I'm looking for a template or guidelines for how to write a technical report.
The report is IT-related and intended for a project manager to review the work of the investigation of a IT-related issue.
Title: Meaningful but not overly long
Rendering 1500 Users Helpless: An IT Project Report
Abstract: Summarize the report in one paragraph
Problem. Management Fix. IT Implementation. User Reception. Coverup.
Sec. 1, Introduction: Give background on the project. (What led to it?)
The recent release of Win8 with its BadIphone interface has created a furor in the IT world. Some like it because of blah blah. Others hate it because of blah blah. In May 2014 our clueless upper management directed IT to switch everyone from Win7 to Win8, whether they wanted it or not. This led to a near-revolt in the IT department. Etc etc etc.
At end of intro, explain the format of the rest of the report in a few sentences.
In Sec. 2 we explain our methodology for correcting the problem. In Sec. 3 we explain the implementation. In Sec. 4 we discuss user reaction to the change. Yadda yadda yadda.
Sec. 2-4??, Main Body of Report: Ideally you would have a separate section for each aspect of the project. (I took a stab at it above in Intro description. Don't feel bound by that.)
Sec. Last#, Conclusion: Here you can wax eloquent with your opinions, which you have hopefully kept out of the rest of the sections. You should end with a summary, which will sound a lot like the abstract but can be longer.
Footnotes, if any.
- Chose the right title -- it's the hardest part in writing.
- Explain your targets and goals.
- Explain what do you wish in the future based on this.
