Issues Management Plan

<Project Name>

Issues Management Plan

Document History

Date / Version / Author / Comment
0.01 / First Draft

Distribution

Role / Name / Title / Signature / Date /
Project Sponsor / <Sponsor name>
Senior Business User / <Snr User name>
Senior Supplier / <Snr Supplier name>

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 4

2 Issues Database 4

3 What is an Issue? 4

4 Issue Management 4

4.1 Project Manager Responsibilities 4

4.2 Issue Capture 5

4.3 Issue Prioritisation 5

4.4 Issues Categorisation 5

4.5 Closing an Issue 6

4.6 Escalation Management 6

4.7 Fast Track Issue Resolution 6

1 Introduction

Identifying and logging issues is an essential part of the project team’s function. Likewise managing issues is an essential part of the Project Manager’s function and is fundamental to the success of the implementation. The Project Manager’s focus is to resolve or prevent issues.

This Issue Management Plan establishes effective procedures to manage and resolve a wide range of ongoing issues that occur throughout the project duration.

Issues progress is reported as a standard agenda item at each Steering Committee / Project Board meeting.

2 Issues Database

Issues are captured and maintained in …………………………….

3 What is an Issue?

Issues are items that are identified during a project that may influence the success of the project and have no immediate solution. An issue can be related to any aspect of the project including:-

· Business Processes

· Resources

· Functionality

· Software Bugs (e.g. SAP, BW, POS, Comms/Network)

· Project Scope

· System Performance

4 Issue Management

4.1 Project Manager Responsibilities

The Project Manager is responsible for the following tasks: -

· Definition of issue priority and categorisation (see below)

· Reviewing issues and status

· Reviewing issue ownership

· Managing issues through to resolution and closure

The following approach to issue resolution will be used: -

· Categorise issues and identify impact on the project implementation

· Approach major issues before minor ones

· Consider evaluating more complex issues as multiple issues

The Project Manager reviews the issues log on a weekly basis as part of the project review process. As the project progresses and deadlines approach, the Project Manager may increase the frequency of this review.

Since the Issue Database is shared, then it is the Project Manager’s responsibility to ensure that the Issues Database is up to date, and that issues are correctly managed. The overall Issues status is a standing topic item at the weekly Project Team meetings.

4.2 Issue Capture

An issue can be provisionally raised by any project team member, however it is the responsibility of the project manager to record the issue on the issues database after some initial assessment as to whether it warrants an entry, or if it is a duplicate of an existing open or closed issue.

4.3 Issue Prioritisation

Issue prioritisation is defined in one of the following ways: -

· Very High / It is highly likely to halt the implementation progress
· High / Definite impact on implementation target date
· Medium / Possible impact on implementation target date
· Low / No impact on implementation target date (may require more resources for investigation)

4.4 Issues Categorisation

Issue categories are as follows:-

· Software Bug

· Functional Issued

· Project Issue

· Resource Issue

· Business Issue

Issue Management Procedures Submitting An Issue / An issue form is completed by the person who identifiers the issue, or the issue is recorded directly onto the database for the Project Manager's attention. Wherever possible, the person Logging the issue must propose a default Solution
Logging / The Project Manager ensures that issues are logged correctly, and given the appropriate attention.
Screening / The Project Manager reviews the submitted issues and determines if the issue is relevant to the scope of the project.
Accepting / The Project Manager accepts the issue even if it may impede the progress or success of the Project.
Deferring / The Project Manager may defer the issue if it is contingent on another issue that has not been resolved
Deferring resolution / The Project Manager may defer issue resolution if it is contingent on another issue that has not been resolved. If necessary, the manager may consider expediting the issue
Rejecting / The Project Manager may reject the issue if it is not relevant to the project.
Prioritising / The Project Manager prioritises the issue based on its impact on other tasks or phases.
Investigating and resolution determination / The Project Manager assigns the excepted issue to an owner who may be in or outside the project team - depending on the nature of the issue. The owner must identify the appropriate resolution for the issue.
Monitoring or Tracking / The Project Manager monitors the progress and the status of each issue. In addition, the Project Manager follows up on all open issues and identifies their anticipated resolutions.
In some cases the Team Leader or other person is qualified to take on this responsibility.

4.5 Closing an Issue

In order to close out the issue, the Project Manager does the following: -

· Review the Issues Log and review the status (Owners will set a Closed or Open status)

· If the status is Closed, then the Project Manager will review and close the issue in the issue log, or if necessary reopen.

· If the status is Open, the Project Manager will review the status and, if the project is in jeopardy of missing its due date, escalation management procedures will be used (see below)

4.6 Escalation Management

4.6.1 Expediting

If an issue is not resolved by the forecasted date, and the lack of resolution will affect others project steps, then the issue is expedited. The Project Manager will evaluate the reason that the issue is not resolved and define the resolution. In addition, the Project Manager identifies who is responsible for resolution. If need be, the Project Manager raises the issue priority and rearranges the project schedule to accommodate issue resolution, keeping in mind the business and project goals.

4.6.2 Escalating

If the issue was not resolved according to a project plan and the effect of this significantly affects the project timeline, then the Project Manager must escalate to the Steering Committee / Project Board. The escalation process within the project is to ensure that timely decisions are made in order to eliminate delays within the planned timescales.

4.7 Fast Track Issue Resolution

When an issue is raised and must be resolved within a finite period of time then the following process will operate.

The issue is logged on the Issues Database and emailed to the Project Manager (marked as URGENT). The Project Manager will allocate team members to resolve the issue within a specified time, not less than 24 hours.

If the issue remains unresolved within the given timescale then the Project Manager must then set up meetings with the relevant decision makers, or their delegated representative. Nominated representatives from each of the opposing sides of the issue will be tasked with presenting their case to the decision maker and a decision will be made. The whole referral process must be completed within n working days.

Author: <Author's Name>

03-September-2010

Status: Final

Version: 1.00

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