Reports review guide

REPORTS REVIEW GUIDE	DATE	FILE NUMBER
TITLE OF REPORT
Note to reviewing Officers--- checked, use separate sheet	Check appropriate column.  for recording changes or	If "Questionable" is observations.
	PART I: To be completed by the using office.
	Questionable	Satisfactory
1. USEFULNESS
1. THE REPORT AS A WHOLE Who uses it? How is it used? What is it purpose? Should it be continued?
2. USE OF EACH ITEM Is every item used? Are there any items missing?
3. USE OF EACH COPY Are all distributed copies used to good purpose?
4. USE OF NEGATIVE REPORTS Are negative reports required? What use is made of them?
5. FREQUENCY Is frequency adequate? Is a lower or diminishing frequency feasible?
6. VALUE VERSUS COST. Is the value of the report worth its cost?
7. EFFECTIVENESS. How effective a management tool has this been?
8. CONTENT Do the contents develop trends by properly mixing historical, current, and projected conditions?
2. QUALITY
1. ADEQUACY AND SUITABILITY Are scope and content of the report tailored to need?
2. COMPARISONS Are comparisons provided against goals, standards of past performance, or some other known factor?
3. REPORTING UNITS Are units proper for meaningful interpretation?
4. SIGNATURE AUTHENTICATION. Are signatures of verifying and approving officials included when necessary?
5. ACCURACY Is source data accurate? What is its record of dependability?
3.TECHNIQUES
1. INTEGRATED REPORTING Are data needs of other levels and offices tied in?
2. EXCEPTION REPORTING Would it be appropriate to report conditions only when other than normal?
3. SAMPLING Would sampling of a few offices provide representative and reliable data?
4. STANDARDIZATION If forms are used, do all offices use the same form? If narrative is used, is there a standard of acceptability?
4. EASE OF USE
1. STYLE OF PRESENTATION Does the style of presentation provide clarity and finding ease? Is it condensed? Are graphics used well?
2. SUMMARY INFORMATION Would just a summary be better?
	PART II: To be completed by the preparing office.
1. POLICY
1. PREPARATION Has a procedure been written for the preparation of the report?
2. REVIEW Are the report and the preparation procedures regularly reviewed?
2. SHORTCUTS
1. ANOTHER AVAILABLE RESOURCE Is the data in some other report? Is the data more accessible from another office?
2. COMBINATION Could this report be combined with another report?
3. BY-PRODUCT Is it possible to get the report as a by-product of some other process (i.e. multicopy form set)?
4. DISTRIBUTION Are all copies distributed essential?
3. TIMING
1. ADEQUATE TIME Do due dates give enough time for preparation and review?
2. OFFICE WORKLOAD Has preparing office workload been considered? Could end-of-month or end-of-year reports be avoided?
3. REPORTING PERIODS Are there periodic conflicts among respondents or between feeder and summary reports?
4. SUBMISSION Has complete and/or timely submission of this report been a problem?
4. FORMAT
1. PRESENTATION Does the type of presentation--narrative, graphic, or tabular--best portray information?
2. STRIP REPORTING Is it possible to match feeder reports from several sources and compile by stripping?
3. ARRANGEMENTS AND SIZE Are items grouped and sequenced to work flow? Is spacing adequate for responses?
4. LAYOUT Does the layout lead the reader to prompt and accurate conclusions?
5. ARRANGEMENT OF RECORDS Should records be arranged differently to simplify reporting?
5. SOURCES
1. FEEDER REPORTS Are procedures for feeder reports provided to ensure uniformity and simplicity?
2. DIRECT USE OF RECORDS Could actual records or copies be sent instead of the prepared report?
3. CUMULATIVE DATA Can fiscal or statistical data be kept on a cumulative basis in order to eliminate last-minute workloads?