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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nDefining issue management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Issue management is the process of identifying, prioritizing, and resolving problems that arise over the course of the project<\/strong>. Issues include resource shortages, environmental challenges, legal problems, shipment delays, machinery, software, and product malfunctions, or similar problems that have a negative impact on project success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Risks are potential events that \u2014 if they occur \u2014 can impact the project in a positive or negative way.<\/strong> Risks can be predicted based on previous experiences with similar projects and are commonly recorded in a risk register<\/a> along with a list of possible solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, issues are events that have occurred and are actively impacting the project in a negative way.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Risk management is a vital precursor to issue management. By recording all potential problems you can think of and preparing strategies for their mitigation ahead of time, you inevitably create a plan for resolving issues that grow out of negative project risks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 PLAKY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about managing risks and preparing for project issues that may occur:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to manage issues effectively, you need to set up a clear issue management process that everyone in your team will be familiar with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, the issue management process consists of these 5 steps in this order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first stage of effective issue management is identifying the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 2 types of project issues \u2014 those that evolve from negative risks and unpredictable ones that catch you unawares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you already have a good risk management system in place and are conscientious about regularly monitoring your risks, the former shouldn\u2019t be difficult to notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The unpredictable issues, however, can come from any direction, so it\u2019s important to constantly be on the lookout for them. This can include things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a project manager, you will naturally be more aware of project-related issues, while product-related ones might slip through the cracks. So, for continuous projects such as software development projects, user bug reports are an invaluable source of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gather all your user feedback in one place as you receive it. You can then easily categorize it, prioritize it, and assign people to fix the issues, all in the same place, without worrying that you\u2019ll miss something important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using task management software<\/a> is particularly suitable for bug tracking since it lets you set up permissions so that anyone in your team can report new problems without your involvement \u2014 but you\u2019ll still get a notification for each new item and stay in the loop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, this is an efficient way to \u201cdivide and conquer\u201d but still retain a good deal of control over the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get our free bug tracking template<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, it\u2019s time to investigate where the issue originated and its potential impact on the project \u2014 and then assign it an impact score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we asked Eva Ryan<\/a>, Senior Client Account Manager at Flying Cat Marketing, for advice on how she addresses and investigates issues at her workplace, she stressed the importance of speed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSpeed is key. By ignoring [issues], they will not go away \u2014 they’ll come back. Tackle them straight away, and you’ll be able to solve them in half the time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Also first, try and find the root cause of the issue, then document it so that it can be avoided in the future. Remember to loop in the internal team.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n When it comes to dealing with client issues, the most important thing is to maintain open communication. They are the ones who can best describe the issue, so make sure none of the information is lost through asynchronous communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnswer quickly and try to get them on a call. Addressing the issue during a video call is the best way because you can get on the same level with that person.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not undervalue the power of speaking to someone face to face. A lot of the work in marketing and project management is asynchronous. But for solving conflicts or an issue, the best way to understand how everyone is perceiving the issue is to speak face to face.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Once you understand the issue, add it to the issue log \u2014 a list where you\u2019ll record all known issues along with all the relevant information such as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Create your issue log in Plaky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At a glance, all this information can be kept in a neat spreadsheet. That said, accuracy and speed are crucial here, so using a project management tool is the best option for consistent issue tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n Tip:<\/strong> To avoid assigning arbitrary impact scores, create a consistent issue scoring system you\u2019ll use throughout all your projects (e.g. 1\u201310).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all issues will be equally severe, so rather than tackling them as they emerge, it\u2019s better to prioritize them and address them in order of importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impact scores you assigned to every issue in the previous step are what will help you determine the priority of the issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once issues are prioritized, you can immediately assign the most critical ones to the right people and begin solving them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve been using project management software<\/a> to log and track your issues, this should be easy. Simply add the relevant person to the Assignee field, and they will receive a notification and begin working.<\/p>\n\n\n Improve your team’s accountability with Plaky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, it\u2019s important to keep all lines of communication open and transparent so that both you and the rest of the team can give advice, feedback, and suggestions on how to best close the issue at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n Since every issue is different, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for this step of the process. But, as a project manager, you should have access to documentation from previous projects that explains how similar problems were resolved \u2014 so you can copy their homework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, sometimes you\u2019ll have to find the solution yourself. For instance, client issues are much more sensitive than software malfunctions or shipment delays, and each issue is unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eva Ryan highlights that, in such cases, it\u2019s important to keep in mind that you\u2019re dealing with a real person who is counting on you to solve their problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn absolute must is to come up with action steps on the call. And if you can’t find a solution on the spot, tell them you’ll get back to them by a specific deadline. Always give them a deadline by which they can expect a solution.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another good tip is to involve the client in the plan because the solution involves them. Don’t exclude them from this.<\/em> You will be surprised how quickly an issue can be overcome by getting on a call and saying \u2018I acknowledge there is an issue here, and I want to listen to your point of view and what you have to say.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Finally, while project managers are usually not actively involved in issue resolution, you should still continue to monitor the issue until it is resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Staying on top of new developments will allow you to submit accurate reports to stakeholders<\/a> and determine whether it\u2019s necessary to escalate the issue to higher management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can track the overall progress of issues using a simple table in project management software. Alternatively, you can get a more detailed task overview for each item when you expand the item card, along with any comments, files, activity history, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIssues vs. risks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The key 5 steps of the issue management process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1. Identify issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Plaky\u2019s](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Plakys-editable-bug-tracking-template.png\"){kind=tracking}
2. Assess and log issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Eva](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Eva-Ryan.jpeg\")
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3. Prioritize and assign issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Assign](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Assign-the-right-people-to-issues-in-Plaky.png\")
4. Resolve issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Have](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Have-your-teams-seamlessly-collaborate-on-tasks-with-Plaky.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n5. Monitor and review issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n