How Solid Issue Management Can Help Your Team

There are many ways to handle risks, what remains constant is the importance of having a plan for dealing with them. Learn how to make your company’s issue management process more effective. 

Business is all about solving problems not creating them. However, you’re bound to encounter problems during any project. Now, it is possible to anticipate said problems or risks. Certain complications can be identified before you start and can be prepared for. Although, unexpected roadblocks and problems can arise during your work. For example, you might expect that a project with high demands will need extra staff to avoid burnout, but some things are impossible to predict. Such as your lead project manager coming down with the flu.

What is issue management? 

According to the Institute for Public Relations, issue management is the process of identifying and resolving issues. Problems like a data breach and or stolen items/data – might all have a negative impact on your project. If the issue goes unresolved, you risk creating unnecessary conflicts, delays, or even failure to produce your deliverable.

The prevention of problems starts before the project begins. This is done by assessing potential problems and making a clear assessment. Your team can identify potential risks and help solve them before they become problems. Before you start an issue management process, create a Risk Management Plan to prevent potential problems from becoming serious.

Management of risk: Evaluate risks and predict potential problems 

Project management is key to risk management. It is important to know what risks you are facing before you begin. This will help you avoid any unpredicted issues and ensure that your project runs according to plan. Allowing you to give your full attention to unpredictable issues that arise. These five steps will help you manage risks and prevent them from becoming problems later. 

1. Identify the risk 

Discuss potential bottlenecks in your project with your team. 

2. Analyze the risk

There are many risks. This step will allow you to estimate the likelihood of a particular risk and determine what its consequences might be. To determine the consequences of every risk, from lost revenue to wasted time.

3. Prioritize risk

It is impossible to address all risks without delaying the project. Prioritizing risks allows for you to rank each risk according to the likelihood and impact, and then determine which risks should be addressed. 

4. Take care of the risk

It’s now time to get started. First, start by identifying the top priorities and risks. Your database of treatment plans will allow you to identify the most efficient and effective ways to address risks across different projects. 

5. Monitor the risk

If you are using OpenPages, you can always refer to your dashboard and see how risks are being managed. The dashboard allows users to identify, track and manage their issues and actions. There are two panels specific to the currently logged-in user (My Issues and My Actions) that list My Open Issues and Actions, My overdue Issues, and Actions and Issues due in 7 next days. Users can create new issues and search for existing ones directly from the dashboard.

Issue management steps

There is an easy, fast, and painless way to address issues as they arise. It’s also known as an issue management process. iTech Pre-configured Solution (IPS) provides a quick and easy way to address, resolve, and communicate with all teams and tasks. It involves three steps.  

1. Identify and record problems. 
2. Prioritize and determine the impact of each issue. 
3. Plan to resolve problems, and report on progress along the way. 

An issue log is the backbone of any good process for managing issues. An issue log is a central repository where people can report issues with projects as they occur. Team members can then identify, implement, and track the solutions. An issues log for project management provides a clear way to handle and resolve issues before they become major problems that can disrupt the project. An issues log will ensure that there are: 

• Team members can raise concerns in a safe and consistent manner 
• This tool allows you to assign people to specific problems and track their progress. 
• Method for prioritizing and analyzing which issues need to be addressed 
• This is a place where the team can record any solutions they might need in the future. 
• This is a way to track the success and failure of a project. 

There is no standard format for issue logs. It all depends on the way your team works and what they need. IPS offers users the ability to rank issues according to their urgency and visually track each issue’s status. In addition, IPS also allows users to create workflow charts to guide teams through each stage of resolution, including how to report them, and how to decide their priority. 

Key components of issue management

There is a common set of components that can be used to quickly resolve any problems, the following information will always be included. 

• Type of issue: Please describe the problem that you are experiencing. Is the problem technical? A failure of equipment? A failure in the communication process 
• Name of the person who identified and reported the issue 
• Date and time when the issue was identified 
• Description of the issue, and potential impacts 
• Priority Level of the Issue: Determine which issues are most likely to threaten project success and assign priority levels accordingly. Plus, high-priority projects can be stopped. While medium-priority issues can significantly impact project success, they don’t necessarily stop it. While they don’t impact core project goals and processes, low-priority issues can cause more problems if left unattended. 
• Name of the person responsible for implementing a resolution. This can be either the person who actually solves the problem or the person who oversees the resolution process, assigning it to others, and tracking its progress. 
• Deadline for resolution 

An area can be added to track the progress of the resolution process. This includes charting the date the issue was raised and how it was resolved. For example, you can note the date you assigned the issue, the date the person started troubleshooting to find the root cause of the problem or the solutions suggested. 

Use IPS to Tackle Issue Management

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Lastly, your team will always have risks and problems associated with big projects. Thus, it is crucial to identify and resolve risks before any project starts. iTech will help you keep your project on track.