Report by exception – what
does this mean?
Projects are inherently risky. If the work has no risk,
maybe it is your “day
job”, and not a project at all. Projects do have problems, and some
will be severe. Reporting by exception means displaying your problem
areas prominently in reports so they are easy to find and read by the stakeholders. Project
management should create an environment where it is encouraged to discuss
problems when
they are small, so they can be solved before they get huge. Which leads
us to the next guideline . . . .
Standardize report formats.
How many pages of your reports does your manager read?
One? A half of the first page? So, where in the report
should you report your critical problems? On
the first page! It is helpful to standardize PM reports. Somewhere
on the first page may be, “Problem Areas Experienced this Reporting Period” and
under that, “Corrective Actions Being Pursued.”
Report variations from the baseline.
Reports should include variances from the baseline plan.
The most common variances to report are Schedule
Variance and Cost
Variance, but more on these later.
Freeze the baseline on the
software you use, or you can’t
measure these variances.
