Documenting Progress
Standard documents and agreed upon circulation and sign-off procedures increase the efficiency of project teams and improve communication, particularly between sponsor and manager. If your organization does not yet have a standard set of project documents, you can enhance your reputation considerably by producing your own.
Designing documentation
Having a suite of carefully designed project documents allows information to be carried over from one project milestone to the next—or even from project to project—and helps occasional stakeholders find information quickly within a particular document. Simple formats work best and should incorporate a cover sheet identifying the document, the project to which it refers, and the key stakeholders involved. Never underestimate presentation: people are quick to judge based on first impressions, and if your paperwork looks professional, they will treat you as such unless you subsequently prove otherwise.
Using document sign-offs
The practice of physically signing off on documents is a very useful way to get people to take a project seriously. However, any decision about whether to use it needs to be sensitive to the culture of your organization: if people are generally good at engaging with projects and delivering on promises, then asking for signatures may be seen as unnecessarily aggressive. If this is not the case and a firmer line is required, implementing a policy of signing off documents is most easily achieved if you employ it from the start, with all document formats having space for signatures.
Key project documents
Each of the six phases of your project requires different documentation to record important details. Depending on the size and nature of your project, these may include:
Initiation phase
Mandate: agreement on the need for the project and its goals.
Brief: a description of the issue to be resolved or the opportunity to be exploited.
Definition phase
Project Initiation Document (PID): defines what the project must deliver and why.
Business case: the financial figures behind the opportunity.
Risk log: a record of all risks and approaches to resolution.
Planning phase
Schedule and resource plans: the plan in detail, including completion dates and resource requirements.
Quality plan: what processes will be monitored, and how.
Control phase
Changes to scope: agreed to modifications on the original brief.
Milestone reviews: progress against schedule and budget.
Quality reviews: confirmation that processes are being followed.
Implementation phase
User Acceptance Test (UAT): reports and sign-offs from end users at all levels.
Implementation schedule: the plan for how the project will be handed over to end users.
Review phase
Post-implementation review: assesses what the project has delivered.
Lessons learned review: how things could have been done better.
TIP
It is often difficult to find the time in a busy schedule to develop and manage project paperwork, but a little time spent considering documentation early on will get your project off on the right foot.