ISO 21502:2020 Clause 7.9 Issues management

Project Management 7 Minutes

7.9.1 Overview

The purpose of issue management is to resolve issues so that there is no negative impact on achieving the project’s objectives. Issues should be identified by all concerned and resolved throughout the project. A means of escalating issues to the appropriate management level should be established to deal with issues the team cannot resolve.

In project management, issues management refers to the systematic process of identifying, assessing, addressing, and resolving project-related issues or problems that arise during a project. Issues are distinct from risks in that they represent current or imminent challenges that have already materialized and require immediate attention and action. Issues management aims to minimize the negative impact of problems on project objectives, timelines, budgets, and quality standards, and ensure that projects stay on track towards successful completion. Key aspects of issues management include:

  1. Identification: The first step in issues management is identifying and acknowledging the existence of problems or challenges that are affecting the project. This involves actively seeking feedback from project team members, stakeholders, and other relevant parties to identify issues as soon as they arise.
  2. Assessment: Once issues are identified, they need to be assessed to understand their nature, scope, severity, and potential impact on the project. Assessing issues involves gathering relevant information, analyzing root causes, and evaluating their implications for project objectives and deliverables.
  3. Prioritization: Not all issues are of equal importance or urgency. Project teams need to prioritize issues based on their impact on project success, the severity of their consequences, and the resources required to address them. Prioritization helps focus attention and resources on resolving critical issues first.
  4. Resolution Planning: After prioritizing issues, project teams develop action plans to address and resolve them effectively. Resolution plans outline specific steps, responsibilities, timelines, and resources needed to tackle each issue and mitigate its impact on the project. Plans may include corrective actions, mitigation strategies, or contingency measures depending on the nature of the issue.
  5. Implementation: Once resolution plans are developed, they are implemented in a systematic and coordinated manner. This may involve assigning tasks to appropriate team members, allocating necessary resources, and communicating expectations and timelines for issue resolution. Effective implementation ensures that corrective actions are taken promptly and efficiently.
  6. Monitoring and Control: Throughout the resolution process, project teams monitor the progress of issue resolution efforts and track the effectiveness of implemented actions. This involves regularly reviewing the status of issues, assessing progress towards resolution goals, and identifying any barriers or challenges that arise along the way. Monitoring allows project teams to adapt and adjust their approaches as needed to ensure successful issue resolution.
  7. Closure and Documentation: Once issues are successfully resolved, project teams formally close them out and document the lessons learned. This involves verifying that the issue has been addressed satisfactorily, updating project documentation as necessary, and capturing insights and best practices for future reference. Closure and documentation help ensure accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement in issues management practices.

Overall, issues management is an integral part of effective project management, enabling project teams to address and overcome challenges proactively and systematically. By promptly identifying, assessing, and resolving issues, project teams can minimize disruptions, maintain project momentum, and ultimately achieve project success.

The purpose of issue management is to resolve issues so that there is no negative impact on achieving the project’s objectives.

The primary purpose of issue management in project management is to resolve issues effectively to prevent negative impacts on achieving the project’s objectives. Here’s why resolving issues is crucial for project success:

  1. Maintaining Project Progress: Issues, if left unresolved, can disrupt project activities, delay deliverables, and hinder progress towards project milestones. By addressing issues promptly and effectively, project teams can minimize disruptions and keep the project on track towards its objectives.
  2. Preserving Project Resources: Unresolved issues can consume valuable project resources, such as time, effort, and budget, without contributing to project success. By resolving issues efficiently, project teams can optimize resource utilization and ensure that resources are allocated effectively to activities that contribute to achieving project objectives.
  3. Mitigating Risk Exposure: Some issues may pose risks to the project, either by causing delays, increasing costs, or compromising quality. Resolving issues helps mitigate risk exposure by addressing underlying problems and preventing them from escalating into larger issues or risks that could jeopardize project success.
  4. Maintaining Stakeholder Confidence: Project stakeholders, including clients, sponsors, and team members, expect issues to be addressed promptly and effectively to ensure project success. By demonstrating a proactive approach to issue management, project teams can maintain stakeholder confidence and trust in the project’s ability to deliver on its objectives.
  5. Ensuring Deliverable Quality: Issues can impact the quality of project deliverables, leading to rework, defects, or customer dissatisfaction. By resolving issues promptly, project teams can maintain the quality of deliverables and meet stakeholder expectations for performance, functionality, and reliability.
  6. Promoting Team Morale: Persistent issues can undermine team morale and motivation, leading to decreased productivity and engagement. By resolving issues in a timely manner, project teams can boost morale, foster a positive work environment, and empower team members to overcome challenges collaboratively.

Overall, the purpose of issue management is to address and resolve issues efficiently to prevent negative impacts on project objectives, timelines, budgets, and stakeholder satisfaction. By prioritizing issue resolution and implementing effective corrective actions, project teams can minimize disruptions, optimize resource utilization, and enhance the likelihood of project success.

Issues should be identified by all concerned and resolved throughout the project.

Involving all stakeholders in the identification and resolution of issues is crucial for effective issue management throughout the project lifecycle. Here’s why:

  1. Comprehensive Perspective: Different stakeholders bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise to the project. Involving all concerned parties in issue identification ensures that a wide range of potential issues is considered, increasing the likelihood of identifying problems early and addressing them proactively.
  2. Early Detection: Issues can arise at any stage of the project, from planning and execution to monitoring and closure. Engaging all stakeholders in issue identification ensures that problems are detected as soon as they arise, allowing for timely intervention and resolution before they escalate into larger challenges that could impact project success.
  3. Ownership and Accountability: When all concerned parties are involved in issue identification, they develop a sense of ownership and accountability for addressing and resolving problems. This promotes a culture of collective responsibility, where stakeholders take proactive measures to address issues within their areas of expertise or influence.
  4. Collaborative Problem-Solving: Involving all concerned stakeholders in issue resolution fosters collaboration and teamwork. By bringing together individuals with diverse skills and perspectives, project teams can leverage collective knowledge and creativity to develop innovative solutions and overcome challenges more effectively.
  5. Effective Communication: Engaging all concerned parties in issue management facilitates open and transparent communication throughout the project. Stakeholders are kept informed about the status of issues, progress towards resolution, and any changes or decisions made to address challenges. This promotes trust, alignment, and collaboration among project team members and stakeholders.
  6. Continuous Improvement: Issue management is not just about resolving problems but also about learning from them to prevent similar issues in the future. Involving all stakeholders in issue identification and resolution allows project teams to capture lessons learned, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions to improve processes, procedures, and practices over time.

By encouraging the active participation of all concerned parties in issue management, project teams can leverage the collective wisdom, expertise, and resources of stakeholders to address challenges effectively and enhance project success. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of proactive problem-solving, continuous improvement, and shared responsibility for project outcomes.

A means of escalating issues to the appropriate management level should be established to deal with issues the team cannot resolve.

Establishing a means of escalating issues to the appropriate management level is essential for dealing with complex or critical issues that the project team cannot resolve independently. Here’s why establishing an escalation process is important:

  1. Resolve Complex Issues: Some issues may require input, resources, or decision-making authority beyond the project team’s scope. Establishing an escalation process ensures that such complex issues can be escalated to higher management levels where additional expertise or resources may be available to address them effectively.
  2. Ensure Timely Resolution: By having a defined escalation process in place, project teams can expedite the resolution of critical issues that require prompt attention. Escalating issues to higher management levels ensures that decisions are made promptly and resources are allocated swiftly to address urgent challenges, preventing delays or disruptions to the project.
  3. Optimize Resource Allocation: Escalating issues to higher management levels allows for the allocation of additional resources, such as budget, personnel, or expertise, to tackle complex or resource-intensive problems. This ensures that the necessary support is provided to resolve issues efficiently and mitigate their impact on project objectives.
  4. Provide Decision-Making Authority: Some issues may require decisions or approvals from senior management or key stakeholders. Establishing an escalation process clarifies the decision-making authority and ensures that issues are escalated to the appropriate level of management for timely resolution and approval of necessary actions.
  5. Maintain Stakeholder Confidence: When complex issues arise, stakeholders expect timely and effective resolution from project management. Having an established escalation process demonstrates proactive risk management and reinforces stakeholders’ confidence in the project’s ability to address challenges promptly and professionally.
  6. Promote Accountability: An escalation process holds individuals and teams accountable for addressing issues effectively within their respective areas of responsibility. By escalating unresolved issues to higher management levels, accountability is reinforced, and appropriate measures can be taken to ensure that issues are resolved and lessons are learned for future improvement.
  7. Facilitate Communication: Establishing an escalation process ensures clear communication channels between project teams and higher management levels. This promotes transparency, visibility, and alignment of priorities, enabling effective collaboration and decision-making to address project challenges.

Overall, establishing a means of escalating issues to the appropriate management level enhances the project’s ability to address complex or critical challenges, maintain stakeholder confidence, and ensure timely resolution of issues to support project success. This proactive approach to issue management reinforces accountability, facilitates decision-making, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the project organization.

Published by Pretesh Biswas

Pretesh Biswas has wealth of qualifications and experience in providing results-oriented solutions for your system development, training or auditing needs. He has helped dozens of organizations in implementing effective management systems to a number of standards. He provide a unique blend of specialized knowledge, experience, tools and interactive skills to help you develop systems that not only get certified, but also contribute to the bottom line. He has taught literally hundreds of students over the past 5 years. He has experience in training at hundreds of organizations in several industry sectors. His training is unique in that which can be customized as to your management system and activities and deliver them at your facility. This greatly accelerates the learning curve and application of the knowledge acquired. He is now ex-Certification body lead auditor now working as consultancy auditor. He has performed hundreds of audits in several industry sectors. As consultancy auditor, he not just report findings, but provide value-added service in recommending appropriate solutions. Experience Consultancy: He has helped over 100 clients in a wide variety of industries achieve ISO 9001,14001,27001,20000, OHSAS 18001 and TS 16949 certification. Industries include automotive, metal stamping and screw machine, fabrication, machining, assembly, Forging electrostatic and chrome plating, heat-treating, coatings, glass, plastic and rubber products, electrical and electronic equipment, assemblies & components, batteries, computer hardware and software, printing, placement and Security help, warehousing and distribution, repair facilities, consumer credit counseling agencies, banks, call centers, etc. Training: He has delivered public and on-site quality management training to over 1000 students. Courses include ISO/TS -RAB approved Lead Auditor, Internal Auditing, Implementation, Documentation, as well as customized ISO/TS courses, PPAP, FMEA, APQP and Control Plans. Auditing: He has conducted over 100 third party registration and surveillance audits and dozens of gap, internal and pre-assessment audits to ISO/QS/TS Standards, in the manufacturing and service sectors. Other services: He has provided business planning, restructuring, asset management, systems and process streamlining services to a variety of manufacturing and service clients such as printing, plastics, automotive, transportation and custom brokerage, warehousing and distribution, electrical and electronics, trading, equipment leasing, etc. Education & professional certification: Pretesh Biswas has held IRCA certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001,14001 and 27001. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a MBA in Systems and Marketing. Prior to becoming a business consultant 6 years ago, he has worked in several portfolios such as Marketing, operations, production, Quality and customer care. He is also certified in Six Sigma Black belt .

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