Once a proposal is accepted and a project is under way, an engineer must write progress reports regularly to inform the client of the work accomplished. A progress report can be in the form of a business letter or a memo. It describes any milestones that have been achieved or tasks that have been completed. In engineering classes, your progress reports will be written to your professor to document your accomplishments and to describe the work still to be completed.
In your progress report, you might provide the following:
a brief project description as a reminder of the scope of the project
a summary of progress with a list of the tasks that have been completed
a list of any problems that have arisen and solutions implemented or suggested
any necessary alterations in deadlines or the budget
a description of work remaining before the next progress report
Engineers frequently use spreadsheets to present data and provide a “snapshot” of the project at various stages. Spreadsheets can be converted into slides for PowerPoint presentations along with images of the work. Complete project reports will assure your readers that you are reliable, punctual, and in control of progress.
Related topics:
Project notebooks
Laboratory reports
Technical reports
Proposals