Business Reports for Busy People

Chapter 11

Evaluation Reports

Evaluation reports are usually commissioned to determine the importance of the subject, the severity of the problem, or in general, to answer the question “How significant is this?” Whereas it’s a good philosophy of life in general to look on the bright side, evaluation reports often need to point out weaknesses in a project or employee. But they might also point out strengths in a job candidate or in a potential business partner. To be sure you frame those weaknesses appropriately, it’s a good idea to keep the purposes of the report in mind:

▶ Track progress.

▶ Delineate responsibilities and scope.

▶ Explore skills.

▶ Explore weaknesses.

▶ Make recommendations.

In contrast to an incident report (see ...