TYPES OF TECHNICAL REPORTS
What are the Types of Technical Reports
Progress Report Periodic Report Project Completion Reports Trip Reports Test/Investigation Reports Feasibility Reports Incident Report
Progress Report
This report assesses the extent to which a given project has achieved its stated objectives, as of a certain date.
Guidelines for Writing Progress Report
1. All measurement of progress in this report will necessarily be made against the standard of stated objectives.
This must be stated clearly in the report, most often at the beginning.
2. Statement of progress should be quantified and supported by reference to objective proof whenever possible.
A technical writer shouldnt base estimates of progress on hearsay or impressions.
3. Unless asked to do so, a technical writer should avoid predictions of future progress based solely on past performance.
A progress report assesses what has been done up to the present, not what may be done in the future.
Outline of Typical Plan for Progress Report
Heading in Report
Introduction
What the Section Covers
Report topic, purpose, and reporting period.
Work Completed
Work Schedule
What has been done.
What needs to be done.
Problems/Projections What has gone wrong and when the work will be finished.
Drafting an Introduction
State:
Name the project Note the time period you cover State the purpose of the report Using I or we is acceptable and encouraged.
By using the first person, you take responsibility for your actions and opinions.
State:
Drafting the Worked Completed Section
Note again the time period you cover Use past tense verbs Use subheadings or bulleted lists Provide enough details and explanations about each job completed to meet the readers need. This section must be clear and accurate by placing your most important ideas first. This is the good-news section. It is your opportunity to tell others what you have achieved.
Drafting the Work Schedule Section
State:
Tell your audience what work needs to be done in the next reporting period. What remains to be done to complete the project. Use future tense verbs. Separate and emphasize each major task or job with subheadings.
Drafting the Problems/Projections Section
1. Describe any obstacles to complete the job.
List and number these problems or describe them in paragraphs. Be honest and direct. Just report the tasks
2. Give a completion date for the project.
If problems have stalled the project so the original completion date cannot be met, give your audience a new date.
Periodic Report
This report is written at specified and usually regular intervals monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, and others.
This gives the reader current information on standard categories of information through the time period being considered. Reviews the entire organization or work group has done in a specified time period.
Guidelines for Writing the Periodic Report
1. From the beginning of the report series, establish categories within the report that will contain all that you wish to report. ex. Personnel Budget Production and Management The reader should be able to look to these same categories each period to follow project developments.
2. Take care that significant items within the report do not become among less significant items.
You may want to begin the periodic report with a category.
Ex.
Highlights of the Period
3. Consider carefully the amount of time included in the period being reported.
Would a shorter or longer period lead to a more efficient, useful reporting?
Structure of a Periodic Report
1. An overview that briefly presents the report highlights. 2. A section for each activity category or work undertaken during the reporting period, with section headings and sometimes subheadings, organized from most important to least important. 3. A conclusion that refers to the next report.
Drafting the Introduction
States:
Brief and direct to the point. Keep in mind the reader is busy and will expect a summary of important points first. State the reporting period, the time for which the document describes progress.
Drafting the Work Progress Sections
State:
The report will have heading and discussion for each type of work.
Ex. Job Fairs
Under each heading, the recruiter describes, the most important to least important what he has done. Note the rest of the report and problems encountered factually.
Drafting the Conclusions
The concluding section looks to the next periodic report the writer will compose.
Project Completion Report
This report tells senior managers or clients what they need to know about the completion of a project.
Did the project accomplish its goal? Were deadlines met? Were budgets exceeded? Have necessary certifications and sin-offs been received? Is any information on warranties, training, or maintenance needed?
Guidelines to Write the Project Completion Report
1. Specify how you know that the project has been completed to specifications.
Ex.
been approved by a building inspector or government regulator?
2. Make specific reference to original contacts or other agreements in assessing the degree to which the completed project met budgets, deadlines, and so forth. 3. Clearly state any action that is required of management or the client when the project is completed.
Ex.
is payment in order?
Trip Report
This report tells management what significant work activities were performed, and at what expense, on a business related trip.
Tell supervisors and coworkers what was gained from a business trip.
Guidelines for Writing the Trip Report
1. Tell when you made the trip, who authorized it and where you went. 2. Tell why the trip was thought necessary, and by whom. 3. Tell what you accomplished and how you proceeded. 4. Conclude with recommendations based on your trip experience.
To Write a Trip Report
1. Report what your audience will find most useful.
You do not need to include trip details. Only include what your audience requires.
2. Cover the reporters questions as you write the report: Who, what, when, where, why. 3. Preview the report in your introduction 4. Use bulleted lists for important events or knowledge gained.
5. Decide whether your report needs conclusions or recommendations.
Use conclusions to summarize trip benefits. Use recommendations to recommend further actions.
6. Choose between chronological order or order of importance. 7. Use I or WE to make the report sound natural and use active voice.
The Test/Investigation Report
The resulting report sums up both the methods and conclusions of the team regarding the matters under consideration.
Guidelines for Writing Test/Investigation Report
1. Be fair to the judgments of all team members.
If no consensus is present, express both majority and minority views.
2. Double check all uses of terminology, interpretations of data, and conjectures with knowledgeable team members.
The subject matter of technical investigation may often be beyond the experience or expertise of the technical writer.
In stating the verdict of investigation, distinguish between judgments based on opinion and those based on objective proof.
In investigating patent infringement, for example, a report writer must distinguish carefully between what a competitor may have done and what can be proven.
Feasibility Report
This report answers the questions, Can it be done? If so, how?
The writer should not attempt to answer a broader question: Should it be done?
Guidelines for Writing the Feasibility Report
Give due emphasis to the discussion of obstacles to accomplishing the specified task.
Solutions (Whats Feasible) wont be appreciated apart from a clear and thorough treatment of the difficulties involved.
Incident Report
Also called as accident reports, describe an unusual incident or occurrence.
The incident could be an accident, a surprise inspection, the outburst of an angry employee or customer, or a near-accident. When police write the details of your fender bender, they are writing an incident report. When your instructor writes you up for missing class, he or she is writing an incident report.
To Write an Incident Report
1. Begin with a quick summary of what happened. 2. Add background as a heading if information about events leading up to the incident would be helpful for your readers. 3. Under description, tell exactly what happened in chronological order. 4. Be honest and objective
Use the outcome to tell the observable incident results. Use the conclusion to tell what was learned from the incident and how to prevent it from happening again. Do not include information that you cannot verify.
Page Order in a Short Report
Title Page Executive summary Body End notes Appendices
Use lower case roman numerals for any pages between the executive summary and the title page.
