Reports and quality
The monthly report in ten minutes
Three figures, one comparison and one sentence. The rest is padding.
The monthly report eats a whole morning and almost nobody reads it. Usually because it tries to tell everything, when the reader only needs three things: whether we are doing well, whether anything is getting worse, and whether something needs deciding.
The structure that works
- 1
Three figures, always the same ones
Changing metrics every month makes comparison impossible, which is the point.
- 2
The comparison with last month
A lone number says nothing. "84%" does not inform; "84%, three points down" does.
- 3
One sentence of why
The explanation of what moved. It is the only part no dashboard can produce.
- 4
And what you need from the reader
Ask for nothing and the report is decorative. Ask for something and it becomes a useful meeting.
Important
The fourth point separates a report that gets read from one that gets filed. "Two suppliers have gone sixty days without supplying; I need purchasing to decide whether to hold their orders" is a report that produces a decision.
Which three figures to choose
| Figure | What it says | Why that one |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage current | The general state | Everyone understands it without explanation |
| Average time taken | Whether the process is improving | It moves before the percentage falls |
| Open cases and their age | Where it hurts now | It points at this month's actual work |
Watch out
Do not add fifteen indicators because they are available. Each one reduces the chance anyone looks at the three that matter, and none of the fifteen will produce a decision.
What does not need explaining
Worth knowing
If the report comes from what is already recorded, it takes minutes and always uses the same criteria. If it has to be assembled by hand, besides being slow, each month is calculated slightly differently and comparisons stop meaning anything.
›What if management wants more detail?
Send the detail they asked about, not everything just in case.
›Does the same report work for a client?
The format yes; the content no: a client wants theirs, not your overall.
›Monthly or weekly?
Monthly for management, weekly only if something needs correcting as you go.
A real case
The situation
A quality manager spends a morning on the report and nobody ever comments.
What you do
- Cuts it to three fixed figures, the comparison and one concrete request
What you get
The report gets read, and for the first time produces a purchasing decision.
The situation
The monthly report takes a whole afternoon of copying and pasting.
What you do
- Checks the period's already-calculated status
- Saves the format as a template
- Schedules it to generate itself
What you get
The report goes from an afternoon to ten minutes and goes out even on a busy day.
The situation
The report arrives on the 15th and is no longer useful.
What you do
- Schedules it for the first working day
What you get
The figure arrives while action is still possible.
The situation
The format changes every month and comparison is impossible.
What you do
- Keeps the same format
What you get
Month-to-month comparison makes sense.
The situation
The report includes everything and nobody reads it all.
What you do
- Keeps the indicators that change decisions
What you get
The report gets read.
The situation
A figure in the report is queried and it has to be rebuilt.
What you do
- Keeps the breakdown with the report
What you get
The question is answered in minutes.
This article answers
- monthly compliance report
- what to put in the monthly quality report
- reporting document status to management
- quick monthly report