how to
How to Ace Your Performance Review
I know that I personally have always thought of performance reviews as uncomfortable sit-downs with the boss where I get talked at for a while, with little back and forth. I never thought that I had to play an active part in a review that was being conducted of me. However, the author of this Forbes article disagrees. She believes that one of the key aspects of a performance review should be you providing your own self-evaluation to your boss. Below are the steps that she says everyone should take to “ace their performance review.”
1. Don’t get overly emotional. It’s easy to take things personally, but try to keep things in perspective.
2. Prepare a self-evaluation throughout the year. Note all of your accomplishments and major contributions, as your boss is too busy to make note of every time you do something good.
3. Tell your boss where you need more support- this is also your chance to review your department.
4. Spell out your goals for the coming year. This will help you in next years review, as you can measure up against these goals.
5. Speak in plain English and avoid business jargon.
6. Handle criticism openly.
While most of the above are points that we have discussed, the self-evaluation concept is a new one. What are your thoughts on detailing all of your accomplishments throughout the year and listing them out to your boss? What’s the best way to go about t
How to Report Progress
With our own progress reports coming due each week, I thought I would share this article that has some pointers for how to effectively communicate the status of a project. The author, Rob Redmond, states that to write an excellent status report you need to understand the three components of status, how to write brief details, and what key data is needed by management.
He describes the three components of status as:
- Overall: The overall project health
- Milestones: Major accomplishments with accompanying dates
- Issues: Obstacles to successful project completion
He then goes on to explain the concept of “brief details,” in which he suggests that when reporting a status you:
- Use bullet points instead of prose
- Avoid unnecessary titles
- Shorten sentences as much as possible
- Avoid adverbs
Lastly, key project data that should be communicated includes:
- Project Name
- Overall health (red, yellow, green can be used here)
- Current completion (in %)
- Expected project completion
- If you are ahead/behind schedule, if so, how much
- Issues you face
Do you agree with the author’s three-point structure for status reports? What do you think goes into writing a good status report? How have your status reports evolved after taking MIS 3535?
 |  |  |  |  |
