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Where should one put a large Gantt chart in a project report?

I made a key mistake in a report for work, how do I go about fixing things?

  • I work as a consultant for a company. I was assigned a project to analyse some data for one of their major clients. I put the report together and all was fine. I was then asked whether I would be able to do some very fine detailed reporting on the same job. The bottom line is that when I was undertaking the fine detailed work I discovered that I had made a mistake in one of the key calculations of the original job. The original report has been submitted to the client and I am working on the detailed report which will, inevitably, show up errors in the earlier work. The detailed work is only for internal use but if the client looks closely at the figures that they currently have then they will notice the error. I could just submit the detailed report and hope that no one asks "so why has the total for x jumped up so much?" Any ideas on how to move forward? Damage limitation?

  • Answer:

    I'd be up front about it and contact your client pdq with humble apologies to say you've just discovered an error in the first report; and of course swiftly redo your work. It may or may not matter much to them, but they'll certainly feel better disposed towards you for telling them rather than leaving them to find out themselves. Good luck!

2curious at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Own up - explain the error and how this came to light in the detailed report. Eat as much humble pie as you can stomach. By going to them and owning up you will prove that you are trust worthy and not trying to pull the wool over them. The sooner you do it the sooner you can fix it and move on with the minimum of fuss.

Hsquared

* Admit that you made a mistake. As soon as you realize that you’ve made a mistake, tell your boss. * Tell your manager what and how it happened. While it seems like we’re all moving at 100 miles per hour, if you make a mistake you should take the time to figure out why it happened so you can prevent it from happening in the future. * Present a plan to solve the problem. Bosses like nothing more than having employees that can take initiative. So if for some reason you do make a mistake—when you tell your manager come prepared with a plan for correcting it. * Correct your mistake on your own time. If you make a mistake and need to take time to correct it—do so on your own time. If you need to work late or work through your lunch as a result don’t expect overtime. * Don’t dwell on the past. We all make mistakes, even your boss, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Learn from it and move on.

mark m

Own up, apologise and give them a corrected version of the report NOW. Everyone makes mistakes. It's how they remedy those errors that lingers in the mind.

Jo W

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