Make Reports Easier to Use

One of the things about a successful SSRS install is that after a short time there are so many folders and reports, the general user population gets lost.

Try this.  I have found it well received by the user community where I work.

Create a Word document as a directory of your reports in a folder.
Each report has its name as a hyperlink directly to the report on the portal.
I captured an image of the rendered report and embedded it in the document under the report title, this gives the user a 'picture' view of what the report looks like.
Below that I provide a short description of the input parameters the report takes and the data the report provides as output.

Each time a report is changed, deleted, or a new report added; I update the document.

I have provided the user community with an understanding of how they can be alerted by email when a change to the document has been made.

In this way, the user community is kept abreast of the reports on the portal and has an easier way of examining reports and getting a direct link to the report they want.  Saves a lot of time rummaging around in folders that they may not be as familiar with as people that use a particular report every day.

Also, if you note the particular report that is highlighted above; this is a 'control panel' report.
My service manager wanted a set of analytic reports to examine service on a particular manufacturer's product lines - how many parts have we installed, what % was warranty, how much labor and travel, etc.

We built this control panel report to feed the exact same set of inputs to each report in the series.
In this way, he can run a report, examine it, export it to Excel should he wish; then press the backspace key to get to this control panel.  Then all he need do is click the next hyper-linked report name or image and the same set of inputs is fed to the next report in the series.

The point here is that a portal may contain a great set of reports; they may be innovative and extremely useful.  But if they are hard to locate, or the user community is frustrated in their attempts to use it, then it won't succeed, no matter how brilliant the reports are.

Take a bit of extra time to make the reports as easily accessible as you possibly can.  Solicit feedback from the user community; don't be defensive when they call 'your baby' ugly though; listen to what they are telling you and do your best to incorporate their ideas.  Follow up with them and ask them about your implementation of THEIR IDEAS; you'll find that in itself will get their attention.  Once you have the lines of communication open on using the reports, you'll hopefully find they're being used more often!