Progress or Status Report ELEC 421 Design I

What is a status report? A recurring update an employee gives to a manager Represents a critical communication within any reporting relationship, across all job functions, industries, and company sizes Internal (addressed to supervisor) or external (to client or sponsor)

Employee benefits Help employees plan and prioritize their efforts against their goals Provide a platform to share their perspectives gives them a voice aligns focus with manager expectations helps address workplace dependencies provides a record of efforts and outputs offers an opportunity for recognition

People managers benefits Provide managers with the information they need to manage the team more successfully gives planning and forecasting insights creates a catalog of employee activity opens new views into the business offers quick access to urgent matters allows for the recognition of great work provides a minimalist approach to management “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

Owners & Executives benefits Helps them see trends across their business gains insights across departments captures a bottoms-up view of the business increases company transparency makes for a happier workforce with a voice creates a powerful motivation and tracking tool

Characteristics Concisely summarize the current project status, i.e., key design decisions, significant research and test findings, and next steps) Intended to be read quickly Use short paragraphs, headings, subheadings, and bullet lists Contributed by all members Tone: businesslike & straightforward

Characteristics Format: memos with appendices Avoid generic statements that apply to all projects. Be specific. Support decisions with significant findings from research and testing (site sources) Raise issues you need help on from your instructor and/or technical advisor Provide details of what, when, where, why, and how you will accomplish your goals

Appendices Used in providing raw data, work breakdown structure (WBS), Gantt Chart, and other supporting information Put only one kind of information in each Arrange and label appendices for easy and quick access Make sure you refer to each appendix at least once in the body of the report Start with a brief introduction if not self- explanatory

Pitfall #1 Insufficient details to support your decisions Readers need enough specific information to understand what you have learned about the problem and the rationale behind your decisions. The mockups we have designed are straightforward and, to the best of our knowledge, do not harm the environment or create safety problems. Our team has not used any more Styrofoam than what is present in the current design used by the paint company.

Pitfall #2 Using a story format to explain your research We conducted a number of mockup tests to determine the best way to hold the attachments in place. We decided that our first mockup would use Velcro to perform this function. We had to find out whether Velcro would be strong enough to work. So we applied the Velcro to the attachments, and then put them on the mockup. Then, we had our users try to pull the attachments off. During the test, we saw that it was too easy for the users to pull off the attachments. Consequently, we decided not to use this feature.

Revision The following revision is concise and puts the emphasis on the decision, where it belongs. Notice that it begins with a clear topic sentence. Mockup testing led us to eliminate Velcro as a method of holding the attachments in place. During the tests, users pulled off the Velcro attachments on the first mockup too easily.

Grading Advisor’s and course instructor’s signature Accomplishments by each team member Projections for the next reporting period Affix to the lab notebook A clear, comprehensive report that communicates what you have been doing and where you are headed