Reporting to customers and stakeholders is a key part of project management. Here are some best practises in project management for reporting to customers and stakeholders:
- Establish clear communication channels: Create a clear communication strategy that outlines the preferred method(s) of communication (e.g., email, phone, in-person meetings), frequency of communication, and key stakeholders who need to be informed.
- Use appropriate level of detail: The level of detail in the report should be appropriate for the audience. Senior management, for example, may demand high-level information, whereas team members and stakeholders may require more comprehensive information.
- Share progress and status updates on a regular basis, such as weekly or monthly, to highlight accomplishments, issues, and any significant changes or risks.
- Use visuals: Use visual aids such as charts, graphs, and diagrams to communicate progress, status, and issues. Visual aids can help make knowledge easier to understand and communicate complex ideas more effectively.
- Be transparent and honest: Be transparent and honest in your reporting. If there are any issues or problems, communicate them promptly and clearly. Provide a strategy for resolving them.
- Communicate the value delivered: Communicate to stakeholders the value that the project has delivered and will deliver, which might be in the form of cost savings, increased revenue, enhanced performance, and so on.
- Gather feedback: Gather feedback from stakeholders on the reports and utilise it to improve the report and the project.
- Use project management software: Many project management software packages include reporting and visualisation tools, which can help to automate reporting and make it easier to share information with stakeholders.
By adopting these best practises, you can ensure that the information delivered to customers and stakeholders is accurate, timely, and relevant, and that stakeholders are kept up to date on the project’s progress and status.
There are various technologies available for reporting project progress to stakeholders, including:
Project management software: Platforms such as Asana, Jira, Trello, and Monday offer project management features such as task assignment, progress tracking, and collaboration. These tools also have reporting features that allow you to easily generate project status reports, progress reports, and Gantt charts that can be shared with stakeholders.
Dashboard software: Tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Klipfolio allow you to construct interactive dashboards that provide real-time visibility into project progress. These dashboards can be customised to display information relevant to stakeholders, such as work completion rates, budget and schedule progress, and key performance metrics.
Excel is a popular tool for producing thorough project reports. It has the flexibility and tools to produce reports with data visualisation, charts and tables, pivot tables, and so on. Reports can be readily shared with stakeholders via email or by utilising Excel’s built-in collaboration tools, such as sharing and commenting.
Presentation software: Platforms such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Prezi can be used to produce visual presentations of project progress that can be shared with stakeholders. These presentations may feature project timetables, Gantt charts, progress against project milestones, and key performance indicators.
Video conferencing platforms: Platforms like as Zoom, Webex, and Google Meet can be used to hold video conferences with stakeholders in order to share project progress, illustrate progress graphically, and answer queries.
These technologies enable better visualisation of progress and efficient and clear communication of it to stakeholders; additionally, some of them include collaborative elements, allowing stakeholders to comment on and provide input on progress reports.
