Best Practices

Chapter 5 - Report Design

Agenda

Introduction Report Types Report Areas Key Reporting Principles Report Design Guidelines

Introduction Reporting Demands Careful Design

Produced from the data captured and stored in files or databases

Think about what reports should be provided by a system

Each report should have a definite purpose and contain useful information to those who need it

Must be well designed to help the reader understand the information it presents

Poorly designed reports poor impression of an application, no matter how powerful or complex the application may be

Report Types Two broad categories of reports:

Internal reports: E.G. audit trails, used within an organization. Primary concern usefulness

External reports: E.G. customer statements, go to entities outside of the organization. In addition to being useful, they need to adhere to legal requirements, portray a pleasing public image, etc…

Report Types (Cont) Categorized into various categories based upon the

type of information they contain:

Detail reports: Contain specific information about routine activities Commonly used by lower-level managers E.G. one that shows a list of all products sold and the

quantity of each product available

Historical reports: Similar to detail reports but have a different purpose i.e.

provide information on all transactions processed and serve as an audit trail that confirms transaction processing and ensures that the data can be recaptured if it gets lost somewhere in the system

Report Types (Cont) Summary reports:

Group information by showing totals and trends, in tabular and/or graphic form etc… to assist management in decision-making

Helpful to managers who do not want to wade through details E.G. A report showing total sales by office, by product, by

salesperson, or total overall sales Summary reports can be printed alone, or included at the end

of another report, such as a detailed report Graphics are effective because they show trends at a glance

Exception reports: Show out-of-the-ordinary data by listing items that match

exception criteria E.G. An inventory report that lists only those items that

need to be reordered

Report Types (Cont) Query reports:

Generated from questions asked by the user about records contained in a database

E.G. the user might ask whether a customer’s cheque was received or how many parts were ordered

Report Types (Cont) Types of reports can also be based upon timing:

Scheduled (periodic) reports: Produced regularly daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or

annually E.G. reports showing sales figures, income statements and

balance sheets

On-demand (on-request) reports: Produced only when needed, possibly in response to an

unscheduled demand to help managers make decisions E.G. a credit background report on an unknown

customer, generated upon the request of a director of finance to determine whether to grant the customer credit

Report Types (Cont)

Report Types (Cont) Report content and design differs

depending on what category it falls into E.G. content of a summary report not the

same as a detailed report Also a report generated for use within an

organization is designed differently to a report generated for a customer or client (invoice)

NB consider how a report is used and who will use it before design it

Reporting Areas

Reports generally have three areas: A heading area A body area A footer area

Sample report

Heading Area

DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2007

PAGE 1 of 5

Body Area

Footer Area

Reporting Areas (Cont) Heading Area

Identifies the report and describes the information it contains

Includes information such as the title of the report, the name of the organization, the report date, page numbers and column headings

Headings printed only once (at the beginning of the report) contains report title etc …

Reporting Areas (Cont) Body Area

Bulk of report data appears here. It contains detail lines, summary lines, and/or subtotal lines:

Detail line (data line): A line logically related to an input record Records are sorted according to one or more key fields A report where a detail line is printed only when an input record

represents a special condition or exception exception report

Summary line (total line): Multiple input records are accumulated or summarized and printed

as one report line

Subtotal line: Presents an accumulation of previously printed detail lines or

summary lines. Subtotal lines also called control-break lines

Reporting Areas (Cont) Footer Area

Area at the end of each page and at the end of the report

Page footers Printed at the bottom of each page (pagefooting area) Include page totals etc …

Report footer Prints only once at the end of the report Includes record counts, grand totals for columns, results of

calculations such as averages, etc…

Sample Information

*** End of report ***

Number of records processed: = 16

Reporting Areas (Cont)

When custom-designed pre-printed forms are used for reports, constant information such as headers and the company logo can be pre-printed on the forms

The forms can also be pre-numbered Pre-printed forms are used primarily for

external reports (customer statements)

Key Reporting Principles When designing a report answer various questions:

Who will use the report? How many people will need to use the report? What is the purpose of the report? Will the report serve its intended purpose? Will the report be meaningful to the user? Will the report support the user’s activity? Will the report deliver the right amount of output? When will the report be needed or used? Where will the report need to be used? Will the report deliver output to the correct person? Will the report deliver output to the user on time?

Key Reporting Principles (cont)

Reports are management tools They help people understand the

essential elements and relationships found in raw data

They help managers make effective decisions

Consider some key reporting principles:

Key Reporting Principles (cont) Define the purpose of each report:

Gives the report a starting point and goal Two examples of statements of purpose:

“The purpose of this report is to show monthly and year-to-date sales by sales representatives, to compare this year’s numbers to last year’s, and to flag representatives whose sales figures do not meet company standards.”

“The purpose of this report is to show sales activity for each item in inventory, and to suggest reorder quantities based on that activity.”

Key Reporting Principles (cont)

Determine the data sources: Might need to combine data from

different databases: Determine what databases and database

table(s) will serve as the source of data, and decide what data fields will be used

Determine the data fields used to calculate values appearing on the report

Key Reporting Principles (cont) Design each report for its intended user(s):

Make sure the report contains all the information that its users need and that it is formatted appropriately for its target audience

A report aimed at customers will be different to one aimed at company employees and managers

Reports serve more than simply the user of the system E.G. managers who rely on reports to make important decisions

Multiple individuals often use a single report, and each might be interested in different aspects of the report

Key Reporting Principles (cont) Reporting features:

Graphs: Show high-level information effectively

Filter criteria: Allow users to filter out unneeded information E.G. Allow the user to display a report on the sales figures for a

specific region by prompting them to enter the required region E.G. Allow the user to include only data that applies to a certain time

period (sales transactions that occurred during the past three months)

Drill-down: For electronic reports, or web reports, display summarized information

and allowing the user to “drill down” to access additional data Useful for improving navigation of long summary reports Also reduces Web traffic and improves response times only the

requested data is transferred from the database server

Key Reporting Principles (cont) Ensure the report is usable:

Must useful, easy to read and use so users can easily understand them

Review prototype reports with users and programmers for their opinions

Also consider:

Customization: Allow users to customize the format of the report and its look

and feel (E.G. its fonts and colours etc …)

Drill-down Enhances usability and usefulness users can tailor the

report’s content according to their decision making problem

Key Reporting Principles (cont)

Place yourself in the user’s shoes to determine:

Whether a report contains the information the user needs

Whether it will be meaningful given what the user knows

Whether the information has been presented in a way that it is easy to find and understand

Report Design Guidelines Support the corporate branding strategy:

Include the company or organization logo or slogan as part of all reports, particularly external reports

All business documents should support the overall corporate branding strategy to reinforce corporate image

Follow report design conventions: This makes it easier for users to use the reports Reports for a specific company or organization

consider their report design conventions (formally documented or informal derives from existing reports)

Report Design Guidelines (cont)

Provide related supporting information: E.G. in addition to company logo, an invoice

should show the company’s name, address, phone and fax numbers, email address, Web address, etc… to help the user easily direct payment to the correct company

Organize the information: Divide the report into logical, clearly labelled sections

that help readers find information quickly

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Make the report visually attractive:

Guidelines:

Do not cram data together; spacing is NB! double spacing will increase legibility

Use shading for heavy textual information shade lines in alternate colours or shades making it easier to follow lines of text across the page

Break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Make the report visually attractive:

Guidelines (cont): Provide blank lines before and after subtotal and total lines

Use regular font style, not bold, for the data area

Use font sizes between 10pt & 12pt for the report body Sizes below 10pt are difficult to read and sizes above 13pt are too large

Use larger font sizes for headings and titles. The size chosen should reflect the level of the heading or title within the hierarchy of headings or titles

Avoid overly fancy fonts

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Use only two or three different fonts:

Choose one serif font and one san serif font. Make sure the fonts offer the regular, bold, italic and bold italic font styles

The bold, italic, and bold italic styles enhance text without using additional fonts.

Serif fonts guide the reader’s eyes across lines of text and are ideal for the body of a report

Typical serif fonts include:

Bookman Garamond Palatino Times New Roman

Report Design Guidelines (cont)

Use only two or three different fonts (cont): Ensure fonts are not too light (thin) or too heavy (thick) San serif fonts look “clean” and stand out from serif

fonts Use them for titles, headings and graphics captions Typical san serif fonts include:

Antique Olive Arial Helvetica Univers

SERIF FONTS Bookman Old Style Garamond Palatino Times New Roman

 

SANS SERIF FONTS Arial Century Gothic Tahoma Verdana

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Use consistent font faces:

Use the same family of typefaces within and across displays and reports

Make reports easy to read: Use ordinary language and short sentences Avoid technical jargon

Consider using graphs, tables and diagrams: For easy assimilation of information E.G. a graph can be used instead of raw data, or a

diagram instead of a textual explanation Include explanatory text to describe the purpose of

diagrams, models, tables, drawings, etc …

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Use Web features to enhance reports:

E.G. hyperlinks to direct users to related reports or information, tooltips providing information about the report

Determine report length and width: Max width = 132 or 80 print positions for dot-matrix or line printers Laser and inkjet printers offer more flexibility report length and width

can differ depending on the font size used However, be consistent!

Consider margin requirements: Investigate binding and filing requirements before specifying margin

sizes Horizontal binding leave a generous top and bottom margin Three-ring binding provide a left margin Whitespace on reports also allows users to write their own notes

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Identify the report:

Include:

Report title Organization name Run date Period-ending date A report or program code/name that will uniquely identify

the report

Report title, source organization and relevant dates top of the report

The reader must be able to immediately identify the report

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Consider the placement of filing code and

identification numbers: Upper right-hand corner of a page

Use page numbers: E.G. “Page X of Y” format in case the last page (or

pages) is misplaced

Consider page continuation indication: Provide some indication that printing is continued on

the next page E.G. "Page 1 of 2”, “Continued on Page 2" and

"Continued from Page 1"

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Standardize the heading-identification

area: Place items in standard locations Uniformity is helpful to users

Use standard formats: For headers, dates, logos, etc …

Label all output fields: Use column headings to label detail lines Use adjacent descriptive words to label total

lines

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Position column headings and data fields properly:

Numeric fields column headings and data fields must be justified to the right

Alphanumeric fields column headings and data fields must be placed in line with the leftmost limit of the data area

The headings should be clearly distinguished from the text in the data area

Repeat headings for new pages

Group related information: Improves readability, provides order, and highlights

relationships between groups of information

Report Design Guidelines (cont)

Use group indication for control fields with repeating values: Data within control fields for detail lines are

usually repeated

With group indication, the key-field column or columns are printed only for the first detail line of the group and for the first line of each new page

Not all report design tools allow for suppression of repeating values

Understanding Control Break Logic

A control break is a temporary detour in the logic of a program

A control break program is when a change in the value of a variable initiates special actions or causes special or unusual processing to occur

If you have ever read a report that lists items in groups, with each group followed by a subtotal, then you have read a type of control break report

Report Design Guidelines (cont)

Sample report

Heading Area

DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2007

PAGE 1 of 5

Body Area

Footer Area

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Sort data in a meaningful order:

Makes the report more useful

Determine control break conventions: E.G. Start a new page for each control group or

section E.G. Page break before printing report totals if

there are many totals

Consider printing short detail lines in columns: Rather print two or more input detail records on a

single line Not always possible with particular report design

tools

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Allow sufficient space for numeric results:

Provide room for the longest possible result of arithmetic operations

Consider inter-column space requirements: Consider the length of the total field, rather than the

length of the detail-line field Ensure that there is at least two-character spacing

between columns

Choose suitable negative-value indication: Numeric fields should provide for negative values Internal reports minus sign (-) External reports “CR”

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Use appropriate field formatting:

Use appropriate regional format specifications for fields E.G. dates and currency values Numeric fields should be formatted correctly:

Insert decimal points when necessary Insert commas for amount fields that contain 4 or more digits Print currency symbols (for example, "R") on formal financial reports

and cheques, otherwise include them in the column headings

Use underlining appropriately: Used for formal accounting reports; use it sparingly

Consider page totals for certain reports: For reports that require manual reconciliation and/or modifications to

numeric column amounts page totals help considerably

Report Design Guidelines (cont) Consider using asterisks to identify total levels:

Asterisks next to a total amount help distinguish subtotals and totals from detail amounts, and indicate the composition, or level, of the total amount

E.G. one asterisk might indicate a minor total, two an intermediate total, and three a major total

Provide cheque protection for cheque amounts: When printing cheques, the amount of space allocated for the

monetary amount is usually much larger than the space needed to print the largest possible amount

To prevent the leftmost unused space from being altered fraudulently use a suitable protection method:

Fill the amount with leading zeroes Float the currency symbol (that is, place the currency symbol close to

the amount) Fill the amount with asterisks

Report Design Guidelines (cont)

Consider including useful totals: E.G. a year-to-date total, or last year’s

totals

Identify the end of the report: E.G. print "***END OF REPORT***" etc

… to identify the end of the report so that the reader is able to notice missing pages at the end of the report more easily

Conclusion

Reports must be created for a reason, must have a specific purpose, and must be designed to be meaningful, useful and easy to use