TIG Reporting Tips
I have been working with the good folks in Connecticut on the implementation of their new statewide website using the Drupal OST. (see www.ctnla.org ) As part of my responsibilities for them I took on submitting all the TIG reports associated with their second (Renewal) website grant. As some of you may know, as a former TIG employee I was in the unique position to have a pretty clear idea of what TIG staff look for in TIG reporting. (Not that I always get it right, just ask Bristow 
However, in transitioning the project management to full time CTNLA staff, I was providing some guidance on what makes a good TIG report – and realized that there may be a few folks out there that might be interested in what I have to say as I have been on both sides now.
So here are my unofficial tips for writing up a TIG report:
1) Everything should be in the past tense. “TIG is entirely milestone driven.” Which means you only get paid for what you have accomplished – not what you are thinking of doing or what you plan to do. Always make sure you discuss only that which you have already done.
2) Be definitive – passive voice doesn’t work so well in TIG reporting. State affirmatively what you have done and don’t be afraid to be more direct than you might otherwise be. You held a meeting. You launched the site. You created a form. Whatever it was be clear and definitive.
3) Follow the instructions – provide everything they ask for. And then review it again and see if you have provided everything they have asked for and answered every question. The corollary to this is to *not* provide anything they didn’t ask for – extraneous information is just that – extraneous, not needed, superfluous, etc. You can add that information to your quarterly reports, but you should leave it out of the payment request.
4) and if something happens that makes it impossible for you to accomplish your milestone (your court partner backs out, the technology you choose becomes obsolete or the provider goes out of business) then work with TIG staff *before* you send in a payment request to either eliminate or change the milestone beforehand. Submitting a report that says “we couldn’t do this but please pay us anyway” probably won’t fly – and it just wastes time. Work with someone at TIG first.
So there you have it – my two cents on TIG reporting. Never a bad thing really.
