TECHNICAL REPORTS WRITING A technical report is a written official statement of facts on a particular technical subject, related (0; a situation, an activity, a project, a process or a test, to sce how the facts were discovered, their importance and the conclusions that have been drawn from them, Reports are generally written in the past tense, ‘They use present and future tenses to describe something which is happening at the present or which will happen in the future and suggesting what needs to be done. Reasons for writing technical reports Reports are written for one or more of the following reasons: * To record work done — whether conclusive or not * To report an assessment of a situation * To document a design development * To document testing and ‘operational activities * To record a certain technical progress, description, a specific technical achievement or failure(s) * For day to day communication associated with certain technical programs both large or small * To keep others, especially the management informed of work done and progress made ¢ To circulate new ideas and influence a reader to make a particular decision © To indicate a course of action to be taken as a result of work done Kinds of technical reports Technical reports can generally be classified into threc main kinds considered from the point of view of the level of formality. These are; 1. Informal/brief reports 2. Formal reports INFORMAL TECHNICAL REPORT Informal reports are called a variety of names that reflect their different purposes. Nevertheless, they all share one goal: to objectively inform readers about: 1. What happened, 1]Pag 732. What is happening, and 3. What will happen in the near future. They appear frequently as occurrence/ineident reports, progress reports, inspection reports, investigation reports, lab reports ete. ‘They can be exemplified as simple oral/conversational reports in meetings, memos, letter reports and other forms of reports as used in most day to day technical and engineering organizational communication on various subjects. Characteristics of informal technical reports They are most widely used than formal reports They are generally short narrations on a specific subject of an urgent need They form the backbone of day to day technical communication They have little limited value than formal reports They have limited circulation They are prepared by inexpensive publication technique Form of Informal Reports Letter report - Letter Reports are used to convey information between organizations. Memorandum report - Memorandum reports covey inter office or inter departmental communication. Form reports - Special forms designed to communicate certain specific information quite common as lab reports 1. Occurrence/incidental Report © Describe an event, usually an accident or irregular occurrence, and they identify what corrective actions have been taken. ‘As with other kinds of brief reports, incident reports present the facts as objectively as possible. They provide the following information: o Asummary of what happened (the facts) A discussion of why it happened ‘A description of how the situation was handled ‘A discussion of how the problem will be avoided in the future ° °When an accident was your fault, don’t make excuses or offer apology. It is not the place to do so, Concentrate on facts and be honesty. + Incident reports often contain a variety of graphics, including tables, drawings, diagrams, and photographs, as well as videos. 2. Progress and Status Reports * A progress report describes an ongoing project. * tis used to keep the management aware of what its project groups are doing. * A progress report is an intermediate communication between a proposal and a completion report * A status report on the other hand describes the entire range of operations of a department or division. + Regardless of how well the project is proceeding, explain clearly and fully what has happened and how those activities or events will affect the overall project. + Regardless of the news you are delivering — good, bad, or mixed — your job is the same: to provide a clear and complete account of your activities and to forecast the next stage of the project * It is unethical to cover up problems and hope that you can solve them before the next progress report, * Sponsors and supervisors of the project, as readers, have a right to know how the project is going. * If you find yourself faced with any of the following three common problems, consider responding in these ways: 1. The deliverable — the document or product you will submit at the end of the project — won’t be what you thought it would be: Without being defensive, describe the events that led to the situation and explain how the deliverable will differ from what you described in the proposal. 2. You won’t meet your schedule: Explain why you are going to be late, and state when the project will be complete 3. You won’t meet the budget: Explain why you need more money, and state how much more you will need. ¢ In the conclusion of a progress or status report, evaluate how the project is proceeding. In the broadest sense, there are two possible messages: things are going well, or things are not going as well as anticipated.use appendixes for supporting materials, such as diagrams, tables, or «If appropriat a revised task schedule, Be sure to cross-reference these appendixes in the body of the report, so that readers can find them easily judy Visit Report: Introduction, * tell your audience when you visited the site and wi * State who your contact was at the site, * Iestensive travel was needed, you may also brie site * What was the aim of visiting the site Purpose of the site, * Define the purpose of the visit * Describe what type of site it is * _ Include details about the size, layout, and equipment used at the site Description of events/activities done Explain what happened durin, © Make sure that you answer th ©. What did you do? © Who did you meet? © Who did you talk to? What did they tell you? © What did you see at the site? © What events took place? Did interview? ©. Did you see any demonstrations of equipment or tec Summary of the operations at the site * Describe the processes and procedures at the site. If they use any special techniques, * If they manufacture something in of this process * Tf youre visiting a business, talk about different de business; Describe their Corporate structure and identify to conduct their business, Identify the strength and weakness of the site * Note which processes, policies, a ; * Ifyou notice any flaws, describe Name the exact machine, equipm, + Ifthere was anything important | Lesson Learnt at the Site * Describe what you learned at the site, * Draw connections between what you learned at the site clas here the site is located. fly state how you arrived at the 8 the visit in chronological order. following questions: you attend a seminar, Q&A. Session, or niques? . state how these techniques are performed 4 particular way, give a step-by-step account partments within the what programs they use ind practices work well at the site these as well. Try to be as specific as possible ent, process, or policy that could be fixed left out of the visit, state what it was and what you leamed in ¢ State how seeing the site helped you understand what you © You might ask yourself: ©. Is there something you didn’t req are learning in class lize before that you leamed while at the 4|Pagey ° 5 . : : Wie at the site provided helpful information? ‘at was your favorite part of the visit and why? 4. Re i “commendations for improvement * Ifyourre asked to pri tr s, 1s to share provide recommendations, take a fe agi ‘ ae fon is, take a few paragraphs to shi Identify problemati i lematie areas in the site and provide specifi, actionabl Tecommendations to improve them Pee OS Tailor yor i f your recommendations to the organization or institution that owns the site 5. White Papers and Briefings Reports * White papers and briefings are used to educate management or clients about an important issue. * Typically, white papers are print documents, while briefings are presented verbally. Occasionally, briefings will also appear as “briefs” in written form. 6. Laboratory Reports * Laboratory reports are written to describe experiments, tests, or inspections. * Ifyou have taken a laboratory class, you are no doubt familiar with lab reports. These reports describe the experiment, present the results, and discuss the results. Lab reports typically include the following kinds of information: © Introduction: Provides background information needed for the reader to understand the context and purpose of the experiment. At the end of the introduction, the aim should be clearly stated Materials and methods/procedure: Describes what was done in the experiment. Includes materials used and procedures followed. © Presentation of the results © Discussion of the results o Conclusion Other informal Reports Periodic Progress Report: it is written if the project is to continue for several months. Project Completion Report: describes work that has been done. t is used to report the findings of an inspection which has taken Inspection Report: i place. Laboratory Reports: it js used to record laboratory tests performed ¢ Laboratory