Managing Project Risks and Issues

This week Tony looks at what is required to ensure that a project stays on track...

Effectively managing risks and issues is a skill that when carried out effectively can play a pivotal role in ensuring that the project stays on track. It is usually given the right level of priority at the start of a project, where workshops are held, risks and issue are logged, categorised and proactively managed, and discussed at the project board. However, they are then often given a low level of priority in the middle of a project sometimes forgotten about, which leads me to question whether low risks and issues should be logged at all?

Advocates of not using ‘any’ structured project management methodology such as PRINCE2 often claim that they deliver projects successfully with little documentation! I would not personally condone that approach as it is living on the edge but I do think that professionals who use PRINCE2 sometimes overcomplicate the project by documenting every single activity, which is commonly unmanageable as the project heats up. I would therefore welcome seeing project documentation at a level of detail that can be effectively and consistently managed throughout the project’s entire lifecycle (effective configuration management).

With regards to the risks and issues log, it may be appropriate to log only the medium to high risks that will directly impact the project rather than logging all risks (100+), if you are confident that they will not derail the project. This approach is a risk in itself… but a very low one for most projects and therefore it may assist in providing the time and focus to proactively manage the ones that are potentially damaging.

Examples of low risks and issues that I have seen on a log that I would think twice or even three times about recording are: acts of God, staff leaving, holiday season, computers are slow, project team are not in the same building etc.

PRINCE2 used pragmatically can be a great tool and I have seen small projects successfully delivered to requirements, on time and to budget using only the Project Initiation Document, which has included the significant risks and issues, project plan, quality criteria etc. Can this apply to your project?

Any feedback and comments are always welcome!