Writing project reports
Featured in the The Project Management Activity Pack training manual
By Eddie Davies
Category: Management
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
Communication is supposed to be a straightforward process. What should happen is that A sends a message to B who then becomes informed, inspired or instructed to act. In reality this simple picture is difficult to achieve. A number of barriers can get in the way of clear and accurate communication which leaves the recipient uncertain, confused or bemused. Project managers will spend much of their working day either writing themselves or reading what others have written and far too often barriers get in the way and prevent a clear written message from achieving its aim.
You start the training activity by establishing that communication has many pitfalls. Developing an awareness of these and identifying good practice will enable us to become more effective written communicators. You introduce the group to the ‘fog test’: a simple test with which they can check the accessibility of their current report writing. This introduction ends with you establishing the three key components of report writing. Each of these components is then explored in turn. For each there is an initial review of the ground rules associated with that component. The participants are then given an opportunity practise these ground rules and receive feedback aimed at developing their skills. The training activity ends with the production of a real life project report which the participants can use on their return to work. Their overall learning will be reinforced when they identify a key aspect they want to try to incorporate into their next report. They are encouraged to fill in their learning review diary.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants appreciate the essential skill of expressing oneself clearly when writing project reports, using ground rules that are common for all types of writing.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 04:00:00 |
| No of Pages: | 30 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Sample copies of published reports, sample copies of reports in house style if appropriate, calculators (for Fog Index exercise), access to a word processor for each participant would be useful but is not essential.
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers on all training events for project managers. Writing skills is a foundation skill although it tends to be overlooked in favour of more technical skills, it nevertheless represents a key component of the project manager’s competency portfolio. The ground rules are common to all types of writing and similar structures will apply for other types of report. This session could also be used on written skills courses and general events aimed at improving the overall skills of managers.
Download the training activity, Writing project reports as featured in the Fenman training manual; The Project Management Activity Pack