# Development Cooperation Handbook/Checklists/What to do in order to obtain information about a project

This list is a component of List of things to do in order to illustrate a project/action

### Provide preliminary  information on the project

* Continent:
* Country:
* Location of the project (insert Google Map indications):
* Name and description of the Organization leading the project:
* Name of the Project:
* Project related to MDGs number:
* Project funded by:
* Web site and contacts

### Describe the project

1. What is (was) the purpose of this project (program/action)?
* Describe overall objectives; specific objectives; outputs and other deliverables; is this a component of a wider programme?
* Describe the stakeholders: who is working, who is putting the money; who is benefitting (and who is losing out), who are the other stakeholders. We can differentiate: internal Stakeholders: persons belonging to the project team; external Stakeholders: beneficiaries, target groups and other persons involved in and/or affected (negatively or positively) by the outcome and the impact of an action, project, programme.
2. What did (or will) the Action achieve?
* What expected outputs were delivered? How the project made an impact? What has changed?
* What did the stakeholders learn from this experience?
3. What was the methodology used for implementing this project(Program/action)?
* How the quality of the processes was monitored?
* What are the indicators used to understand if the project was successful?

### Describe the project issues and challenges

View the present status of the project as a response to the project challenges:
* Is it being implemented in accordance with its scope?
* Is it proceeding according to schedule?
* Is the money sufficient?
* Are the staff efforts and competence adequate? Is the team united or divided?
* Is there a healthy communication climate amongst the stakeholders?
* What are the project risks? Were they foreseen? How risks are mitigated?
* What are the unexpected major issues/challenges?
* In order to build the trust and explain the challenges remember that the project does not achieve its objective directly! The activities that the action team will carry out will produce the outputs that will empower beneficiaries to better interact with their communities and utilise project deliverables to achieve the project outcomes. These outcomes will enable the stakeholders to tackle the problems identified and produce changes in the factors generating these problems, thereby contributing to the achievement of the project objectives.
Reporting the project performance is to review the project progress against expected milestones, timelines and costs. The purpose of reporting is to share the information required to manage issues and Manage CSSQ (Cost, Scope, Schedule, and Quality). It is functional to the objective of delivering the project outputs with the expected quality and within the time and cost costrains defined in the project plan document.

### Seven Areas a Status Report should Track

* Schedule and scope status
* Major Issues / Challenges
* Highlights / Achievements (Quality of interim/final deliverables)
* Risks (new risks or changes in the risks identified earlier)
* Spending (versus the planned amounts)
* Staff effort (versus the planned time)
* Changes to the plan

## Other tools
###### Templates

Tasks implementation report form
Template - Project Status Snapshot
Template - Project status summary
Template - Project Status Report

###### Checklists

What to ask in order to obtain information about a project What to say in order to provide information about a project

###### Guidelines

Guideline: how to report project performance How team members can improve overall project communication
How to built the trust and provide solid support for your reports Guideline: Stakeholders Identification and analysis

## See also

Project information distribution
Manage Implementation of Project Execution