25 October, 2010
Exceptional Project Management – Issue Management
Issue management is an important aspect of successful project delivery which should be undertaken in parallel with risk management. This article introduces the concepts of issues and issue management and describes a simple issue management technique that increases the likelihood that a project will succeed in delivering its objectives.
What is an Issue?
An issue is a problem that is currently happening. An issue may arise as a result of a previously identified risk being realised or it may occur as a new unanticipated problem.
Since an issue is already happening it is longer possible to mitigate and instead it must be addressed and resolved.
What is Issue Management?
Issue management is the development of processes and procedures to define the reactive process of responding to problems once they have occurred.
From a project management perspective issue management, like its counterpart risk management, is a continuous activity throughout the life of the project that seeks to address issues effectively as they arise in order to minimise the adverse impact on the project.
Identification
Issues can and probably will arise at any time during a project. In fact the infamous “Murphy’s Law” suggests that problems will definitely occur and so we almost certainly need an effective process to address them when they do.
Just as with risks, everyone involved in the project should be encouraged to think about issues that are arising and adding them to the “issue log”, which is a list of all known project issues that are occurring or have occurred over the life of the project.
An issue is initially placed into an “open” status when it is added to the issue log and remains in this state until it has been fully resolved.
When an issue is registered, the person creating the entry also assigns an estimate of the magnitude of the impact on the project. The scale used to represent the magnitude of an issue may vary between organisations and projects however I recommend you use a simple definition that everyone involved in the project can easily understand.
Evaluation
Usually, it is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that all new issues are properly evaluated once they have been added into the issue log.
The first step in evaluating new issues is to validate the issue. This includes ensuring that the issue is not duplicated in the issue log and also identifying and separating out risks, which are impacts that might occur in future.
Once an issue has been determined to be a valid new item on the log, then the magnitude estimate from the issue creator is also reviewed to ensure it is appropriate and consistent with other issues and also with the known risks, which are listed in the risk register. At this point the risk register is also updated to record the fact that a risk has occurred and therefore has migrated onto the issue log.
Ongoing Monitoring and Control
Each issue on the log should be allocated to an owner, who has responsibility for determining the appropriate resolution and also for monitoring the issue on an ongoing basis. Make sure that the issue owner is someone who is in a position to understand and respond to the specific issue being assigned to them and also ensure they are aware of and agree ownership of the issue.
For each issue, ensure there are one or more actions identified to address the problem. It is essential that a clear and realistic date is set for achieving each resolution.
On a regular ongoing basis, preferably weekly, the issue log should be reviewed to determine whether actions have been taken and whether the impact of an issue should be adjusted.
Escalation
Any issue that is evaluated as having a significant impact on the project should be escalated to the appropriate group or individuals. Similarly, any issue where the required actions are overdue should also be escalated. The escalation path will depend on your project governance structure and is likely to include a project or programme office, project sponsor and steering committee.
Improving Responsiveness to Problems
Good issue management increases the likelihood or project success by improving the speed of response and decreasing the impact of negative events on the project. When used in conjunction with effective risk management, issue management can help ensure the success of your project.
