Everyone on the accounting side of construction is familiar with work in progress (WIP) reports, but for operations staff, “WIP” might as well stand for, “What Is the Point?” What for controllers and CFMs is an essential tool for billings and financial statements can be at best a mystery and at worst an unwelcome report card. But accurate WIP reports depend heavily on cooperation from the field. That means the secret to winning WIPs is cooperation. And the real key may be empathy.