Rough Draft of Final Project – Proposal

Markel, M. (2015). Technical communication (11th ed.).  Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.

PAGES 483-485

Fxecutive Summary---- The executive summary (sometimes called the epitome, executive overview, management summary, or management overview) is a brief condensation of the report addressed to managers. Most managers need only a broad understanding of the projects that an organization undertakes and how they fit together into a coherent whole.

An executive summary for a report of under 20 pages is typically one page (double-spaced). For longer reports, the maximum length is often calculated as a percentage of the report, such as 5 percent.

The executive summary presents information to managers in two parts:

• background. This section explains the problem or opportunity: what was not working or was not working effectively or efficiently, or what potential modification of a procedure or product had to be analyzed.

• major findings and implications. This section might include a brief description—only one or two sentences—of the methods, followed by a full paragraph about the conclusions and recommendations.

An executive summary differs from an informative abstract. Whereas an abstract focuses on the technical subject (such as whether the public is tak- ing advantage of the data from smart electric meters), an executive summary concentrates on the managerial implications of the subject for a particular company (such as whether PECO, the Philadelphia utility company, should carry out a public-information campaign to educate customers about how to use their smart meters).

Writing an Executive Summary

Follow these five suggestions in writing executive summaries.

use specific evidence in describing the background. For most managers, the best evidence is in the form of costs and savings. instead of writing that the equipment you are now using to cut metal foil is ineffective, write that the equip- ment jams once every 72 hours on average, costing $400 in materials and $2,000 in productivity each time. then add up these figures for a monthly or an annual total.

be specific in describing research. For instance, research suggests that a com- puterized energy-management system could cut your company’s energy costs by 20 to 25 percent. If the company’s energy costs last year were $300,000, it could save $60,000 to $75,000.

describe the methods briefly. if you think your readers are interested, include a brief description of your methods—no more than a sentence or two.

describe the findings according to your readers’ needs. if your readers want to know your results, provide them. if your readers are unable to understand the technical data or are uninterested, go directly to the conclusions and recommendations.

ask an outside reader to review your draft. Give the summary to someone who has no connection to the project. that person should be able to read your sum- mary and understand what the project means to the organization

Analyzing an Executive Summary

Executive summary

on may 11, we received approval to study whether Android smartphones could help our 20 engineers receive email, monitor their schedules, take notes, and access reference sources they need in the field. in our study, we addressed these problems experienced by many of our engineers:

• They have missed deadlines and meetings and lost client information. • They have been unable to access important files and reference materials

from the field. • They have complained about the weight—sometimes more than 40 pounds—of the binders and other materials that they have to carry. • They have to spend time keyboarding notes that they take in the field.

In 2014, missed meetings and other schedule problems cost the company over $400,000 in lost business. And our insurance carrier settled a claim for $50,000 from an engineer who experienced back and shoulder problems due to the weight of his pack.

We researched the capabilities of Android smartphones, then established these criteria for our analysis:

• The device must weigh less than 5 ounces.

• It must run on Android 4.2.2 or higher.

• It must have at least 2GB RAM.

• It must have at least a 1.9-GHz Quad Core.

• It must have a microSD slot.

• It must have at least a 4-inch screen.

• It must have a camera with a resolution of 10.0MP or better.

• It must have on-device encryption.

• It must be Microsoft Office compatible.

• It must cost $700 or less.

on the basis of our analysis, we recommend that the company purchase 20 Samsung Galaxy 4 smartphones, for a cost of $12,980. These devices best meet all our technical and cost criteria.

This executive summary comes from a corporate report on pur- chasing Android smartphones for employees. The questions below ask you to think about the discussion of executive summaries (beginning on p. 483).

1. How clearly do the writers explain the background? Identify the problem or opportunity they describe in this executive summary.

2. Do the writers discuss the methods? If so, identify the discussion.

3. Identify the findings: the results, conclusions, and recommendations. How clearly have the writers explained the benefits to the company?