Offshore Development - Report Valid Data

In the offshore development work, as an offshore company, we often have to do some reporting work to onshore. For example, daily progress reports, weekly progress reports.
The content of the report is various, but have we thought about the question: what kind of report is a good report?

Please see the content of the report below:
I made 3 functions today, and they are almost completed.
One of them has some issues and is confirming with onshore.
The other one can be done tomorrow.
In addition, there may be changes in demand, which may affect the progress of tomorrow.

At first glance, this report does not seem to have any problems, but if you think about it carefully, then this report has a big problem.

1. "Basically completed soon", what exactly is "basic"? Some people think that there are still 2 hours left to be called basic, some people think that there are still 6 hours left to be called basic, and some people think that it is basic to write code without doing simple tests. Basically, the concept of "basic" is too vague. After reading this report, you basically don't know how far the three functions have been completed.

2. Is the overall progress of the project normal, delayed or advanced? It doesn't make any sense from the above report.
3. Are the costs spent as expected? Is it beyond, or is there a surplus? It's not obvious from the report above.
4. The report says "it is likely to affect tomorrow's progress", but I can't see how much impact it will have.

It can be seen that although we have reported the project situation, it is no different from not reporting. Because the report does not reflect meaningful data.
As the person involved, many things are actually in the mind, but not reflected on paper.
When I wrote the report, I thought this was enough, but for those who read the report, it seemed that they saw a lot of things, but after thinking about it, they couldn't see anything specific.

How can I report valid data? There is a basic principle: speak with data, not vague words.
Rather than saying "basically almost done", it would be more effective to say "90% complete". Using numbers, you can avoid differences in understanding between different people and avoid misunderstandings.

For progress and cost reporting, scientific and widely used methods are recommended: SPI and CPI. Regarding the calculation of these two data, you can refer to the relevant information, and it is not very difficult to understand.

If there is a problem with the project, be sure to describe it clearly and let onshore know the status quo of the problem. At the same time, it is not enough to just ask a problem, we also need to come up with at least one solution to the problem.

For the above report, we can modify it as follows:

1. Overall progress
      SPI: 0.95 CPI: 1.1
2. Today's progress
      function A: 100%
      function B: 90%
      function C: 95%
3. Other
     today's function B , There are some problems with the screen jump, and we are confirming with onshore.
     Function C can be completed tomorrow.
     *Feature B requirements are subject to change. If it changes, adjust the initial plan based on difficulty.
       CR management needs to contact so-and-so.

From the above report, we can clarify a lot of information that was not clear before:
1. The overall progress is somewhat delayed (SPI=0.95). Although there are not many, but if onshore thinks the problem is serious, you can immediately find the problem and discuss it with us.

2. The development cost exceeds the estimated cost (CPI=1.1).
3. The completion of the three functions today is clear at a glance.
4. The problem with function B and its consequences are also very clear.

After writing your own report, there is a way to check whether your report is valid. That is to ask some questions about the content of the report and see if you can answer them.
(Remember to ask questions from the perspective of onshore)
For example, although the above report is very clear, I can still ask some questions:
1. There is a delay in the current progress, are there any remedial measures?
2. The cost is a bit high, what is the reason? What remedies are there?
3. Function B has a requirement change. Are there similar situations for other functions?

Write the answers to these questions on the report, I think it should be a good report.

The report is by no means going through the motions and taking the form. Since we've spent our time making a report, why not make an effective report.
Having mastered the techniques, it is not difficult for me to make an effective report.

Reporting effective data will make the communication between us and onshore smoother, eliminate the ambiguity of mutual understanding, and make the work of both parties more efficient.