If it’s not an issue or a risk – what exactly is it?
We are all taught that issues are different from risks
“The contractor might go bust and cause a delay to the schedule which means we cannot get eh new product to market on time and lose revenue as a result”.
This is a risk; it has the two primary components of a risk. It demonstrates an element of uncertainty, and there is a quantifiable impact.
“The contractor has gone bust which will now cause us delay while we look for another (contractor).
This is an issue; we speak of it in the past tense as it has happened.
The APM classify an issue as “a threat to the project objectives that cannot be resolved by the project manager”. So what are all the things that the project manager can deal with I hear you ask – these are simply ‘problems’. Section 3.8 of the APM Body of Knowledge is titled ‘Issue Management’. A whole section on issues, they need to be escalated to the sponsor and thereafter the steering group. They are recorded on an issue log no less. Presumably this issue log is the subject of long and involved discussions on a regular basis. Apparently the failure to escalate issues is a major cause of project failure. In the example above it is quite clear that this needs to be escalated. What about this ‘problem’?
“The main software engineer has phoned in sick”.
On the face of it this seems to be something the project manger can deal with. So they will try to. This problem is not formally recorded as it is not a risk (therefore not on the risk log) it is not an issue (therefore not on the issue log) so the PM just walks about with it in their head – along with the myriad of other problems. Presumably they will make a few phone calls, check the plan to see what resources can be shuffled around, they will start taking risks because there will be a delay between the ‘problem’ emerging and the date by which it needs escalation. Is it me or does this all seem a bit ad hoc?
The issue (or is it a problem) is, that the PM has to exert judgment over problems and their resolution. It is this judgment that introduces the potential for it to fall into a gap. One where the PM thinks
a) they can deal with it,
b) it is not important,
c) It will just go away
d) Someone else will deal with it
“Never do anything today, as by tomorrow it will not need doing”
When exactly does the PM gird their loins and approach the sponsor? There is a big psychological barrier here. For lots of reasons the PM (by approaching the sponsor) can be seen as a bit of a whinger, someone who cannot manage a relatively simple problem, or feel inadequate. The sponsor can dismiss such approaches as being unnecessary intrusions into their much more important ‘sponsoring’.
Issue management is an important area. One the one hand it seems so Micky Mouse (identify them, record them, escalate them and resolve them). On the other they will cumulatively destroy a project and overwhelm the modest brain of any human being. Issues, problems, risks, whatever we call them treat them with respect and don’t rely on some book learnt arbitrary description of what they are. In the words of a very senior risk manager in a large multinational “If you have an hour with a sponsor, spend 55 minutes talking and 5 minutes writing”.
For more detail about APMP visit: http://www.parallelprojecttraining.com/courses/5-day-public-apmp
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