Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Short reports defined
Proposals and short reports

Short reports take many forms, but they are always brief documents that provide information about a specific objective, event, or ongoing issue. When you write short reports, your goal is to inform your audience clearly and simply. You should save your audience time and effort by considering their needs. What do they need to know? What is unnecessary?

See Chapter 11 for more about formal reports.

In many ways, short reports are similar to formal reports. The difference lies in the level of detail or complexity. While formal reports tend to be long, contain multiple sections, and frequently involve significant expense for a business, a short report deals with a single issue that may be less complex.

Short Reports and the Problem-Solution Framework

As you can see in the Problem-Solution Framework, the problem in a short report begins with an issue that needs resolution (figure 10.10). Consider the amount and detail of information the user needs. Present the information in the short report to fit the exact needs of your audience. The information could be data, description, evaluation, or another mode that aids understanding. Your success in writing a short report depends on how easily and accurately users get what they need.

Figure 10.10. Problem-Solution Framework: Roy’s Report. The Problem-Solution Framework keeps Roy on track as he works to solve the problem.

Audience

The audience for a short report is typically a manager, such as a department supervisor or the head of a business or organization. Respect their time by keeping your reports focused and as brief as possible. Remember that a decision-maker will likely approach your document with a critical mindset. They won’t necessarily take your word for it when you make a claim—your job is to convince them. You can do this by anticipating and addressing the questions that they’ll most likely ask.

In Roy’s case, his document is a status report for his boss. Carmen cares about the success of the project and wants an update that she can review quickly to understand how close the project is to completion. Armed with this information, Roy can create a report that meets his boss’s needs.

Purpose

When writing short reports, your purpose is to inform the user about specific data, decisions, or policies, among other possibilities. The success of your short report depends on how easily and accurately the audience understands the content. Be clear and eliminate anything that distracts from the key details. Be objective and represent information accurately.

After getting Carmen’s approval, Roy drafts a status report with the goal of providing accurate and timely information. This means that he must give updates regardless of whether the project goes according to plan. Sometimes, status reports must relate bad news. If the project falls behind schedule, for example, Roy needs to explain why in the report. Typically, a status report also offers solutions to problems that happen along the way. If Roy discovers an unexpected expense, he needs to report this to his boss. Ideally, he’ll find a way to offset this extra cost and account for it in his report as well.

Message

The message in a short report should match an expected format. Decision-makers are familiar with a range of report formats, but they expect you to be self-sufficient and select the appropriate type. Your company will most likely have templates for report types. If the user’s organization has established standards for the specific type of document you’re creating, be sure to follow them.

Roy has a responsibility to be honest and accurate in his report. In spite of his desire to make the project look as successful as possible, he needs to keep his boss informed of the specifics, whether good or bad. Additionally, Carmen expects the status report to follow a standard format. This format differs from the proposal format because it contains up-to-date information on the project’s progress. Roy also needs to review company policy to determine if any additional requirements have been established for status reports at Widget World. For his project to succeed, he needs to adhere to company standards for all project updates.

Other Types of Short Reports

Short reports fall into many different categories, but the common objective is to present information in a clear, accessible format. Some of the possible goals of a short report are as follows:

” To collect data

” To evaluate

” To provide a progress update

” To update sales numbers

” To announce an executive decision

The goal of the report plus the topic will determine the exact type of report. Three of the most common types of short report are status reports, research reports, and sales reports.

Status reports update a decision-maker on the progress of a project. Because of this, Roy needs to keep the summary section of his report current. He also needs to include a few areas of progress to highlight for Carmen. Often, status reports are required on some kind of recurring schedule, such as biweekly. The purpose of a status report is to give specific details that allow a decision-maker to follow the progress of a project, confirm that the project is in good shape, and anticipate or deal with problems.

Research reports present data about a specific topic. If an employee or a business has done a study about a particular topic, they can present their findings (typically to a boss or a customer) in the form of a short research report. This kind of report has similarities to a formal report, but it typically omits some sections, such as front matter and back matter. The goal of a short research report is to gather data into a simple format. Effective research reports are selective about what information to share without distorting the information. As the writer, you must understand which research findings are valuable to the audience. Roy highlighted key findings in his biweekly status report. Because he wants to keep the status reports concise, he saved the research details in case Carmen requests a full research report.

See Chapter 11 for more on front and back matter in formal reports.

Sales reports present findings about product sales. These reports help businesses maintain an accurate sense of their financial health. Typically, short sales reports are required on a regular schedule, but sometimes they are written under unique circumstances. For example, a company that launches a new product might track sales figures and want those figures in a simple format to share with its investors. The job of the technical communicator in this scenario is to present the sales numbers in an impactful (typically visual) way. The technical communicator should also anticipate and answer questions that might arise when the audience peruses the sales report (figure 10.11).

Beyond the three most common reports, figure 10.12 lists additional examples and how audience, purpose, and message vary for each.

Figure 10.11. Sales Report Spreadsheet with Graphs. The visuals in this sales report show data in a user-friendly format.

Figure 10.12. Types of Short Reports. This table lists additional types of short reports and how audience, purpose, and message differ for each.

Typical Elements of a Short Report

The organization of short reports varies according to type. However, the following sections are common in most short reports.

Summary and Introduction

These opening sections explain why you wrote the report. The summary section, sometimes called the “purpose,” offers an overview of the report’s recommendations. The summary and introduction must be clear about its intent so the users understand how to interpret what follows.

Body

This section may contain a variety of components, including research findings, status updates, timetables, potential activities, or costs. The body of the report should share specific information rooted in data and analysis.

Conclusion

In the conclusion, the technical communicator reminds the user of the overall purpose of the report, reviews the key findings, and brings the report to a close. Some short reports conclude with a recommendation based on the findings. The recommendation should follow logically from the findings in the report’s body.