Activity Reports

Prof. Z. Lewis

Why Do I Need to Know This?• In any career, you will be asked at some point

to brief your manager on your activities. This can be done face to face, or by providing your superior with an activity report.

• You need to know how to write one in the event you are asked to account for your time and activities.

The Goal of Activity Reports• The goal of any activity report is to objectively

inform readers about what happened, what is happening, and what will happen in the near future.

Types of Activity Reports• Progress Reports: Also called status reports,

are used to inform management about the progress or status of a project. Also used to keep management informed about you or your team’s activities.

Progress Report-Features of the Form• A typical progress report contains a summary

of completed activities (what you did), a discussion of ongoing activities (what you’re doing), and a forecast of future activities (what is to come).

Briefings & White Papers• Briefings & White Papers are used to inform

management or clients about an important issue. Briefings are presented verbally, or can be written out as briefs. White papers are provided in print.

• Even in briefings and white papers, you provide a summary of the facts, a discussion of the importance of the facts, and a forecast about the importance of these facts in the future.

Briefings and White Papers• Briefings and white papers do not advocate for

any specific side or course of action.• Facts are presented in a straightforward way

and offer an objective assessment of what those facts mean.

Incident Reports• Incident reports describe an event, accident, or

irregular occurrence.• Incident reports present the facts as

objectively as possible.• They provide a summary of what happened; a

discussion of why it happened, a description of how the situation was handled, and a discussion of how the problem will be handled in the future.

Laboratory Reports• Laboratory reports describe experiments,

tests, or inspections. Lab reports include a summary of the experiment, a presentation of the results, and a discussion of the results.

HOW DO WE BEGIN?• Begin by writing the 5W-1H memo and answering the questions

in one paragraph.• Who might read or use this activity report? (Who is my

audience?)• Why do they want the report?• What information do they need to know?• Where will the report be used?• When will the report be used?• How might the report be used?• Note: You will answer the above questions in a paragraph.

Also note that although your memo will be addressed to the instructor—the instructor is NOT necessarily your audience for the activity report. You must decide for whom your activity report is being written.

MISSION• Research “white papers” on the Internet.• Think of a topic or problem that interests you,

perhaps something related to your field of study.

• Write a memo to me wherein you ask permission to write a white paper on that topic.

• Make sure your memo provides an introduction to the issue, a statement of the importance of the issue, and a statement as to why this issue will be important in the future.

MISSION CONT’D.• Post your memo to the Discussion Board on

Angel by 10/10/13 beginning of class.• You will be advised whether your white paper

topic has been approved.• First draft of your white paper will be due

10/24/13.• You will also give a presentation to the class

wherein you brief us on your topic. Briefings will take place 10/22 and 10/24.

• Note: Although there is no page requirement, I anticipate that your white paper will be a minimum of 5 single-spaced pages minimum.

Questions?