Performance Reporting in the Project Management

What is Performance Reporting?

Performance reporting is collecting and analyzing project performance data and then communicating it to project stakeholders.

Performance reporting can be an essential part of project management because it helps keep everyone involved in the project informed about how things are going.

Most project managers use software tools to track performance data, such as earned value management (EVM) or a project management information system (PMIS).

But even if you don't have access to any particular software tools, you can still create simple reports that will help you communicate with your team members and stakeholders.

How Is Performance Reporting Done?

Performance reporting typically involves creating tables or charts showing where time and money have been spent on a project.

These tables or charts are often referred to as burn-down charts or burn-up charts because they indicate how much has been burned through (burned down) of the total budget or how much has been burned up (used) by a specific point in time, respectively.

The idea behind these charts is that they allow you to see how much time and money is left before reaching certain milestones in your project plan.

Why Do You Need Performance Reporting?

Performance reporting is a way to keep your projects on track. It can help you identify issues early, making them more accessible and less expensive to fix later.

For example, suppose you see that your team members are struggling with a particular task. In that case, you can schedule time for them to receive additional training before moving on to the next project phase.

If you notice that one part of the project lags behind another, either by days or weeks, you know where you need to focus your efforts first.

You may also want to check whether any bottlenecks in the process need immediate attention from senior leadership or other departments within your organization.

Performance metrics can be used for internal reporting purposes and communicating with stakeholders outside your team — such as senior management or clients — about how well things are going.

What Are the Deliverables of Performance Reporting?

The deliverables from performance reporting will depend on what type of information you're looking for. For example, if you're evaluating a completed project, your deliverables could include:

• A summary of the project's goals.
• A list of all activities performed during the project.
• A summary statement that summarizes all the information above.
• Analysis shows how well each activity performed against its original expectations.

When Should You Perform Performance Reporting? Periodic Milestones

The best time to perform performance reporting is at frequent milestones, such as during the weekly status meeting or after each sprint.

These milestones are regular checkpoints where you can review the progress of your project in a high-level way, note any issues that have arisen since the last checkpoint and take action on them if needed.

Example of Performance Report

The following are some examples of performance reports:

Cost Report: The cost report shows how much money has been spent on the project so far and how much money is estimated to be paid in the future. This gives you an idea of whether or not you will have enough money left in your budget by the time the project is completed.

Resource Report: The resource report shows how many resources are used for each activity in your project plan. This helps you determine if certain activities require more resources than others, which may indicate that those activities need to be reorganized or rescheduled.

Schedule Status Report: The schedule status report shows how close your project's activities are to being completed at any given time. This information can help you determine any delays in your project schedule and what actions should be taken next to address those delays (such as moving activities up or down in priority).

Conclusion

iCert Global offers a variety of Project Management courses to help you pass your PMP exam. Our PMP training courses are designed by seasoned industry professionals with years of real-world experience in multiple Project Management training paths.

Classes are taught by certified, highly experienced professionals ready to help aspiring project managers get the education they need—not only for the PMP® certification exam but also for valuable real-world knowledge for any project management career.