Dear PM Advisor. Jun 30, 2014

Dear PM Advisor,

I’m documenting the introduction to our Project Profile for presentation to management. I’ve been advised not to use bullets for this document. Why not? I believe the white space makes it easier to read.

Format Queen in Morristown

Dear Format Queen,

Bullet statements are good for three purposes:

1.       Lists

2.       To present your resume in an easily readable format that highlights your experiences without causing anyone to push through paragraphs of words.

3.       To present your key points along with your wording as you present something.

A Project Profile, while it may be initially presented, ends up being a stand-alone document that anyone may pick up months or even years later to try and determine what this project is all about.

A stand-alone document cannot use bullets except for lists like deliverables, measures, etc. because bullets typically are not complete sentences and require more words to fully explain what you mean. Since you will not be there to add the needed words, you need to add them now, while you create the document.

Here is what I recommend you do to ensure you have a complete Project Profile:

1.       Write up the Profile with the aid of your team

2.       Print it out

3.       Hand a copy to each of your team members along with a pen

4.       Present your Profile to your team

5.       The team members will mark up your profile with the ad-lib comments you made during your presentation

6.       Type this new information into your edited Profile

7.       Repeat steps 2 – 6 until what you are presenting is exactly what is documented on the Profile

8.       At this point, your Profile is good enough to be that stand-alone document you want.

Good luck,

PM Advisor

Send your questions to Bruce@RoundTablePM.com