When you examine (audit, review) systems, as proposed in Analyze, you often need to prepare a report for the management in charge.

This practice proposes a generic report structure you might use in preparing such documents.

Report Structure

Chapter Description
Formalities formal stuff, like disclaimer, references to contractual documents, table of contents, licence, change history etc.
Management Summary 1, at most 2 page summary
Goals describe the goals of the review/audit.
Review Approach brief description how the review was conducted, outline the activities or actions performed.
Stakeholders outline which stakeholders participated, in what form, at that time
Findings in order of importance or priority, list and explain your findings
Proposed Actions  
Conclusion  
Appendix: Sources list your sources and references, e.g. documents, source-code, interview protocols, issue-trackers, websites etc.
Appendix: The Team briefly introduce the review team and explain their role in the review.
  • Slide or Write to decide, whether you really need to prepare a written report.
  • Traceability, to ensure you have proper sources for all important issues.