Information Reports

Chapter 6
 Information Reports

• Communicate detailed information to

readers

• Readers need to make informed

decisions about complex issues

• A report provides detailed info that

readers need in a format that works
 Identify Readers
• First identify your readers and then
determine their info needs
• Identify their:
– Position and responsibilities
– Familiarity with background info
– Personal needs and biases
• Then estimate their info needs
 Report Readers are Varied
• Reports may be distributed to many people
• Reports are written to create a resource of
information for others to read
• Readers may be divided into categories:
– Primary
– Secondary
 Organizing Information
• Begin with a main idea, a sentence
that states the most important info

• Rest of the report contains details

which support the main idea and
provide specifics

• Include all necessary details for

the identified readers of the report
 Report Structure

• Informal reports generally follow a

four-part structure

• This structure allows information

to be presented in a logical
manner

• This structure presents info in the

order that the reader needs it
• Summary

• Context

• Details

• Next Step
 The Summary
• Sums up the report so that readers
can understand what the report is
all about

• Allows the readers to understand

details in the following sections

• Should sum up the entire report,

from Context to C & R

• The TLDR version of the report

 Context
• Describes the current situation or
context of the report

• Especially useful for secondary

readers of report

• An accurate identification of all

likely readers is needed so that all
necessary information is included
 Details
• Heading changes per report

• The largest section

• Provides all facts, events,

observations, etc. necessary to
support the main idea

• Any information that might have a

material effect on the readers’
understanding must be included
 Next Step

• Focuses on what to do next

• May provide conclusions
• May provide recommendations if
appropriate
• Recommendations suggest what
should be done next, by whom, by
when
Two Common Types of Info
Reports:

1. Incident Reports

2. Trip Reports
Incident Reports
 Incident Reports
• Inform readers about unusual
incidents
• Provide a written record of an
unusual event, something that
interferes with normal work:
§ Accident
§ Equipment failure / loss / theft
§ Natural disaster
• Incident reports provide readers
with sufficient information to make
decisions after an event

• Incident reports follow the

standard four-part structure, with
some minor variations

• the four sections for this type of

report are as follows:
Summary: a quick synopsis of the
event and its outcomes
Context: circumstances leading up
to the event itself

Incident: details of what happened,

when and how

Next Step: the effect that the event

had, and what action has been
taken and/or still needs to be taken
• Incident reports generally follow a
chronological order

• Context describes the

circumstances before the incident

• Incident section provides a

detailed description of the event
itself
• Next Step indicates the results and
suggests what to do next
• Readers may make important
decisions based upon the incident
report

• All material information about the

incident must be included

• Missing information could lead to

erroneous, costly and even
dangerous practices in the future
• Incident reports may be used as
documentation in employee
evaluations, insurance claims, and
lawsuits
• Make sure all necessary details are
recorded accurately & objectively
• Writer must function as an
objective ‘human recorder’ of the
event and outcomes
 Sample Incident Report

Report On Windshield Smashing Incident, May 15

Summary

On May 15, I was on my way to make a service call to MacMillan

Bloedel in Squamish when an irate motorist forced me off the road
and smashed my front windshield and side window with an iron pipe.
I filed a report with the RCMP and had the SUV towed to Squamish for
repairs.

I recommend that we provide satellite phones for Field Techs.

Context
I was driving south on the River Service Road towards Squamish
about 45 km north of Horseshoe Bay in a company SUV, a ¾ ton
Suburban, Lic. #23 49 KB. The road was relatively free of traffic
and clear. I estimate my speed at a steady 60 km an hour.
Just before the incident, I passed the car in question because it
was going less than 50 km an hour.

Incident
The car passed me and cut into my path, forcing me to slow
down and drive onto the shoulder. All the time the driver was
honking his horn.
I stopped off the road and rolled down my window to see what
the trouble was. The driver climbed out of his car carrying a
length of iron pipe. I remained inside the SUV.
The driver started shouting at me about a rock that he said my truck
kicked up and broke his windshield. He shouted something about this
being the second time in a month and started smashing my
windshield with his pipe.

I started the SUV and began to drive away. He hit the side window on
the driver's side once and then returned to his car and drove away in
the opposite direction.

Next Step

Following the incident I wrote down as much of the other car's license
number as I could get through the broken windshield: NGH 5--. Then I
drove slowly 11 km to a restaurant where I called the RCMP and
office. My cell phone was out of range previously. I also had the truck
towed to Squamish where I had Speedy Glass replace the windshield.
Since I didn't get the complete license number of the car, the RCMP
told me that we should contact them next week to see if they've
managed to locate the driver.

I suggest that we provide satellite phones to all of our field technicians,

who are not always within cell range. Incidents such as this one may be
rare, but other incidents may occur in which emergency phone calls
may be required.
Trip Reports
• Trip reports are written whenever
people need to report back to
others who stay ‘at home’

• The trip report therefore fulfills two

purposes:
– Provide needed information about the
trip
– Justify the expense of the trip itself
• Summary: a quick synopsis of the
trip and its outcomes.
• Context: purpose of the trip,
expectations, and authorization.
• Trip Details / Work Done: what
happened on the trip.
• Next Step: conclusions about the
results of the trip and any
recommendations, if appropriate
• The Next Step section should close
with a statement of whether or not
the trip was a success
• Don’t hide negative facts, but try
to present yourself positively
• You don’t want your employers to
think that the expense of the trip
was unjustified
• Justification leads to further trips...
 Computer Conference Trip Reports
• What you expected to gain / learn
• What sessions / booths you attended
• What you gained by attending these
sessions / booths
• What you gained or learned from meeting
and talking to other attendees of the
conference
• Any other (relevant) activities you
attended
• Whether attendance should be repeated
Report On “Website Design Conference”

Summary
This report describes the Website Design Conference I attended
during September 23 - 27. I expected to learn some new
information about current and future website problems and
solutions.

Overall, it was a very useful conference that will help me with

design issues and user assistance. I recommend that we send
more people to the conference next year.
Context
My conference trip to Las Vegas on September 25 - 27 was
approved by Personnel Manager Susan Ricards. The purpose of
the trip was so that I could learn more about website problems
and solutions, commercial and security concerns, and future
trends.

Trip Details
The following are the technical sessions I attended:
What Makes Web Sites Credible?
As the amount of content on the Web grows exponentially, our
ability to judge the credibility of that information is becoming
more and more important. This session examined credibility
problems and solutions.
Ease of use / navigation contributes to credibility.
When presenting informational content, include author
credentials, citations, and references. This helps convey
expertise.
Credibility increases when a site recognizes an individual when
they log on and interacts with them accordingly.
Credibility drops with even small glitches, typos, or broken links.
Short User Attention Spans

Studies have shown that 32% of consumers will abandon slow

sites within five seconds. A one second delay in page load time
can result in 11% fewer page views.

Include key information upfront – a website visitor is looking for

instant clarification they are in the right place.

Use bullet points for key facts to make them stand out and sub-
headings with descriptive wordings to enable users to jump to
the appropriate section.

By understanding how users scan web pages, you enable users to

easily navigate your content and find the relevant info for them.
Next Step

The conference provided invaluable professional development

experience. I learned a great deal about user perceptions of
websites and problems with user attention spans. In addition to
the technical sessions, I made several new contacts that might
lead to future sales.

I recommend that we send several people next year to take full

advantage of the PD opportunities at this annual conference.