Project Reporting When to start reporting Although reporting has been addressed in the Implementation Phase section, in reality

management begins from the time you get involved with the project. Therefore a reporting system must be negotiated up front with the Project Sponsor and must be in place from the beginning of the project. The content, format and frequency might vary as the project moves through its life cycle but regular reports happen throughout the entire project. What needs to be reported? Ask your stakeholders what they need to report to their stakeholders. This question will guide you with respect to the level of detail needed in your reports and the frequency. It is a waste of time to report unnecessary detail but it is also a waste of time to report insufficient detail. There are four essential types of reports: 1. Project Proposal The Project Proposal is developed at the conclusion of the Project Initiation phase and requires "sign-off" or the authority to proceed to the next phase. It contains the summarised results of the initial high-level planning process. In large projects the Project Proposal may be substituted by a Business Case. Detailed planning follows approval of the Project Proposal. 2. Project Plan The Project Plan is developed at the conclusion of the Planning phase of the project. It is a detailed document comprising:
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Scope definition (items from the WBS listed with functionality under the headings of the key deliverables plus exclusions) Schedule (including project milestones) Budget Risk schedule (major project risks and management strategy) Project organisation structure (reporting and approval pathways) Roles and responsibilities (project team and key stakeholders) Quality system (procedure and standards) Procurement schedule (human resources; goods and services) Communications strategy (protocols, templates, reporting schedule) Change management procedure

3. Variance Request A Variance Request is a formal process that documents any changes to scope or any risks triggered which might result in variances to the project objectives, in terms of time, cost or quality.

4. Status Report A Status report is required at regular intervals throughout the project. The frequency and the format should be negotiated with the Project Sponsor. The level of detail to be included is an important consideration also to be negotiated with the Project Sponsor. Essentially the status report summarises the following: Schedule - original approved completion date, authorized changes and current estimated completion date Budget - original approved budget, authorized changes and current estimated budget Issues - any issues or risks triggered that have resulted in approved changes to scope, schedule, budget, quality or functionality. What are the various types of reports prepared at different levels of authorities in a project During the process of execution of projects, an important tool of management system are reports and reporting system for the progress monitoring of the projects. The objective of the reports is to inform to all concerned agencies and departments about the project on its physical as well as financial progress. The project report are prepared by: 1. Project consultants. 2. Turnkey contractors. 3. In-house project organization. Project department prepares and submits following reports: 1. Monthly progress reports, has following details. - Important events. - Profitability achieved for that period. - New projects signed. 2. Summary report to project directorate. - Status report for the on going project, it includes status of activities, sanctioned costs, schedule of commissioning. - Highlights on the achievements of milestones. 3. Chairmans report. - Physical progress on contract packages which includes project sanction date, commissioning date, total sanctioned cost of the project, activitywise progress. - Project-wise milestones includes activities, remarks about the status, schedule completion date.

Project reporting process

PROJECT/PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE REPORT SECTIONS There are six proposed sections for the template. Not every section would be filled out every year but data on each section would be filled out at least once during the lifetime of the project. i. Section 1 Basic Data: This section would include a project/programme summary, milestone dates, project/programme contacts and the like. Most parts of this section would be filled out only once during the project/programme lifetime. ii. Section 2 Financial and Procurement Data: This section would include data on disbursements to date, expenditure data, and other relevant procurement/financial information. Data would need to be filled out every year. iii. Section 3 Project/programme Risk: This section will ask for critical risks (those with a probability of occurring at an agreed percentage), type of risk, iv. Section 4 Project/programme Rating: This section will include a self-rating from the 3

project management on implementation progress based on a set of criteria to be developed. v. Section 5 Project/programme Indicators: This section will track progress against project level outputs and outcomes. Each project/programme will also include at least one core indicator from the AFs strategic results framework vi. Section 6: Knowledge Management: This section will ask Project/Programmes to report at mid-term and end of project on lessons learned, best practices, etc. Three types of control : 1- Feed forward control: Feedforward control focuses on the regulation of inputs (human, material, and financial resources that flow into the organization) to ensure that they meet the standards necessary for the transformation process. Feedforward controls are desirable because they allow management to prevent problems before they arise , these control require timely and accurate information that is often difficult to develop , This types of controls are designed to detect deviation some standard or goal to allow correction to be made before a particular sequence of actions is completed. 2- Concurrent control takes place while an activity is in progress. It involves the regulation of ongoing activities that are part of transformation process to ensure that they conform to organizational standards. Concurrent control is designed to ensure that employee work activities produce the correct results. It requires a through understanding of the specific tasks involved and their relationship to the desired and product. it often involves checkpoints at which determinations are made about whether to continue progress, take corrective action, or stop work altogether on products or services. 3- Feed Back control : This type of control focuses on the outputs of the organization after transformation is complete. It often is used when feedforward and concurrent controls are not feasible or are too costly. Feedback provides managers with meaningful information on how effective its planning effort was. If feedback indicates little variance between standard and actual performance, this is evidence that planning was generally on target. If the deviation is great, a manager can use this information when formulating new plans to make them more effective. The Purpose of Project Control The purpose of the project control or implementation phase is four-fold:
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To observe the work in progress. To ensure that it follows the plan sufficiently closely. To understand the underlying problems when it does not. To take appropriate action when necessary.