1. Creating and Managing Report Packages for Narrative Reporting
  2. Report Package Design Considerations
  3. Determining Development Phases

Determining Development Phases

After you have created and uploaded a style sample document, you determine what development phases your report requires. Narrative Reporting provides three phases of development for report packages:

Author

Enables you to collaborate to develop the report content and supporting details

Review

Allows you to gather commentary on multiple draft versions and to revise the report content as needed

Sign Off

Provides the ability to secure report content to prevent further modifications and to gather sign offs from key constituents

When you create the report package, you enable the development phases that your report requires. You also set the timelines for each phase. Let’s look at some common business needs for each phase.

Do I need an author phase?

The development process for report content can range from centralized, meaning a single or small group of authors contribute content, to distributed, meaning the content is divided across multiple users who each contribute individual pieces of the report. The more distributed your development process, the more your report package would benefit from workflow and version control, and thus an author phase.

Do I need a review phase?

Some reports don’t require an extensive review process, while others benefit from an added layer of scrutiny. Ask yourself the following questions to help determine if your report needs a review phase.

  • Is my report intended for an external audience? These types of reports generally require an extensive review phase to ensure that all of the information that is presented to the public is accurate.

  • Was my report content created by multiple authors? Reports content that was added by several people can benefit from a review to make sure that the information is being presented consistently.

  • Does my report contain a lot of financial data or other numeric content? It is a good idea to have someone double-check report data to make sure that the numbers are accurate.

In general, review cycles help to ensure both accuracy and consistency. The more your report depends on these attributes, the more it will benefit from a review phase.

Do I need a sign off phase?

Reports that require a finalized and approved version for publishing that prevents any further changes to the content will benefit from a sign off phase. For example, most reports that are intended for external consumption require a sign off from key stakeholders.