Project Reporting 101: Essentials for Every Team

Without a project report, every meeting becomes a guessing game, with team members unsure of what’s been completed, what’s in progress, or what’s delayed.

Communication breaks down as teams try to piece together fragmented information from various sources. Moreover, details slip through the cracks, leading to duplicated efforts and wasted time.

The absence of structured reporting means that problems aren't identified early, allowing small issues to snowball into major setbacks. Budget overruns go unnoticed until it's too late, and resource allocation becomes a nightmare.

To navigate these challenges and ensure smooth project execution, understanding the essentials of project reporting is crucial for every team.

A project report is a comprehensive document that provides a detailed plan on an ongoing project. It helps get an overview of what’s going on with the project, what’s been accomplished, what needs to be done, and what challenges or risks lie ahead.

Project managers typically prepare project reports. These reports help stakeholders, clients, and other team members stay on the same page. You can ensure that the project remains on track to meet its objectives. Project reports also help make informed and data-backed decisions, whenever required.

Project reporting refers to the ongoing process of tracking, documenting, and communicating the status and progress of a project. Project reporting can include various types of reports, such as status reports, progress reports, risk reports, and performance reports.

These reports provide updates on key metrics, milestones, budget, schedule, and any deviations from the project plan. Project reporting is a continuous activity and can occur at different intervals, such as weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or as needed, depending on the project's requirements and stakeholder needs.

Project reporting can help:

Share Information in A Streamlined Way

Sharing project information through emails or phone calls is often impractical. Project reports make this easier by providing a documented way to share information with clients and team members.

Keep an Eye on The Project

Project reports help track the project's progress and performance. They provide a clear view of the project, ensuring no important details are missed, all in an easy-to-read format. Additionally, they keep you informed about any current or potential issues.

Make Data-backed Project Adjustments

Regular project reporting helps track the project in a measurable way. These reports allow you to make adjustments based on real-time, updated data. Additionally, they support informed decisions about resource allocation, project scope, and timelines with data-filled insights.

Increase Accountability Within The Team

Project reporting helps grow and inculcate a culture of accountability within the team. When reports clearly outline individual and team responsibilities, team members are more invested in delivering on their assigned tasks.

Track Performance and Intervene Early

Reports offer clear visibility into individual and team progress against set goals. If performance lags, issues can be quickly addressed, providing support and getting everyone back on track, thus preventing problems from escalating.

Some common types of project reports include:

1 - Status Report

It’s the most common project report type, the one that you may have to deal with the most. They provide a high-level overview of your project or task’s current status. With these, you can track project accomplishments and current project progress.

You may have to prepare them weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. Or you may even send them on a day-to-day basis. The frequency of sending these usually depends upon the project requirements. It’s best to use a template for writing these to save time and maintain consistency.

You can download the report template from here.

2 - Progress Report

Progress reports are very similar to status reports but are much more detailed. It's geared more towards sharing details on the work completed since the last reporting period.

It typically outlines the tasks, milestones, and deliverables achieved. Also, it clearly mentions the percentage of the overall project that’s completed.  With the granular updates, stakeholders can identify any obstacles or challenges that have arisen and work on plans to address them.

3 - Health Report

A project health report gives you a detailed view of a project's overall well-being. It helps evaluate KPIs such as budget, schedule, scope, and quality. Based on these, you can determine if the project is on track, at risk, or in trouble.

The health report may also include an assessment of team efforts, stakeholder satisfaction, and other qualitative factors. Simply put, it provides a holistic view of the project that enables you to make decisions based on the report analysis.

4 - Bug Tracking Report  

A bug tracking report documents the identified software defects or issues. It helps keep track of the bug management process. Bug reports typically detail the bug's description, its impact, steps to reproduce it, and its current status (e.g., identified, fixed, under investigation).

They also contain bug-related assets like screenshots, screen recordings, frontend and backend app logs, reference docs, and so on. Detailed and clear bug reports can help resolve issues way faster and keep the bug management and tracking process much more organized and streamlined.

Also Read: How to Write Bug Reports to Keep Developers Happy?

5 - Risk Report

A risk report is usually prepared after a risk review meeting for a project. They typically contain information about the potential risks and their impact on the project.

It’s good to structure a risk report based on the severity of the impact a particular risk poses. For instance, the high-risk areas should be mentioned in a much more detailed fashion. For less significant risks, a summary statement for each can suffice.

6 - Executive Reports/Summaries

Executive reports provide a high-level, concise overview of a project's progress and performance. These reports are structured for senior stakeholders, such as project sponsors, board members, and project executives.

Executive summaries typically focus on the project's strategic alignment, financial health, and overall impact on the company. It’s recommended to create such reports in PDF formats rather than complex-to-read worksheets or other formats. This makes reports easy to read or skim through on the go across most devices.

7 - Cost-Benefit Analysis Report

A cost-benefit analysis report helps keep an eye on the financial viability of a project. It compares the estimated costs to run a project, against the anticipated benefits, such as increased revenue, reduced expenses, or improved efficiency.

These reports help stakeholders determine whether the project is worth the investment or ongoing expenses. Additionally, they provide a heads-up for making financial and other strategic decisions.

8 - Gap Analysis Report

A gap analysis report highlights the difference between the current state of a project and its desired state. It identifies areas where the project falls short of its goals.

These reports help analyze aspects like budget, project schedule, task completion rate, or resource allocation. By highlighting these gaps, the project team can develop plans to bridge them and ensure the project achieves its objectives.

9 - Workload Report

This report focuses on the distribution of tasks and responsibilities within the project team. It assesses whether team members are overburdened or underutilized.

This report helps identify potential bottlenecks and imbalances in workload. By analyzing workload, PMs can make informed decisions about resource allocation, task delegation, or hiring additional support if necessary.

10 - Timesheet Report

A timesheet report (also called a time tracking report) tracks the time spent by team members on project activities. It details the hours worked on specific tasks or deliverables.

Timesheet reports are crucial for monitoring project progress, budgeting, and resource management. They help ensure that team members are working efficiently and that project costs stay on track.

11 - Resource Report

A Resource Report provides an overview of the project's available resources, including personnel, infrastructure, and budget. It assesses the effectiveness of resource utilization. It also identifies potential shortages or limitations.

Resource reports ensure that the project has the necessary resources to complete tasks and achieve its goals. It may also highlight areas where resources can be optimized or reallocated for improved efficiency.

12 - Completion Report

A completion report (also called a closure report) marks the official closure of a project. It summarizes the project's achievements, milestones met, and final deliverables.

It may also address any challenges encountered during the project and lessons learned. The completion report serves as a historical record of the project and provides valuable insights for future plans.

Here’s a list of the best practices you can borrow while writing project reports:

• Use a template — to save time and ensure consistency by using a predefined report structure.
• Proofread — to keep grammatical and contextual errors at bay.
• Use visual aids — like graphs, charts, tables, screenshots, etc. to make the report more engaging and easier to scan.
• Focus on key information — and prioritize the most critical information. Avoid adding overwhelming or unnecessary details.
• Provide proper context — to explain the reported information's significance and impact on the project's overall objectives.
• Include notations — to highlight critical issues or risks that may affect the project's success, along with proposed mitigation strategies.
• Take regular follow-ups — to ensure feedback loops on reports consistently to improve the reporting process and ensure that their information needs are being met.

Here’s how to write one:

# Step 1 - Determine the reason for the report

A successful report hinges on a clear understanding of its purpose. Consider the key information you want to deliver, who the target audience is, and what specific questions or needs they might have.

# Step 2 - Gather relevant details

It’s crucial to get the necessary information and collect associated data from the relevant sources. These can come from the concerned team members, PM tools, and other project-related docs. Or you can refer to project RTMs (It’s a tabular document that traces projects and connects project requirements with project progress.)  

Read More: What’s an RTM (Requirements Traceability Matrix)?

# Step 3 - Select your target audience

The report structure may vary per the viewer. For example, a report prepared for your team members can include industry-specific or technical language. On the contrary, if your target audience is the clients or the stakeholders, it's best to include only the most necessary info and skip the rest. Use a tone and language that’s easy to understand to point out critical details, and can be quickly skimmed through.  

For instance, an executive summary geared more towards investors might highlight key financial metrics and performance indicators. Use clear, concise language with easy-to-understand visuals like charts and graphs. This allows them to grasp the overall picture quickly without getting bogged down in technical details.

# Step 4 - Choose the project report type

Next, select a suitable project report type. Keeping report templates or reporting tools handy can help save time and fill out relevant information quickly. It also ensures that nothing gets left behind.

For instance, if it’s a daily status report, you could use a pre-made worksheet with relevant fields. You can fill out details and send them off quickly.

If it's a bug tracking report, it’s best to use a tool like BetterBugs. You can add visual proofs (like screenshots or screen recordings), bug descriptions, steps to reproduce them, error logs, related docs, and so on.

It lets you create detailed bug reports right from your browser and share instantly on project management tools (like Jira, Asana, Linear, GitHub, and many more) or by just using a link.

Also Read: Top 10 Bug Tracking Tools

# Step 5 - Prepare the report

Once you've gathered the information and chosen the right report type, it's time to assemble the project report itself. This step involves structuring the content, attaching visuals, and ensuring clarity and professionalism, with clear context.

Here’s what a report typically includes:

• Organize your report logically. Using a predefined format works best. For instance, it may contain a short synopsis, methodology, findings, recommendations, and conclusion.
• Add charts, graphs, or tables to represent complex data. Visuals can make the report more engaging and easier to understand.
• Use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms (if not necessary).
• Maintain consistent formatting throughout the report, including fonts, headings, and spacing.

# Step 6 - Share it on relevant platforms

The final step is to share your report with your audience. Choose the platform that works best for the report type and recipients.

For instance, most companies use at least some project management tools like Jira, Asana, GitHub, or Slack. You can share reports directly with team members. Cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox can be used to share reports with external stakeholders. For smaller reports or quick updates, emails can suffice.