project report analysis

What is Project Analysis and Why it is Important?

By Aastha Shaw Jan 25, 2022

project report analysis

What do you do to check if a project is going on track? 

You analyze it!

Consistent project analysis helps you make the right choices at the right time, leading you towards a more successful outcome and the highest possible ROI. 

Here we will talk about project analysis, its importance, the different types of project analysis, and lastly, how you can implement it using the right tools.

What is Project Analysis?

When executing a project , you need to analyze it periodically. Failing to do so, would mean unexpected challenges, overlooked critical information, or flaws in the work process that manifest as the project unfolds.

This is why you need project analysis.

It is assessing every expense or problem related to a project before working on it and evaluating the outcome once the work is done.

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Importance of project analysis.

A study conducted last year stated that over two-thirds of all projects were not completed on time and went over the budget.  

What separates the failed two-thirds of the projects from the successful one-third? 

Regular analysis.

Project analysis lets you see the present problems and prepare for and avoid future problems. This ensures smooth project execution and timely project delivery.

For efficient project analysis, it is equally important to have the right tool that will help you monitor and analyze your project from its initiation to completion.

Types of project analysis:

A. ongoing project risk analysis.

What happens if your key teammate gets injured during a project and needs to take a month off? Or your equipment malfunctions which stop the work, but the labor charges keep adding up? Or a natural calamity takes place?

All of these can affect the project timeline and cost.

Risk analysis ensures that the least number of surprises occur during your project. It helps you predict the uncertainties in the projects and minimize the occurrence and impact of these uncertainties.

How to do project risk analysis?

1. Define Critical Path:

Each project consists of dependent tasks that rely on one or more tasks to be performed in a particular order for their completion. 

This is where understanding the longest chain of dependencies or the project's critical path becomes very important. Any delay in the critical path would ultimately lead to missed deadlines. 

You can use project management software that helps you map your project plan and highlight its critical path. (In the image below, you would see the critical path highlighted in red)

Project critical path

2. Streamline communication channels:

You don't want to be spending most of your time coordinating with the management, sales team, clients, and vendors. So, it's essential to keep communication and information flowing in one tool. 

Establishing a good communication channel instead of checking on everyone for updates will help you better track task progress and save time. With a proper communication channel in place, task assignees can keep you updated in real-time and let you know about any delays, problems, or requirements easily.

Thus, it is critical to have a project management tool that allows real-time collaboration & communication via Chat, Task Comments, and Video conferencing.

3. Regularly monitor risks:

Once you have defined the project's critical path and streamlined the communication channel, you need to focus on how each task is panning out. 

You would not want to be unaware of situations such as delays in the shipment of raw material on which a lot of your project tasks depend. 

This is why we recommend tracking and analyzing the project's progress every week. (In SmartTask, there's a News Feed view that would allow you to share the project status with the team and for team members to share their thoughts on the status update.)

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Say today is Saturday, and you are going through the last week's progress. You identified that one procurement item might become a bottleneck and affect the critical path. 

This will help you immediately take necessary actions and save your project from facing major drawbacks.

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4. Determine their impact on the project:

Every risk has an impact, some more than others. 

You can evaluate the impact of the risks by looking at:

  • How much will the task be delayed?
  • Would it affect the critical path? 

If the delay does affect the critical path, can we have the procurement team expedite the delivery? Or is it a lost cause?

5. Prepare a contingency plan to treat those risks:

A contingency plan helps you to be prepared for future challenges and reduce the biggest risks to manageable levels. It is a course of action that enables you to deal with a situation that might happen. 

In the above example, we tried to expedite the raw material delivery; however, it is clear now that the item won't be delivered on time.

Now, as a project manager, it's time to re-evaluate the project plan and see if you can save the project from overshooting the timeline. 

There are two ways to deal with this:

  • Allocating additional resources to tasks dependent on raw material shipments and attempting to complete tasks ahead of schedule. - This would speed up your work and allow you to get back on track.
  • Executing dependent processes in parallel.  - Some tasks can be executed parallelly, but we avoid doing this to be safe and complete the tasks with perfection. - But with good planning and required resources, you can execute dependent tasks parallelly to complete the project on time and with the same quality.

Your decision would be based on the trade-offs you are ready to make. So, it's wise to your team's and management's feedback to get better insights and make the best decisions.

6. Regularly update the team on the project’s progress:

It’s important to keep everyone updated on the project progress and all the important decisions taken. With SmartTask’s News Feed feature you can update your teammates and project stakeholders about everything related to your project in real-time. 

Project Status

On the feed update itself, they can share their feedback, mention others, and share important files.

With SmartTask, you can record all your project history in one place and easily access them when needed. It also helps you track your projects to identify any potential problems and bottlenecks so that you can deal with them on time.

B. Project Cost Analysis

Suppose you land a software project. You roughly forecast the project timeline, resources, budget, etc., and reach a tentative project cost estimate at the project proposal time.

But moving forward without a thorough project cost analysis leads to budget overruns, missed deadlines, and a miserably failed project.

Therefore it's critical to conduct a proper project cost analysis to develop a strategic plan to avoid repetitive cost overruns and save your project from sinking.

How to do project cost analysis?

1. Determine the project goal:

Before you start working on project costing, your team needs to have a clear idea of the final goal and requirements of the project. 

This is where a clearly defined client requirement document helps. 

The client's requirement document will help your team divide the project into milestones and adequately define all the resources needed for timely project delivery.

2. Draw up a project plan:

Once the milestones are set, utilize project management software to map out tasks within those milestones with their delivery timelines and expectations. 

You can use task dependencies to better map out the project plan and provide that clear understanding of the critical path to your team. 

Lastly, assign each task to a suitable person. A good collaboration software would notify each team member when a new task is assigned. 

3. Set Time Estimates: 

One of the most crucial cost factors of any project is the resources needed to accomplish this project.

Make sure that the time to be spent on a task is set as a Time estimate. (Note: Time estimates or efforts needed to accomplish the task and task timeline are independent of each other.)

4. Define Resource Cost:

A good resource management software allows you to define the cost per hour and Billing rate for each resource. 

So, along with the fixed cost, assignee, time estimates, and efforts needed to accomplish each task in the project, you also get a clear idea of the cost per resource. And in turn, you can set and track the total cost of the project better.  

5. Set a Factor of Safety:

While you understand the project's total cost, it's essential to consider contingency funds if things don't go as planned.

Government compliances, taxes, client and vendor delays may delay the project and increase the cost of delivery. 

It's prudent to consider all these unknown factors and add them to the project cost as a Factor of Safety. 

While each project is unique and Factor of Safety(FOS) percentages can be different, we recommend not having less than 20% as FOS.

Project Time Tracking Summary

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C. Workload Analysis

Suppose your team has two software engineers who are working on a project. You divide the tasks equally amongst them. 

After they start working, you see that while Engineer A has completed his tasks, Engineer B has not started his work.

But when dwelled deeper, it is seen that Engineer A didn't have much on his plate, whereas Engineer B was overloaded with tasks from more than 3 projects, causing the delay.

To avoid such situations, you need a Workload analysis tool that would forecast each team member's workload, whether they are overloaded or under-utilized. 

How to do workload analysis?

1. Define effort required in each project:

As noted in the "Project cost analysis" section, define the time effort required to accomplish each task in the project.

Depending on the task's timeline and the effort required, estimate each project member's number of hours blocked.

2. Group projects to understand the holistic picture:

Since a team member may be involved in multiple projects , it's important to group all these projects. This will give you a better understanding of their total effort and responsibilities across different projects. 

Here's what the workload would look like. As you can see, the red color indicates overloading.

A workload view helps you track what your team members are working on what and also enables you to reassign the task from one member to another if required.

3. Balance workload among the team :

If your team is continuously overburdened and stressed out due to extra work, it might result in a breakdown soon. Thus it's important to distribute the workload among your team members evenly.  

Once you identify resource overloading, here's how you can handle it:

  • Unloading the task - By re-allocating the task from one person to another.
  • Extending the task's timeline- To lower the effort required per day.

Want to save your team from burnout?

D. process analysis.

Sometimes a particular process can be complicated and unnecessarily lengthy, leading to poor project performance.

Process analysis helps you analyze and improve the process with inefficiencies that can affect your bottom line.

How to do process analysis?

1. Define what you want to analyze:

Say, if you are running the same type of project, again and again, it is normal that you might fix a template and follow the same process for similar future projects.

This often leaves out the opportunity to dwell and improve on the process as you keep following the same template again and again.

You need to quit this cycle and identify where your processes need revamping.

2. Collect all information about the process:

Collect as much information from all the past projects as possible on the selected process.. 

Identify the stakeholders and all the people involved in the process.

Gather data on how they tackle the process, what they do, when they do it, how often, what tools they use, what procedures they currently follow, and more. 

3. Analyze the process:

Now looking at the collected information and the existing process template, perform a thorough analysis to figure out problems like;

  • What are the most critical aspects of the project?
  • What are the most time-consuming aspects?
  • Is there anything causing delays?
  • Which tasks get delayed regularly?
  • Is it possible to speed up the process?
  • Are there any steps that can be automated or eliminated?
  • What are the most prevalent complaints from people involved in the process?
  • In which areas are human errors most likely to occur?

This is where having project management software with portfolio view can make your task way easier.

With a portfolio, you can group all the similar projects together and get all the insights like due dates, delays, assignees, progress, and more at once.  

Don’t forget to get feedback from important stakeholders and people involved to ensure that you are not missing out on anything. 

4. Make changes for improvement:

It’s time to envision how the process can be improved in future and eventually change the project template to reflect those improvements. 

These improvements can be addition or removal of tasks, automating repetitive taks, change in timelines, or effort required for each task, change in team, and so on...

Suppose your goal is to shorten the process cycle. Then you need to develop solutions like automating your process where possible and reduce manual labor to save time.

Also, make sure to convey any changes to the stakeholders involved and monitor the process regularly.

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Keep in mind that business process analysis is a continuous process. You must examine the processes regularly and improve them to keep the process error-free.

Here’s a detailed video on how to do process analysis:

To conclude…

Project analysis is critical for companies and project managers to make their projects more successful and sustainable. 

While it’s evident that problems and challenges will come your way, you can keep things under control with the right tool and approach.

There are many project management tools in the market, but SmartTask checks all the boxes for analyzing and managing your projects efficiently. 

So be smart and get SmartTask to make assessing your projects easier and deliver better. 

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project report analysis

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PPM Express

Integrated Project Portfolio Management

The Ultimate Guide to Project Portfolio Analysis and Reports [+150 Power BI Reports Inside]

Almost all organizations have more project work than resources to complete it. Management teams frequently find it difficult to refuse new requests. Instead, they try to accomplish everything by adding more work to the already busy schedules of project teams or taking shortcuts while the project is still ongoing.

Companies continue to produce underwhelming results while making significant human and financial investments in projects because employees are left with unprioritized projects, too many projects, or without the necessary technical assistance. This results in delays, cost overruns, or low-quality work overall.

Project portfolio management is the answer.

Compared with project and program management , it utilizes completely different techniques and perspectives: selecting, prioritizing, and coordinating.

Combining those techniques with the benefits of computer technology has allowed for a breakthrough.

Despite the incredible speed at which PPM systems were adopted and processes reorganized, it soon became clear that they have one major drawback – software can do everything you ask for, but it cannot help you come up with the questions to ask.

Hence, the objective need for data analysis in enterprises with a complex management structure lets you know the right questions to ask your project portfolio management system.  

Right now, we suggest you explore the essence of project portfolio analysis and its reports in detail, define the key components, and find out how to build your analysis system. Let’s dive in!

Table of contents

What`s the difference between an analysis and a report, what are project analysis and report types, what are project analysis and report objectives, pre-data analysis in project and portfolio management, post-data analysis in project and portfolio management, essential project report components, first 7 steps to create a project report from scratch, how do manual reports destroy decision-making ability, why is automated reporting a better solution, the journey from basic siloed data reports to true project analysis, how to eliminate “tunnel vision” in your organization’s management, how to skyrocket your analysis and simplify reports with ppm express, the essence of project portfolio analysis and reports.

According to Cambridge vocabulary , analysis is the act of studying or examining something in detail to discover or understand more about it or your opinion and judgment after doing this.

A report, according to Cambridge vocabulary , has more than one definition suitable to our topic:

  • A statement that may or may not be true.
  • A spoken or written description of an event or situation.
  • An official document made by someone who has examined a particular subject.
  • A search for a particular type of information in a large amount of data – or the results of a search like this.

Let’s retain the existing definition of analysis and report, change the “something” and “subject” into “project portfolio management”, and we have accurate definitions.

You may have heard or seen people using the words “reporting” and “analysis” interchangeably or as close synonyms.

While both areas draw upon the same collected project data, reporting and analysis are very different in terms of purpose, methods, and value.

Without a clear understanding of the differences, a company may undervalue itself in one area (usually analysis) and fail to reap the full rewards of its project analysis investment. So what distinguishes reporting from project data analysis?

The goal of the analysis is to extract insights from data. On the other hand, reports are meant to gather data and organize it into understandable information.

It’s common to hear terms like organizing, formatting, building, configuring, consolidating, or summarizing while discussing reports or reporting processes. As for analysis, you will come across phrases like investigating, performing a “deep dive,” questioning, examining, interpreting, comparing, and confirming.

Another difference is that reports adhere to what is referred to as a “push strategy ”, which basically implies that once a report has been created, it is intended to be pushed to users. The deliverable on a report is the data being made usable, regardless of who is writing it: a manager, an employee, or a consultant.

Because reports “push”, you could have predicted that analysis takes a “pull” approach, in which analysis is done to “pull” out the response to whatever business query is being presented.

Predictive analysis (answers about what will happen in the future) or prescriptive analysis (the ways to optimize the next steps) are the deliverables in the analysis context.

Every step in your company’s process should be intended to advance your company’s goals, boost profits, or elevate your company’s standing in the market. As a result, we want to be crystal clear about the importance of both reporting and analysis to your business strategy.

In summary, reporting shows you what is happening, while analysis focuses on explaining why and what you can do about it.

There are eight main categories of project analysis, each with advantages and disadvantages. It’s possible to use different types of project analysis to identify and monitor various aspects of your project, such as risk, cost, and efficiency.

Here is a list of the eight most typical types of project analysis:

  • Commercial.
  • Institutional.
  • Project risks.
  • Ecological.
  • Financial and economical.

Each type of analysis has specific evaluation criteria.

The multi-criteria approach is used in project analysis in all international methodologies, including the  EU Guidelines for Project Evaluation and the  GRI  (Global Reporting  Initiative ) standards on sustainable development.

Because projects require many steps and much planning so that you can use several reports at various stages, each of these reports plays a particular role in helping you successfully complete the project.

Some common types of project management reports include:

1. Availability reports

It’s important to be aware of the tools, team members, and other resources at your disposal before starting a project. To help decide how much time they have to dedicate to a new project, a team member’s workload is broken down in an availability report.

2. Project baseline reports

A project baseline report includes a complete estimated schedule of tasks and the time required to complete them.

These reports (frequently presented as graphs) let you overlay the actual timetables your team utilizes throughout a project so you can compare them to your estimate.

By comparing actual timeframes to your initial estimate, you can learn how much time different jobs require and how to estimate them better.

3. Status reports

Status reports list completed and uncompleted tasks and those currently being worked on by the team. These reports enable a project to stay on time or to alter the schedule as necessary to accommodate new project requirements.

4. Project health reports

Project health reports are more visually appealing than status reports.

They convert project status data into graphic materials so team members and management can see what has been finished and what still needs to be done.

5. Risk assessment reports

Risk assessment reports organize and prioritize the predicted and current risks of a project.

They can help teams prepare to overcome potential challenges by listing them and sometimes describing ways to avoid them.

Making a note of how vital each risk also helps prioritize how much time to give each one of them to ensure the project stays on schedule.

6. Time management reports

Time management reports show how much actual time your team spends on each project-related task.

By keeping track of the time, you can compare it to schedule estimates, determine how much of your man-hours each task consumes, and make any necessary adjustments.

7. Variance reports

Variance reports compare original estimates of metrics, such as budget or predicted profits from a project, with the actual numbers.

This improves managers’ and stakeholders ’ understanding of how much various projects truly cost and how profitable they might be in the long run.

8. Summary reports

Summary reports are a combination of other report types and frequently include data on budgets, schedules, and risks to help managers and stakeholders comprehend the overall situation and project perspective.

We are all aware that data drives many modern business decisions. Data is an essential part of decision-making. The more data you can gather and evaluate, the more theories, strategies, plans, and tests you can come up with to help your project succeed.

To manipulate and evaluate data, you mostly need reliable methods and tools. You can obtain the necessary data and get vital insights using various types of analysis, synchronization, data mining, and collection.

Project managers can have an impact on projects and businesses by analyzing data. PMs use data-driven decision-making, among other things, to:

  • Identify the drawbacks of the project.
  • Increase project agility .
  • Get rid of bottlenecks.
  • Highlight customer needs and problems.
  • Increase team output and improve communication.

After the data has been gathered and processed, an objective definition is the first step in every project report . Your objective should provide precise directions. Think about the purpose you want your project report to fulfill.

Here are a few examples of project report objectives:

  • Applying for a new project.
  • Asking for financial support.
  • Monitoring the project’s progress.
  • Identifying and managing risks.
  • Managing costs and budgets.

The data depends on the time when the analysis is conducted

Pre- and post-analysis are performed when the project manager and stakeholders are interested in finding out if there is a difference in observations before and after the project’s completion.

Pre-post analysis methods vary from company to company, but they are widely used in almost every industry because of their ability to inform decision-makers correctly.

The pre-implementation analysis is a crucial pre-processing step that strives to gather data and requirements on a project to facilitate efficient planning.

The main objective is to collect functional requirements to create a technical description. This description should include a list of features (epics in backlog ) that summarize all the effort required to develop the project properly.

It is an essential first step in preventing any problems from developing later, such as a vague specification of requirements or specifying them too late. Pre-implementation analysis assists in identifying these components beforehand.

The project parameters that are vital to success are:

  • Project life cycle

The life cycle as a project parameter depends on the formulation of the project goal. The goal of the project determines the expected result of the project. When forming a goal (both for a project and in strategic management), it is necessary to use the S.M.A.R.T principles:

  • Measurable.
  • Time-related.

The duration of the life cycle, the cost of the project, and the evaluation of its effectiveness depend on how specifically the goal of the project is formulated.

For example, it is impossible to set the opening of a bank branch in city X as a project goal. This formulation does not define an event that corresponds to achieving the project goal.

The correct wording would be opening the branch and achieving a certain number of deposits from the local population.

The life cycle of a project is understood as a timeline from the moment the idea of a project is born to the moment the project goal is achieved. It is necessary to distinguish between the project life cycle and the  product life cycle . The  product  life cycle can be much longer than the project life cycle.

The typical duration of project life cycles in different industries varies depending on the industry in which projects are implemented:

  • Infrastructure projects – 25 years.
  • Energy projects – 15 years.
  • Common machine building – 8 years.
  • IT and high technology – 4 years.
  • Project environment

The project is implemented in a specific external project environment.

The external environment is understood as a set of macroeconomic, political, legislative, and natural factors that influence the parameters and characteristics of a project and determine its external risks and the necessary adaptation tools.

The system of interaction with project stakeholders also applies to environmental factors.

The internal environment of the project refers to a set of factors that characterize the business management system of the company implementing the project and the adopted project management system.

  • Business management process

The business process of the project initiator during a project’s life cycle includes the following stages of work:

  • Project initiation, development of project documentation, work, and event planning.
  • Project analysis and justification of its effectiveness and investment attractiveness; development of a business management plan.
  • Searching for investors and creditors, forming a group of project stakeholders, and choosing a form of project financing.
  • Arranging to finance, signing contracts.
  • Project implementation.
  • Project monitoring and settlements with creditors and investors.
  • Achievement of the project goal and completion of the project.

Data analysis after a project has been “born” is equally, if not more important, than the “pre-party”. Most PPM software solutions, like PPM Express, are excellent at capturing project detail. But just capturing data points has limited strategic value.

Strategic value comes from turning data into reports that inform strategic decision-makers by illustrating the relationship between all an organization’s projects and their effect on resources and ultimately profitability.

To help teams working with projects ensure they are on time, within budget, and carried according to specifications, these questions must be answered:

  • How does the plan compare with actual activities?
  • Are we meeting milestones and deliverable dates?
  • Are we exceeding planned budgets?
  • What is the overall status, and where are the bottlenecks in the project?

Project management professionals live and die by project status reports that track these issues. There is a common thread that ties these reports together.

Singly and together, projects affect organizations’ strategic objectives.

A broader view of project management analysis can provide a wealth of information to turn projects into strategic activities that elevate organizations.

How to create a comprehensive project report

After collecting the data, we need to create a report. Firstly, the project report must increase a reader’s understanding while requiring minimal work.

Along with explaining its findings, it must also discuss how those findings affect the organization’s operations.

Regardless of the type of PPM report you’re writing, the information will vary, but keeping your report ordered will help the reader follow through without skipping any important details.

Create sections for your data and content so all stakeholders can easily refer to them. Consider including some of the project portfolio report elements listed below:

#1 Executive Summary

This brief description should include each report’s key conclusions, enabling the reader to comprehend the substance of the report without reading through all the project details.

#2 Project Progress

Actual metrics monitor the progress of your project in this section. It identifies potential risks or problems while assessing the project’s status and budget. It helps management and stakeholders reflect on the project schedule and make necessary amendments.

This section gives a thorough description of how your budget was distributed, taking into account supplies, labor, and operating expenses.

#4 Resources

Resources could be the equipment, supplies, or even the money needed to finish your project. Describe your present resource allocation in detail.

#5 Team Performance

Determine the team’s progress and compare their performance to their original objectives.

#6 Risk Management

Include a comprehensive risk analysis, your suggested fixes, and an explanation of how these additional components will impact the project.

#7 Timelines

Include an overview of tasks that have already been completed and a comprehensive schedule of remaining tasks.

#8 Conclusion

The various parts of your report should be brought together in your conclusion and direct your reader toward any necessary activities or next steps.

Writing a report is an effective way to assess a project, record the takeaways learned, and broaden your organization’s knowledge base for future projects. To write better project reports, try these methods:

1. Decide the objective

Spend some time considering the report’s goal. Engaging your reader is simpler when you are focused and have a clear aim from the beginning.

2. Understand your audience

Writing a financial review for your stakeholders is very different from writing a formal yearly report. Consider the audience when choosing your language, data utilization, and accompanying visuals.

It’s also a good idea to think about how your reader prefers to communicate – for instance, how they format emails and documents. Where possible, reflect their preferences.

You may need to develop a more formal or informal tone than your natural style.

Using this method can help you establish a connection with the reader and increase their openness to your thoughts.

3. Report format and type

Check the report’s format and type before you start. Do you have to give a presentation or submit a written report? Do you need to write a formal, informal, technical, investigative, fact-finding, financial, annual, or problem-solving report?

Check to see whether the company has any templates available as well. Being sure of these details now can save time later.

4. Gather facts and data

Including engaging facts and data will strengthen your case.

Start with the location of your collaborative project, then adjust as necessary. Remember to reference papers, case studies, and interviews as sources.

5. Structure the report

Typically, a report contains four components:

5.1 An executive summary will come first after the report is complete. 

5.2 An introduction sets the report’s context and describes its structure.

5.3 The body includes background information, an analysis, a discussion, and some recommendations.

5.4 The conclusion puts all the report’s components together clearly and succinctly.

6. Readability

Spend some time making the report easy to read and engaging. The Navigation pane in Word is a fantastic tool for assisting your reader as they navigate the document. Use formatting, images, and lists to break up long sections of text.

It is uncommon for a report to have a flawless first draft. Therefore, you will need to edit and modify the content. If feasible, wait a few days before evaluating the document or ask a coworker to do so.

What to choose: manual or automated report?

Manual report production has long been the industry standard, despite advances in software applications, but there are numerous reasons to stop producing reports manually.

Various factors constrain people who develop and analyze manual reports in the contemporary business world. First, it’s critical to comprehend how manual reports constrain decision-making for report authors and audiences.

All businesses must follow the essential management reporting procedure, which helps provide decision-makers with crucial information.

The data gathered during the reporting process supports management in creating strategies to either realign the company with its goals or verify the methods implemented to achieve them.

The limitations of manual reporting can be summed up in a few basic ways:

  • Data validation is prioritized over data analysis in manual reporting.

Typically, reports are created in Excel and presented in static form using PowerPoint or similar. This necessitates several layers of manual data input, which requires manual review processes. Management is overloaded with data validation, which prevents them from conducting data analysis.

  • Manual reporting uses many resources.

Manually creating project portfolio reports increases the need for resources to carry out data collection, entry, and validation. As a result, there is a greater need to hire more people or install new systems.

Project managers and PMOs can save resources thanks to automated reporting, prioritizing analysis over creation and validation.

  • Manual reporting takes a lot of time.

Handling data using many technologies and manually producing reports wastes time.

The time that could be spent making crucial and timely decisions is instead spent evaluating and assembling data into short slide decks.

The reasons mentioned above serve as an overview of how manual reporting restricts decision-making ability. Indeed, manual reporting is not only less effective but also dangerous for a variety of reasons.

Automated project portfolio reporting helps reduce the risk of reporting errors resulting from transposition mistakes or review point breakdowns. Systems that automate reporting include built-in procedures to facilitate quick data checking instead of manually processing redundant information.

Manual data manipulation in Excel comes with a wide range of restrictions and risks. Aside from transposition mistakes, other factors contributing to inaccurate or out-of-date information in reports include formula breaks, close data linkages, and version control issues.

Modern automated reporting software like PPM Express and Microsoft Power BI allows users to build easy-to-read dashboards that reflect real-time KPIs.

This eliminates the need to transform raw data into visual representations before presenting it to management in a final report. Instead, it automatically provides data more comprehensibly and attractively.

Finally, automated reporting saves time by reducing the need for manual report creation and focusing users’ efforts on analysis. Manual reporting does not offer this value-add.

How to take project portfolio analysis and report creation to the next level

Even though successful organizations must adapt to new circumstances, they continually ensure that their project decisions align with company strategies.

Project portfolio analysis enables intelligent analysis rather than letting pet projects and products that don’t satisfy requirements to overtake others on the priority list. The most valuable products rise to the top as a result.

Organizations require data to make these informed decisions, and data is more readily available as product portfolio management cycles become connected.

Every organization is in danger due to siloed, inaccurate, or incomplete data, which also slows growth rates down and affects the market position.

Gartner says, “Siloed portfolios can’t work in isolation to provide the organization with a true picture of performance .”

However, organizations need a strong intelligence layer to help them prioritize the right products, adjust to change, and remain competitive. This intelligence is created by reliable, connected data that can be continuously examined in real-time.

To evolve from basic reports to true project analysis, you must consolidate and organize data across all projects from all project management platforms.

Project analysis needs the same ground-level data — time sheets, budget records, plans, and schedules.

But project analysis needs it for all projects in progress. For analysis to have strategic value, executives and project managers need to have the ability to see the workloads and resources assigned to multiple projects.

A consolidated view of that information enables project stakeholders to:

  • Assess the viability of projects within a portfolio by connecting all project management tools provided by PPM solutions like PPM Express.
  • Decide whether projects are meeting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
  • Provide clients with access to relevant data to check their projects’ progress.

To effectively merge data analysis into project management, companies must be able to mine all the information entered into both unstructured data sources (documents, spreadsheets, and email) and structured sources (such as a project database).

PPM systems with limited features force project managers to make decisions based on partial information. This is sometimes called “guesstimation” or “project tunnel vision.” And it is dangerous.

Tunnel vision is more than just a lack of data and limited reporting. Tunnel vision syndrome begins with the people and culture behind the running of projects. Many project management organizations work reactively.

Strategic project management concepts are new to most organizations, and many must prepare to move to a strategic mindset.

This shift can only begin by adopting a platform like PPM Express. This complete toolkit provides a full set of data for evaluating the current state of projects from all project management tools to develop a plan of action to take your projects to the next level.

To develop solid business management and analysis strategy, project management professionals need to ask themselves the following questions:

  • How accessible is the project data? Is data siloed or centralized?
  • What primary components need to be assessed across all projects? Is it resource-driven? Is it budget-driven?
  • What are the organization’s goals and targets? Does it have defined KPIs in place? How will they be measured?
  • What is their risk management strategy? What kind of tools do they have in place to conduct a “what-if” analysis?

Turning project management into a strategic asset means including analysis in PPM and governance frameworks.

A well-thought-out governance framework and a PPM strategy are crucial steps in identifying what metrics and analysis are needed to improve project performance.

PPM Express makes long-term and short-term reporting easier with Power BI. It is explicitly designed to accommodate the need of PMOs and executives for portfolio transparency and flexibility.

As a SaaS platform, PPM Express equips an organization with complete portfolio and project visibility by aggregating project-related information across groups, portfolios, and systems.

PPM Express connects all project data in the cloud – terms, progress, and performance indicators are all combined into one comprehensive picture from Azure DevOps Boards, Microsoft Project Online , Desktop, MS Planner, Jira Software , and Smartsheet .

Synchronizing your data in PPM Express and 150+ Power BI prepared reports for an entire portfolio will help you track and mitigate risks, coordinate budget and schedule resources, and separate access specialists in the organization management in one single source of truth.

project report analysis

You can get a better understanding of how your projects and portfolios progress with the PPM Express reporting suite with 150+ Power BI reports that give a thorough picture of all project statuses, including risks, resources, issues, and milestones, as well as information on epics, stories, features, and project financials.

PPM Express  transforms your business management processes by giving users valuable insights into the overall performance and valid indicators of changes in budget baseline, schedule, performance, and development parameters.

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How to Write a Project Report: Step-By-Step Guide [+ 4 Free Templates]

By archtc on December 26, 2017 — 21 minutes to read

  • How to Write a Project Report: Step-By-Step Guide Part 1
  • Project Report Templates: Free Download Part 2
  • Additional Resources Part 3
  • How to Dramatically Reduce Time You Spend Creating Reports Part 4

At some point during the implementation of a project, a project report has to be generated in order to paint a mental image of the whole project. Ultimately, a project report must maximize the insight gained with minimal effort from the reader. Apart from describing its results, it must also explain the implications of those results to the organization and its business operations.

How to Write a Project Status Report:

The most common type of project report, a project status report provides a general state of the project to its stakeholders. It quantifies work performed and completed in measurable terms. It compares this with an established baseline to see if the project is on track or; if adjustments have to be made if the project is behind its schedule. It keeps everyone on the same page and manages each other’s expectations.

Project status reports are accomplished to serve the following purposes;

  • to keep an updated flow of information in relation to the project’s progress
  • to immediately address issues and concerns that may come up at any point of the project’s implementation or duration
  • to document reasons for changes and adjustments made to the original plan for the project
  • to monitor fund utilization and to ensure that the project expenses are still within the budget
  • to serve as a basis for decision-making and addressing problems
  • to keep track of the team’s performance and individual contributions
  • to act as a uniform procedure for communicating project development to the stakeholders.

Status reports are most effective when they follow a standard form with predefined fields that need to be regularly updated. Doing so will save time and provide consistency and predictability of the information the stakeholders will receive about the status of the project.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

For a status report to be comprehensive, it must include the following elements:

Summary/overall health of the project, facts on the project progress, target vs. actual accomplishments, action(s) taken, risks and issues, keys to an effective project status report.

  • Submit the report on time . A status report is time sensitive and sending it late defeats the purpose of such a report.
  • Giving complete but inaccurate information is just as bad as giving accurate but incomplete information . Since stakeholders rely on the status report for a heads-up on the project, and its content is used as the basis for decision-making, it is critical that the report provides both complete and accurate information.
  • Do not cover up bad news or adverse reports as these are all part of the transparency of the status report . Keep in mind that being open with the stakeholders, whether the project is sailing smoothly or not, will benefit both the team and the client, since any problems there are will be immediately given attention and solved.
  • Be proud of the team’s accomplishments, after all, this is what the clients and the stakeholders will want to know about .
  • Anticipate questions from the clients or stakeholders and be prepared to answer them .
  • Be familiar with the culture of the organization and respect the information hierarchy they observe . There are instances when the CEO wants to be the first to know about the contents of these reports before cascading it to his downlines. On the other hand, middle managers will want a head start on these reports so they can also anticipate and prepare for any reaction from the top executives.
  • Craft the status report in such a way that there will be no information overload . It should contain necessary information that the stakeholders need to know. Lengthy reports will consume not only the writer’s time but also that of the reader. Too many details also give an impression of micro management.

Risk Registers

All projects, or any activities of business, face risks. It is just a matter of how an organization identifies, assesses, analyzes, and monitors these risks. With a Risk Register, an organization is equipped with a tool to better respond to problems that may arise because of these risks. It helps in the decision-making process and enables the stakeholders to take care of the threats in the best way possible.

A Risk Register, also called an Issue Log, is iterative because it will be updated periodically depending on how often the team identifies a potential risk. It may also be updated if the characteristics of the existing potential risks change as the project progresses. 

The Risk Register document contains information about the following:

Risk Identification

  • Risk Category:  Grouping these risks under different categories is helpful. Doing so will provide a way to make a plan of action that will address most, if not all of the risks falling under the same category, saving time, effort, and resources.
  • Risk Description:  Provide a brief explanation of the identified potential risk. The description can be done in a variety of ways depending on the level of detail. A general description can be difficult to address while giving too much detail about the risk may entail a significant amount of work. Three factors to consider when making a risk description are: the way these risks are going to be managed, who will handle them, and the reporting requirements of the person receiving the risk register.
  • Risk ID:  Assign a unique identification code to each risk identified to track it in the risk register easily. Create a system of coding in such a way that the category to which the said risk belongs is easily identifiable.

Risk Analysis

  • Project Impact: Indicate the potential effect of the assumed risk on different aspects of the project such as budget, timelines, quality, and performance.
  • Likelihood: Referring to the possibility of the risk occurring, the likelihood can be expressed qualitatively—high, medium, low—or quantitatively, if there is enough information available. Whatever criteria are to be used, assign a number—with the highest value corresponding to that which is most likely to occur.

Risk Evaluation

Using the table above, the identified risk can be ranked this way:

  • Risk Trigger: These are the potential risk events that will trigger the implementation of a contingency plan based on the risk management plan. This plan should have been prepared prior to the development of a risk register.

Risk Treatment

  • Prevention Plan: This enumerates the steps or action to be taken to prevent the risks from occurring.
  • Contingency Plan: On the other hand, the contingency plan determines the steps or action to be taken once the risk events have occurred. This program also contains the measures to be taken to reduce the impact of such risks to the project.
  • Risk Owner: The person responsible for managing risk, and the implementation of the prevention and contingency plans, it can be anyone among the stakeholders—members of the team, a project manager, or project sponsors.
  • Residual Risk: Sometimes, a risk cannot be entirely eliminated after treatment. Part of it may linger throughout the duration of the project, but once it has been treated, it can be considered as a low-level risk.

Keys to an Effective Risk Register

  • The first risk register must be created as soon as the project plan and the risk management plan has been approved . This initial risk register must be integrated into the project plan.
  • Active risks during a particular period must also be included in the project status report .
  • Risk management is an iterative process which is why the risk register must also be updated from time to time . Updates can be made when new risks are identified or there have been changes in the risks already in the register.
  • The numerical value assigned to the likelihood and severity levels must remain constant throughout the duration of the whole project .
  • Likewise, any terms used must be defined, and this definition must be utilized consistently .

Project Closure Report

As the end of a project, a Project Closure Report signals its culmination. Its submission officially concludes a project and implies that funds and resources will no longer be needed, and everything will go back to its status prior to the implementation of the project.

This process is critical as it will officially tie up all loose ends and prevent confusion among stakeholders.

This particular type of project report summarizes information on the project results, the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the project delivery process, and the feedback from the stakeholders. Each performance metric includes an assessment and a narration of how the team performed on such metrics.

This performance metric describes how the team utilized the budget in carrying out the project effectively. Under this performance metric, the following aspects are measured:

Component Breakdown

Budget variance, explanations for key variances.

Describe how the team implemented the project within the expected time frame and schedule.

Overall Project Duration

Schedule variance, the explanations for key variances, change management.

This metric refers to the team’s ability to handle and manage changes throughout the project’s implementation effectively. It is measured through the following:

Total Number of Changes

The impact of the changes, the highlight of changes, quality management.

This particular metric refers to the team’s ability to observe and comply with quality standards during the project’s implementation.

Total Number of Defects Identified

The explanation for resolved defects, risk and issue management.

This metric deals with how risks and matters that occurred during project implementation were handled and resolved by the team. Key points to include are the following:

The impact of the Risks and Issues to the Project

Human resource management.

This refers to the team’s ability to carry out the project effectively.

Project Organization Structure

This metric looks at how the stakeholders participated in the project.

Decision-makers

Communication management.

Under this metric, communication throughout the duration of the project is assessed.

Communication Management Plan

  • Summarize essential feedback collected . Describe the method by which these comments were gathered and who was solicited for feedback. Also include how they responded to each question and briefly discuss which items received great responses from the participants and which ones got few answers.
  • Take note of common themes or trends of feedback gathered .
  • From the feedback gathered, also take note of any opportunities from this feedback and discuss how these opportunities can be applied to future projects, or in the organization itself .

Lesson Learned

  • Give a brief discussion of what the team learned when carrying out the project . Among these learnings, discuss which ones can be applied to future projects and how it will impact not only those future projects but also the whole organization.

Other Metrics

Other points of interest may not have been captured in the Project Status Report and may be included in the Project Closeout Report. Some of these factors include:

Duration and Effort by Project Phase

Benefits realized, benchmark comparisons, keys to an effective project closure report.

  • The closure report is mostly a summary of all efforts related to the project . It is important to ensure that all highlights of the project have been properly documented so that retrieval of these reports is easier and all efforts will be acknowledged.
  • Emphasize the high points the project delivered, how efficiently it was done, and what has been learned from the process.
  • If there are notable variances during the project implementation, make sure to provide a fact-based explanation on it . In addition, the impact of this difference must also be described.
  • A critical point in a project closure report is establishing the link between the project performance, the lessons learned, and the steps that will be taken by the organization for its continuous improvement . Aside from the project deliverables, another valuable output of a project is the learnings derived from the process and how it will be translated into concrete concepts applicable to the business processes of the organization.

Executive Summary

A little bit different from the types of project reports previously mentioned, an Executive Summary  is a distinct kind of report which uses different language. It is a high-level report which aims to provide a bigger and deeper understanding of the project—how it will benefit the organization and how it will fit into future business strategies. It is written with a busy executive in mind, someone who has a lot of important things to do and may find reading a lengthy piece of prose a waste of precious time. Factual and objective, this particular type of project report must be able to provide a realistic status of the project, as business executives understand that everything may not go according to the plan.

Some may confuse an executive summary with an abstract but, in reality, they are clearly distinct from one another and serve a different purpose.

An abstract is usually written for academic or scientific papers. It is written with a topic sentence which, generally, gives an overview of what the article is about. It is, then, supported by two or three supporting sentences which support the main idea of the topic sentence.

An executive summary, on the other hand, is composed of different sections discussing almost every significant aspect of an undertaking. It consists of sequentially arranged key points supported by conclusions and recommendations. Check our in-depth article on how to write an effective executive summary .

Things to Remember in Writing Project Reports

Here are some of the principles that need to be observed in writing an effective project report;

Write for the reader

The report should have a structure, ensure that the report is evidence-based and is supported by data, make it as objective as possible.

There is a clear distinction between facts and opinions . These should never be used together, especially if the report is dwelling on a failed project. The report becomes subjective if it reflects personal opinions of the writer. Make it objective by eliminating all parts which are not based on facts and real events. If it is really necessary to include a personal view or opinion, make sure to explicitly identify it as such. A separate section of the project report may be devoted to the writer’s personal opinion to keep the rest of the report unbiased.

There are a number of ways project reporting helps an organization, a team, and even the project itself and here are some of them:

It tracks the progress of the project

It helps identify risks, it helps manage project cost, it gives stakeholders an insight on how the project is performing, project report template: free download.

project status report

Click Here to Download Project Status Report XLSX

project update report

Click Here to Download Project Update Report DOC

project updated report 2

Click Here to Download Project Update Report 2 DOCX

general project report

Click Here to Download General Project Report DOCX

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Templates on ProsperForms:

project status report form template

Edit and use this template

monthly status report form template

Additional Sources

  • How to Write an Outstanding Weekly Report + Free Template Download
  • Project Status Dashboard and Project Tracking
  • How to Create a Project Meeting Template + Free Download

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How to write a project report: [templates + guide] 

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Writing a project report is an essential but often overlooked contributor to your project’s health.  However, without the use of automation and templates, it can be a little time-consuming to collect and organize the relevant data that the project generates.

In this post, we’ll explore the basics of project reporting. We’ve included some useful templates and tips to create clear and helpful project reports in less time.

If you want to start creating better project reports using monday.com, sign up today.

What is a project report?

A project report is a document where you share details about different areas of your project. Depending on the report type , your audience, and your intention, the details you showcase might differ.

Project reports can be broken down by time— daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly— or a number of other factors like risk, budget, and project management style. Bottom line? They simplify the process of gathering and disseminating information about key information on the project. For instance, a typical report might include:

  • Resources you’ve used so far
  • How project time is being spent
  • How you’re doing against key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Workload and team availability

What is the purpose of project reporting?

Reporting gives you, your team, and your stakeholders the ability to track project progress against the original plan. The main goal of a project report is to improve decision-making, to help you make sense of your project data, and decide what your next steps should be. This in turn can impact your budget, timeliness, and project success.

It also plays a vital role in your stakeholder engagement strategy, as it keeps everyone informed on the progress of projects they’re interested in. Those are just a few of the reasons why project reporting has become the most common activity among PMOs (Project Management Offices).

A graph representing the most popular activities undertaken by PMOs

( Image Source )

5 steps to create a useful project report

Project reports can be useful – or they can end up as a 20-page PDF that lives in a drawer somewhere. To put together a report that your project stakeholders can use to gain insights, make decisions and optimize processes, take the following systematic approach to writing your project reports:

1. Define the purpose and scope: Clearly establish the goals, objectives, target audience, and information needs of your project report. 2. Gather and organize data: Collect and organize all relevant data, ensuring its accuracy and reliability. 3. Structure and outline: Create a clear and logical structure for your report and outline the key points you want to cover. 4. Present information effectively: Use clear and concise language and visual aids like graphs or charts to present the information in an easily understandable, visually appealing manner. 5. Review and revise: Proofread your report for any errors or inconsistencies, ensure that it addresses the defined purpose and scope, and revise as necessary to improve clarity.

The different types of project management reports [with templates]

You can split project reports into different types and categories. Here are five different types of project mangement reports, with monday.com templates you can customize for your unique project and team set-up.

1. Project status report

Probably the most frequently used, a project status report offers a general overview of the current status of your projects. A project status report answers the question: “How likely is it that we’ll complete this project on time without overrunning costs?”

These reports analyze whether you’re meeting project goals and key performance indicators. With our single project template , creating a status report is easier than ever.

How to write a project report: [templates + guide] 

2. Resource workload report

Resource workload reports help you visualize what your team’s working on, when they’re working on it, and how much work is left. These also reports help you understand how your assets are being used and make sure your actions are aligned with the overall objective.

Our resource management template helps you organize all your assets, locations, and people into one place and track every action with accuracy. You can also manage your resource allocation initiatives and make sure you don’t assign the same resource twice in multiple tasks.

resource management screenshot in monday.com

3. Portfolio report

Portfolio reports take a look at all your projects and consolidate all the data into a single document. These reports capture high-level milestones, status, progress, and highlights of your portfolio strategy.

With our portfolio management template , you can track unlimited projects on a single board and get a quick snapshot of their health and profitability.

Portfolio management screenshot

4. Task list/Time-tracking report

Time-tracking reports, also known as timesheets, help you measure how your team is spending their time and spot potential bottlenecks.

With our team task list template , you can bring in your entire organization, assign tasks to peers, track time and measure the project progress at a glance.

monday.com's team task tracker screenshot

5. Expense report

A project might seem healthy – until everyone starts reporting expenses  at the end of the time period. With our expense tracking template , you can proactively manage your cash flow regardless of your accounting skills (or lack thereof!)

expense report in monday.com

Want to try out these templates – and much more? Check out monday.com today.

FAQs about Project Reports

What are the benefits of a project report.

A project report provides a comprehensive overview of a project’s objectives, progress, and outcomes, serving as a valuable documentation and communication tool. It allows stakeholders to assess your project’s effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions based on reliable data.

What are the main types of project reports?

The most commonly used types of project reports include:

  • Progress reports
  • Resource management reports
  • Project portfolio reports
  • Time-tracking reports
  • Evaluation reports
  • Final reports

What are the main components of a project report?

This will depend on the project and the type of report you’re using, but project reports might include:

  • Project objective
  • Project scope
  • Project milestones
  • Project expenses or budget
  • Project schedule and timeline
  • Project progress
  • Resource management
  • Risk assessment
  • Stakeholder communication
  • Financial summary

How to create insightful project reports with monday.com

monday.com makes it easy to create effective project reports. Try it for yourself and see:

Business operations

Here’s why monday.com can make your project reporting better:

  • Track project data in a centralized location, so you have all the information you need to make useful reports.
  • Use monday.com’s customized visualization tools to visualize and summarize project data the way you want to see it.
  • Set up dashboards to see all of your projects at a glance.
  • Take advantage of monday.com’s reporting functionality . You can choose between built-in report templates or customized reports if you have more specific requirements.
  • Share your reports with project stakeholders , team members, or even clients directly from monday.com.
  • Our embedded communication tools let you collaborate on your reports in real-time, gather feedback, and address any questions or concerns.

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How to Write an Effective Project Report in 7 Steps (+ examples in Microsoft 365)

Shubhangi Pandey

By: Shubhangi Pandey | Published on: Nov 3, 2023 | Categories: BrightWork 365 , Microsoft 365 , Project Reporting | 0 comments

How to Write an Effective Project Report in 7 Steps (+ examples in Microsoft 365)

In an age where remote work is becoming the new every day and data-driven decision-making is more crucial than ever, project reporting has become more than a managerial obligation. It’s an art and a science that combines traditional project tracking with modern metrics and advanced data visualization.

This guide will walk you through seven essential steps to craft a project report that informs and engages your stakeholders. We’ll explore the role of AI in project management, delve into the importance of remote work metrics, and discuss cutting-edge data visualization tools that can make your reports more insightful.

Whether you’re a seasoned project manager or just getting started with project management basics , these steps will help you write a project report that adds value to your organization’s knowledge base for future projects.

Why are Project Management Tools Vital for Report Writing?

The importance of robust project management tools for effective report writing cannot be overstated. Here’s why:

  • Centralization : Project management tools are a central hub for all your project data, streamlining project management and reporting processes.
  • Efficient Tracking : These tools make it easier to monitor work progress during the monitoring phase of project management , helping you stay on top of tasks and milestones.
  • Risk Identification : Advanced features enable you to spot potential risks early, allowing for proactive management.
  • Stakeholder Communication : Keep all stakeholders in the loop with real-time updates and comprehensive reports.
  • Data Visualization : Utilize features like Power BI to transform raw data into insightful visuals, aiding in better decision-making.
  • Custom Reports : Depending on organizational needs, create specialized reports that offer in-depth analysis and recommendations upon project completion.

The Evolution of AI in Project Management Tools for Report Writing

When crafting an impactful project report, your tools can be a game-changer. And let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Artificial Intelligence. AI is no longer just a buzzword – it’s a reality transforming project management and reporting.

According to a systematic literature review published in MDPI , AI’s role in project management is increasingly significant, offering advanced capabilities like predictive analytics and risk assessment.

The Power of Predictive Analytics

These advanced AI tools centralize your project data and offer predictive analytics, risk assessment, and automated insights that can be invaluable for your report. Like Power BI revolutionized data visualization, AI algorithms can sift through massive amounts of data to highlight trends, predict risks, and recommend actions.

Making AI Accessible for Every Project Manager

Imagine reporting on what has happened and providing stakeholders with insights into what could happen. It’s like giving your project report a crystal ball. And don’t worry – embracing AI doesn’t mean you have to be a tech wizard. Many modern project management tools benefit from built-in AI features. 

A thesis from DiVA portal explores the implementation of AI in project management and its impact on working personnel, indicating that AI is becoming more accessible and user-friendly.

The Future of Data-Driven Decision Making

AI’s capabilities equip stakeholders with data-driven insights for strategic decisions. It’s not just about tracking work and identifying risks anymore – it’s about forecasting them and offering actionable solutions. Welcome to the future of project reporting.

Types of Project Reports and Their Formats

Understanding the types of project reports you need to create is crucial. Whether it’s a project summary report, a project health report, or a project completion report, each serves a unique purpose and audience.

Knowing the format, whether a pie chart, bar chart, or complete chart, can also help present the data effectively. Writing a report is a valuable opportunity to evaluate the project, document lessons learned, and add to your organization’s knowledge base for future projects.

Data Visualization: Modern Tools and Techniques

Data visualization has come a long way from simple pie charts and bar graphs. With the advent of AI, we now have tools that can display and interpret data. Think of AI-powered heat maps that can show project bottlenecks or predictive line graphs that forecast project completion based on current trends.

Techniques for Effective Data Presentation

Modern data visualization techniques like interactive dashboards, real-time data streams, and even augmented reality (AR) representations are making it easier than ever to understand complex project metrics. These aren’t just for show; they offer actionable insights that can significantly impact project outcomes.

Making Data Visualization Accessible

The best part? These advanced visualization tools are becoming increasingly user-friendly. You don’t need to be a data scientist to use them. Most project management software now integrates seamlessly with these tools, making it easier than ever to incorporate advanced data visualization into your regular reporting.

The New Normal of Remote Work

In today’s digital age, remote work is becoming the new normal. As project managers, adapting our reporting techniques to this changing landscape is crucial.

Critical Metrics for Remote Teams

When it comes to remote teams, some metrics become even more critical. Think along the lines of ‘Remote Engagement Rate,’ ‘Digital Communication Effectiveness,’ and ‘Virtual Team Collaboration.’ These KPIs offer a more nuanced understanding of how remote teams are performing.

Tools for Tracking Remote Work Metrics

Fortunately, modern project management tools have features specifically designed to track these remote work metrics. From time-tracking software to virtual “water cooler” moments captured for team morale, these tools make remote work measurable in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago.

Project Timeline and Milestones

A well-defined project timeline and key milestones are essential for any project. They not only help in keeping the project on track but also provide a basis for decision-making. 

Project management software can automate this process, ensuring that reports are always up-to-date. Try the steps outlined below for writing better project reports.

Manage Projects and Portfolios with Microsoft 365

project report analysis

See how you can start any project using templates for Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Teams.

How to Write an Effective Project Report in 7 Steps

Writing an effective project report is crucial for evaluating the project’s health, keeping stakeholders informed, and setting the stage for future projects. Here are seven steps to guide you through the process.

1. Decide the Objective

Take some time during the project management initiation phase to think about the purpose of the report. Do you need to describe, explain, recommend, or persuade? Having a clear goal from the outset ensures that you stay focused, making engaging your reader easier.

Understanding the objective is the cornerstone of effective project reporting. Whether crafting a project summary report or a detailed project performance report, aligning your content with the aim will make your report more coherent and actionable.

This is also the stage where you decide the key milestones and metrics to highlight in the report.

2. Understand Your Audience

Understanding your audience is crucial for crafting a report that resonates. Whether you’re writing for stakeholders or team members, the language, data, and visuals should be tailored to their preferences and needs.

  • Language & Tone : Consider the communication style of your audience. Is a formal or informal tone more appropriate? Tailoring your language can build rapport and make your message more impactful.
  • Data & Graphics : Choose the types of data and visual aids that will most effectively convey your message to your specific audience.
  • Personal Preferences : Pay attention to how your audience typically communicates, whether in emails or other documents and try to mirror that style.
  • Report Format : Different stakeholders may require different levels of detail. A project manager may want an in-depth analysis, while a sponsor only needs an executive summary.
  • Audience Personas : Utilize audience personas to guide the tone, style, and content, ensuring your report caters to the diverse needs of all project stakeholders.

3. Report Format and Type

Before you start, check the report format and type. Do you need to submit a written report or deliver a presentation? Do you need to craft a formal, informal, financial, annual, technical, fact-finding, or problem-solving report?

You should also confirm if any project management templates are available within the organization.

Checking these details can save time later on!

Different types of project reports serve other purposes. A project status report provides a snapshot of where the project is, while a project health report dives deeper into metrics. 

Make sure to consider the medium – will this report be a PDF, a slideshow, or an interactive dashboard? The format can significantly impact how the information is received.

4. Gather the Facts and Data

Including engaging facts and data will solidify your argument. Start with your collaborative project site and work out as needed. Remember to cite sources such as articles, case studies, and interviews.

To build a compelling case in your report, start mining your collaborative project site for crucial metrics like project milestones, resource utilization, and project health. Supplement this with additional data from external sources like articles and case studies. 

Utilize data visualization tools like pie charts or bar graphs to make complex information easily digestible. Ensure the data is current to maintain the report’s credibility and remember to cite your sources for added reliability.

5. Structure the Report

How you arrange your report is pivotal in how well your audience can digest the material. A logically organized report improves readability and amplifies its impact in delivering the core message.

Your report should have a natural progression, leading the reader from one point to the next until a decisive conclusion is reached. Generally, a report is segmented into four key components:

  • Opening Overview: This is the first thing your reader will see, and it’s usually crafted after the rest of the report is complete. Make this section compelling, as it often influences whether the reader will delve deeper into the report.
  • Introduction: This section sets the stage by offering background information and outlining the report’s cover. Make sure to specify the report’s scope and any methodologies employed.
  • Body: Here’s where your writing prowess comes into play. This is the meat of the report, filled with background, analyses, discussions, and actionable recommendations. Utilize data and visual aids to bolster your arguments.
  • Final Thoughts: This is where you tie all the report’s elements together in a neat bow. Clearly state the following steps and any actions the reader should consider.

6. Readability

Spend some time making the report accessible and enjoyable to read. If working in Word, the Navigation pane is a great way to help your reader work through the document. Use formatting, visuals, and lists to break up long text sections.

Readability is not just about the text but also about the visual elements like pie charts, bar colors, and even the background color of the report. Use these elements to break the monotony and make the report more engaging. Also, consider adding a table of contents for longer reports to improve navigation.

The first draft of the report is rarely perfect, so you will need to edit and revise the content. If possible, set the document aside for a few days before reviewing it or ask a colleague to review it.

Automate and Streamline Project Reporting with Microsoft 365

Project reporting can often be a laborious and time-consuming task. Especially on a project where there are so many moving parts and different people involved, getting a clear picture of what’s going on can be pretty tricky.

That is why we recommend moving to a cloud-based solution for project management and reporting – and you might have guessed it: we recommend Microsoft 365! If you’re considering SharePoint, check out our build vs buy guide.

Why use Microsoft 365 for project reporting?

There are many benefits to using Microsoft 365 as the platform for your project management reporting, including:

  • Centralizing your project management and reporting on Microsoft 365 brings your project information into one place, so you can automate reporting and save time. If you’re still using excel for project management , here’s why you should consider switching.
  • You can access configurable and filterable reports based on the audience by leveraging the available reporting mechanisms in Power Apps, Power BI, and Excel. Everyone can see the information in the way they need.
  • Linked into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, reports can appear in Power Apps, Power BI, exported to Excel, emailed in Outlook, or seen in MS Teams, so reports are available wherever the audience is working.
  • Having project data maintained in a single platform means that project reports are always up to date. No more chasing up PMs or team members for the latest document version!

5 Ways you can use BrightWork 365 for Project and Portfolio Reporting

BrightWork 365 is a project and portfolio management solution for Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform. Here are five ways you can leverage BrightWork 365 and Microsoft 365 for more efficient project reporting:

1. Capture Project Status Reports in a few minutes

BrightWork project sites have a “Status” tab where the project manager can capture what is happening. This is not a status report but a place for the PM to log the current status.

project report analysis

2. Track the project schedule with Gantt

project report analysis

3. Get High-Level Visibility into Programs and Portfolios

BrightWork 365 enables a hierarchy for your project management – with Portfolios being the highest level. For example, a portfolio may house all the projects in a company.

project report analysis

4. Surface Risks and Issues across all projects

One of the most critical elements for senior executives and project stakeholders is being aware of the project risks, especially understanding any issues that arise quickly.

project report analysis

5. Leverage Visual and Interactive Reports

The type and format of a report often depends on the audience. For example, senior executives often want the high-level details of a project. That’s where BrightWork 365 Power BI Dashboards come in.

project report analysis

Spend less time on your project reports with BrightWork 365

Streamline your project reporting process with BrightWork 365, a tool to centralize and automate your project data. Whether you prefer real-time dashboards or scheduled email reports, BrightWork 365 adapts to your needs, eliminating the tedious aspects of project reporting. Consider the following:

  • Centralization : BrightWork 365 consolidates all project information into a single platform, making it easier to manage and report.
  • Real-Time Reporting : As data is updated, reports are generated in real-time, ensuring you always have the most current information.
  • Flexible Access : Reports can be accessed through various methods, including logging in to view customizable dashboards or receiving scheduled email summaries.
  • Efficiency : The tool automates the reporting process, freeing time and reducing manual effort.

Conclusion: The Future of Project Reporting

Project reporting has undergone a significant transformation, thanks partly to technological advancements like Microsoft 365 and BrightWork 365 . As we’ve discussed, it’s not just about tracking tasks and milestones anymore. 

Today’s project reports are data-rich, AI-enhanced documents that offer predictive analytics and actionable insights. They also cater to the unique challenges and KPIs relevant to remote teams.

As we look to the future, we can expect even more advancements in project reporting technology. However, the core principles of clear objectives, a deep understanding of your audience, and a well-structured format will remain constant. 

By adhering to the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to adapt to new tools and technologies, ensuring that your project reports remain valuable for decision-making and strategic planning.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2016 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness

Image credit 

project report analysis

Use BrightWork 365 to leverage Microsoft Templates, Power Automate, and Power BI for Project Pipeline Management

Shubhangi Pandey

Shubhangi Pandey

Shubhangi is a product marketing enthusiast, who enjoys testing and sharing the BrightWork 365 project portfolio management solution capabilities with Microsoft 365 users. You can see her take on the experience of the template-driven BrightWork 365 solution, its unique project management success approach, and other personalized services across the site and social channels. Beyond BrightWork, Shubhangi loves to hunt for the newest Chai Latte-serving café, where she can read and write for hours.

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How to prepare a project management report

A project management report is an essential project management tool.

It provides a summary overview of the project’s status that you can share with stakeholders, clients and team members. Ideally, the project report is just a page or two long. And it ensures everyone can quickly assess what’s on schedule, and what’s lagging behind or is overdue.

Good communication, management, and organization are central to effective  project management . Regular project management reports help to ensure your project stays on track. And you can also use project reports to manage risk, as well as monitor budgets, and timelines.

Furthermore, the project report can double up as a record-keeping tool for past decisions and actions.

The frequency of your project management report depends on the project’s size and complexity. Monthly reporting is a minimum requirement for most projects, and many produce weekly status reports.

It’s also good practice to produce project management reports throughout the entire lifecycle of the project.

What information needs to be included in a project management report?

The report’s purpose is to update all  project stakeholders  on progress and identify any major issues that might have arisen..

The detail may vary from project to project, but all project management reports should include the following information:

Project milestones

Latest project update

Current project health

The aim is to provide a high-level snapshot of where things are at. Project stakeholders want to be able to see at a glance the project’s status. Make sure your project report clearly identifies the following:

An assessment of the project’s progress against the project plan: Is the project ahead or behind schedule?

A rundown on tasks completed and what’s next in the pipeline: Is overall completion of tasks on track?

A summary of actual costs against budget: Is the budget over or underspent?

An overview of project risks and any issues identified: Has the project’s risk profile changed requiring action?

Plus, any action points or to-do items that need attention.

Tips on how to write a project management report

Keep it short and simple.  Project stakeholders don’t want to get bogged down in too much detail. The report should provide an accessible overview of the project’s status. A weekly 20-page document will simply go unread.

Be concise, and avoid technical jargon.  Not all stakeholders will be familiar with the project’s acronyms or technical terms. Make it an easy read for everyone by using everyday language.

Make it visual.  Charts, graphs, and diagrams will bring the data to life, making it much more accessible. In Teamwork.com, project management reports are color-coded to show the status of whether it’s completed, active or late. This makes it easier for project stakeholders to see at a glance where things are at.

Be honest about progress.  If the project is behind schedule or is over budget, it’s best to be upfront. After all, the sooner a problem is identified, then the sooner it can be resolved and the project can move forward.

Highlight any action points.  Make it easy for project stakeholders. If a client, team member or stakeholder needs to do something, then clearly identify what’s required, by who and when.

Project Management Reporting: Conclusion

A well-prepared project management report is an excellent tool for keeping everyone updated. Plus, it will help you to effectively manage the project and keep it on track.

For more information and advice on project management, check out our  project management workbook .

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How to write a Project Report - Guide & Templates

Table of contents, what is a project outline, what is a project report.

A project report is a document created for a team or company that ensures a project stays on track. The project report should describe progress, milestones, and roadblocks.

Why is a project report important?

Project Reports are a core part of any project management process. There are a few key documents necessary for successful project progress, and a project report is undoubtedly one of them.

Alongside a project plan, a project report holds significant weight in justifying budgets, team members, tools, and other resources. In this article, we'll explore one of the two types of project reports any project manager needs to be able to write.Report number one is an ongoing project status report ; this report will be needed on more than one occasion throughout a project's life span and explores the overall progress of the project.

Report number two is a project completion report ; this report comes at the end of the project and wraps everything up.

We've also provided a project report template that you can adapt to your project and project report type that you need.

2 types of project reports

A Complete Guide to Project Reports

Why write a project report in the first place.

This report is so crucial in keeping key players up to date - we'll explore who exactly you need to be writing for in the next point. A project status report is needed to give a summary of a project , significant changes, and to keep a record of the project's progress.

A project status report adds milestones and target reminders to the process. Without the report, many project teams will struggle to keep up the momentum on long term projects.

Who prepares project reports?

A project status report is typically prepared by insiders who are involved in its day-to-day workings. Usually this is the project management team, a body of project managers and department executives with general or specific knowledge of the project.

Who is a project status report for?

A project report will need to be written for different people; each stakeholder will require different information that's important to them - remember this when putting together the progress of the project. It's not a one size fits all situation.

You may be dealing with sensitive information that could damage relationships or even severe them if put in front of the wrong eyes. At the same time, you could be releasing information that isn't relevant to certain people; in receiving an onslaught of information someone may miss the data or info that is specifically important for their eyes.

Different people that need to see an ongoing project status report:  

  • Project Stakeholders need the status report to stay in the loop and aligned with other team members
  • Project Team need to know the project's progress across all departments and divisions
  • ‍ Project Sponsors use the project status report to provide necessary guidance and resources to the teams and managers
  • Leadership uses project status reports to stay apprised of the project's progress
  • ‍ Finance Team use the project status report to determine areas that need funding allocation and to avoid potential cost overruns
  • ‍ Contractors can see the project's priorities and timelines and allocate time and resources accordingly
  • ‍ Project Management uses the status report to produce project manager reports on their department's progress

When to write a project status report?

This largely depends on the timeline (or predicted timeline for that matter) outlined in your project manager reports . If your project is expected to run over a few years, it may be best to create quarterly project status reports. However, if your project is set to run around six months to a year, monthly is recommended.

For all of the help that project status reports provide, it's important to remember that they can be pretty time consuming to make. We've provided a sample project report in this article to make your job easier; however, it's still a process. This is why we recommend incorporating a project proposal template as well.

For all the time a project manager is putting into a status report, they're not putting the work into managing their team. Pick a regular period to deliver the report in and put it in the Gantt calendar. Be conscious of the time it consumes, and try to stick to the real-time delivery dates.

In doing this, you'll save a lot of time with unnecessary communication from different players. Questions like "What’s the status of XYZ?" "How's the budget looking for XYZ for the project?" can all wait for the regular report- leaving the team to focus on their job.

How to write a Project Report in 7 Steps

Step 1: define your objectives.

Clearly state the purpose of the report and explain why it is necessary. Defining your objectives and providing smart goal examples can help you stay focused while writing and keep those reading the report engaged and informed.

Step 2: Have Your Audience in Mind

When writing project reports, tailor the content and your tone of voice to the audience as much as possible. Use impactful graphics and important data to connect with the people who will be reading this report.

Step 3: Write the Outline

Before you start writing, first create a list of all the sections in your report. For more details, check "What to Include in a Project Status" below, or take a look at our status report templates .

Step 4: First Draft

After your outline and analysis, you can start a rough draft.  As the name suggests, it doesn't need to be perfect. If you are looking for a tool to help you put together project reports, try our document editor .

Step 5: Fine Tune Your Analysis

As time permits and new information comes in, fill in any data gaps or highlight any current or potential issues you find. Use the 'Findings' section to focus on the values, and make clear any limitations of the analysis.

Step 6: Recommend Next Steps

Once you have completed your data analysis, you will be able to propose actionable ideas towards the project's mutually desired outcome. The more solid your analysis and findings are, the more credible your project reports will be.

Step 7: Polish for Distribution

Before you send your report, proofread for grammar, spelling, and typos so that your final document looks as professional as possible. If you're sending the report in a group email, keep an eye on the file size.

What to include in a project status report?

Depending on who you're writing the report for, this will change. However, there are a few core elements to include for the project progress , despite who is reading the project report. ‍

Executive Summary

If you are wondering how to write a report about a project, start with an executive summary. Short overviews provide the reader with the essential takeaways from the report without having to read all the project details. Executive summaries are very helpful for those who need a quick glance at the project's general direction without wading through a lot of data.

Project Progress

In the project status report, the project's progress is tracked with real metrics. This provides an overview of the project's status and budget and also identifies potential risks and issues. This data-driven approach provides project management with feedback and enables them to make adjustments.

It's important to document all of the resources you had mapped out in your project plan . What do you have left still available? What have you used and found insufficient? Of what resources do you need more? This can include project management tools and physical resources like software or a PDF, but also human resources.

Timelines and targets

It's essential to give everyone an overview of your project timelines in these status reports, especially those that are outside of your project team and not using the project management software you're using.

At this point, be realistic with your timelines, not optimistic . Refer back to your Gantt calendar to help with this. Save your optimism for team meetings to spur your project team on in working more efficiently and hitting deadlines. In the reporting part, you need to be honest with your timelines and deliverables, both with the goals you have or have not hit and those you expect to be on time with or not.

Many players further down the line will be working on the information you provided in this section of the project reports, it therefore needs to be accurate so they can manage their workload and be available on the predicted date.

Notable changes

This can radically vary but needs to be anything notable that's happened and is no longer abiding by the initial project plan. If you're using editable report samples for projects rather than a PDF, you can go back and edit your project plan to accommodate changes.

However, it's not recommended. You can't guarantee that your team will continuously be referencing the initial project plan once they've got a clear scope of what they need to do for the entire project.

Funding & budgets

The project manager should use the time dedicated to a project status report to reflect his or her budget. Accounting skills are vital for a project manager's success, and being able to handle a large budget will come in handy when it comes to managing the overall funding of a project.

In this part of the report, give a clear overview of expenses, predicted expenses, and visually highlights where you were over or under budget in real-time. The team can learn from this, not only for future projects but even for next month's project management status report.

Team performance

Use goals and targets to quantitatively identify if the team is performing well. While doing this, it's essential to consider the hurdles they've had to jump along the way. Have they faced exceptional circumstances that were not planned? If so, how did they cope and react to these challenges?  

Risk management

This is the final part of the Project Status report and one of the most important skill sets for a successful project manager: Risk Management . A project manager needs to have a certain amount of hindsight at play in their everyday work and be able to give an executive summary of all risks.

In the project status report, give an overview of any predicted risks and try to display them tiered so that any reader has a clear overview of what the greatest risks are right through to very low-level risks, and what can be done to prevent them. Always have a Plan B and adapt it every time a project status report is created.

The risk management report is often best accompanied by a risk analysis meeting. Come out of your meeting with detailed meeting minutes and use your team's knowledge and perspective to give a comprehensive overview of all the risks at play.

Project status preview

Project Report Examples

There are several different types of project reports. Here are some project reporting examples of the most widely used types.

Project Status Report

A project status report is used to communicate the project’s progress and to ensure that all parties involved are kept in the loop. Project status report examples include updates to all stakeholders as the project progresses, amended project plans, and notifications of any issues or risks that have arisen.

Project Tracking Report

Project tracking reports provide real numbers, metrics, and other key indicators of the project's progress. Tracking project report examples include data concerning project status, tasks, team performance, completion rate and other metrics in a comprehensive report.

Project Performance Report

Project performance reports are a more specialized project status report. Examples include overviews of progress, resource allocation, and costs. Project performance reports help monitor the project's current direction and forecast its success. Using performance reports, the team can address issues that are holding the project back.

Project Health Report

Project health reports are an example of project management reports that help identify potential issues before they occur, saving the firm money, time, and resources. When project sponsors and supervisors are notified of risks, they can adjust strategy accordingly before problems manifest.

Project Summary Report

You are writing for busy people when you prepare a project management report. Examples of tasks completed and financials let them see important data quickly, then allocate their time to sections that directly concern them. A project summary report should highlight key milestones and point out upcoming tasks.

Project Time Tracking Report

Project time tracking reports can help project managers gauge their teams' efficiency and identify areas for improvement. For example, project reports can show which parts of the project are requiring more time to complete and reallocate resources from issues that are requiring less hours than expected.

‍ Best practices when writing a project report

Wondering how to write a report on a project effectively? Look no further, we've got you covered!There are a few things you need to remember when putting together a project report to help ensure it's efficient and supports the project's success.

Knowing how to write project reports successfully is largely dependent on honesty.

There is no use in hiding deliverables or viewing the truth through rose-tinted glasses. You're not creating a presentation to win someone over here; you're creating a factual report to make sure everyone has as clear an overview as possible.

Stay honest throughout your reporting, give accurate numbers (don't round up or down), and don't make excuses. Remain critical.

Give as much information as possible

This comes at your judgment, but the more relevant information, the better. A project manager will have a fantastic overview of a project and the current status. For that reason, they're the best person to put together a project status report.

However, a project manager shouldn't be afraid to let team members fill in parts of the report if they have a better overview of a particular task within the project. Assign different areas of the project report to different team members and then review everything before the report is submitted.

Write clearly

Clear and concise writing skills are so crucial in making sure your project report is understood. Don't view the project status report as something you just need to get done and delivered.

Review it, make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. You'll be surprised at what the power of a comma can, do. See? Make sure the read of your report is as smooth as your project management skills.

Celebrate success

For all of the faults, risks, and problems you report in your project status report, it's essential to document your successes. A project is a rollercoaster. There will be ups and downs and spirals and flips. Identify which of these are wins and celebrate them.

By celebrating success, you will lift the morale of the project team and remind the project manager of what has been achieved so far.

Write for aliens

A proper project manager report example will be accessible for a wide audience.You'll be writing a project plan for many people, many of whom will not have had direct exposure to your team, your company, or the task/s at hand. When we say write for aliens, we mean writing for someone who has no clue what's happening.

Even the simplest of abbreviations or presumptions can be interpreted as something entirely different by someone else. Leave no room for error or misunderstanding.

Don't be afraid to use visuals

Visual support is fantastic for getting your point across or displaying information more clearly in a project status report. Visual aids can break up the monotony of the report if there's a lot of copy, which will be a welcomed relief on the eyes of any reader.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and for a good reason, if you're struggling to get your point across, then look for an example of it online. Use visuals as a supporting example of what you're saying.  

Automate processes where you can

Despite each project having its own landscape, you can surprise yourself with the amount that you can automate in your reporting process. Learn how to make the most of excel spreadsheets and tool integrations to see how you can backfill or auto-populate data into your project report.

It's these small time-saving hacks that will make your project report more efficient and better looking in the future.

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A Project Report Template

Use this project report sample as a starting point for your project reports. Adapt it to your company and project needs and share it with the right people to ensure your project stays on track.

Project Report Template

Clément Rog is working in our Marketing team from Lyon, France. He loves geography, playing legos with his son, and sharing convictions about marketing or design.

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How to Write a Project Report In 5 Easy Steps (Template Included)

Last updated on 31st January 2023

In this article we’re going to teach you how to write a project report in 5 easy steps.

Did you know that only 64% of projects meet their goals ? That means 36% fall short. And when projects don’t meet their goals it can result in a lot of headaches for your company.

The reasons why projects fail are plentiful but it typically comes back to poor planning or a lack of organisation. 

A solid project report can eliminate these issues and ensure you stay on track to complete your goals.

So, let’s take a look at how to write a project report in 5 easy steps…

Article Contents

What is a project report?

A project report is a document that contains helpful information so that teams can ensure their project stays on track, runs successfully, and completes on time. 

There are different types of project reports that are used at different periods throughout a project’s lifespan, but they all contain similar data that covers things like progress, tasks, roadblocks, stakeholders, and financial information. 

Why is a project report important?

Project reports are important for many reasons. A project report gives your project a sense of direction that can help you maintain consistency throughout the project, even as it passes between different people and teams. Your project report will also be a great document to refer back to if things get difficult, so you can stay on track. 

Even in the first instance, before your project kicks off, a project report can help you to manage your budget, workload, and any foreseen risks. It can also give stakeholders insight into the specifics of the project to help manage expectations from the start. 

Types of project report

There are many different types of project reports that will help you manage different aspects of your project. For example, a resource report will help you to understand the resources you’ll need for the project, how much resource you have at your disposal, and will also help you to predict when your resources will need to be replenished. 

Other examples include: risk assessment reports (to identify potential risks), board reports (to update investors/board members on project progress), and cost-benefit analysis reports (to help you measure benefits against the costs associated with them). 

Now, let’s dive into 3 of the biggest, most important types of project reports.

1. General project report

This is your first project report. It should cover predictions and plans for how you expect the project to go, and give you a clear sense of direction when it comes to things like budget, timelines, and everything else you need to keep track of in order for your project to be considered a success. 

2. Progress report

A progress report – as you may have guessed – comes in the middle and helps you document your progress. It’s important to keep reassessing your project to see if you are where you expect to be and to help you make adjustments along the way. 

A progress report is also very useful for managing stakeholder expectations and keeping them informed on how the project’s going.

3. Project completion report

As you wrap up your project, a project completion report can be a great way to reflect on what went well and what went wrong. This can not only help you wrap up the current project neatly, it can also inform future projects and ensure you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

How to write a project report in only 5 steps

There are many different types of project reports. So, of course, the writing of each one will differ slightly depending on who they are aimed at and what the content of the project report is. 

However, there are still some core steps to follow for each. Let’s take a look at how to write a project report in 5 steps. 

1. Start with the basics

At the very top of your project report should be a simple table that includes all of the core information for the project. Here’s an example: 

Project report table

The table for your project will probably vary slightly to this, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the most important top-level information to include. 

Underneath this table you should have a short summary of the project. This can be just a couple of sentences that sum up the objectives and goals. Think of this kind of like an elevator pitch for the project. 

2. Cover your objectives

Now it’s time to go into more detail. List out each objective for the project, including what you need to do to achieve each one. 

For example, let’s pretend our project is to create a brand video. There are many objectives, such as: 

  • Write a script
  • Storyboard the video 
  • Record a voiceover
  • Shoot the video
  • Edit the video
  • Come up with a plan for promotion 

Each objective will need to be completed in order to go on to the next. And each objective requires different resources and skill sets. All of this should be recorded, in detail, in your project report. 

3. List your obstacles

Next, list any predicted obstacles or risks. This may feel like a waste of time because of course you’re going to be avoiding risks and obstacles as often as you can. However, it’s important to be aware of the potential roadblocks that might appear so that you are prepared to handle them without slowing down. 

Some example obstacles for the brand video project could be: 

  • Equipment breaks
  • Weather ruins a shoot
  • Editing takes longer than planned

Next to each obstacle, jot down a quick plan for how you would solve this issue if it happened. For example, for “weather ruins a shoot” your potential solution could be to “choose a backup location”.

4. Create a project timeline

With any project, it’s important to know how long everything’s going to take. This is the best way to estimate how much time, money, and resource is required. 

A project timeline will help plot a path forward. To create a project timeline all you need to do is break down each objective into tasks and add a deadline for each task. It also helps to add an owner to each task, so you know who the point of contact is for each section of the timeline. 

This can be tricky to manage but becomes so much easier with a project management tool, like Project.co . When you create a project on Project.co, all of your clients and team members can see everything that goes on with the project in one centralised place. This includes tasks that can be allocated to team members, assigned a date, and a status – so everyone involved in the project can see how it’s progressing: 

project report analysis

You can also add comments, attachments, priority tags, and more. 

Plus, it’s easy to keep track of several tasks at once by using the calendar view: 

project report analysis

Other views available are kanban, list, and scheduler. 

5. Cover project communication

Somewhere on your project report you should include a link to your communication guidelines . This will help everyone involved on the project to understand what’s expected of them when it comes to communication, for example what tools to use and how to communicate. 

This can help your project run more smoothly and create a better result for everyone. According to our Communication Statistics 2022 , 95% of people feel that the businesses they deal with could improve when it comes to communication and project management . 

Writing a project report: 7 top tips 

1. Be clear

The perfect project report is clear and concise. Try your best to leave no room for errors or misunderstandings, and write in short definitive sentences. 

Being clear is especially important when it comes to timelines and targets. It can be helpful to plot out your tasks in a visual way, like a kanban view . This will make your project timeline easy to scan and understand.  

2. Be thorough

While it’s important to be clear and concise, it’s equally important to be thorough. Try to include as much relevant information in your project reports as possible.

One of the main functions of project reports, particularly project status reports, is to inform stakeholders on the progress of the project. So the more thorough you can be, the better. 

3. Be appropriate

A project report is an internal document that’s likely going to be shared between many different departments or teams in your business, so it’s important to make sure your language is appropriate. 

Keep the culture of the business in mind when writing your report. Use the same kind of tone and language that you would in other internal communication documents. This is especially important when you consider more than a third (35%) of businesses have lost an employee because of poor internal communication . 

4. Be honest

Your project report is not the place to sugarcoat anything. You should be honest, and brutally so. This means giving accurate and realistic figures, deliverables and deadlines. 

A project report should be a factual account so that everyone has a clear understanding of the data and knows exactly what to expect from the project. 

5. Be quick

It may seem contradictory to tell you to be thorough and quick with your project reports, but this just means don’t overload people with unnecessary information. Be succinct and to-the-point with every aspect of the report, from points of contact to resources and any potential roadblocks. 

The idea is for your project reports to be as easy to digest as possible, especially if you’re supplying busy stakeholders with a steady stream of ongoing status reports. 

6. Be prepared

No project runs perfectly, so it can be helpful to be prepared for bumps in the road. You might want to leave an ‘other’ or ‘notes’ section at the bottom of your report where you can jot down anything that’s changed along the way. 

It can also help to leave room for slight adjustments in your timeline. Just a couple of buffer days here and there can really reduce stress for your teams, and also help ensure your deadlines are more realistic. 

7. Be proud

When you’re carefully documenting things like risks and problems, your project report can become pretty gloomy. So it’s important to even it out by also celebrating your team’s achievements. 

Every project has ups and downs, and by giving as much attention to the ‘ups’ as you do the ‘downs’ you can boost team morale and this can be reflected back on your project. 

Free project report template

As promised, here is your free project report template ! 

To use this document, make sure to hit File > Make a Copy to save it as your own. This way you can make edits and personalise it to perfectly fit your needs. 

Final thoughts

A solid project report can act almost like a map that clearly directs you towards your end goal, helping you to avoid risks along the way and take the best route to success.

In addition to a project report, a project management platform can also help you to maintain your focus and manage your project with ease, thanks to centralised communication and complete visibility of all your work. Click here to get started for free .

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Table of Contents

What is a project report, 5 steps to create a project report from scratch, project report objectives, project report components, common project report types, project report use cases, project report examples, opening and viewing reports with microsoft , change data in your report , change the report format , make your report , share your report , choose the right program, train to become a project leader today, how to create a project report: objectives, components, and more.

How to Create a Project Report: Objectives, Components, Use Cases, and Examples

Managing a project is by no means an easy feat. Many moving parts can make it complicated to stay focused on the tasks and keep stakeholders up to date on the project status. This is why project reports are a useful tool for project managers .

These project reports can be used to provide direction for team members, offer status updates for partners or management teams, and successfully manage risk mitigation – to name just a few! 

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Let’s take a closer look at how to create a project report including its many objectives, components, and examples of project reports.

A project report is a comprehensive document that provides detailed information about a specific project. It typically outlines the project's objectives, scope, methodology, progress, findings, and outcomes. A project report often includes details about the project's goals, activities, timelines, resources used, challenges faced, and the results achieved. It serves as a formal record of the project's lifecycle, serving both as a documentation of the work done and as a communication tool to convey the project's status and outcomes to stakeholders, sponsors, or interested parties. Project reports are commonly used in various fields such as business, engineering, research, and academia to assess the effectiveness and success of a project.

Creating project reports is an integral part of evaluating project success. Documenting the lessons learned and sharing them with a larger team in an organized way can help with future projects. You can use different tools to put together your project report. Here are 7 basic steps involved in creating a project report - 

1. Know Your Objective 

Sit down, evaluate your objectives, and understand what you want to describe, explain, recommend, and prove with your report. Having set goals will not only help you proceed with your project report but also help readers understand your point of view. 

2. Recognize Your Audience

Your audience plays an essential role in making your project report a success. A formal annual report differs from a financial report: the language, representation of data, and analysis changes per your target audience . 

3. Data Collection 

The chances of you having a solid report is when data supports it. Data plays an essential role in making people believe in your derivations. Also, support your claims by citing sources such as case studies, surveys, interviews, etc. 

4. Structure the Report

A project report is further divided into certain sections. These 4 are the most common divisions of a project report:

  • Summary: The summary gives the reader a download of all covered in the project report. Even though a summary is placed at the beginning of a project report, you can only write it once your entire report is complete. 
  • Introduction: Mention the outline of the report, give context and mention the scope and methodologies used in the report. 
  • Body: This is the lengthy section of the report as it contains background details, analysis, data, and graphics. 
  • Conclusion: This section brings the entire project report together. 

5. Edit and Proofread 

Once your project report is ready, read it multiple times with some time gap. You can ask your co-workers to review it. 

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Every project report starts with a solid project report objective. Your objective should provide precise direction for the rest of the report. Consider what purpose you want your project report to serve. Are you describing new risks or explaining project delays? Or will your report focus on persuading management teams or stockholders to invest additional funds into the project? 

A thorough understanding of your objective will help guide you in writing the report and make the purpose of the report clear to all stakeholders.

Here are a few examples of project report objectives:

  • Requesting approval for a new project
  • Tracking the progress of the project
  • Identifying and managing risks
  • Managing costs and budgets
  • Requesting financial assistance

Your project report will be bursting with essential information about your project. Although the content of your report will differ depending on the type of report you’re creating, keeping your report organized will make it easy for the reader to follow along without missing any critical points. Organize your data and content into sections that allow all stakeholders to quickly reference.

Consider including some of the following project report components:

Executive Summary 

The first section of your report will likely include an executive summary. The brief overview should provide all the essential takeaways from the report, allowing the reader to understand the report's contents without having to read through all of the project details.

Project Progress

This component includes real metrics that track your project’s progress. It offers an overview of the project's status and budget while identifying risks or issues that may have emerged. Helping project management and other stakeholders reflect on the project schedule and make amendments as needed.

Risks and Risk Management

What risks have developed that may affect the quality, timeline, or budget of your project? How will you control these emerging elements? It’s inevitable that all projects will face risks, so it’s how you intend to manage those risks that’s important to the project team and stakeholders. Include a detailed analysis of the risk, your proposed solutions, and how these new elements will affect the project as a whole. 

Are your financials where they need to be for the current status of your project? Will more capital be required to reach your goals effectively? Provide a detailed overview of the allocation of your budget including materials, labor, and operating costs. 

Reflect on your project goals. Is the project behind, ahead, or on schedule? How will any changes to your timelines affect your budget or resources? Include an overview of tasks that have already been completed and a comprehensive schedule of remaining tasks.

Resources may include materials, machinery, or even funding required to complete your project. Provide a detailed summary of your current resource allocation. What are detrimental resources for your project running low? Are there any excess amounts?  

Team Performance

Is your team completing tasks efficiently? Are there any skill or knowledge gaps that need to be addressed? Compare your team’s performance to your initial goals to identify the group’s progress.

A project report is a simple and detailed description of the essence of the project and its aims and aspirations. The business management team and stakeholders are kept updated on every development regarding the project; based on that, they prepare their strategy. This vital information keeps the communication line open between the management team and the stakeholders, providing them with a complete picture of every action concerning the project. 

A project report includes the necessary recommendations for all types of businesses, established and start-ups. Moreover, organizations use project reports to procure financial help from institutions. Project reports can be of various types that help everyone complete a project successfully. Based on the report, your team can take up any activity that benefits the project. 

Status Reports

It talks about the progress going on with a project. It also states various significant activities associated with the project. This status report organizes the communication medium between the team and the stakeholders. It summarizes the finished tasks on the project at hand. It includes the budgetary details and the timeline of the project. It also helps identify the risks related to the project and measures to tackle them beforehand. The status report also keeps track of the events or actions or any activity taken in the past. Status reports are carried out weekly, daily, monthly, or quarterly. They help collect and distribute information about crucial activities in a project in a smooth manner. 

Progress Report

While executing a project, a progress report is inevitably carried out to update everything about the project. It usually includes things like if the project baseline is fulfilled. It indicates the initial plan you prepared along with your stakeholders about a project regarding the expectations, schedules, cost, deliverables , and scope of it. A progress report informs your stakeholders how much progress has been made in the above directions. 

You should prepare this status report in a specific manner by stating the project title, contact information, a summary of the status, and providing all the information about the budget, timeline, and expected completion date of the project. You can take the help of several such free templates available online to make the status report. 

Risk Reports

This type of report explains the risks associated with the project in a documented form. It covers details about risks that are managed already and the emerging ones. It includes the overall risk profile of the project. Risk reports identify and state potential risks that could alter the duration of the project and tips to manage them. 

Board Executive Reports

An executive report is a summary of the business plan of an organization for lending partners. It enables the team members to collect and combine the results of numerous research studies to help them decide on the project. It is the starting point of arranging a dialogue with the investors. It should be written in such a way that it creates the best impression in the minds of the lenders. It should be short and precise and comprehensively analyze the project. 

Cost Benefit Analysis Report

This kind of report helps organizations know if a particular project is possible or not. It will show you how much the project will benefit your organization against the investment. It will help you decide if a project is worth taking on for your organization and how much business profit it will get you at the end of the day. Alternatively, it will also help your organization better utilize its resources while progressing with the project. You can monitor your project expenses and spending to manage your funds better. 

Resource Reports

This report highlights the distribution of resources according to the project tasks. The team members and the investors get the necessary information by reading this report on how well the resources are distributed in the project. It will give detailed narration about which team is assigned to which task according to the date wise. This type of report is beneficial for an organization to know if there is over allocation of resources as this could harm the project. Overall allocation happens when there are insufficient resources to complete all the crucial activities of the project. 

Variance Reports

This report helps you compare your overall project plan with the project's end result. It uses metrics to inform you if your project is running according to the timeline, ahead of time, or running late. Moreover, it will streamline the data based on the comparisons you have made on the project. With the availability of various project management tools , preparing this kind of report has become easier now. It cuts down your hard work by creating the project activity report and conveying it to the stakeholders. 

Gap Analysis Report

This report will examine the project's current status in the context of schedule, cost, and labor and, subsequently, compare the targeted status. It discovers and examines the gap between these two aspects and prepares a strategy or action plan on how to do the needful to reach the targeted objectives. Every business, whether a budding one or an established one, will need this kind of gap analysis report to perform better in terms of projects. This report will tell you how to take the successful step to graduate to the next level of your business. This will tell you whether you are fulfilling your business objectives and using your resources carefully. 

There are several common use cases for project reports in project management. These include:

Project Status Report 

A project status report is used regularly throughout a project to communicate the project’s progress in conjunction with the original project plan. The status report of a project provides all stakeholders with updates on the project’s development and performance. Your status report may cover issues or risks that have emerged and include your amended project plan.

Project Tracking Report

A project tracking report offers real numbers, metrics, and other key indicators that measure the project’s overarching progress. This comprehensive report covers all aspects of the project, including project status, tasks, project team performance, and how much of the project has been completed.

Project Performance Report

Performance reports provide an overview of the project’s progress, a breakdown of resource allocation, and costs to date. Your performance report will help monitor the project’s current direction and forecast how well it will perform.  

Project Health Report

A health report offers an analysis of any problem areas or risks within your project. Completing a project health report can help identify any potential issues before they occur, saving you time, money, and resources.

Project Summary Report

A project summary report provides a quick snapshot of the project’s status. Along with tasks completed and a summary of financials, the brief report should include any key highlights or milestones and a glance at upcoming scheduled tasks. 

Project Time Tracking Report

Project time tracking reports help the team and all stakeholders better understand the time allocation for each task. It’s a useful tool for project managers to gauge their teams' efficiency and identify what areas need improvement. 

Not sure where to start with your next project report? Consulting the right project report example can help you gain the direction you need.

Click here for a status report example.

Using Project, one can easily create new reports or customize them for various types of project data without relying on any other application or software. MS Project offers dozens that you can use right away. You can also customize any report’s content and look or build a new one from scratch.

  • Click the Report tab and then click the View Reports group. 
  • Select the type of report you need.

For instance, if you have to open the Project Overview report, navigate Report > Dashboards > Project Overview.

Project_Report_1

Reports Dashboard Option

Reports are customizable. So, you choose the data that MS Project will show in any part of a report. Follow the steps below to change the data in your report:

  • Click the chart or table you would like to alter. 
  • Use the Field list pane present on the right side to select fields to filter and show data. 
  • Also, clicking a chart displays three pop-up buttons on the right-hand side of the chart. You can opt for the Chart Elements or Chart Filters button to select elements and filter chart data.

For instance, take the previous Project Overview report as an example. You can change the % Complete chart and display critical subtasks rather than top-level summary tasks using the below-mentioned steps:

  • Click anywhere in the % Complete chart.
  • Now, in the Field List pane, navigate to the Filter box. 
  • Select the Critical option.
  • Next, pick level 2 in the Outline Level box. Let’s suppose that this is the first level of the outline with subtasks rather than summary tasks.
  • The chart will reflect the change as you make your selections.

Project_Report_2.

Changes in the % Complete Chart

Using Project, you can go from monotonous black-white to vivid effects and colors. With the Split view, you will be able to view the real-time report changes while you make the changes. To change the report format, take the following steps:

  • Click the report (you can click anywhere).
  • Now click Report Tools and click the Design tab. It will display options for changing the look of the entire report. 
  • Using this tab, you can alter the color, font, or theme of the entire report. You can also include images, charts, shapes, or tables here.

Project_Report_3.

Report Tools Options

  • Clicking on individual elements such as tables, charts, and others of a report will display new tabs at the top of the screen for formatting that part. 

Project_Report_4

Table Styles

  • Use the Drawing Tools Format tab to change shapes. 
  • The Picture Tools Format tab will help you add picture effects.  
  • You can configure and tweak tables using the Table Tools Design and Table Tools Layout tabs. 
  • The Chart Tools Format and Chart Tools Design tabs help tweak charts. Also, clicking on a chart displays three buttons on the right side of the chart. You can use the Chart Styles button to modify the chart color or style. 

Suppose you plan to change the % Complete chart in the Project Overview report. Click anywhere in the chart and tap on the Chart Tools Design.

Project_Report_5

% Complete Chart

  • From the Chart Styles, pick a new style for your chart. The option selected in the following image adds shadows to the columns and removes the lines.

Project_Report_6

Chart Styles in Chart Tools Design

  • Next, you can click Chart Tools Design > Change Chart Type to add some depth.

Project_Report_7

  • You can change the columns by clicking Column > 3-D Stacked Column.

Project_Report_8.

  • To add a background color, click Chart Tools Format > Shape Fill. Now pick a new color. You can explore more color options by clicking on more fill colors.

Project_Report_9.

Color Options for Chart

  • Alter bar colors by selecting the bars and then click the Chart Tools Format > Shape Fill option. Pick the color you want. 
  • You can drag the numbers upwards to get them off the chart. 

The above-stated changes will be reflected as follows.

Project_Report_10

% Complete Chart on Making the Changes 

Take the following steps to create a new report. 

  • Click the Report tab and then click New Report.
  • Pick from the four options: 
  • Blank: Provides a blank canvas that you can use to add charts, text, tables, and images using the Report Tools Design tab.
  • Chart: It is suitable for comparing Actual Work, Work by default, and Remaining Work. Using the Field List pane, you can pick different fields for comparison or use the controls to alter the format and color of the chart.
  • Table: It displays tabular information. Using the Field List pane, you can select what fields are to be displayed in the table.  
  • Comparison: It gives you two charts side-by-side. Initially, they will have the same data. You can click on the chart and choose the information of your choice in the Field List pane. 

Project_Report_11

Types of New Report Styles

  • Name your report and start adding information to it. All charts are fully customizable. You can easily add or delete elements to meet your needs.
  • You can make your new report available for future projects by using the Organizer to copy this new report into the global template. 
  • Click anywhere in the report.
  • Navigate Report Tools Design > Copy Report.

Project_Report_12

Copy Report Option

  • Now paste the report into any program of your choice. You might have to resize or align the report when you paste it elsewhere. You can also opt for the printing option for sharing hard copies. 

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Program Name PMP® Certification Training Course PMP Plus Post Graduate Program In Project Management glyph Icons All Geos All Geos All Geos University PMI Simplilearn University of Massachusetts Amherst Course Duration 90 Days of Flexible Access to Online Classes 36 Months 6 Months Coding experience reqd No No No Skills you wll learn 8+ PM skills including Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Charts, Resource Allocation, Leadership and more. 6 courses including Project Management, Agile Scrum Master, Implementing a PMO, and More 9+ skills including Project Management, Quality Management, Agile Management, Design Thinking and More. Additional Benefits -Experiential learning through case studies -Global Teaching Assistance -35PDUs -Learn by working on real-world problems -24x7 Learning support from mentors -Earn 60+ PDU’s -3 year course access Cost $$ $$$$ $$$$ Explore Program Explore Program Explore Program

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1. What is a project report and its significance?

A project report summarizes a project's key aspects, including its goals, timeline, budget, progress, and outcomes. It provides project managers with critical information to monitor and evaluate the project's performance, identify potential risks and challenges, and communicate progress to stakeholders.

2. What is the format of a project report?

A project report format is completely customizable depending on the project requirements and your choices. However, it should focus on the specific objectives of the project, its methodology,  major findings, and progress. 

3. How do you prepare a project report?

Preparing a project report is simple. Click Report > New Report and choose from the four options. Now, give a suitable name to the report and start adding information. 

4. What is a project report with an example?

A project report is a document providing detail on the project’s overall status or specific aspects of its performance. Irrespective of the report type, it contains project data based on economic, financial, technical, managerial or production aspects. For example, a Cost Overview report tells the current cost status of the project. It also reveals planned costs, remaining costs, cumulative costs, actual costs, and percentage of completion to help understand if the project is within budget.

5. How do you write a complete project report?

Writing a complete project report entails a proper start and closure, including

  • Labeling the document and writing the project overview 
  • Including a section for the project’s scope 
  • A well-formulated project performance analysis.
  • Highlighting the project’s accomplishments, results, and outcomes.

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Geektonight

What is Project Analysis? Stages of Project Analysis

  • Post last modified: 8 February 2022
  • Reading time: 16 mins read
  • Post category: Project Management

What is Project Analysis?

Project analysis is the assessment of every expense or problem related to a project, prior to the commencement of work on it. After evaluating the profitability of a project, the selection process is undertaken.

Table of Content

  • 1 What is Project Analysis?
  • 2.1 Project Identification
  • 2.2 Project Formulation
  • 2.3 Market and Demand Analysis
  • 2.4 Technical Analysis
  • 2.5.1 Period of analysis
  • 2.5.2 Financing Mix Decision
  • 2.5.3 Cut-off Criterion
  • 2.5.4 Evaluation of Investment Proposals
  • 2.6 Social Cost Benefit Analysis
  • 3.1 Types of Project Reports
  • 3.2 Feasibility and Detailed Project Report
  • 3.3 Project Completion Report

The decisions made during the selection of a project directly affect and frame a project’s requirements analysis. It is a trend that requirements analysis begins once a project has been selected. The mere existence of a market is not enough for a company or a project to succeed.

The company should also be able to sell the product. In this post, we have discussed, different analytical methods used to evaluate a project— market and demand analysis, technical analysis, economic and financial analysis and social cost and benefit analysis— have been discussed.

Stages of Project Analysis

Project identification, project formulation, market and demand analysis, technical analysis, economic and financial analysis, social cost benefit analysis.

Project identification is an important rung in project formulation. A project is conceived with the objective of meeting the market demand, exploiting natural resources, creating wealth etc.

Generally, development projects come from national planning. Industrial projects come from identification of commercial prospects and profit potential. Projects are introduced in order to achieve certain objectives. There may be several alternative projects that will meet these objectives.

It is necessary to mention all the other alternatives considered with justification in favour of the specific project proposed for consideration.

Project formulation involves the following steps, – opportunity studies/ support studies, identification of product/service, pre-feasibility study, feasibility study, project appraised, detailed project report.

An opportunity study identifies investment opportunity. A pre feasibility study is regarded as an intermediate stage between a project opportunity study and a detailed feasibility study. A feasibility study is a means to arrive at an investment decision.

The feasibility studies focus on Market and Demand Analysis, Technical Analysis, Economic and Financial Analysis, Social Cost-Benefit Analysis etc.

Market analysis aims at assessing the potential sales revenue from a proposed project. It is also known as market-feasibility study.

The approach for conducting a market-feasibility study would vary depending on the type of proposed product. For instance:

  • In case of a novel product idea, a market-feasibility check has to be based on indicators of buyer behaviour (in terms of their response to ‘new’ or ‘dream’ products) for estimating potential demand.
  • If a proposed product is new in an economy, but is successfully marketed in some other economy, its market feasibility is assessed through a meaningful comparison of some broad economic and cultural indicators in the two economies.
  • Per-capita income, income disparity level, pattern-indicating shift in choice for consumption, literacy level and such other economic factors can indicate the potential of demand for a particular proposed product.
  • If the proposed project is for addition in the capacity existing in the economy, the task of market-feasibility study will be historical data analysis and study of factors, which influence consumption trends. The above discussion is centred around a market-feasibility study for that product which is already selling in the market.

While initiating a project, it must be ensured that the required equipment/know-how is available with the entrepreneur. Technical Analysis establishes whether a project is technically feasible or not. Other types of analyses are clearly connected with technical analysis.

There may be two or more alternative technologies available for manufacturing a product/service. For example, soap can be manufactured either by semi-boiled process or by the fully boild process. Similarly, cement can be made either by the dry process or by the wet process.

The choice of technology is governed by a variety of considerations. These are as follows,– plant capacity, principal inputs, investement outlay and production cost, use by other units, product mix, latest developments, case of absorption.

Methods of production which are suitable to local economic, social, and cultural conditions are referred to as appropriate technology.

The propounders of appropriate technology opine that the technology should be evaluated in terms of the following question:

  • Whether the technology utilises local row materials?
  • Whether the technology utilises local man power?
  • Whether the goods and services produced cater to the basic needs?
  • Whether the technology protects ecological balance?
  • Whether the technology is harmonious with social and cultural conditions?

Satisfactory arrangements must be made to obtain the technical know how needed for the proposed manufacturing process.

Before any financial analysis is carried out, four basic decisions must be in place. These basic decisions are briefly explained as follows:

Period of analysis

Financing mix decision, cut-off criterion, evaluation of investment proposals.

  • Usually, the period of forecast is a matter of the company’s policy based on the considerations of factors like product life cycle, business cycle, rate of change in technology, and taste, managerial ability to foresee in the future and database available to support the forecast.
  • Information technology projects typically can be planned for about three years due to the technological development rate, short product life cycle and uncertainty caused by low entry barrier.
  • Project report for the purpose of loans will be prepared for the period of the loan. This limits the life of a forecast.
  • Time-value based evaluation techniques are sensitive to the cut-off rate and length of time and their results become less relevant for decision-making with the increasing span of time in analysis, especially when the cut-off rate is high. One can give a thumb rule that for a cut-off rate of around 15 per cent, about a 10-year analysis will be fine if time-value based techniques are used.
  • If the length of analysis is less than the approximate project life, then it is appropriate to forecast the resale value of all assets at the end of the terminal period and incorporate the terminal value in the last year’s cash flow for the project.

At the stage of financing mix and cost, the firm might not have raised capital for financing the project. The financing mix decision has three purposes:

  • Investigating the effect of new project financing on the company’s capital structure. Sometimes, a capital-intensive project may not be feasible if it may result into a very high debt as the only possible way of financing the project.
  • Approximating the cost of each type of new funds that will be raised for financing the new project.
  • Approximating the weighted average cost of capital, which can be used in deriving the cut-off rate required for accepting the new project.
  • The cut-off decision is a benchmark against which the project cash flow stream is compared to determine whether the project would attain its financial goal.
  • A cut-off rate is sometimes called a go-no-go criterion, hurdle rate or required rate of return.
  • If time-value-based evaluation techniques are used, the cut-off rate will be determined on the basis of cost of capital.
  • For other techniques where time value concept is not used, the appropriate cut-off must be decided.
  • There is a general belief that one has to use the cost of capital as the cut-off point when time-value-based techniques are used.

There are many techniques for the evaluation of investment proposals. Some focus on capital recovery, some measure profitability and some take into account the time value of money. For instance:

  • A project for establishing a new market territory may be evaluated on the basis of accounting rate of return but replacement of machines on the basis of net present value.
  • An appropriate evaluation technique is one that may be justifiably applied to a given investment proposal for the attainment of financial and non-financial goals within the constraints in which the firm operates.

Social cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA) is a systematic and cohesive economic method to survey all the impacts caused by an urban development project.

It comprises not just the financial effects (investment costs, direct benefits like tax and fees etc), but all the social effects, like pollution, safety, indirect (labour) market, legal aspects etc. The main aim of SCBA is to attach a price to as many effects as possible in order to uniformly weigh the above heterogeneous effects.

Two principal approaches for SCBA emerged towards the end of the sixties and in the early seventies of the last century,– one is UNIDO approach , and the other is L–M approach .

Some of the differences between UNIDO & L-M approach are :

  • The UNIDO approach measures costs and benefits in terms of domestic rupees. The L-M approach measures costs and benefits in terms of international prices.
  • The UNIDO approach measures costs and benefits in terms of consumption. The L-M approach measures costs and benefits in terms of uncommitted social income.
  • The stage-by-stage analysis recommended by the UNIDO approach focuses on efficiency, savings, and redistribution considerations in different stages. The L-M approach tends to view these considerations together.

Project Report and Audit

The management information system must evolve to generate the required reports so that cost, time and work can be monitored. Different levels of management require different reports at varying frequencies. Figure gives the pictorial idea about the report requirement at various levels.

Types of Project Reports

There are many reports and information sought on a regular basis as well as on need basis. A small list of the three types of reports is given as follows:

  • Cost reports
  • Time and efforts reports
  • Work status report

Feasibility and Detailed Project Report

The feasibility study report is prepared to support the investment proposal. Feasibilities related to technical, commercial and financial aspects are examined in detail by the experts. A feasibility study report is termed as a techno-economic feasibility study.

A detailed project report is a complete blueprint for the execution of the project. It is the project implementation guide for the project team. It describes functions, authority and activities along the line of time, cost and technical parameters. This report sets the standards for time, cost and work with which results can be later compared as and when the work progresses.

Project Completion Report

Once the project is terminated and handed over to the operations team, a project review is undertaken. The end result of the project review is the preparation of the project completion report (PCR).

A project completion report is a document that would give a comparison of the actual costs and the time with the originally budgeted ones. The reasons for deviations are recorded.

The initial scope and the level of its attainment are also documented with observations upon them. The degree of attainment of goal is also recorded in the project completion report. It is usually quite detailed and informative. The contents of a project-completion report may vary depending upon the type of project and the perceived benefits from project review activity.

The European Commission uses ‘Seven-Framework-Programme’ for technical review of a project.

Best Project Management Courses

Project management skills are in demand. If you are ready to get started, consider enrolling in the  Google Project Management: Professional Certificate  Learn the job-ready essentials of project management in six months or less, such as initiating projects, risk management and change management. Also we have made list of best project management courses as there are a plethora of options available, and it can be challenging to identify the best one.

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The ideal project management tool selection will eventually rely on the particular requirements of your team. We suggest experimenting with the free versions of various tools to gauge your team’s comfort level and then proceeding accordingly.

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Project Report: What is it & How to Write it?

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We all know – the struggle of creating project reports is real! It is a complicated process that can either build or destroy your entire project.

No matter how extraordinary your project idea is, or how wonderfully one of your projects performed, creating a compelling project report isn’t easy.

The risk of analyzing the wrong data, taking the wrong path, or drawing up the wrong conclusion – it’s always, always lingering upon you.

So, if you’re standing on the edge, knowing you need to craft a project report, but also feeling a little uncertain about how to begin – you’re at the right place.

In this article, we will tell you what a project report is and the things that you need to include in it. We will also tell you about a tool that will help you write one in no time. Let’s roll!

What Exactly is a Project Report? (Definition)

A project report is a written document that encapsulates all the essential information related to a particular project – from goals and objectives to analysis and recommendations.

This report helps you transform a business idea or plan into a productive venture, without any confusion or chaos. Along with defining the strategies for project execution, it helps you implement them properly.

You should always create a well-detailed project report. Why? Because you can’t dive into starting a project without giving much thought to your goals, your plan of action, your strategies, and the big picture.

Still not convinced? Well, let’s explore a few more reasons why you need to spend your valuable time creating this one report.

Reasons Why You Should Create a Project Report

Yes, creating a project report is a crucial part of starting or managing a project, but not for the reasons you might think. Most people assume that a project report is meant to raise money for a particular project, or get a sponsor. It is true, but that’s not the only use of a project report!

In short, it’s not just about the funding. The process of writing a project report and putting it together is much more valuable. When you’re writing a project report, you discover and understand what it’s going to take to make your project successful. It gives you clarity about your ideas.

After all, before you can explain your ideas and strategies to your friends or investors, you should be able to explain the idea to yourself!

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Secondly, spending a little time on planning and creating a project report would drastically reduce the risk of losing money and making silly mistakes. Of course, you could jump right in and start the project without a plan, but you’d be more likely to waste time, money, and resources.

Lastly, creating a project report increases the chances of your project being successful. Over the years, several studies have proved that companies who plan are much more likely to be successful, get funding and achieve their goals – in comparison to the companies who don’t plan.

Excited to create project reports? We know you are! So, without further ado, let’s learn how to actually create an amazing project report.

Read more:  Project Timeline: What is it & How to Create it? (Step By Step)

How to Create a Good Project Report? Follow these Steps!

Step 1. set the objective.

First things first, you need to figure out why exactly why you’re writing the report and what’s your end goal. Do you want to describe something to your team or do you want to persuade the upper management?

Once you set a clear purpose and objective, it would be easier for you to stay focused while writing the project report. The result? You would be able to write a much better and more engaging report!

Step 2. Understand The Reader

A formal annual report would be very different from a status report, right? So, while writing your report, always keep the reader in mind. This way, the reader would become more receptive to your ideas.

Basically, tailor your language, data, and graphics according to your audience. Don’t forget to consider their communication style, for instance, how they write emails and structure their documents.

Step 3. Know The Format

Before you start writing the project report, don’t forget to check the format and type of the report. Is it a formal, informal, technical, annual, financial, or fact-finding report?

Also, confirm if any project report templates are available within your organization, or if there is a specific structure that you need to follow while writing the report. This would save you a lot of time in the long run!

Step 4.  Collect All The Facts & Data

By backing up your arguments with facts and data, you can solidify your project report. Moreover, you should also cite sources such as case studies, interviews, and articles.

Including data, facts, and figures in your project report is most crucial when you are writing it to persuade someone about the project, or when you’re giving a status report.

Step 5. Structure the Report

Once you are done with understanding the nitty-gritty of the report and collecting all the data, it is time to structure it. Generally, a report has four elements:

Executive Summary: Even though this is the first part of the report, it’s written once the report is finished. As the name suggests, this part comprises a brief about what’s written in the report.

Introduction: In this section, you need to provide a context for your report and the scope. In addition, you also need to outline the structure of the contents and mention all the methodologies you’ve used.

Body: In this part, you have to put your writing skills to work. This is undoubtedly the longest part of your report and it should include everything from data & analysis to recommendations.

Conclusion:  This is where you need to compile all the elements of the report in a clear and brief manner. You should also mention the next steps and actions that you want the readers to take after reading the report.

Step 6. Edit & Review

Spend some time formatting your report and making it enjoyable to read. No one likes to read long blocks of text, so use formatting, visuals, and lists to break them up.

Remember, the first draft of the report can’t be perfect! So, do not forget to edit and revise the content until you’re sure that it is error-free. You can also ask a colleague for a review!

So, now that you know the basics of what a project report is and how to create it, let’s check out some really cool use cases of project reports.

Read more:   Performance Report: What is it & How to Create it? (Steps Included)

A Few Use Cases of Project Reports

1. project health report.

A project health report outlines the problem areas or any other risk involved with your project. It helps you find out any problems before they happen – which ultimately saves you time and money.

2. Project Summary Report

As the name suggests, a project summary report gives you a quick peek at your project. It’s a concise report that covers all the key highlights of the project, including completed and upcoming tasks.

3. Project Status Report 

A project status report can be used to share the status of your project, in line with the original project plan. This report gives the stakeholders information about the project’s performance, updates, and developments.

4. Project Time Tracking Report

This report helps your team and all the stakeholders to understand the time allocated for each task in a more efficient manner. It’s a useful report to gauge your team’s efficiency and the areas that need improvement.

5. Project Tracking Report

This report gives you all the numbers, metrics, and other data that you can use to measure your project’s progress. It also covers your project’s status, team performance, and more.

6. Project Performance Report

A project performance encapsulates the progress of your project, the budget, and a breakdown of allocated resources. It helps you monitor the status of your project, and whether it’s headed in the right direction or not.

Phew! Creating project reports can be a complicated and cumbersome process. Luckily, we have something to make your life easier. Whether you need need to create basic project reports or super complicated ones, Bit.ai is just what you need.

Create Project Reports & All Other Documents On Bit.ai

Bit.ai is the easiest, most convenient way to create project reports and every other kind of document that exists on Earth. With Bit, you can create project reports in no time. Just focus on the content because Bit is going to handle every other aspect of your report – from designing to formatting.

Bit.ai: Project report creation tool

1. Stunning, Fully Responsive Templates: Whether you want to create a sales project report or an annual report – there’s a beautiful template for that on Bit. With over 90 pre-built and fully responsive templates , Bit has turned the painful task of creating reports a walk in the park.

2. Design Automation: Writing projects reports isn’t easy. It takes so much effort that you end up having no energy to make the report look appealing. Luckily, Bit solves that problem for you with its design automation feature. With just one click, you can change the look of your entire document, its layout, and color too!

3. Interactive Documents:  Bit lets you add PDFs, charts, videos, maps, surveys/polls, charts – basically all kinds of rich media in your documents. Right now, there are over 100 rich media embed integrations on Bit! So, why give someone a boring, static project report they’ll never open when you could turn it into something much more engaging?

4. Real-Time Collaboration : Project reports are important documents, and creating one on your own is a little difficult. That’s why this feature of Bit is the best. Using Bit, you and your team can collaborate on the reports in real-time, no matter where everyone is located. You can co-edit, make inline comments, access version history, chat via document chat, @mentions, and much more!

5. Smart Workspaces : Organizing and managing all your project reports can be a pain, but Bit is here to take the pain away. Bit lets you create as many workspaces as you want around different teams and departments, invite guests into the workspace, and manage everything much more efficiently!

6. Tables: It’s better to show all the data and figures in your project reports via tables. This way, everyone who reads your report would be able to grasp the complex figures in a quick glance. On Bit, you can create wonderfully designed and fully responsive tables with the click of a button. The colors of these tables automatically change according to the colors of your document’s theme!

Wrapping Up

Creating project reports is at the core of every business. It is essential for evaluating the feasibility of your ideas and plans, and for proving that your strategies are working.

Yes, we know you have a thousand other things to do when you are running a business, but creating project reports should always be one of those things.

Got anything to ask related to creating project reports or using Bit.ai? Just hit us up on Twitter @bit_docs. We would be happy to help you out. Cheers!

Further reads:

KPI Report: What it is & How to Create a Perfect One?

Weekly Report: What is it & How to Create it? (Steps & Structure)

Project Objectives: What are they & How to Write them Effectively?

Project Documentation: What is it & How to Manage it?

Project Summary: What is it & How to Write it!

Formal Report: What is it & How to Create it!

Consulting Report: What is it and How to Create it?

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The Top 17 Free Project Report Templates For Effective Project Management

By Kate Eby | August 5, 2019 (updated August 7, 2023)

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In this article, you’ll find a comprehensive list of project report templates to support your project management efforts. These pre-built templates are free to download in a variety of formats, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, and Google Docs.

Included on this page, you'll find many free, downloadable templates for your next project, including a project status report template , a daily project progress report template , a business project report template , and many more.

Project Status Report Template

Project Status Report Template

Download Project Status Report Template

Word | PowerPoint | Smartsheet

Consistent and thorough status reporting is an essential component of effective project management. Ensure you meet project objectives by utilizing this customizable project status report template. This template provides space to summarize the project and track risks, roadblocks, milestones, accomplishments, and key takeaways. It also includes a visual project timeline to give you easy visibility into major project events.

One-Page Project Status Report Template

One Page Project Status Report Template

Download One-Page Project Status Report Template

Word | PDF | Smartsheet

This template covers all the primary elements of the project status report in a convenient one-page format. The pre-built status report provides an overview of project status by category (i.e., budget, scope, etc.), project timeline, key risks and issues, as well as issue ownership to ensure that you account for and complete all project action items on schedule. Learn how to create an effective project status report in this article .

Project Report Dashboard Template

Project Report Dashboard Template

Download Project Report Dashboard Template - Excel 

Having a clear visual of a project’s high-level metrics and overall performance enables a project manager to identify and home in on problem areas that need further attention. Download this project report dashboard template to track the status of key components of a project, including tasks, costs, and pending action items. This template also helps you support the decisions you make for future project initiatives. Check out this article to find more free Excel dashboard templates for all of your business needs .

Daily Project Progress Report Template

Daily Project Progress Report Template

Download Daily Project Progress Report Template

Excel | Word | PDF

Provide stakeholders with insight into a project’s daily development using this progress report template. This template provides space to outline progression details, work completed, equipment used, workers on site, task locations, delays, incidents, and more. This report allows you to compare activity progress with the project plan to effectively maintain governance.

Performance Project Report Template

Performance Project Report Template

Download Performance Project Report Template

Communicate the performance of key project elements using this customizable project performance report template. Detail key activities, deadlines, work quality, risks, budgeting performance, and more to ensure you carry out major project deliverables on schedule and according to plan.

Project Summary Report Template

Project Summary Report Template

Download Project Summary Report Template

Effective project management requires that you keep lines of communication open (between the team and client) and ensure that the information you present is accurate and up to date. Provide all stakeholders with the current status of key projects, milestones, steering committee escalations, progress, and upcoming events using this pre-built project summary report template.

Weekly Project Status Report Template

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Download Weekly Project Status Report Template

Excel | Word | Smartsheet

This customizable project status report template provides a snapshot of a project’s health on any given week. Track overall project performance and the status of each project component, including budget, resources, scope, milestones, work accomplished, roadblocks, highlights, and more. This template also comes with a pre-built visual timeline to display major project details at a glance.

Monthly Project Status Report Template

Monthly Project Status Report Template

 Download Monthly Project Status Report Template

Excel | Word

This project status report template captures the status of key project elements at a monthly view. Use this downloadable template to track notable project components that are complete, in progress, on hold, or at risk and outline deadlines and details for upcoming work.

Stoplight Project Status Report Template

Stoplight Project Status Report Template

Download Stoplight Project Status Report Template

Stoplight project status reports are an effective way to visualize project items that require immediate attention and additional planning. Use the stoplight key to define the parameters of what constitutes a red, yellow, or green status and ensure that the client and team members are on the same page regarding these conditions. This template will help keep the process streamlined.

Business Project Report Template

Business Project Report Template

Download Business Project Report Template

Word | Google Docs

A business project report is a detailed document that serves as a roadmap for a proposed project or business venture. This business project report template provides a solid basis to expand upon according to your needs. It includes space for a table of contents, an executive summary, key project activities, a marketing analysis, a SWOT analysis, recommendations, appendices, and more.

IT Project Status Report Template

IT Project Status Report Template

Download IT Project Status Report Template

Information technology project management and operations can be complex and involve many moving parts. Between balancing the budget, making adjustments mid-project, and meeting the needs of project stakeholders, this pre-built IT project status report template will help ensure that you track and account for all the key components of your project. This template provides room for project milestones, open and closed issues, change requests, resource evaluation, and the current status of all major project categories. Learn the essential tips for successful IT project management by checking out this article .

Construction Project Report Template

Construction Project Report Template

Download Construction Project Report Template

Excel | Word | PDF | Google Docs

Effective reporting is a key factor in the overall success of a construction project. This pre-built construction project report template includes all major day-to-day project details, like daily progress, materials and equipment used, number of workers and work hours performed on site, progress obstructions, and official visitors. Additionally, the template includes space for the inspector to sign off on the report in order to ensure overall project compliance. For a wide variety of free construction management templates to download, visit this page .

Executive Project Report Template

Executive Project Report Template

Download Executive Project Report Template

An executive project report is a high-level view of the project that highlights progress, without getting into the granular details of the project. Use this customizable executive project report template to communicate the essential elements of the project, including key milestones, accomplishments, risks, issues, financial overview, and project requirements.

Final Project Report Template

project report analysis

Download Final Project Report Template

The purpose of the final project report is to briefly and clearly summarize the outcomes of a completed project. This final project report template contains a table of contents, as well as space for names and roles of team members, project summary, scope, costs, risks, communication strategies, learning outcomes, top-level project performance details, and more.

Project Report Template for Teams or Departments

Project Report for Teams and Departments Template

Download Project Report Template for Teams or Departments

Teams or departments can use this project report to communicate the status of project activities: That is, they can indicate whether they have completed an activity or whether an activity is still in progress. Use this template to track key tasks, team members involved, deadlines, progress scores, issues needing attention, and other project developments to ensure teams or departments account for and complete assignments on schedule.

Project Report for Stakeholders and Partners

Project Report for Stakeholders and Partners Template

Download Project Report for Stakeholders and Partners

Use this project report is to provide key stakeholders and partners with high-level visibility into a project’s overall performance. Briefly summarize progress, project deliverables, start and end dates, outputs, and other major project details to keep stakeholders up to date on current project happenings.

Project Postmortem Report Template

Project Post Mortem Report Template

Download Project Post-Mortem Report Template

This customizable project postmortem report template should be completed as a workshop comprised of key team members within a week of concluding the project work. This report highlights project details, such as accomplishments, problem areas, lessons learned, and more to facilitate the process of analyzing the performance of all the project’s elements. Once you’ve completed this template, the project sponsor should sign off on it to formally close out the project.

Tips on Writing a Project Report

When writing a project report, stick to the facts and back up your claims with data. Consider using a template to give structure to your report, and tailor the report to your audience. We’ve outlined top report-writing tips below:

  • Know Your Audience: The type and depth of information you communicate in a report will depend on the nature of your audience. For instance, managers and clients may have a better understanding of the concepts and terminology involved in a project than do stakeholders and other personnel. Effective project reporting, therefore, requires using the appropriate tone and phraseology and knowing when to share high-level versus granular project details.  Your audience may also care about different details when viewing a year-end report  versus a project status report .
  • Give Structure to Your Report: Once you’ve identified your audience and which components of the project to communicate, organize the segments of the report so the information makes sense and is helpful to the reader. For example, you should place project identification and background details near the beginning of the report; place summarizing details near the end.
  • Only Provide Facts: The report should remain objective and free from personal bias, regardless of whether the project is failing or performing successfully. If an opinion is needed, it should be labeled clearly and placed in a separate segment of the report. Additionally, the charts, metrics, and other performance data you present in the report should be accurate and up to date so that such information is credible and meaningful to the reader. 
  • Use a Template: Save time building out your report by using a customizable template to get you started. Templates are beneficial for standardizing processes, and you can easily adapt them to fit your needs. Use the free templates provided above for your reporting needs, and then check out this article for more project management templates .
  • Use an Online Reporting Tool: Keeping a project’s development aligned with business goals is the basis of project management, and the success or failure of a project can greatly depend on the tools you use. Employ an online tool that displays data in different ways (e.g., Kanban boards, Gantt views, and dashboards), shows the real-time status of multiple projects, provides various permission levels, and allows you to set up recurring reports (such tools can automatically email these recurring reports at a set frequency to designated stakeholders, which allows project managers to shift their focus to other critical project matters). These online tools provide increased visibility into project processes and status.

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

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Project Report: Objectives, Types, Use Cases, Templates

Home Blog Project Management Project Report: Objectives, Types, Use Cases, Templates

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Managing a project and creating a project report is not a cakewalk. A project consists of a lot of parameters, and if not analyzed properly, it can result in an unsuccessful end of project report. Project reports are extremely useful for project managers as they allow managers to send regular updates about the projects to the company's stakeholders.

A detailed project report is very insightful since it allows the team members to track the project's status, offer suggestions to improve the project and mitigate risks. Project reports effectively transform the entire journey as they offer clarity regarding every project step.

While management professionals can enrich their knowledge with Project Management certifications by KnowledgeHut to explore project management in-depth, this article will walk you through the basic objectives of a project report, how to create one, and its practical applicability in today's world. 

What is a Project Report?  

A project report is a document that specifies the status of a project and other related information. In other words, it is a report that includes all the details about a project, navigating each step with great insight. This document helps to ascertain the feasibility of the activities or plans taken to fulfill a particular project's objectives.

The project progress report is a written document that includes all the information about the objectives, challenges, and milestones of the project. It is regularly updated as it tracks the project status and plays a crucial role in planning and managing any project.

A project manager prepares the project status report to update the stakeholders about the progress of the project regularly. The role of a project manager requires them to collaborate with other departments to draft an effective project report.

Why Project Report is Important?  

Many believe that a project report is used to raise funds for a specific project or get sponsors. True, it is. But that's not all the purpose of a project plan. It is more than just about the funding. Writing a project report is a valuable process. Here are all the reasons why project reports are important.

  • Writing a project report helps you understand and discover what it takes to make your project a success.
  • Project reports offer clarity on your ideas. You should also be able to explain the concept to others before sharing your strategies and ideas with investors or friends.
  • Planning and creating is worth it if a report helps you avoid making costly mistakes, wasting time, and losing money.
  • A project report can increase your chances of a successful project by ensuring that the project manager can record, review and report progress against the baselines and add underlying data as required.
  • Numerous studies over the years have shown that companies who plan are more likely to get funding, be successful, and reach their goals than those who don't.

Importance of Project Report

Objectives of a Project Report  

Project reports are of immense importance as it is an important tool for analyzing the progress of various projects. If you want to learn why a project manager should create a project report, sign up for the PMP certification to upskill yourself!

The main objectives of a project report are as follows:

1. Requesting permission for an investment plan

A final project report is an insightful document that helps to make new investment plans. It allows the project manager to see and evaluate the expected profits and associated risks in a new project. Project reports are also important for the purpose of registration and approval.

If the stakeholders are satisfied with the project status report, they may allow project managers to take up new projects and make investments in new areas.

2. Tracking the progress of the project

A project report is a summary of the entire process and steps that have been taken to complete the project. It is an effective means of keeping track of the progress of the project. This document helps to point out the steps that have proven beneficial for a project and what has gone wrong.

Tracking a project is important as it helps to find any deviations from the original plan. The stakeholders also feel content as they are updated about the project regularly.

3. Locating and mitigating risks

As a project report provides detailed information about the project, identifying risks is easier. It helps to locate any risks or confusion that are in contrast with the original plan. Additionally, a project report eliminates the risks by taking connective action so as to avoid any downfall regarding the project.

4. Deciding on a budget and managing costs

Since a project report shows the details of all the activities, it very well pinpoints the expenses. So before starting a project, this report helps predict the cost in certain areas so that a proper budget can be drafted. It also takes into account certain considerations that can cause variations in the predicted costs. Following a data-driven approach to budgeting, expenditures can be kept under vigilance leading to profitable project curation.

Hence, a project report establishes the financial stability and viability of a project. It states the income possibility, degree of risk, list of expenses, and various other relevant factors.

5. Asking for financial assistance

Whenever an organization needs financial assistance, providing previous project reports is a great way of attracting funds. When a financial institution will be content that the concerned company is capable of running successful projects, the financial institution will not hesitate to provide financial assistance to such companies.

Characteristics of Project Report  

A clear definition is essential for any project to be effective, useful, and achieve its full potential. Clearly defined projects project reports have the following five characteristics:

The project report provides a clear overview of the tasks and goals. The report describes the project's goals and the activities that will be done to achieve them. Only a feasible project can be considered meaningful. It is not a good idea to be too ambitious when planning a project. This could lead to the project not being possible. This could also affect the team morale. These unhealthy situations can lead to high project costs and delayed delivery dates.

2. Resource

It identifies the resources and means required to achieve the desired scope. The project report is the blueprint that outlines the direction the business should take to achieve its goals. Project reports should theoretically be objective 100 percent. They are created by humans tasked with analyzing other people's work, which is bound to produce some subjectivity and opinions. It is crucial to back up your assessment and perspective with hard facts.

It should also be time-bound to make sure that everything is clearly defined. This means that the project must have a defined timeframe for completion. It should include planning, development, execution, and fine-tuning. The project shouldn't take forever to complete. All parties should justify any changes to this timetable, considering the cost of the project's execution, potential costs, and finance costs.

A well-structured report on a project allows for quick access to pertinent information regardless of whether it is relevant to the reader. The hierarchy organizes information in a way that makes it easy to find the most important and useful facts first, and then the technical details are placed in the subordinate sections.

Executives can gain an instant yet comprehensive understanding of the work done. Managers closer to the project have a logical method of finding and reviewing relevant information for themselves and their departments.

Even projects that seem to be moving along smoothly can still have some problems that could cause trouble later on. Every business face risk and must be monitored. The project report will include information about all possible risks that could affect the project's completion and the best ways to recover from the invested money. 

Project Report Characteristics

Types of Project Report  

Here's a brief overview of eight of the most commonly used types of reports; however, they are still vital to the smooth running of the project:

1. Status Reports

One of the most popular report types, Status Report, refers to a type of document that comprises a detailed analysis of the timely progress or status of any project with regard to the planned steps and the decided timeline. The status report enables team members and stakeholders to keep track of the project's progressions.

Instead of narrating lengthy project time and again, project managers rely on this report to briefly offer an insight into the project outline, keeping the process entirely transparent for everyone on the team. A status report will require you to keep track of significant changes, compile them briefly and present them comprehensively.

2. Progress Reports

The most crucial report you'll produce during the course of running an undertaking includes the status report. It's a report that changes the information regarding your project, especially to determine if it's meeting the standards established by the schedule and budget. Another way to update your stakeholders on what the project's status is at the present moment. It is important to be precise in your progress report.

Take note of the information, and create a concise introduction that contains the name of the undertaking, your contact information as well as a short summary of the progress of the project as well as general information regarding the timeframe as well as estimated cost, and completion.

3. Risk Reports 

This type of report assists in presenting the steps taken by the risk management team for the teams working on the project or the people who are involved. It records the effective management of emerging and current risks associated with the project. The risk report must include an outline of the overall risk assessment for the project. It should also include details about the risks that could have the possibility of cutting the project as well as the ways you intend to deal with them.

4. Board/Executive Reports

Reports on projects must be tailored to the individuals who will be reading them. Therefore, the report you write for your project board will have a different amount of detail when compared to those who receive the monthly status report that you send the project group as well as the key stakeholders of the business for reports on the project board focus on high-level.

They will want to know about the things that matter to them, such as issues they could help solve, a synopsis of your budget's position, and whether you're on the right track to meet crucial milestones. It is important that your report to the board is presented in a manner that they are able to understand easily.

5. Cost Benefit Analysis Report  

In determining if a venture is feasible, one of the reports you'll need to conduct is a cost-benefit analysis report. It's a means of comparing the magnitude of advantage or benefit the project can bring to your company in relation to the cost of investment. It's the most important step when deliberating if the idea is a good one from a business point of view. It is crucial to determine if the project you are considering has value.

This will allow your company to make the most of its resources when it moves ahead with the project and provide the documents to help move forward in the initiative's direction. Using cost analysis to monitor your expenditure and spending is possible to ensure that funds are appropriately allocated. The cost-benefit analysis will show what you're expected to pay for a particular project and then compare it to the advantages or opportunities you'll receive after completing it.

6. Resource Reports

This kind of report on the project permits the project team, as well as the participants, to see how resources are distributed throughout the various tasks that are part of the plan. The report on project resources will detail the members of the project team who are assigned to which job on what day. The report on resource allocation can help to highlight the problem of the under-allocation of resources for projects.

7. Variance Reports

The variance report is helpful for comparing the plans against the actual outcomes of the undertaking. It can be used to determine whether the project is in front of its schedule or over schedule. Additionally, the variance report can analyze and arrange the details of what you're measuring in a project. It can be a budget or a scope.

8. Gap Analysis Report

When you're managing a task or elevating your company to the next level, you'll need an analysis report that will guide you From Point A to Point B. This is known as the gap analysis report. It will let you know whether you're meeting your goals and if you're making use of resources efficiently. A gap analysis report evaluates the present state of your project or business in terms of money, time as well as labor and examines it in relation to the goal condition it hopes to reach. After defining and analyzing the gap between these two points, an action plan can be created to plan the tasks needed to reach the goal.

6 Steps to Write a Project Report  

Creating a project report is crucial for determining any project's success. Documenting all the steps in a project and sharing it with other departments helps to learn the basic do's and don'ts whenever taking up any project.

Project report writing involves the following major steps:

Step 1. Set the Objective

When initiating a new project, the first step is to set the objective or goals. Once a company has identified its objectives, the process of measuring its progress and success simplifies. Take a moment and list the reasons for creating a project report. Having clear project objectives will help reduce work redundancy and be on track for everyday tasks.

Step 2. Recognize Your Audience

Not the entire world is the target audience for any project. A project manager has to recognize the perfect audience to which the project caters. It is extremely important to know the taste and preferences of the target audience. What they like and dislike helps to draft a project report that is easily understandable for the audience.

Step 3. Know The Format

A corporate document mainly consists of a particular format. A project progress report is also a formal document, and hence it needs to be drafted in a format that has some labels and templates. However, it is upon the project managers whether they choose a new report template or select any existing ones. It is always better to select a comprehensive template that effectively conveys the agenda behind the project report.

Step 4. Data Collection

A project report is supposed to have sufficient data that can act as proof of what activities have taken place. Data collection is a significant aspect of creating a project report, as everything depends upon data. Accurate data constitutes a major part of the project report, which estimates the successful and lagging segments of a project through relevant data-driven insights. Data can be extracted from various sources such as surveys, international agencies, case studies, interviews, etc.

Step 5. Structure of the Report

The structure of the report basically talks about the presentation of the report. A project status report should be prepared in a manner that is comprehensive, consumable, visually approachable, and easy to understand. The project report structure consists of the following points:

  • Summary: Summer is written as a part of the project completion report. It gives readers a brief idea of what the project is all about. The summary is provided at the start of a project report but can only be written once the entire project is completed.
  • Introduction: The introduction provides an outline of the report. It gives a clear idea about the topic of the project but does not consist of intricate details. Introduction talks about the scope and the common methodologies used in the project.
  • Body: The body constitutes the main section of the report. It consists of all the details and is the longest part of the document. The body includes all the research, analysis, background information, graphics, and so on.
  • Conclusion: Being the last section of a report, this marks the end of a project where a clear and concise version of the entire project is presented. It brings the report together.

Step 6. Edit & Review

After the completion of the entire project report, project managers read it to find any gaps to fill. Once the required edits are made, and the review is done, the report gets a check to move forward.

Use Cases of Project Reports  

There are a lot of use cases for project reports in the sphere of project management. The best PRINCE2 online course by KnowledgeHut can help you learn the usage of project reports in project management in a more definite way. However, the most common use cases of project reports are enumerated as follows:

1. Preliminary Project Report

A preliminary project report is a document that states the activities and the course of action that will be taken in fulfilling the objectives of the project. This report is prepared in the identification stage and before the start of the project. It mainly includes the following heads:

  • The reason for initiating the project (why).
  • The activities that are to be done (what).
  • The list of associated members of the project (who).
  • Timeline of starting and completing the project (when).
  • the course of action to be taken for completing the project (how).

2. Project Progress Report

A project progress report is a document that mainly focuses on and lists the everyday progress made by the development team. It tracks the everyday activities of the team members, which is essential for determining the progress of the project. It navigates all the tasks that are completed, ongoing tasks, and yet to be accomplished. That means the amount of work pending and work completed both are present in a project progress report.

3. Project Status Report

A project status report is a document that evaluates the current status of a project. It is inclusive of the project performance and project health. A project status report example can be the communication of the current position of the project to other concerned members and stakeholders.

It also compares the current project status with the original project plan simultaneously to align requirements with the timeline. If a project manager wants to make any amended plan in due course of the project, that is also included in the project status report.

4. Project Time Tracking Report

A project time tracking report is a document that deals with allocating a time period for each task. With this report, the stakeholders can easily understand how much time a particular task has taken to be accomplished. It is a document that can help to locate the areas that are efficient and the areas that need improvement, leading to better productivity among team members.

It is a comprehensive document with a vast scope and includes aspects like tasks, project status, the performance of the team members, and the completion status of the same.

5. Project Performance Report 

A project performance report is a document that presents an outline of the status and progress of the project. Additionally, it lists the allocation of resources and the value obtained under them. The report also comprises a breakdown of expenses through the project curation timeline.

The performance report matches the expected budget and the actual costs to analyze the performance of the project. This report is also an important tool for predicting the outcome.

6. Project Health Report

A project health report is a document that states the possible risks that are associated with the project. Preparing a project health report can help ditch risks that may occur in the future. It also lists possible ways of mitigating those risks if the team members are faced with any when the project is ongoing.

7. Project Completion Report

A project completion report is a document that is prepared when the project comes to an end. This report evaluates the overall success of a project and matches the outcomes with the objectives. It is the last document that is submitted in a project report. As a project manager records every detail of the tasks and activities of a project, this report should be detailed, intricate, and compiled with utmost vigilance.

A project completion report makes it easier to conduct an evaluation of the same. The final evaluation is carried out when the project ends to determine the degree of success.

Benefits of Project Report  

Project managers and executives use reporting because it is useful in many areas of running a company. The following are some of the most popular benefits of project management reports:

  • Budgeting Can be More Precise: Businesses can accurately predict the cost of each project by understanding the costs involved in different aspects. Companies can do this to ensure that they have enough funds in order to finish a project. This helps companies determine if a project is worthwhile.
  • Create Realistic Schedules:  Project reports can help companies decide which projects they will undertake. A detailed schedule can also aid companies to create realistic budgets and determine when and where they may encounter problems.
  • Enhance Project Visibility: Project management reports help keep communication open between project managers, managers, and other stakeholders throughout the project. The reports increase visibility and allow more people with experience to share their thoughts and suggestions on increasing project productivity, reducing costs, or any other advice that could help to make the project a success.
  • Minimize Risks in a Project: Managers can prepare for or even eliminate risks in project management reports. Potential risks can be reduced, and projects will be completed faster and more efficiently if you prepare for them.
  • Better Management: Project managers and executives can improve their ability to manage projects accurately by using all the information in project management reports. They enable project managers and executives to understand every aspect of a project so they can make adjustments, add tasks or remove them if necessary, and communicate new expectations to their team.
  • Improvement Made for the Future: Managers can benefit from project management reports to increase the quality of their future projects. Each report can help you learn what works well in projects and where there are improvements.

If you want to learn more about project report benefits, we suggest PRINCE2 training to boost your project management learning.

Download Printable PDF of Project Report  

While project report can simplify work process by adding transparency to your project, they can be lengthy and monotonous tasks. Creating a project report right from scratch might take you hours, taking up the precious time you could have applied on your project. Therefore, we bring your a project report template to reduce your hassle. Check the Project Report PDF or project report on project management for reference.

Transform your management approach with agile methodologies course . Discover how to adjust, cooperate, and create like never before.

Wrapping Up  

A project report is an extremely valuable instrument for carrying out a successful project. It states various aspects of a project, such as its overall performance, allocation of resources, everyday progress, and ultimately the whole timeline till completion. The major benefit of a detailed project report is that it has the potential to convince the stakeholders and investors to invest more funds in the project.

A project report is the most important instrument that lets the stakeholders and end users know the present status of any project. If you want to implement your best in project management while learning how to draft an impressive project report, check out KnowledgeHut's Training in Project Management . This training will take you through a detailed curriculum of how to become a successful project manager in the long run!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A project report is important because it summarizes the objectives, budget, resources, timeline, and every other important aspect related to a project. It also enables the project managers to track the outcome and progress of the project. Additionally, it conveys the status of the project to the stakeholders.

An ideal project report should be 1 or 2 pages long. It is a concise document that lets the concerned people know what is on schedule and what is lagging.

A project report includes the progress report, budget, timeline, risks and risk management, resources, and the nature and scope of the project.

The need for managers of projects is extremely high. The PMIProject Management Institute Project Management Institute expects 22 million new jobs to be created by 2027.

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Kevin D.Davis

Kevin D. Davis is a seasoned and results-driven Program/Project Management Professional with a Master's Certificate in Advanced Project Management. With expertise in leading multi-million dollar projects, strategic planning, and sales operations, Kevin excels in maximizing solutions and building business cases. He possesses a deep understanding of methodologies such as PMBOK, Lean Six Sigma, and TQM to achieve business/technology alignment. With over 100 instructional training sessions and extensive experience as a PMP Exam Prep Instructor at KnowledgeHut, Kevin has a proven track record in project management training and consulting. His expertise has helped in driving successful project outcomes and fostering organizational growth.

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What Is a Project Analyst?

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Projects can be complex endeavors. They often have many moving parts that need to work together, and the logistics can be like a knot. That’s why distinct project management roles are adopted, so everyone isn’t pulling in different directions at once.

The project manager is responsible for bringing the project in on time and within budget, but there is a team of people who help steer that big ship successfully to port. The project manager works with the project team, vendors and others, but the project analyst is often the closest associate, as they monitor critical project KPIs such as stakeholder requirements.

Project managers and project analysts use their combined skills, competencies and knowledge to get the project done right. But what exactly is a project analyst?

What Does a Project Analyst Do?

The project analyst is on the project for many reasons. There is a lot of paperwork that needs generating, and the project manager needs to oversee, but not necessarily be involved in, every report. Therefore, the project analyst is usually a junior or mid-level position, working with and reporting to the project manager.

ProjectManager's Gantt chart is an ideal tool for project analysts

They begin by researching the project before it has even been pitched, by identifying trends and consulting the written agreements, including compensation clauses, what the salary rate is and overhead charges to the project.

They work with the project manager to prepare and revise all proposals, reports and presentations. They also perform analytical tasks to make sure the project is supporting its goals and objectives.

Data Analysis

In general, the project analyst is there to help gather critical data and support the project team. In more detail, the research a project analyst will conduct includes budget tracking and financial forecasting, project evaluation and monitoring, maintaining compliance with corporate, and public relations.

The data analysis from a project will be handled by the analyst as well. They will look at key performance indicators and create a regular variance report to help the project manager track the project’s progress compared to the project plan.

Stakeholder Communication

The project analyst is also a go-between for the project manager and stakeholders. They help gather, analyze and communicate requirements and changes to business processes, policies, etc. It is critical that someone intimate with the project work with the stakeholders to make sure the project objectives are in alignment with the project.

General Support for the Project Team

Project analyst roles differ from organization to organization, but they are normally related to performing, analyzing and providing project analysis and support for the project team. A summary of those responsibilities follows:

  • Creates, manages and distributes project reports
  • Maintains project assets, communications and databases
  • Evaluates and monitors project progress
  • Reviews and reports on project budget
  • Performs regular project analysis
  • Notifies project team when project anomalies are discovered

What Are the Requirements for a Project Analyst?

Project analysts have a great deal of responsibility and, next to the project manager, are as close to the inner-workings of the project as anyone. Landing a position as a project analyst is a great way to get a foothold in the project management profession.

learn about what a project analyst is

Recommended Degrees

But what do you need to have on your resume to stand out as a qualified candidate? A bachelor’s degree in computer science, management information systems or business administration is the baseline on which to build your career.

If you have both an associate-level computer science degree and some years of experience, you can likely land an entry-level position. Once you’ve acquired the position, you can better your chances of advancement by getting some certification.

Project Analyst Certification

PMI offers a PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) certification. According to PMI, opportunities for business analysts are in demand. To get certified you must have a secondary degree, 7,500 hours of business analysis experience, 2,000 hours working on a project team and 35 contact hours of education in business analysis.

The PMI-PBA is a 200 multiple-choice question exam to be completed in four hours. Once you’ve gained certification, you’re required to earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) in business analysis topics every three years.

Project Analyst Salary

The average project analyst’s salary is in the mid-$50,000 range, depending on which organization, where it is and the level of one’s experience. The full range, including bonuses and profit sharing, is between $41,000-$80,000.

To learn more about the field of business analysis beyond the field of project management, there is the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), which offers certification, networking opportunities and whitepapers related to the career.

Can a Project Manager and a Project Analyst Be the Same Person?

A project analyst is the right-hand to a project manager, but that doesn’t mean they are exclusively two different positions. Often the duties of the project analyst is handled by the project manager. But that is only when the situation lends itself to adding these responsibilities to the project manager.

For example, a small project (be that in terms of cost, hours, scope, etc.) lends itself to folding both roles into the one of project manager. A low-risk project can also be handled solely by the project manager. Additionally, sometimes when a project employs small, high-performance teams, they have the synergy to help the project manager work more effectively.

When a Project Analyst is Needed

However, there are many factors that support the two roles on a project. If there are many components to the final product or service, for example, there is a greater need for more resources dedicated to the analysis of the project.

Another example is if there are many systems and business interfaces, or if there are complex legal, compliancy or regulatory issues. If many stakeholders are impacted by the project, then a project analyst will help keep them informed throughout the project’s life cycle. This is doubly so if stakeholders disagree over priorities.

When a project has many versions or releases, it is best to have a project analyst who understands how to allocate the requirements across those releases. Even more so when the requirements on a project are not clear, or they’re incomplete and changing. Finally, to make sure the quality of the product or service and the success are met, a project analyst is like adding insurance to the project team.

Related Content

  • 10 Key Project Roles & Their Responsibilities
  • Top 30 Project Management Skills
  • Top 10 Project Management Qualifications
  • Best 12 Project Management Certifications

A project analyst lives and breathes data. They need a project tool that can provide them with a real-time view of the project’s progress and features to generate and distribute clear reports targeted to stakeholders. The cloud-based ProjectManager.com has a real-time dashboard that gives you the most accurate reading of the project possible and can filter that data to deliver just the right reports to the right parties. See how it can help boost your project analyst professionalism by taking this free 30-day trial.

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How to Write a Business Analysis Report [Examples and Templates]

project report analysis

Table of contents

Business analysis reports are a lot like preparing a delicious meal.

Sometimes, the recipe is simple enough that you only need to use the basic ingredients. Other times, you will have to follow specific instructions to ensure those tasty delicacies turn out just right.

Want to make sure your business report never turns out like a chewy piece of meat? You’ve come to the right place.

Stay tuned until the end of this blog post, and we promise you won’t be hungry… for business knowledge!

What Is a Business Analysis Report?

Why is analytical reporting important, what should be included in a business analysis report, how do you write a business analysis report, business data analysis report examples and templates.

  • Improve Business Reporting with Databox

marketing_overview_hubspot_ga_dashboard_databox

A business analysis report provides information about the current situation of your company. This report is usually created by the management to help in the decision-making process and is usually used by other departments within a company.

Business analysis reports can either focus your research on the effectiveness of an existing business process or a proposed new process. Besides, an effective business analysis report should also assess the results to determine if the process changes had a positive or negative effect on the company’s goals. In fact, according to Databox’s State of business reporting , an overwhelming majority of companies said that reporting improved their performance.

Analytical reports are the bridge that connects your company to an effective, data-driven business intelligence strategy . By leveraging analytical reports , you can make informed decisions about your organization’s most critical issues. You will no longer need to rely on gut instinct or anecdotal evidence when assessing risks, threats, and opportunities. Instead, you will have access to a wealth of reliable data to inform your decisions.

Here are some essential benefits of analytical reporting:

  • Improve communication and foster collaboration – The most obvious benefit of business analysis report writing is an improvement in communication between all stakeholders involved in the project. Also, analytical business reports can help you to generate more trust and foster better collaboration among your employees and colleagues. By using data analytics reporting tools , you will be able to monitor your employees’ performance on a day-to-day basis. This will allow you to hold them accountable for their actions and give them greater freedom within the business as they know that their superiors have faith in their decision-making capabilities.
  • Increase productivity – Without this level of shared insight, businesses struggle to stay on top of their most important tasks and can become less efficient. An effective analytical business report provides the information needed for more efficient internal processes and helps you find more time for strategic activities such as improving your business strategy or working on long-term goals .
  • Innovation – In today’s digital age, the pressure to innovate was never greater. When consumers basically have everything they want at their fingertips, stepping up to the plate with a new and improved product or service has never been more important. With an accessible dashboard in place, you will be able to create data-driven narratives for each of your business’ critical functions. For example, if you are a software company, you can use the insights gained from report analysis done with your dashboard software to tailor your product development efforts to the actual needs of your customers. By doing so, you will be able to develop products that are better tailored to specific customer groups. You can also use the same information for developing new marketing strategies and campaigns.
  • Continuous business evolution – When it comes to digital businesses, data is everything. No model lasts forever, so having access to a business dashboard software that allows you to constantly keep tabs on your business’ performance will help you refine it as time goes on. If there are any glitches in your business model, or if something isn’t panning out as expected, the insight offered by a business analysis report can help you improve upon what works while scrapping what doesn’t.

A business analysis report has several components that need to be included to give a thorough description of the topic at hand. The structure and length of business analysis reports can vary depending on the needs of the project or task.

They can be broken down into different sections that include an:

  • Executive summary
  • Study introduction
  • Methodology
  • Review of statistics

Reports of this nature may also include case studies or examples in their discussion section.

A report can be written in a formal or informal tone, depending on the audience and purpose of the document. While a formal tone is best for executives , an informal tone is more appropriate for technical audiences . It is also a good idea to use something like an executive summary template to report on the results repeatedly with ease.

A good business analysis report is detailed and provides recommendations in the form of actionable steps. Here we have listed some simple steps that you need to follow to write a good business analysis report. Report writing is a major part of the business analysis process. In this section, you will learn how to write a report for your company:

Preparation

Presentation.

Obtain an overview of what you want to analyze in the business report . For example, if you are writing a business analysis report on how to improve customer service at an insurance company, you will want to look through all the customer service processes to determine where the problems lie. The more prepared you are when starting a project, the easier it will be to get results. Here is what your preparation should look like:

Set your goals

The first step in writing this document is to set your goals . What do you hope to accomplish with this paper? Do you need to assess the company’s finances? Are you looking for ways to make improvements? Or do you have outside investors who want to know if they should buy into the company? Once you know what your goal is, then you can begin setting up your project.

PRO TIP: How Well Are Your Marketing KPIs Performing?

Like most marketers and marketing managers, you want to know how well your efforts are translating into results each month. How much traffic and new contact conversions do you get? How many new contacts do you get from organic sessions? How are your email campaigns performing? How well are your landing pages converting? You might have to scramble to put all of this together in a single report, but now you can have it all at your fingertips in a single Databox dashboard.

Our Marketing Overview Dashboard includes data from Google Analytics 4 and HubSpot Marketing with key performance metrics like:

  • Sessions . The number of sessions can tell you how many times people are returning to your website. Obviously, the higher the better.
  • New Contacts from Sessions . How well is your campaign driving new contacts and customers?
  • Marketing Performance KPIs . Tracking the number of MQLs, SQLs, New Contacts and similar will help you identify how your marketing efforts contribute to sales.
  • Email Performance . Measure the success of your email campaigns from HubSpot. Keep an eye on your most important email marketing metrics such as number of sent emails, number of opened emails, open rate, email click-through rate, and more.
  • Blog Posts and Landing Pages . How many people have viewed your blog recently? How well are your landing pages performing?

Now you can benefit from the experience of our Google Analytics and HubSpot Marketing experts, who have put together a plug-and-play Databox template that contains all the essential metrics for monitoring your leads. It’s simple to implement and start using as a standalone dashboard or in marketing reports, and best of all, it’s free!

marketing_overview_hubspot_ga_dashboard_preview

You can easily set it up in just a few clicks – no coding required.

To set up the dashboard, follow these 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Get the template 

Step 2: Connect your HubSpot and Google Analytics 4 accounts with Databox. 

Step 3: Watch your dashboard populate in seconds.

Assess the Company’s Mission

It’s almost impossible to write a business analysis report without access to the company’s mission statement. Even if you don’t plan on using the mission statement as part of your business analysis summary, it can help you understand the company’s culture and goals. Mission statements are typically short and easy to read, but they may not include every area of focus that you want to include in your report.

Thus, it is important to use other sources when possible. For example, if you are writing a business analysis report for a small start-up company that is just beginning to market its product or service, review the company website or talk directly with management to learn what they believe will be most crucial in growing the company from the ground up.

Stakeholder Analysis

Who is your audience? Create the reader’s persona and tailor all information to their perspective. Create a stakeholder map that identifies all the groups, departments, functions, and individuals involved in this project (and any other projects related to this one). Your stakeholder map should include a description of each group’s role.

Review Financial Performance

Review the financing of the business and determine whether there are any potential threats to the company’s ability to meet its future financial obligations. This includes reviewing debt payments and ownership equity compared with other types of financing such as accounts receivable, cash reserves, and working capital. Determine whether there have been any changes in the funding over time, such as an increase in long-term debt or a decrease in owners’ equity.

Apart from reviewing your debt payments and ownership equity with other types of financing, wouldn’t it be great if you could compare your financial performance to companies that are exactly like yours? With Databox, this can be done in less than 3 minutes.

For example, by  joining this benchmark group , you can better understand your gross profit margin performance and see how metrics like income, gross profit, net income, net operating increase, etc compare against businesses like yours.

One piece of data that you would be able to discover is the average gross profit a month for B2B, B2C, SaaS and eCommerce. Knowing that you perform better than the median may help you evaluate your current business strategy and identify the neccessary steps towards improving it.

Instantly and Anonymously Benchmark Your Company’s Performance Against Others Just Like You

If you ever asked yourself:

  • How does our marketing stack up against our competitors?
  • Are our salespeople as productive as reps from similar companies?
  • Are our profit margins as high as our peers?

Databox Benchmark Groups can finally help you answer these questions and discover how your company measures up against similar companies based on your KPIs.

When you join Benchmark Groups, you will:

  • Get instant, up-to-date data on how your company stacks up against similar companies based on the metrics most important to you. Explore benchmarks for dozens of metrics, built on anonymized data from thousands of companies and get a full 360° view of your company’s KPIs across sales, marketing, finance, and more.
  • Understand where your business excels and where you may be falling behind so you can shift to what will make the biggest impact. Leverage industry insights to set more effective, competitive business strategies. Explore where exactly you have room for growth within your business based on objective market data.
  • Keep your clients happy by using data to back up your expertise. Show your clients where you’re helping them overperform against similar companies. Use the data to show prospects where they really are… and the potential of where they could be.
  • Get a valuable asset for improving yearly and quarterly planning . Get valuable insights into areas that need more work. Gain more context for strategic planning.

The best part?

  • Benchmark Groups are free to access.
  • The data is 100% anonymized. No other company will be able to see your performance, and you won’t be able to see the performance of individual companies either.

When it comes to showing you how your performance compares to others, here is what it might look like for the metric Average Session Duration:

project report analysis

And here is an example of an open group you could join:

project report analysis

And this is just a fraction of what you’ll get. With Databox Benchmarks, you will need only one spot to see how all of your teams stack up — marketing, sales, customer service, product development, finance, and more. 

  • Choose criteria so that the Benchmark is calculated using only companies like yours
  • Narrow the benchmark sample using criteria that describe your company
  • Display benchmarks right on your Databox dashboards

Sounds like something you want to try out? Join a Databox Benchmark Group today!

Examine the “Four P’s”

“Four P’s” — product , price , place, and promotion . Here’s how they work:

  • Product — What is the product? How does it compare with those of competitors? Is it in a position to gain market share?
  • Price — What is the price of the product? Is it what customers perceive as a good value?
  • Place — Where will the product be sold? Will existing distribution channels suffice or should new channels be considered?
  • Promotion — Are there marketing communications efforts already in place or needed to support the product launch or existing products?

Evaluate the Company Structure

A business analysis report examines the structure of a company, including its management, staff, departments, divisions, and supply chain. It also evaluates how well-managed the company is and how efficient its supply chain is. In order to develop a strong strategy, you need to be able to analyze your business structure.

When writing a business analysis report, it’s important to make sure you structure your work properly. You want to impress your readers with a clear and logical layout, so they will be able to see the strengths of your recommendations for improving certain areas of the business. A badly written report can completely ruin an impression, so follow these steps to ensure you get it right the first time.

A typical business analysis report is formatted as a cover page , an executive summary , information sections, and a summary .

  • A cover page contains the title and author of the report, the date, a contact person, and reference numbers.
  • The information section is backed up by data from the work you’ve done to support your findings, including charts and tables. Also, includes all the information that will help you make decisions about your project. Experience has shown that the use of reputable study materials, such as  StuDocu  and others, might serve you as a great assistant in your findings and project tasks.
  • A summary is a short overview of the main points that you’ve made in the report. It should be written so someone who hasn’t read your entire document can understand exactly what you’re saying. Use it to highlight your main recommendations for how to change your project or organization in order to achieve its goals.
  • The last section of a business analysis report is a short list of references that include any websites or documents that you used in your research. Be sure to note if you created or modified any of these documents — it’s important to give credit where credit is due.

The Process of Investigation

Explain the problem – Clearly identify the issue and determine who is affected by it. You should include a detailed description of the problem you are analyzing, as well as an in-depth analysis of its components and effects. If you’re analyzing a small issue on a local scale, make sure that your report reflects this scale. That way, if someone else reads your work who had no idea about its context or scope, they would still be able to understand it.

Explain research methods – There are two ways to do this. Firstly, you can list the methods you’ve used in the report to determine your actions’ success and failure. Secondly, you should add one or two new methods to try instead. Always tell readers how you came up with your answer or what data you used for your report. If you simply tell them that the company needs to improve customer service training then they won’t know what kind of data led you to that conclusion. Also, if there were several ways of addressing a problem, discuss each one and why it might not work or why it may not be appropriate for the company at this time.

Analyze data – Analyzing data is an integral part of any business decision, whether it’s related to the costs of manufacturing a product or predicting consumer behavior. Business analysis reports typically focus on one aspect of an organization and break down that aspect into several parts — all of which must be analyzed in order to come to a conclusion about the original topic.

The Outcome of Each Investigation Stage

The recommendations and actions will usually follow from the business objectives not being met. For example, if one of your goals was to decrease costs then your recommendations would include optimization strategies for cost reduction . If you have more than one suggestion you should make a list of the pros and cons of each one. You can make several recommendations in one report if they are related. In addition, make sure that every recommendation has supporting arguments to back them up.

Report Summary

Every business analysis report should start with a summary. It’s the first thing people see and it needs to capture their attention and interest. The report summary can be created in two ways, depending on the nature of the report:

  • If the report is a brief one, that simply gives a summary of the findings, then it can be created as part of the executive summary.
  • But if it’s a long report, it could be too wordy to summarise. In this case, you can create a more detailed overview that covers all the main aspects of the project from both an internal and external point of view.

Everything comes down to this section. A presentation is designed to inform, persuade and influence decision-makers to take the next action steps.

Sometimes a slide or two can make them change their mind or open new horizons. These days, digital dashboards are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to presenting data in business reports. Dashboards combine different visualizations into one place, allowing users to get an overview of the information they need at a glance rather than searching through a bunch of documents or spreadsheets trying.

Databox offers dynamic and accessible digital dashboards that will help you to convert raw data into a meaningful story. And the best part is that you can do it with a ‘blink of an eye’ even if you don’t have any coding or designs skills. There is also an option of individual report customization so that you can tailor any dashboard to your own needs.

Pre-made dashboard templates can be extremely useful when creating your own business analysis report. While examples serve as inspiration, templates allow you to create reports quickly and easily without having to spend time (and money) developing the underlying data models.

Databox dashboard templates come with some of the most common pre-built metrics and KPIs different types of businesses track across different departments. In order to create powerful business insights within minutes, all you need to do is download any of our free templates and connect your data source — the metrics will populate automatically.

Business Report Examples and Templates

Databox business dashboard examples are simple and powerful tools for tracking your business KPIs and performance. These dashboards can be used by executive teams and managers as well as by senior management, marketing, sales, customer support, IT, accounting, and other departments. If you are new to this kind of reporting, you may not know how to set up a dashboard or what metrics should be displayed on it. This is where a premade template for business dashboards comes in handy.

For example, this Google Ads Report Template is designed to give you a simple way to keep track of your campaigns’ performance over time, and it’s a great resource for anyone who uses Google’s advertising platform, regardless of whether they’re an SMB, an SME or an enterprise.

Google ads dashboard

KPI Report Examples and Templates

KPIs are the foundation of any business analysis, and they can come in a multitude of forms. While we’ve defined KPIs as metrics or measurements that allow you to assess the effectiveness of a given process, department, or team, there are a number of ways to evaluate your KPIs. Through the use of color-coding, user-friendly graphs and charts, and an intuitive layout, your KPIs should be easy for anyone to understand. A good way to do this is by having a dedicated business analyst on your team who can take on the task of gathering data, analyzing it, and presenting it in a way that will drive actionable insights. However, if you don’t have a dedicated analyst or don’t want to spend money on one, you can still create KPI reporting dashboards using free KPI Databox templates and examples .

For example, this Sales Overview template is a great resource for managers who want to get an overview of their sales team’s performance and KPIs. It’s perfect for getting started with business analysis, as it is relatively easy to understand and put together.

sales overview dashboard

Performance Report Examples and Templates

All businesses, regardless of size or industry, need to know how well they are performing in order to make the best decisions for their company and improve overall ROI. A performance dashboard is a strategic tool used to track key metrics across different departments and provide insight into the health of a business. Databox has a collection of 50+ Performance Dashboard Examples and Templates which are available for free download.

For example, if your business is investing a lot into customer support, we recommend tracking your customer service performance with this Helpscout Mailbox Dashboard which will give you insights into conversations, your team’s productivity, customer happiness score, and more.

Helpscout dashboard example

Executive Report Examples and Templates

An executive dashboard is a visual representation of the current state of a business. The main purpose of an executive dashboard is to enable business leaders to quickly identify opportunities, identify areas for improvement, pinpoint issues, and make data-informed decisions for driving sales growth, new product launches, and overall business growth. When an executive dashboard is fully developed, as one of these 50+ Databox Free Executive Examples and Templates , it offers a single view of the most important metrics for a business at a glance.

For example, you probably have more than one set of financial data tracked using an executive dashboard software : invoices, revenue reports (for accounting), income statements, to mention a few. If you want to view all this data in one convenient place, or even create a custom report that gives you a better picture of your business’s financial health, this Stripe Dashboard Template is a perfect solution for you.

Stripe dashboard

Metrics Report Examples and Templates

Choosing the right metrics for your business dashboard can be crucial to helping you meet your business objectives, evaluate your performance, and get insights into how your business is operating. Metrics dashboards are used by senior management to measure the performance of their company on a day-to-day basis. They are also used by mid-level managers to determine how their teams are performing against individual goals and objectives. Databox provides 50+ Free Metrics Dashboard Examples and Templates that you can use to create your company’s own dashboards. Each is unique and will depend on your business needs.

For example, if you are looking for ways to track the performance of your DevOps team, and get the latest updates on projects quickly – from commits, and repository status, to top contributors to your software development projects, this GitHub Overview Dashboard is for you.

GitHub overview dashboard

Small Business Report Examples and Templates

A lot of small business owners don’t realize how important it is to have a proper dashboard in place until they actually use one. A dashboard can help you track and compare different metrics, benchmark your performance against industry averages, evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and sales strategies, track financials, and much more. So if you’re looking for a tool to help you measure and manage your small business’ performance, try some of these 50+ Free Small Business Dashboard Examples and Templates .

For example, this Quickbooks Dashboard template can help you get a clear understanding of your business’s financial performance, ultimately allowing you to make better-informed decisions that will drive growth and profitability.

Quickbooks dashboard

Agency Report Examples and Templates

Agency dashboards are not a new concept. They have been around for years and are used by companies all over the world. Agency dashboards can be powerful tools for improving your marketing performance, increasing client loyalty, and landing new clients. There is no single correct way to create an agency dashboard. Everyone has their own goals and objectives, which will ultimately determine which data points you choose to include or track using a client dashboard software , but with these Databox 100+ Free Agency Dashboard Examples and Templates you have plenty of options to start with.

For example, you can use this Harvest Clients Time Report to easily see how much time your employees spend working on projects for a particular client, including billable hours and billable amount split by projects.

Harvest Clients Time Report dashboard

Better Business Reporting with Databox

Business analysis is all about finding smart ways to evaluate your organization’s performance and future potential. And that’s where Databox comes in.

Databox can be a helpful tool for business leaders who are required to analyze data, hold frequent meetings, and generate change in their organizations. From improving the quality and accessibility of your reporting to tracking critical performance metrics in one place, and sharing performance metrics with your peers and team members in a cohesive, presentable way, allow Databox to be your personal assistant in these processes, minimize the burdens of reporting and ensure you always stay on top of your metrics game.

Sign up today for free to start streamlining your business reporting process.

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How to Write a Solid Progress Report for Project Success

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Progress reports are like project status updates that help everyone involved understand how things are going. Writing a solid progress report is crucial for keeping your project on track and ensuring its success. In this guide, we’ll break down the process of creating a great progress report, making it easy for you to communicate your project’s progress effectively. We have also included progress report templates for you to get started right away.

Progress Report Template

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What is a Progress Report

A progress report is a document that provides an overview of the status, advancements, and achievements of a project or task. It typically outlines what has been accomplished, what is currently in progress, and any challenges or obstacles encountered. Progress reports are commonly used in various settings, such as work, education, or personal projects, to keep stakeholders informed about the project’s developments and to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the current state of affairs.

Progress Report Templates to Keep Track of Project Progress

Daily Progress Report Template

Project Status Report Template

Project Status Summary

Project Dashboard Template

Project Status Summary Template

Why You Need to Use a Progress Report

A progress report promotes a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement in project management. Here are several reasons why a progress report is important.

Clear communication: Keeps everyone on the same page by sharing what’s happening in a project.

Tracking achievements: Highlights what has been successfully completed, boosting team morale.

Problem-solving: Identifies and addresses challenges, helping to find solutions and stay on track.

Decision-making: Provides real-time information for informed decision-making during the project.

Accountability: Holds team members responsible for their tasks and deadlines.

Learning and improvement: Creates a record of progress, facilitating learning for future projects.

Efficiency: Keeps the team working efficiently by preventing confusion and misunderstandings.

Collaboration: Encourages collaboration and coordination among team members.

Key Components of a Progress Report

The following components of a progress report collectively provide a comprehensive view of the project’s progress, challenges, and future plans, enabling effective communication and decision-making.

  • Introduction : Brief overview of the project, including its purpose and objectives.
  • Work completed : Summary of tasks or milestones achieved since the last report.
  • Work in progress : Description of current activities, tasks underway, and their status.
  • Challenges and issues : Identification and discussion of any problems, roadblocks, or challenges faced.
  • Achievements : Recognition and celebration of significant accomplishments and milestones.
  • Upcoming tasks : Outline of the next steps, tasks, or milestones planned for the future.
  • Timeline and schedule : Review or adjustment of the project timeline or schedule, if necessary.
  • Budget overview : Overview of the project’s financial status, including spendings and any budget changes.
  • Recommendations : Suggestions for improvements or changes to improve project efficiency.
  • Conclusion : A brief summary and conclusion, often including an overall project status assessment.

Challenges of Creating and Using a Progress Report

While project reports are handy for keeping track of project progress, they can pose some challenges.

Time-consuming: Writing a progress report can take time away from actual project work.

Communication issues: Making sure that everyone understands the report may be challenging.

Data accuracy: Getting accurate information for the report can sometimes be difficult.

Overlooking details: Important details may be unintentionally left out.

Balancing detail and brevity: Finding the right level of detail without making the report too lengthy can be tricky.

Tracking complex projects: Managing and reporting progress for complex projects may pose a challenge.

Ensuring regular updates: Getting everyone to consistently update progress can be a hurdle, especially in dynamic work environments.

Best Practices for Creating an Effective Progress Report

Creating an effective progress report involves following some best practices:

  • Keep your report clear and straightforward, avoiding jargon or overly complex language.
  • Highlight the most important information, emphasizing achievements and addressing challenges.
  • Use a consistent format and structure for easy comprehension.
  • Submit reports on time to make sure that the information is relevant and up-to-date.
  • Provide enough detail to convey the message, but avoid unnecessary information that may overwhelm.
  • Use charts or diagrams to visually represent data and trends for better understanding.
  • Include potential solutions when discussing challenges, promoting a proactive approach.

Create Your Next Progress Report with Creately

Simplify the process of creating progress reports and streamline project management, communication, and improve overall project success with Creately ’s visual collaboration platform.

Task tracking and assignment

Use the built-in project management tools to create, assign, and track tasks right on the canvas. Assign responsibilities, set due dates, and monitor progress with Agile Kanban boards, Gantt charts, timelines and more. Create task cards containing detailed information, descriptions, due dates, and assigned responsibilities.

Notes and attachments

Record additional details and attach documents, files, and screenshots related to your tasks and projects with per item integrated notes panel and custom data fields. Or easily embed files and attachments right on the workspace to centralize project information. Work together on project documentation with teammates with full multiplayer text and visual collaboration.

Real-time collaboration

Get any number of participants on the same workspace and track their additions to the progress report in real-time. Collaborate with others in the project seamlessly with true multi-user collaboration features including synced previews and comments and discussion threads. Use Creately’s Microsoft Teams integration to brainstorm, plan, run projects during meetings.

Pre-made templates

Get a head start with ready-to-use progress report templates and other project documentation templates available right inside the app. Explore 1000s more templates and examples for various scenarios in the community.

Comprehensive shape libraries

Create any visual aid from flowcharts to timelines with comprehensive shape libraries for over 70 types of diagrams including icons. Illustrate or make annotations easily with freehand drawing and format text without leaving the keyboard with markdown shortcuts.

Progress reports are indispensable in project management. They foster communication, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement. Make use of the progress report templates we have provided to track your progress and stay organized.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

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Requirements analysis: key steps and techniques for doing it right.

Robert Hales

ClickUp Contributor

February 13, 2024

Imagine building a house without a clue about its final size and outline. You wouldn’t know how deep your foundations should be, how much material you should order, and how many workers and days it will take to finish. In other words, without being aware of the requirements, your house-building project is doomed to fail before it even begins. 🏠

The same goes for software development—you need to properly understand what the product should accomplish from the get-go. Without it, you risk ending up with software that might work perfectly, just not in the way your end users and customers want and expect.

This is where a requirements analysis steps in, helping you identify , document , analyze , and prioritize stakeholder needs and expectations from a new or revamped system. It’s a crucial activity for figuring out the project scope , keeping stakeholders and developers aligned, and ultimately, improving customer satisfaction and the quality of deliverables.

So, what’s this requirements analysis all about , who does it, how, and when? We’ll answer all these questions and more in this article, so stay tuned!

When to run a requirements analysis?

Who performs a requirements analysis, benefits of requirements analysis in the software development process, 1. lack of clarity among stakeholders, 2. dynamic nature of requirements , 3. conflicting nature of requirements, 4. internal politics, step 1: identify key stakeholders, step 2: collect and document stakeholder requirements, step 3: group the requirements, step 4: prioritize the requirements, step 5: analyze and model the requirements, step 6: draft the specifications document, 1. gap analysis, 2. flowcharts, 3. gantt charts, what is requirements analysis.

While almost any kind of project can benefit from a requirements analysis (also known as requirements elicitation and analysis), it’s most commonly conducted in the software development industry. It’s part of the broader requirements software engineering process that’s used to thoroughly understand and analyze the requirements for any software development project . 

Its goal is to remove any ambiguity and misunderstanding from the product development process , ensuring your team and the stakeholders are on the same page.

The activities that go into a typical requirements analysis process include: 

  • Identifying key stakeholders: These include end users, customers, clients, and other interested parties
  • Collecting stakeholder requirements : Gathering information about the desired features, limitations, and objectives
  • Documentation : Creating a structured record of user stories , use cases , and other product specifications
  • Analysis : Assessing the viability and consistency of the collected requirements and resolving any conflicts
  • Requirement prioritization : Helps with resource allocation and leads to better decision-making
  • Change management : Coming up with processes for dealing with changing requirements throughout the development lifecycle

Requirements analysis is generally performed in the early stage of a development project , before moving on to phases like design, implementation, and testing. 

You might also want to perform detailed analysis if your existing product or system undergoes major changes. It’s a way to understand which new features are required and get stakeholders’ approval for any modifications you want to make.

In Agile project management specifically, requirements analysis is an ongoing business process instead of a do-once-forget-forever kind of job. It is conducted in regular intervals, allowing Agile teams to modify the requirements in line with the latest customer feedback and insight. 

Requirements analysis is a collaborative effort involving multiple key stakeholders in the software development process, most commonly:

  • Project managers
  • Product owners (in Agile methodologies)
  • Software engineers and developers
  • QA specialists

Other members who may participate in the analysis depending on the project complexity include subject matter experts, business process analysts, representatives of regulatory bodies, software architects, marketing and sales team representatives, etc.

Requirements analysis can lead to higher client satisfaction rates and efficient and satisfied team members willing to give their best to every project. Some of the other significant benefits include:

  • Vision clarity: It enables a clear vision and a roadmap for the development and direction of the project
  • Team clarity: It helps everyone working on the project understand project requirements clearly
  • Conflict management: It assists with the early identification of conflicting requirements so they can be managed properly
  • Improved product relevance: It helps ensure that the software you develop aligns with all the requirements and is capable of achieving the intended purpose

Common Challenges of a Requirements Analysis

As we’ve seen, a requirements analysis is an integral part of any successful development project, but it comes with its share of challenges. The most notable ones include:

Stakeholders often don’t have a clear idea of what they want from the software or struggle with expressing their requirements coherently and accurately. This ambiguity can create misunderstandings and problems in the later stages of development, such as scope creep and missed functionalities.

The requirements you gathered originally may change or even become irrelevant at some point due to changing market conditions or end-user priorities. So, have a backup requirements management plan in place, and if you feel that there’s a significant shift in the requirements, go back to the drawing board and conduct requirements analysis again. 📝

Some of the collected requirements may be at odds with each other, and you can choose only one to implement in the product. For instance, there’s usually a trade-off between software security and performance —the more security checks you put in place, the slower the program.

You should clearly communicate these conflicting requirements to the stakeholders so that you can find a compromise solution. 

Team members with different skill sets may want the project requirements to be set up in a way that puts greater emphasis on their role. You should be wary of such tendencies and inform your stakeholders about them to ensure an unbiased and agenda-free analysis process .

Requirements Analysis Process: 6 Key Steps

Requirements analysis is a complex business process that requires extensive communication, documentation, and meticulous organization of information collected from various stakeholders. 

While the exact analysis process will depend on your specific scenario, we’ll show you the six steps that have to be followed to capture your software requirements with precision.

We’ll also see how ClickUp —a robust project and product management tool—can help you plan, manage, and implement each of these steps. The platform’s Product Management Suite provides all the features you need for streamlined requirements management .

The first step is to identify all the stakeholders involved in your development project because each will have their own requirements and expectations. This includes your clients as well as customers and end-users of the software you’ll be developing. Remember that your team members and managers are also stakeholders with varying levels of influence and interest in the project. 

The easiest way to group these stakeholders is by using ClickUp Whiteboards . This virtual canvas allows you to visualize and simplify any idea or relationship with drawings, shapes, sticky notes, and colors. 

If you’re looking for a leg up with this step, use the Whiteboard-based ClickUp Stakeholder Analysis Matrix Template . It lets you group your stakeholders into four categories according to their power and interest in the project.

ClickUp Stakeholder Analysis Matrix Template

Once you have your stakeholders identified and grouped, you can start the process of collecting their requirements. 

You should begin with one-on-one meetings and interviews , followed by conference calls with groups of stakeholders based on the categories you specified in the first step. The point is to identify potential overlaps and conflicts in the business requirements of different stakeholder groups.

If you want to streamline the collection process and spare yourself endless interviews, use  ClickUp Forms for software engineering teams . This feature lets you create custom forms for gathering feedback from stakeholders and user groups, getting precious insights into how they want the software to work and look. 

ClickUp Forms optimizes your requirements analysis process even further by automatically converting form responses into tasks for your development team. 

On top of that, you can make the intake process much easier with the help of conditional logic . The forms will automatically change depending on the form taker’s answers, leading to more relevant responses and more valuable information on requirements.

Bonus tip: If you need an easy way to capture user stories but don’t want to bother creating forms, you can use the ClickUp User Story Template . Use it to convert user stories into smaller tasks, which you can easily organize, prioritize, and monitor through to completion.

ClickUp User Story Template

Once you have collected stakeholder requirements, you’ll need a way to organize all the information in one easily accessible and searchable place. Luckily, ClickUp has a perfect tool for that, too— ClickUp Docs . It’s the platform’s text editor and document management system, ideal for making a repository of your stakeholder requirements and adding it to any part of your ClickUp Workspace.

You can collaborate on the Docs with your team in real time with options like tagging, commenting, co-editing, and converting text directly into tasks to optimize workflows. Quickly share the Docs with different groups of shareholders through shareable links and permissions settings for team, guest, and public access.

ClickUp Docs 3.0

Once you know what your stakeholders want and expect from the product, it’s time to group the requirements based on their nature. Generally, you’ll find two types of requirements:

  • Operational requirements: Also known as business requirements, they represent the necessary operations the software must be able to carry out according to your stakeholders’ operations strategy and objectives. Think of business requirements as the scope of functionality that you need to develop in your software
  • Functional requirements: These are the functions that must be present in the software you deliver to the client. Examples include user login functionality, data backup functionality, admin panel, and user profiles
  • Non-functional requirements: These are not actual functions but still make an important part of the software. Examples of non-functional requirements include performance, scalability, and security

Budget and resources are almost always limited, and each project has to be completed within those constraints. That’s why prioritization of requirements is essential—it helps you decide what must be done ASAP and what can be put on hold.

Here’s how you should prioritize and manage the requirements of each group of stakeholders:

The next step is to evaluate all the requirements you have gathered, noted down, and organized so far, and build some software concepts around them. The tasks carried out in this phase include:

  • Identification of all externally accessible data objects
  • Data flow visualization
  • Defining functions based on data objects and flows
  • Determining the value of each data flow and object
  • Complete conceptualization of software operations
  • Defining system interface
  • Identifying technical limitations and constraints

Finally, it’s time to put all your finalized requirements in a document and get it signed by all relevant stakeholders. This document is often called the software requirements specification (SRS) or product requirements document . 

Bonus tip: Once software requirements are finalized, you can use the ClickUp Product Requirements Template to organize them neatly, along with priority levels and status. The status can be used to track whether a feature has been tested for feasibility and conflicts. At the same time, the priority level can tell you how important a feature or requirement is.

Product Requirements Template by ClickUp

Best Requirements Analysis Techniques and Tools

Requirement analysis is more than just interviewing and documenting—you must build detailed graphic models to visualize the product’s functionality. These models help the software architects and design teams get clarity on how different functions of the software will interact with each other. 

We’ll now explore the most well-known visualization approaches and requirements analysis techniques and show you how to implement them to build exceptional software requirement models. 

In a nutshell, gap analysis is the process of analyzing the gap between a business’s current and desired capabilities . In the context of requirements analysis, gap analysis is conducted to identify and bridge the performance gaps between the software’s current and target (required) state.

ClickUp provides you with dozens of gap analysis templates you can use to better understand and achieve your product’s requirements. Some of them include:

  • ClickUp Gap Analysis Template
  • ClickUp Product Gap Analysis Template
  • ClickUp User Experience Gap Analysis Template
  • ClickUp Product Development Gap Analysis Template
  • ClickUp App Developers Gap Analysis Template

You can use any of these gap analysis templates to organize the information regarding the current and desired state of your software program on a digital whiteboard. Once you have it all laid out, you can use drawings and sticky notes to collaboratively determine deficiencies in your product’s performance and find ways to overcome them.

ClickUp Product Gap Analysis Template

Flowcharts are commonly used to visualize business processes, and you can employ them in requirements analysis to capture how different functions of your software will interact. They include various shapes like rectangles, squares, and ovals, connected with arrows and lines for illustrating a process. 

You can start creating flowcharts quickly with ClickUp Mind Maps . This feature lets you drag and drop nodes on a digital canvas and make connections between them to map the functions and data objects. Once created, Mind Maps can be easily shared with stakeholders or attached to Docs containing product requirements.

ClickUp Mind Map Flowchart Example

In addition to Mind Maps, you can use dozens of ClickUp templates to build your flowcharts and data flow diagrams effortlessly. Our favorite ones are:

  • ClickUp Process Flowchart Template
  • ClickUp Data Flow Diagram Template

Gantt charts are used for visualizing the schedules and relationships between multiple activities within your project portfolio , offering a bird’s eye view of the overall progress. As one of the best requirements analysis techniques, Gantt charts paint a picture of the expected time and order of development for each requirement, helping to set a dynamic timeline for the entire process. 

ClickUp Gantt charts let you visualize and organize all aspects of your requirements analysis process, from tracking task dependencies and timelines to managing priorities—all in real time. You can easily schedule and assign tasks, handle deadlines, identify bottlenecks, and keep track of the overall progress of the requirements analysis process. 

ClickUp Gantt Charts

Master Your Requirements Analysis Game with ClickUp

Requirements analysis is a demanding but nevertheless critical business process for the success of any project. It requires a great deal of open communication, effective collaboration, and meticulous organization in collecting and reconciling the business needs and expectations of numerous interested parties. 

Luckily, ClickUp can help you streamline your requirements analysis journey. With its comprehensive suite of collaboration, documentation, and flowcharting features, along with ready-made templates, ClickUp is your ticket to smooth sailing in product development . 

Give ClickUp a try and see how it improves your requirements analysis process and project planning. It’s free to get started!

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$7 Million for 30 Seconds? To Advertisers, the Super Bowl Is Worth It.

In a time of fragmentation, advertising during the game’s broadcast is still a reliable way to boost company revenue and familiarize viewers with a brand.

A cat wearing a bow tie.

By Santul Nerkar

A cat meowing for Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Peyton Manning chucking Bud Light beers to patrons in a bar and Kris Jenner stacking Oreo cookies. They all have one thing in common: Those companies paid seven figures to get their products in front of viewers during this year’s Super Bowl.

For the second consecutive year, the average cost of a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl was $7 million. Even as many businesses are being more disciplined with the money they have for marketing, and with spending on advertising slowing in recent years, the cost of a Super Bowl ad continues to go up.

The reason is simple: There is no opportunity guaranteed to reach more people than the Super Bowl, and the slice of every other pie keeps shrinking.

“It’s a throwback in terms of reaching everyone all at once,” said Charles Taylor, a professor of marketing at the Villanova School of Business.

In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, the number of opportunities for companies to reach a mass audience through advertising on network television has dwindled. Popular shows have increasingly moved to streaming platforms, along with audiences. More and more, networks find themselves relying on live events, like award shows and sports, to draw viewers.

“Live events are still huge for advertisers, and those are the ones that draw the highest attention,” said Frank Maguire, a vice president at Sharethrough, an advertising integration platform.

Not all live events are created equal, though. A record-low audience watched the Emmy Awards in January . Leagues like the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have struggled to retain and increase viewership, and ratings for the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball final have fallen in recent years.

But the National Football League has continued its strong upward march , both in terms of viewership and media deals. In 2021, television networks committed $110 billion for the rights to broadcast the league for a decade, and the N.F.L. has continued to set record viewership numbers. More than 115 million people watched last year’s championship game.

The Super Bowl stands alone as a mass-marketing opportunity on television. A decade ago, the average cost of a 30-second spot was $4 million; a decade before that, it was $2.4 million. Analysts say the rise is a result of supply and demand: With a fixed amount of time and advertising spots for each Super Bowl broadcast, the competition is fierce. CBS, which will broadcast Sunday’s game, sold out its ad spots in a matter of weeks in November. Paramount, which owns CBS, will reportedly run nearly a dozen spots to promote its films.

“In this era of fragmentation, the Super Bowl is what television used to be,” said Brad Adgate, a veteran media analyst.

For many years, Super Bowl ads were kept closely guarded until the day of the game. Now, companies employ marketing campaigns that often start in mid-January.

“It’s about building a long-running narrative,” said Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, the chief marketing officer at DoorDash, whose Super Bowl ad this year is pushing a promotional deal.

Many viewers now turn on the Super Bowl broadcast with an idea of what to expect for the ads. A January preview of a Pringles ad, for instance, featured the mustache of an unknown man, prompting many fans to guess it belonged to the Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. (In fact, it belonged to the actor Chris Pratt.)

“You’re not just paying for that 30-second spot; it is a four- to six-week buzz that you’re creating,” said Mary Scott, a professor of strategic communications at Montclair State University and a former president at United Entertainment Group, a sports and entertainment marketing agency.

The rise in female viewership for N.F.L. games this season, made even more prominent by Taylor Swift’s relationship with Mr. Kelce, is another potential marketing opportunity for companies.

The news that Kansas City made the Super Bowl was welcomed by health-and-beauty companies, which disproportionately target young women. That demographic has tuned into more football games this season, thanks in large part to Ms. Swift’s appearances at Kansas City games.

NYX Makeup, a subsidiary of L’Oreal, has bought its first Super Bowl ad spot, while Dove is returning with an ad spot for the first time since 2015. E.L.F. cosmetics is advertising for the second straight year.

Kory Marchisotto, E.L.F.’s chief marketing officer, acknowledged that Kansas City’s playing in the Super Bowl was good for business. Ms. Marchisotto said her company kept different versions of ads in the days leading up to the game, a departure from how Super Bowl ads used to be prepared. Companies want to stay as nimble as possible, staying responsive to the specific interests of the audience watching the game.

“It was way easier when you would create a spot, spend a year on it, put it in market, and sit back and let it fly,” she said.

At the same time, companies are investing more heavily into making sure they’re getting the most for their $7 million. More ads this year are expected to feature interactive components like QR codes, which help companies track engagement with their brands in real time.

The technology debuted at the Super Bowl in 2022 with a floating code for Coinbase, a cryptocurrency company. The concept was used in more ads in last year’s Super Bowl — including one for avocados from Mexico and one for a public service announcement from a religious organization. The strategy also featured prominently during the N.F.L.’s first Black Friday broadcast in November.

Together, the Super Bowl’s ads are an annual snapshot of the economic and social moment in the country, said Ethan Heftman, a vice president of agency sales at Ampersand, an ad consortium owned by Comcast, Charter and Cox.

“As long as you have new industries — auto, cellular, tech companies,” Mr. Heftman said, “there’ll always be brands seeking that broad awareness.”

Santul Nerkar is a reporter covering business and sports. More about Santul Nerkar

Inside the World of Sports

Dive deeper into the people, issues and trends shaping professional, collegiate and amateur athletics..

Stadiums in Africa: This year’s Africa Cup of Nations, like several previous editions, played out in Chinese-built arenas. It will end with familiar questions about their legacy .

Discovered at a Pickup Game: Arthur Dukes Jr. had made three false starts at college before becoming the star player  for LaGuardia Community College’s scrappy new team.

Embracing Politics: Come for the draft analysis, stay for the anti-Biden rant. A growing class of commentators is blending sports and conservative politics .

Caitlin Clark Is Different: Her fiery competitiveness, no-look passes and 3-point bombs have made her the biggest star in college basketball. What happens when she leaves Iowa ?

Soccer in $1.50 Sandals: In Ivory Coast, lêkê are the preferred footwear for amateur games and almost everything else. Even Gucci wants to copy them .

Mixed Signals: The   N.F.L. is pushing to popularize and benefit from sports betting  while still trying to guard against the potential pitfalls for its players, employees and fans.

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  • SMILE Economic Analysis Report pdf (15.7 MB)

The Economic Analysis of SMILE for Immunization Program

SMILE Economic Analysis Report

February 15, 2024

Sistem Monitoring Imunisasi dan Logistik secara Elektronik (SMILE) or the electronic immunization and logistics monitoring system was developed by the Government of Indonesia supported by UNDP to ensure the availability of safe and quality vaccines in Indonesia. SMILE inception was carried out in Bogor and South Tangerang city in 2018. The system reduced vaccine stockouts by 70% in the first six months of its introduction. Building on the success of the pilot projects and with the supports from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Government of Japan (ADP), SMILE was scaled up to 25 districts/cities for routine immunization, then utilized by all 34 provinces to support the COVID-19 vaccination program in 2021. By the end of 2022, SMILE covered all districts/cities to catch up with the childhood routine immunization program nationwide.

Furthermore, inter-sectoral collaboration plays a significant role to brand SMILE as a reference for the examination and reporting of vaccine and logistics management. SMILE would be an integrated solutions in logistics monitoring, not limited to digitalization but also innovation and development financing, with impact and scale to be accelerated in other health programs in Indonesia.

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Regions and countries, sustainable development goals, related publications, publications, 100 days of undp response: western nepal earthquake.

100 days have passed since the 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Western Nepal, affecting Jajarkot, Rukum West and Salyan districts of Karnali Province on 3 Novem...

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Sahel Human Development Report 2023

Sustainable energy could regenerate Africa’s Sahelian zone by using the region’s abundant clean energy potential to transform lives, diversify economies, give h...

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Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project - Environmental Impact ...

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This publication provides seven entry points for mainstreaming gender into planning, monitoring, and reporting for revised or updated National Biodiversity Stra...

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Building Better Pathways: An Analysis of Career Trajectories and Occupational Transitions

Publication info, research methodology, country, state or territory, description, other products.

The career pathways approach to workforce development emerged to help workers with lower levels of formal education advance to better paying jobs by earning in-demand postsecondary credentials. The approach involves articulated steps of education, training, and jobs within an industry sector or occupational cluster, combined with other services and employer connections to support participant success. To advance the evidence base in the career pathways field, the Descriptive & Analytical Career Pathways Project (D&A CP Project) includes three sub-studies, each addressing different evidence gaps through distinct data sources and methods.

The Career Trajectories and Occupational Transitions (CTOT) Study provides new information on workers’ economic advancement prospects and pathways. Specifically, it examines the actual career trajectories that entrants to an occupation experience over 10 years and the specific occupational transitions that workers make as they move from one occupation to another. The analysis of trajectories helps to identify which occupations appear to be a more reliable launchpad(s) for career advancement. The study’s analysis of transitions helps to uncover common pathways to show how workers typically advance.

Focusing on mid-level occupations commonly targeted by employment and training programs, the study used panel surveys that follow individuals for decades to examine wage growth 10 years after workers entered these occupations. Additionally, in order to understand occupational transitions, the study leveraged several data sources, including information from government surveys and private labor market information providers.

Key findings include: • There is meaningful variation in wage growth trajectories among workers starting in mid-level occupations. Assuming a starting wage of $20, entrants to launchpad occupations earn about $7.20 more per hour after 10 years compared to those who enter lower-wage-growth occupations. • Several characteristics distinguish launchpad occupations, including promising clusters for high-wage growth occupations and an emphasis on transferable skills, such as problem solving and two-way communication. • Several career experiences are associated with wage growth, including the frequency of job changes and whether an individual remains in or leaves the occupational cluster. • Wage growth varies for workers with different backgrounds or experiences, including by gender, race, ethnicity, education level, and parental educational attainment.

In addition to the final report, deliverables for the D&A CP Project CTOT study include appendices detailing career trajectories and occupational transitions for healthcare, early care and education, information technology, and production/manufacturing; public use data; and a dashboard. The CTOT data also supported a paper on wage growth disparities by gender and race/ethnicity.

Additionally, the D&A CP Project produced a career pathways timeline as well as an early brief describing highlights from a scan of the research and an accompanying research and evaluation matrix.

The other two sub-studies in the D&A CP Project include a Meta-Analysis Study and Machine Learning Study.

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COMMENTS

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  3. How to Write a Project Report (With Steps & Templates)

    1. Project Status Report A project status report is a document that gives a snapshot of where your project stands at any given moment. It's like answering the question, "How's the project doing?"

  4. 12 Essential Project Reports

    by Peter Landau | May 11, 2023 What Is Project Reporting? Project reporting is one of the key responsibilities of any project manager. Project reporting consists of creating different types of reports to track project schedules, project budgets and project progress to keep project stakeholders informed.

  5. How to Write Project Report: Complete Step-By-Step Guide

    How to Write a Project Report: Step-By-Step Guide Part 1; Project Report Templates: Free Download Part 2; Additional Resources Part 3; How to Dramatically Reduce Time You Spend Creating Reports Part 4; At some point during the implementation of a project, a project report has to be generated in order to paint a mental image of the whole project.

  6. How to Write a Project Report: [Templates + Guide]

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  7. How to Write an Effective Project Report in 7 Steps (+ examples in

    How to Write an Effective Project Report in 7 Steps (+ examples in Microsoft 365) By Shubhangi Pandey | Updated November 3, 2023 | 22 min read In an age where remote work is becoming the new every day and data-driven decision-making is more crucial than ever, project reporting has become more than a managerial obligation.

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  9. What is project analysis? (Types and why it's important)

    Updated 5 January 2023. Project analysis (PA) is the process of evaluating a project's current status and identifying potential problems as the project progresses. Project managers who practice PA are more likely to see their projects succeed than those who don't. If you're managing a project, understanding how to analyse a project using ...

  10. Project Report Guide

    Step 4: First Draft. After your outline and analysis, you can start a rough draft. As the name suggests, it doesn't need to be perfect. If you are looking for a tool to help you put together project reports, try our document editor.

  11. How to Write a Project Report In 5 Easy Steps (Template Included)

    1. General project report This is your first project report. It should cover predictions and plans for how you expect the project to go, and give you a clear sense of direction when it comes to things like budget, timelines, and everything else you need to keep track of in order for your project to be considered a success. 2. Progress report

  12. How to Create a Project Report: Objectives, Components, Use Cases

    1. Know Your Objective Sit down, evaluate your objectives, and understand what you want to describe, explain, recommend, and prove with your report. Having set goals will not only help you proceed with your project report but also help readers understand your point of view. 2. Recognize Your Audience

  13. How to Write Data Analysis Reports in 9 Easy Steps

    A data analysis report is a type of business report in which you present quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate your strategies and performance. Based on this data, you give recommendations for further steps and business decisions while using the data as evidence that backs up your evaluation.

  14. What Is Project Analysis? Stages Of Project Analysis

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  16. What Is Project Reporting? (With Steps, Tips and Benefits)

    A project report is a document that allows a company or team to have an overview of a assignment's requirements and progress. It contains data that relates to the development and completion of an assignment. Typically, project managers create reports that are easy to understand, so that stakeholders, clients and members of various departments ...

  17. Free Project Report Templates

    The Top 17 Free Project Report Templates For Effective Project Management Get free Smartsheet templates By Kate Eby | August 5, 2019 (updated August 7, 2023) In this article, you'll find a comprehensive list of project report templates to support your project management efforts.

  18. Project Report: Objectives, Types, Use Cases, Templates

    The main objectives of a project report are as follows: 1. Requesting permission for an investment plan. A final project report is an insightful document that helps to make new investment plans. It allows the project manager to see and evaluate the expected profits and associated risks in a new project.

  19. What Is a Project Analyst?

    Project analyst roles differ from organization to organization, but they are normally related to performing, analyzing and providing project analysis and support for the project team. A summary of those responsibilities follows: Creates, manages and distributes project reports. Maintains project assets, communications and databases.

  20. How to Write a Business Analysis Report [Examples and Templates]

    A business analysis report provides information about the current situation of your company. This report is usually created by the management to help in the decision-making process and is usually used by other departments within a company.

  21. How to Create a Project Analysis (Free Templates)

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  22. The Guide to Project Analysis and Reports [150 Power BI Reports

    The essence of project portfolio analytics and reports. According to Cambridge vocabulary, analysis can the act to studying or examining something in view to discover or understand more about it or your bekanntmachung and judgment after making this.. A report, appropriate to campaign vocabulary, holds more than one definition appropriate to in topic:. A statement that may button may not may truer.

  23. How to Write a Solid Progress Report for Project Success

    Challenges of Creating and Using a Progress Report. While project reports are handy for keeping track of project progress, they can pose some challenges. Time-consuming: Writing a progress report can take time away from actual project work. Communication issues: Making sure that everyone understands the report may be challenging.

  24. How To Write an Analysis (With Examples and Tips)

    1. Choose your argument The first step is to determine the argument you are making. The topic you analyze should be specific so you can present a clear, focused argument. This argument should take a strong stance so readers understand exactly what your claim is.

  25. Requirements Analysis: Everything to Know About It

    What Is Requirements Analysis? While almost any kind of project can benefit from a requirements analysis (also known as requirements elicitation and analysis), it's most commonly conducted in the software development industry. It's part of the broader requirements software engineering process that's used to thoroughly understand and analyze the requirements for any software development ...

  26. $7 Million for 30 Seconds? To Advertisers, the Super Bowl Is Worth It

    The Super Bowl stands alone as a mass-marketing opportunity on television. A decade ago, the average cost of a 30-second spot was $4 million; a decade before that, it was $2.4 million.

  27. The Economic Analysis of SMILE for Immunization Program

    SMILE Economic Analysis Report . pdf (1MB) Download ... Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project - Environmental Impact ... This document is a draft of the ESIA that is currently being prepared - it is a work in progress, therefore not a completed document. The purpose of making thi...

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  29. Building Better Pathways: An Analysis of Career Trajectories and

    The career pathways approach to workforce development emerged to help workers with lower levels of formal education advance to better paying jobs by earning in-demand postsecondary credentials. The approach involves articulated steps of education, training, and jobs within an industry sector or occupational cluster, combined with other services and employer connections to support participant ...