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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

1484.0. "Monthly Report Formats - Templates requested" by ESRAD::PANGAKIS (Tara Pangakis DTN 287-3551) Fri May 31 1991 15:14

    Is this the right conferen ce to ask for opinions about what makes
    Monthly Reports (about a group's activities) useful and informative?  I
    hope so and would appreciate pointers to other sources of information
    as well.
    
    What formats work for what audiences?
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1484.1ESCROW::KILGOREI am the captain of my soulFri May 31 1991 18:5440
    
    What seems to work in our engineering group:
    
    ------------
    
        ACCOMPLISHMENTS PLANNED
    
            status of what we planned to do this past month (should
            exactly complement PLANS FOR NEXT MONTH from previous report -- 
            see below)
    
        ACCOMPLISHMENTS NOT PLANNED
    
            brownie points -- above and beyond the call of duty
    
        PLANS NOT ACCOMPLISHED
    
            deep doo-doo -- promises not kept
    
        OUTSTANDING ISSUES
    
            things that are getting in our way, that hopefully the
            people reading this report can do something about
            (NOTE -- for minimum career impact, make sure this is not
            the first time they are seeing these issues -- no suprises)
    
        HOT ISSUES
    
            use sparingly, for real butt-burners that you want to make
            known at the highest possible level (see note above)
    
        PLANS FOR NEXT MONTH
    
            justification for your continued existence
    
    ------------
    
    KEEP YOUR REPORTS. They make great references for performance
    evaluations and salary reviews.
    
1484.2TRODON::SIMPSONNumber Five. The naughty bits.Fri May 31 1991 22:0914
I don't know about monthly reports, but a consultant I used to work with 
(another incarnation) had a brilliantly effective weekly reporting system.

It NEVER exceeded one page, and it consisted of only four headings:

	Good News
	Bad News
	Problems
	Action Items

A problem was Bad News from a previous report that was still outstanding.

The beauty was that a manager could skim an entire group's activities without 
geting buried under feet of paper.  What can I say?  It worked.
1484.3ElaborateTLE::AMARTINAlan H. MartinSat Jun 01 1991 11:0113
Re .2:

>It NEVER exceeded one page, and it consisted of only four headings:
>
>	Good News
>	Bad News
>	Problems
>	Action Items

What does "Action Items" refer to, pray tell?  Is it a list of outstanding
action items you have assumed, outstanding action items you have delegated
downward, outstanding action items you are (attempting to) delegate upward, ...?
				/AHM/THX
1484.4How to delivery that monthly reportESRAD::PANGAKISTara Pangakis DTN 287-3551Mon Jun 03 1991 12:244
    Thanks for the input.  I'm also curious about the delivery mechanisms.
    
    Electronic MAIL, paper, a message left on the answering machine, NOTES,
    what's effective?
1484.5E-mailESCROW::KILGOREI am the captain of my soulMon Jun 03 1991 12:491
    
1484.6How do you combine 'em all?FSLENG::SCARDIGNODo it RIGHT the 1ST timeTue Jun 04 1991 15:0718

           I happened to do weekly reports.  Format is (with "bullets"):


           ACCOMPLISHMENTS


           PLANS FOR UPCOMING WEEK


           The problem I've always seen is:  How do you combine all those
           reports for the quarterly summaries? ... especially the MAJOR
           ACCOMPLISHMENTS & SAVING$.  

           Any VMS software "out there" that will do that?

           Steve
1484.7Project Report FormatMEMORY::LEBLANCRuth E. LeBlancWed Jun 19 1991 14:4336
    A somewhat belated reply, but...
    
    One format I haven't seen mentioned yet in this reply string is the
    Project format.  Rather than each individual saying what s/he has or
    will do, it is helpful in some cases to report primarily on the status
    of various activities.  This is particularly good in a very project-
    oriented department.  An example would be:
    
       Project name:
       Key players:
       Project Description/Overview:
       Present Status:
       To Be Done:
    
    Since monthly reports are often designed to keep managers informed of
    what's going on in their departments, this technique seems to work well. 
    When my manager was in a meeting and someone asked about Project X, he
    could quickly refer to his project report.  Or, if someone was
    unexpectedly out sick (or whatever), his/her projects could easily be
    reviewed/delegated/etc. inasmuch as all key contacts are listed (those
    are people who could pick up loose ends), the status is given, and next
    steps are identified.  
    
    Personally, I like it because it seems less "Big Brother-ish" (what
    work did YOU do this month?), and more focused on the business. Of
    course, the downfall is that non-project related stuff doesn't get
    included in this format.  For those people with task-oriented jobs, it
    could be detrimental.
    
    As for vehicle, I (the manager's secretary) pulled together input from
    each group member via ALL-IN-1.  I tied them into one document then
    printed hardcopies for each of my manager's direct reports.  [Note: in
    addition to the manager being able to speak intelligently, at a moment's
    notice, on the events of his department, it also enabled his folks to
    'pinch hit' more effectively.]