quantmleap

A recent FTE Cartoon (see below) struck a chord with me.

In a recent meeting with a number of project managers operating in different organizations I was asked to elaborate on the type of reporting I need to provide to my stakeholders. My view on status reports is that they should contain no bullshit with a focus on performance indicators that mean something and that can lead to measurable and quantifiable corrective actions (if required). I am still flabbergasted when I hear of projects where the key reporting element on the report is a gantt chart, with an expectation that % complete = % work complete. Even in environments where no clear commitment to earned value is present, better performance indicators are possible.

First and foremost – have target delivery dates been achieved to date?

If your deliverables are produced on time, how is your budget tracking? Are you over on under budget?

Are you getting access to the resources requested? Of the time planned for each resource what % availability was actually recorded?

There are plenty of meaningful indicators one can come up with to substantiate progress, performance and results. Some of these would be immediately useful to the project at-hand and some will have long term implications in term of staff performance, training, etc.

The important thing is to make the reports meaningful so  they can be utilized to make decisions. If your reports are based on the trivial but impractical aspects of the project don’t expect any positive outcomes as a result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think about it.

Related posts:

1. Meaningful Status Reporting