8 Reports to Manage Your Project

8 Project Management Reports you need to
manage your project
Author: PM Majik
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. www.pmmajik.com

Contents
1.0 Purpose of this presentation
2.0 8 project management reports
3.1 Communication plan
3.2 Project timeline
3.3 Project budget / financial plan
3.4 Project team contact data
3.5 Risk register
3.6 Project status report
3.7 Action register
3.8 Project dashboard
4.0 Important tip
5.0 Summary
6.0 PMO resources

1.0 Purpose of this presentation
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a guide to the 8 project management
reports that will help you to deliver your project.
These reports can be implemented for your own project to help with the delivery.
You do not have to use all of the reports, you only should use the ones that you think
would add benefit.
Remember these are general guidelines. You should use them to help tailor a project
change control process that meets the need of your organisation.

2.0 8 project management reports
The 8 project management reports that will benefit the delivery of your project:
Project

3.1 Communication plan
Each project should build a Communication Plan. The Communication Plan
will answer the following questions:
•What kind of communication is required? (Management Meetings, Team
Meetings, Management Reporting, Project Records)
•Who needs to be communicated with? (stakeholders)
•How frequent is the communication required? (how often)
•What needs to be communicated? (reports, meeting minutes, details or
summary)
•How will this information be distributed? (in a meeting, as a report, in an email)
Essentially, the Communications Plan is the list of reports and updates needed
throughout the project.
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-communication/

3.2 Project timeline
• One of the critical elements that defines a project is the timeline.
• A project by definition is a temporary endeavour; meaning it has a start and
an end – which means it has a defined timeline.
• The timeline should be a visual overview of the project from start to finish.
• One thing that sponsors care about is that the project will be delivered by an
agreed date, especially where the project has a mandatory delivery date.
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-planning/

3.3 Project budget / financial report
• A project is constrained by three elements scope, schedule and cost.
Therefore, a project budget is an important report.
• Ideally, the report will show budget verses actual costs.
• Remember the project sponsor will not thank you for not managing their
budget.
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-financial-planning/

3.4 Project team contact data
• The team working on the project are often from various department,
companies and even spread across the world – a virtual team.
• The role of the project manager is to bring the group of people together to
form a productive team.
• Creating and distributing a list of team members, their roles and how to
reach them is an important step in ensuring clear channels of
communication.
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-contact-list/

3.5 Project risk register
• Managing project risks is often overlooked or miss understood by project
managers.
• Creating an initial Risk Register is key to managing project risks. Start by
building a list of all the things that could impact the project.
• Early on in the project, there will be a lot of these. As the project progresses
and things become more clearly defined, many of these will be addressed.
• It is important to review and update this list often throughout the project.
Risk management is not a one-off event!
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-risk-management-plan/

3.6 Project status report
A Project Status Report is an essential element of the project communication
strategy.
The project status report is the barometer of the project – it will give the project
manager, the project team and project stakeholders an overview of the health
of the project. The status report might include:
•RAG status for each of the project elements; Scope, Schedule and Budget
(budget optional)
•a list of the project milestones and their status
•items completed in period
•items due next period
•a current run of budget status
•any open risks
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/why-the-project-status-report-is-a-powerful-tool/

3.7 Project actions log
• It is important to keep track on all action items needed for the project.
These should be captured on the Actions log.
• During critical periods of the project, you might distribute this list daily. What
is important is that important activities are captured and tracked to closure.
• Remember, if it is not documented – it is not getting done.

3.8 Project dashboard
• Stakeholders are not typically in project team meetings and they rarely
review Project Status Reports. But they still want to have an update on the
project progress.
• For this audience, it is a good idea to provide a high-level visual
representation of the project. Simple, easy to digest that gets to the point
quickly.
• Developing the content that will be included in the report or dashboard
should be done early in the project and provided regularly and in a
consistent format.
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/8-mistakes-to-avoid-on-project-reports-and-
dashboards/

4.0 Important tip
• Remember, just because you can produce a report or dashboard, it does not
mean that you should.
• You must ensure is that the data has value to the end user. If not, it is a
waste of both the end user and your time.
• When defining what reports are required (including what is included on each
report), make sure you discuss the requirements with the sponsors and end
users.
• You should also consider the audience and try to design the report to distill
the information so the critical messages can be quickly consumed and
understood. Senior stakeholders do not typically have a lot of time to review
long reports. Short and succinct will be well received.

5.0 Summary
Project reports are an important tool for the successful management and delivery of your
project. Using one or more of the 8 reports listed below may help.
1. Communication plan
2. Project timeline
3. Project budget / financial plan
4. Project team contact data
5. Risk register
6. Project status report
7. Action register
8. Project dashboard
If you are interested in ready made project change control templates, consider
investing in a set of professional PMO Templates. This will allow the rapid
implementation of tools and processes.

6.0 PMO resources
If you want more information, visit www.pmmajik.com where you will find lots of project
and PMO resources including the FREE guide, 7 Steps to Set-Up a PMO.
Visit http://www.pmmajik.com/set-pmo/
PM Majik Website
On the PM Majik website you will find over 200 articles that contain practical and
pragmatic tips and insights for designing, mobilising and managing a PMO. New
articles are added weekly. Topic requests are encouraged from the community.

8 Reports to Manage Your Project

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8 Reports to Manage Your Project