Writer’s choice

Posted: December 11th, 2013

The Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to give a short, precise, statement of the subject and key (main) recommendations of the report. If you could only write two pages about the content of your report, what would it be? This document is meant to stand alone-  giving enough detail to the reader to guide the basic  implementation of the action plan detailed in the full report.

The form is as follows:

1. A short 4/5 line paragraph introducing the key facts and information. This section always ends with the same problem statement/ question that appear in the full report.
2. A statement of the recommended solution(s)  along with its justification and timelines (if possible)
3. A step-wise action plan of what needs to be done and why, along with any other limiting or relevant factors
4. A control and feedback/forward system is a must step in the action plan (what to measure, the measurement tool, the accuracy of measurement needed, how often a measurement should be taken, and the maximum allowable deviation from set-point before corrective action is required).
5. A contingency plan – what to do if the plan needs corrective action. Identify the step in the plan that if something went wrong, would likely cause significant deviation for planned or projected results; then detail how the correction to get things back on track should be carried out.