The Resourceful Reporter, Part 20: Internal Proposals

Part 1 of this series introduces three types of reports: descriptive reports, which provide facts only; analytical reports, which provide facts along with their interpretation; and persuasive reports, which expand the facts and their interpretation to their justification or to requested actions or investments from people who have the option to decline the request. Convincing someone to put their money on the table and their reputation on the line requires some serious persuasion, hence the name of this third report category. 

This post begins a five-part series on persuasive reports. Internal proposals, our starting point, can be solicited or unsolicited by management. Each type requires different levels of content.

A solicited proposal may need less backstory because those who requested it are already aware of the business issue, so they may  want just an action and rationale for addressing it. Such a situation may not always be the case, as the requesting parties may know about the issue but are unaware of its underlying causes. Then the internal proposal writer will need to analyze causes before suggesting optional corrective actions or investments before proceeding to the preferred option. 

Unsolicited proposals, on the other hand, by definition may be catching readers by surprise. Not only has management not asked for the proposal, they may not even know the business issue exists. If so, the writer needs to present a well-researched review of the problem, its history, and causes, at the least. Other talking points include preventive actions taken to deal with the situation, reasons those actions were inadequate, options for resolving or mitigating the issue with advantages and disadvantages for management's consideration, consequences of doing nothing, and strategy for addressing the issue once management approves the recommendations.

Other reports in this series:

1. Meeting Reports
2. Incident Reports
3. Investigation Reports
4. Inspection Reports
5. Procedural Reports
6. Scopes of Work
7. Test Reports
8. Course Reviews
9. Conference Reviews
10. Contractor Appraisals
11. Staff Appraisals
12. Self-Appraisals
13. Audit Reports
14. Root-Cause Reports
15. Business Forecasts
16. Project Plans
17. Project Status Reports
18. Project Completion Reports

The Resourceful Reporter, Part 19: Project Completion Reports

The project managers have planned the project. They have tracked its progress. Now that they have completed it, they have one more report to write: the completion report. Following the same structure of the project plan and the project status report makes the completion report a bit easier. 

Objectives

• Did the project address the problem or need?
• Did management achieve the project objectives?
• If management surpassed the objectives, how and why?
• If management did not achieve the objectives, how and why? 

Participants

• Was the project managed effectively?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Stakeholders

• Did the stakeholders benefit from the project?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Site

• Was the site occupied according to the plan?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Timeline

• Did the activities proceed according to the timeline?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Methodology

• Did the strategies match those in the plan?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?
• Did the activities match those in the plan?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Resources

• Did management allocate fiscal, human, property, and material resources according to the plan?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?

Goals 

• Were all criteria used to measure progress?
• Did management achieve established goals?
• Was the project success worth the expenditure of resources?
• If yes, how and why?
• If no, how and why?
• What program components were most effective? How and why?
• What program components were least effective? How and why?
• What impact do the project successes and failures have on future endeavors?
• Is the project replicable? In what contexts?

Other reports in this series:

1. Meeting Reports
2. Incident Reports
3. Investigation Reports
4. Inspection Reports
5. Procedural Reports
6. Scopes of Work
7. Test Reports
8. Course Reviews
9. Conference Reviews
10. Contractor Appraisals
11. Staff Appraisals
12. Self-Appraisals
13. Audit Reports
14. Root-Cause Reports
15. Business Forecasts
16. Project Plans
17. Project Status Reports

The Resourceful Reporter, Part 18: Project Status Reports

 Project managers and stakeholders with a project plan hold the road map to completing the project successfully. The status report, also known as a progress report, keeps them on track toward their goal.

The number of status reports required during a project depends on several factors, including project complexity, stakeholder conventions, disciplines involved, project deliverables, project duration, and project milestones. Unexpected problems also may necessitate additional status reports.  

Using the structure of the project planning report from the previous post, the reporter of the status report answers a set of new but related questions:

Objectives

• Is the project addressing the problem or need?
• Is management engaged in achieving the objectives? 

Participants

• How effectively is the project being managed?

Stakeholders

• Are the stakeholders benefiting from the project?
• If not, what is management doing to address the situation?

Site

• Is the site being occupied according to the plan?
• If not, is the change justified and described?

Timeline

• Are the activities proceeding according to the timeline?
• If not, is the change justified and described?

Methodology

• Do the strategies match those in the plan?
• If not, is the change justified and described?
• Do the activities match those in the plan?
• If not, is the change justified and described?

Resources

• Is management allocating, fiscal, human, property, and material resources according to the plan?
• If not, is the change justified and described?

Goals 

• Are all criteria being used to measure progress?
• Is management progressing toward achieving established goals?
• What obstacles exist toward achieving established goals?
• Have expectations been set for management to overcome obstacles?
• Have project revisions been documented, justified, and agreed to?

Other reports in this series:

1. Meeting Reports
2. Incident Reports
3. Investigation Reports
4. Inspection Reports
5. Procedural Reports
6. Scopes of Work
7. Test Reports
8. Course Reviews
9. Conference Reviews
10. Contractor Appraisals
11. Staff Appraisals
12. Self-Appraisals
13. Audit Reports
14. Root-Cause Reports
15. Business Forecasts
16. Project Plans

The Resourceful Reporter, Part 17: Project Plans

The project evaluation report is the topic of this and the next two WORDS ON THE LINE posts. Project evaluation reports fall into three general categories:

1. Planning Reports – Written before the project begins to establish project feasibility, objectives, stakeholders, deliverables, owners, standards, timeline, and milestones.
2. Status (or Progress) Reports – Written at various times during the project to explain progress and challenges in achieving deliverables and milestones. 
3. Completion Reports – Written after the project ends to describe project achievements, setbacks, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects.

Planning reports, the focus of this post, answers numerous questions about the project's objectives, participants, stakeholders, sites, timeline, methodology, resources, and goals:

Objectives

• What problem or need does the project address?
• What are the project's objectives?
• Does the objectives address the problem or need?

Participants

• Who is managing the project?
• What interest does management have in the project?

Stakeholders

• Who are the stakeholders served by the project?
• How are stakeholders served by the project? 

Site

• Is the location most appropriate for achieving the project's objectives?
• Is the location most appropriate for achieving the project's stakeholders?

Timeline

• How long will the project run?
• Is the timeline appropriate for meeting the project's objectives?

Methodology

• What strategies will management deploy to achieve the objective?
• What activities will management engage in to achieve the objectives?

Resources

• What fiscal resources are being budgeted for the project?
• Are the costs appropriate for the project scope?
• What human resources will be engaged?
• Are the staff's qualifications sufficient to meet the objectives?
• Is the number of staff appropriate to meet the objectives?
• What material resources will be used for the project?
• Are the material resources appropriate to meet the objectives?

Goals

• What are the goals of the project?
• Do the goals address the purpose of the project?
• How can the goals be measured with validity and reliability?

The next post will cover status reports.

Other reports in this series:

1. Meeting Reports
2. Incident Reports
3. Investigation Reports
4. Inspection Reports
5. Procedural Reports
6. Scopes of Work
7. Test Reports
8. Course Reviews
9. Conference Reviews
10. Contractor Appraisals
11. Staff Appraisals
12. Self-Appraisals
13. Audit Reports
14. Root-Cause Reports
15. Business Forecasts