status report, status update presentation, action items and decision logs




• Outputs of this process include –Performance Reports or Status Reports

– Status and progress information

Steering Committee Presentations and Updates– Standard agenda– Status Report and Presentation– Actions Items– Decision Log– Meeting Minutes

Organisational Process Assets– Reporting formats– Lessons learned– Causes and resolution of issues

Change Requests– Recommended corrective and preventative actions required to bring

project back on trackAdapted from PMBOK 4th Edition


Steering Committee Meetings

• Regular meetings with the Project Sponsor, major client and key senior stakeholders

• Hybrid between a presentation and a report

StandardAgenda

PowerPoint Presentation

Status Report Minutes

Action Items

Decision Log


Steering Committee Agenda

• Flexible depending on type of project and style of organisation, typically includes –

Key MessagesProject Status – Time & CostsSummary Performance MetricsScope Management and Change ControlRisks and IssuesDecisions RequiredOptional appendices with more detail –

– Project Structure– Detailed Performance Metrics– Detail to support decisions– Change Control Impact Assessments


Steering Committee Outputs

• Minutes

Attendees

Summary of discussion

• Action Items

Action item progress from last meeting

New action items assigned at meeting

• Decision Log

All key decisions made at all meetings

New decisions made at this meeting


Effective Reports

• Basic good practice includes –

Use ‘Plain English’

Include a Glossary

Table of Contents, Purpose, Summary, Content, Conclusion, Appendices

Right justify text

Use standard styles for consistency

Vary content elements to engage reader e.g. text, dot points, tables

Use Appendices for supporting detail


Effective Reports

• There are many different types of reports used throughout the project lifecycle and in the general business environment including-

Performance Reports – Status Reports

Project Deliverables e.g. Project Charter, Project Management Plan, Requirements, Proposals

Project Finalisation Reports – Post Implementation Review

Regular vs One off Reports

Update Log and Version Control

Distribution List


Project Reporting

• Project reporting is an essential aspect of project management

• Key to stakeholder expectation management and tailored to their requirements and expectations

• Preparing a Project Status report is more than the time taken to type up the report, it also involves monitoring and controlling the project, risk review, financial review etc

• This should be negotiated at the start of project and included in the Project Communication Plan


Project Status Reports

• Performance against plans needs to be assessed and reported at regular intervals to suit the project and stakeholders

• Frequency and detail included depend on project characteristics such as –

Project Size – Timeframe and Budget

Established organisational project governance processes

Risk Level

Specific Audience

Reporting Cycles – weekly vs monthly


Project Status Reports

• Always include the following standard content and then variations based on stakeholder expectations –

Project Name, Project Manager and reporting period

Progress against plan for deliverables and timeframes

Project budget tracking

Explanation of variances

Major Risks, major issues and change requests

Summary status indicators such as traffic lights etc


Project Performance Metrics

• Vary depending on the project management environment of the organisation and the preferences of the Project Manager and Stakeholders

• Most projects aspire to some form of Earned Value Analysis – refer to Australian Standard - Project Performance Earned Value AS 4817-2006


Document Management and Control

• It is possible that all documents issues during a project could be subject subpoena to be used as evidence in litigation

• Document Management and Control is critical –

Project documents must be easily found and retrieved

Specific versions of documents as particular dates must be identifiable

It must be clear that everyone is working from the correct version of the document


Document Management Process

• Requires formal standards and process flow

• All project staff need to adhere to standards for –

Document storage and archival

Document format

Details of author, reviewers and authorisers

Document identification and naming

Document revisions and version control

Document distribution processes

Document security

Documents

10.5 Report Performance