Technical Writing: Progress Reports: Organizing Information

Keep in mind that while the sections described on the previous page offer a general outline for your report, they do not necessarily dictate its structure.

In other words, you can use Accomplishment, Problems, and so on as your major headings, but you don't have to.

For example, a longer report on a project with multiple components, may have sections based on the major tasks or phases, and address the accomplishments, problems, and future work within each section.

In contrast, if the report goes to multiple managers, each responsible for a different area, use those areas as your major subheadings. If you are providing a quarterly update on work in your department for an upper-level supervisor responsible for personnel reviews, organize it by individuals.

In every case, you need to shape the basic outline to the specific constraints of the current situation. As always, think about your readers, and present the information based on their needs.

Use the following quiz to compare organizational strategies:

Consider the following scenarios. What organizational structure makes the most sense based on what the audience wants?

1. A department manager needs to submit a quarterly report to her supervisor about the work each person in her group has been doing. These reports, while they reflect on the department as a whole, are most important when the supervisor does the annual personnel reviews.

a.
I. Accomplishments
-Bob
-Sara
-Alex

II. Problems
- Bob
-Sara
-Alex

b.
I. Bob
-Accomplishments
-Problems

II. Sara
-Accomplishments
-Problems

III. Alex
-Accomplishments
-Problems

2. Every month, you have to submit a Highlights Report to your supervisor summarizing your work over the past month. Typically, you work on 3 or 4 different projects at a time, and it's your supervisor's job to make sure all of those projects are on deadline and running smoothly.

a.
I. Accomplishment
- Project 1
-Project 2
-Project 3

II. Problems
- Project 1
-Project 2
-Project 3

III. Future Work
- Project 1
-Project 2
-Project 3

b.
I. Project 1
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

II. Project 2
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

II. Project 3
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

3. You are working on a small custom design project for a new client. Because the client is very nervous about the project, and wants to make sure everything is on schedule, you have to submit a weekly progress report listing everything you've done that week. You've broken the project down into a series of small tasks - more of a "To Do" list, really - so that you can regularly check things off and show the client exactly how much progress you're making.

a.
I. Accomplishments
-Task 1
-Task 2
-Task 3

II. Problems
- Problem 1
-Problem 2

III. Future Work
- Task 4
-Task 5
-Task 6

b.
I. Task 1
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

II. Task 2
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

II. Task 3
- Accomplishments
-Problems
-Future Work

Handling Problems-->

Progress Reports	Modules:

Organizing Information- Keep the Structure Flexible