Projects are dynamic; projects often deal with the new and the leading edge; and projects involve people. As a result, circumstances change, misunderstandings occur, assumptions don’t hold, political agendas collide, problems arise, and risk events happen. These situations are categorized as project issues, and they all have the potential to adversely affect the project’s capability to accomplish its objectives.
To minimize the potential effect of these obstacles on our project objectives, we need to have a proactive plan for effectively managing project issues. We focus on the key elements of that plan. We review the principles, best practices, and project manager skills that are essential to effectively managing project issues. In addition, we touch on the important elements of your issue management system and make sure you are aware of the common challenges faced by project managers in this arena.
Note
A common source of confusion in the project management arena is the terminology used for project issues. For our purposes, I am differentiating between issues, risks, and defects.
Issues are events that have occurred or situations that exist which will adversely affect the project outcome if not resolved.
Risks are potential issues (more on these in “Managing Project Risks”).
Defects are issues that result from the project’s quality management procedures (testing, reviews, and so on).
The workflow processes for each are slightly different.
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