Selecting report elements

Select the information that should go in a project progress report.

You are the project manager for the construction of a new house. The design of the house is based on a standard model but has been modified by the owners to make a custom home. The project has been in progress for eight months and the house is scheduled for completion in two months according to the original project plan.

Reporting to you are plumbing, sheet rocking, roofing, electrical, masonry, landscaping, and building sub-contractors, and interior decorators. The budget is 607,500.00.

The owners are the project sponsors and they are very picky about how their home looks, but they don't understand all the details of building the house. They are anxious to move into the house as soon as possible since they already sold their other house and are now living with relatives until the new house is finished. The plumbing and sheet rocking were supposed to be finished this week. This week all the plumbing was completed, but the sheet rockers are not finished. There were some complexities with the customizations that they hadn't encountered before, so they underestimated the time it would take them to finish. They must finish in order for the electrical work to be finished, so the electricians are waiting on them. The electrical work and the walls will take another two weeks. Once the walls are finished, it will take another month to paint, to install the hardwood floors, and to install the detailing on the custom moldings. Finishing the wallpapering and carpeting will take another month, and cannot start until the hardwood floors and moldings are done. The owners have also requested a marble floor in the entryway. The marble was ordered at the beginning of the project but when it came two months later it was the wrong color and had to be re-ordered. The new marble has not yet arrived, and the house should be ready for the marble floor to be laid in one month or less. For the landscaping, the sprinkler system has been installed. The landscapers need to lay the sod and plant the trees and shrubbery, which they predict will take another month. So far 440,300.00 has been spent, and you predict you'll need another 165,000.00 to finish.

You give the owners a status of the project every Friday, and they usually come to look at the house once or twice a month. Following is the information they received in the project report last Fri. Using this information and the information above, what information would you include in the report this Fri?

Wilson's house project, Fri 6 June

Budget Status

On budget
Original budget 607,500.00
Spent 435,000.00

Schedule Status

On-schedule

Accomplishments

  • Soil has been prepared for landscaping, and the sprinkler system is being installed
  • Masonry has been completed, exterior detailing is being done
  • Roofing has been completed

Goals

  • Complete sprinkler system installation
  • Complete plumbing
  • Complete sheetrocking

Risks

The marble we re-ordered has still not arrived, but the customer service representative I talked to on Monday said it should arrive next week. We still won't be ready to install it for at least another month, so at this point it is not holding us up.

Since you are within budget, it's not necessary to be specific about the budget; instead you can indicate the original budget, the money spent, and say the project is within budget. You can also indicate what has been accomplished this week and what you plan to accomplish next week. However the project is now behind schedule, so you need to let the owners know when you expect the house to be finished, and let them know that the sheet rockers underestimated the time it would take them. The owners also should know that the new marble has not yet arrived, and there is an even higher risk it will not arrive in time to complete the house by the predicted date. Let them know also what you are doing to mitigate the risk, e.g., calling the company to find out what the delay is.