The ultimate reason behind reporting project updates is to satisfy information needs of the clients, the organization management, and the other key stakeholders. Since most of them do not have the luxury of time and cannot possibly observe every day how the project is going, reporting is the most efficient way for them to keep tabs on the project.
- High Quality Agile Project Report: 7 Essential Things to Consider Part 1
- A Must-Have Agile Status Report Template Part 2
- How to Make Status Reporting 10x Easier Part 3
- Additional Sources Part 4
Part 1
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Percentage of Budget Used Versus Percentage of Sprint Completed.
This metric looks at the percentage of budget utilized in order to complete a sprint. The goal is to have a higher proportion of sprint completed over the percentage of budget spent.
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Remaining Days for Each Sprint Versus the Planned Number of Days.
There is a number of days for each sprint for completion and this metric measures how many days it actually takes to. The ideal outcome is that each sprint is actually accomplished in a lesser number of days than what was originally planned.
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The Number of Bugs to Fix Versus the Actual Number of Bugs Resolved.
With the goal of decreasing the number of bugs to address, this KPI looks at the number of bugs to resolve to compare those not needed to fix.
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Overall Earned Value.
Perhaps the most important KPI of all, it evaluates whether the overall earnings are higher than the amount spent for the completion of each sprint and the project itself.
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Risk Matrix.
This metric looks at the severity of each identified risk by multiplying its likelihood over its impact. A numerical value will be assigned risks as to the probability of the risk ever happening and the strength of its impact on the project, should the risk occur. The project team assigns this numerical value to each risk. The goal here is to decrease the severity of each risk by mitigating them, if not fully eliminating them.
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Less Is More.
More than an agile documentation principle, ‘the less is more’ concept is an ideal measure of the appropriate level of reporting wherein only a number of sufficient reports are created to track project results and assess performance. In agile projects, it is not the number of features designed and delivered which matters, but how well these features were able to achieve business results.
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Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
Agile projects have their own set of metrics to gauge its results, and these are the most important to include.
Lastly, the report should be S.M.A.R.T
- Specific
- Measurable
- Assignable
- Realistic
- Time-related
It should target a particular area for improvement and be able to measure or assign a progress indicator. It should also be able to identify the persons responsible for this particular area, as well as determine possible results and specify the period or the time when these results can achieve it.
Part 2
Agile Status Report: Free Download Section
Click Here to Download Agile Project Status Report XLSX
Free online tools for work:
1. Fluxes.com — Free Project and Task Management Software
2. Status.net — Software for Daily and Weekly Status Reports
Part 3
How to Make Status Reporting 10x Easier
How to configure status reports on status.net:
Step 1:
- Create a “Agile Status Report” applet — customize our preset forms or easily create a new form in minutes.
- Setup reminders if you want your team members to receive automatic reminders when their reports are due.
- Configure who will submit reports by choosing the “Participants” tab.
Step 2: Users will click the “Open Submission Form” button to fill in and submit the report.
Data such as the report type, date and name will be added automatically.
As soon as a new status report is added, participants with “View” rights can view it in real time.
Options:
- Set the applet as “Team-wide” if you want all team members to view each other’s status reports.
- Alternatively, you can make every participant to view his/her own reports only. Manager/stakeholders will view all reports.
- Add, remove, and assign new team members at any time.
Step 3 (Optional): Generate a report and export it to PDF.
(Skip this step if you share status reports online and don’t print them.)
Click “Generate Report”.
Done!
Benefits:
- Make reporting easier with auto-fill:
Fields such as date, name, report type, and formatting are inserted automatically by software. - Consolidate reports automatically:
Reports created by your team members can be consolidated easily. - Save time with auto-layout:
No need to spend hours in Word or Excel perfecting the report’s layout because it exports your updates into a beautifully crafted file with a couple of clicks. - Peace of mind with auto-reminders:
No one forgets to fill in their status reports because status.net sends timely reminders according to the schedule you chose. - Decrease time and effort spent on monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting thanks to powerful filtering and export features.
- Optionally, enrich reports with the latest updates automatically added from web apps your team uses (such as popular free task management software Fluxes.com, and other project management tools, version control systems, support systems, financial applications, etc.) by connecting these apps to your status applet.
- Quick sharing:
Status reports can be either
– exported to files and printed, or sent by email;
– shared with the manager online (in real time);
– shared online (in real-time) as company-wide or team-wide status reports, i.e., all team members share their progress with each other — spend less time on meetings.
Sign up now to make status reporting easier for your team.
Part 4
Additional Sources
- How to Write a Project Report + Free Template Download
- How to Write a Weekly Report + Free Template Download
- How to Write a Daily Progress Report + Free Template Download