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Five Questions for Improving Business Reports

Have you ever asked for a report based on data in a database? Or have you ever been asked to create such a report? Starting a report can sometimes feel like a mind reading trip into uncharted territory. I have spent over 5 years creating reports and I found it was often necessary to go back and redo reports because communication was not clear. Sometimes the party requesting the report didn't know what they really wanted. Sometimes the party creating the report does not ask enough questions before starting. Over the years, I have come up with starter questions that provide a plan. Using these I have more often created the needed report on the first draft.

What question are you trying to answer?
I have often had management ask for something specific without first telling me what they wanted to know. When the objective is not set forth at the onset, often what management requested does not give them the answers they were seeking. This is usually due to the fact that people were jumping ahead to the result instead of actually asking the question. Management does not always know the data source and may be unaware of possibilities available to them or the best means of proving or disproving something. Getting an answer to this question has resulted in vast changes to the final report as originally requested.

What timeframe of data do you wish to consider?
It is important to know if you just want current information or if you are looking for historical trends. Do you just want to consider open orders/tickets or do you want to look at everything entered in the last three months? You may even need to consider, if you are evaluating data over time, how to compare it: by quarter, by month, by week, by day.

How do you want to qualify the data returned?
Are you looking to group things by customers or by products or by dates? Do you only want records meeting a certain criteria? Is there anything that needs to be excluded?

What details do you wish to include?
This one can be tricky. Too many details can make a report large and cumbersome, but too few will cause additional reports to be run. You want to have enough information so that if the need to drill down on the data occurs, you'll be ready.

What summary information do you wish to see?
While the details usually remain in the background for drill-down purposes, the summary is the one page view. Often visual charts can be used. This is also the place for basic statistics such as subtotals, totals, or averages.

If you start with questions in these five areas, you'll be able to get the report done right the first time. There are, of course, always additional questions to ask. Some may be triggered naturally by one of these first five. Ask as many questions as you can without becoming an hindrance to the process. Just like in any other business area, it will save time if you measure twice and cut once.

Carolyn Frances spent seven years working with data and pulling reports in a customer support environment. Management often invited her to discussions because of her great questioning ability. Questions lead the way to clarity. Now she acts as a Life Coach using questions to help others find their own life path and clarity.

http://www.ClaimingGreatness.cc

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