1. ISSUE MANAGEMENT PROCESS MONTH DAY, YEAR

2. Purpose The Issue Management Process ensures:
a structured approach for identification, communication, tracking, escalation and resolution of project issues
a means to assure all issues are visible to the entire team and all team members can share accountability in issue resolution
a mechanism to ensure consistency and reliability of issue tracking across the program

3. Definitions
An issue is defined as problem which has occurred that can have an adverse impact on the success of the project. Any problem that cannot be resolved quickly and/or during the normal course of project mechanics should be logged as an issue.
There are several criticalities to issues:
Critical
Significant impact on the project; the consequences may affect other projects or halt the implementation; requires immediate resolution
High
Impacts several areas of the project; Leadership intervention required
Medium
Cannot complete phase without resolution, but does not need to be addressed immediately; may or may not require Leadership invention
Low
Does not impact resources and schedule but requires resolution; may or may not require Leadership intervention

4. Definitions
To ensure consistency, it is important to understand issues vs. non-issues. The Project Manager will provide ongoing guidance.
What is an Issue?
Example
Disposition
A problem which cannot be resolved during the normal course of project activity and for which there is no known course of action
The budget does not appropriately account for the inclusion of Vertex software for Phase 1
Log Issue
A problem which requires escalation and cannot be resolved by the person(s) raising the issue OR may impact multiple teams/program as a whole
Need to determine the approach for material number format. Decision needs to be made at an executive level as it is high impact, strategic and sensitive.
Log & Escalate Issue
A scope decision/question that is being raised after Blueprinting
What is the scope of Treasury for Phase 1
What is Not an Issue?
An action item/task/question that arises throughout the project by which a course of resolution or action plan is known
Need to determine an approach for the Center of Excellence ; Need a follow up meeting resulting from a workshop
Log as a task within the team workplan and/or meeting minutes action plan

5. Guiding Principles
To ensure efficiency in the process, the following will serve as guiding principles:
Issues should be proactively entered by all Team Members
Team Leads will be responsible for review and acceptance of issues
The Project Manager will serve as champion to ensure compliance of issue management across the project
Issues should focus on key project impacts such as process, policy, technology, data, scope, resources, budget, change/communication
Issues should be proactively managed for resolution based on criticality. Issues opened longer than 14 days should be reviewed as the validity of the issues

6. Issue Management Process

7. Process Steps Ref ID Process Step Description Input/Output
Time Horizon
Owner 1
Identify the Issue
As the project progresses, it will be the responsibility of all team members to actively identify issues
Input: N/A
Output: Identified issue
Any time
Project Team 2
Log the Issue
Once the issue has been identified, it should be immediately logged in the issue log (Excel – short term or Document Repository Tool - long term) for tracking. To minimize access to the log, a coordinator (and backup) will be designated , per team, to enter issues.
Note: When assigning an issue to another assignee, particularly from another team, the assignee should be notified via of the assignment
Input: Identified Issue
Output: Logged Issue
Project Team (Coordinatory) 3
Qualify the Issue
The Project Manager will qualify the issue. If it is valid, the issue will continue into management (step 5). If the issue does not qualify as it issue, proceed to step 4
Input: Logged Issue
Output: Issue Confirmed
Project Manager 4
Track as Workplan Task/Action Item and Close Issue
If the issue does not qualify as it issue, it should be entered as a workplan task, action item or other, next steps documented in the issue log and finally, the issue closed
Input: Unqualified Issue
Output: Closed Issue 5
Manage the Issue
Once an issue is qualified, it must be “worked” in order to drive to resolution. The proper resolution of an issue will vary depending on the circumstances of the issue. It is key that all impacted parties should be involved in reaching proper closure to an issue. This involves completing Impact Assessments as necessary. If at anytime, escalation is required to resolve an issue, the status of the issue will change to escalated and issue management will continue. If no escalation is required, the issue will move forward for disposition (step 6)
Input: Qualified Issue
Output: Managed Issue

8. Process Steps (continue)
Ref ID
Process Step
Description
Deliverable I/O
Time Horizon
Owner 6
Issue Disposition
There are several potential dispositions to an issue: Resolution (step 7), Tracking as an Change Request (step 9), or Track as a Risk (step 10).
Input: Managed Issue
Output: Managed Issue
Any time
Project Team 7
Resolve Issue
In resolving an issue, it is important to involve all impacted parties in the resolution process to minimize additional problems downstream. The resolution should be clearly documented in the issue log. The resolution of an issue typically results in the following impacts:
40%: Functional/Technical development
30%: Integration development
15%: Hardware
15%: Software
Output: Resolved Issue 8
Close Issue & Execute Resolution Next Steps
Once the resolution has been documented, the issue will be updated with next steps and the status changed to ‘closed’. The next steps will then be executed outside of the issue process. Such next steps may include:
Update workplan/action item plans
Conduct follow up meetings/review sessions with impacted parties (i.e. Technical, Data, etc)
Identify/update relevant key deliverables based on resolution
Input: Resolved Issue
Output: Closed Issue 9
Close Issue & Log Change Request
During the management of an issue, the problem may escalate to a change request. At this point, the resolution should be updated (closed and CR opened), the status changed to ‘closed – CR initiated’ and a new CR opened
Output: New Change Request

9. Process Steps (continue)
Ref ID
Process Step
Description
Deliverable I/O
Time Horizon
Owner 10
Close Issue & Log Risk
During the management of an issue, it may be discovered that the problem has not yet occurred and is better tracked as a risk. The resolution should be documented, the issue closed and a new risk logged
Input: Managed Issue
Output: New Risk
Any time
Project Team 11
Update the Issue with Decision Data
If the issue and its resolution is deemed to be a key decision that will have a significant impact on the project/implementation, the issue log should be update to reflect it is a key issue. Additionally, the key decision makers should be noted at that time. If the Project Manager wishes to later view all key decisions, the log will be filtered accordingly.
Output: Key Decision
Project Manager

10. Issue Management Forums
There will be several meetings throughout the week where issues will be discussed and managed.
Meeting
Issue Mgmt Activities
Weekly Project Team Meeting
Review/update of ALL CRITICAL and HIGH team level issues for accuracy
Drive resolution
Overdue Issues Update (exception basis for teams with Overdue items)
Review/update action plans for ALL OVERDUE issues

11. Key Roles & Responsibilities
There are several key roles and responsibilities necessary to ensure effectiveness of the Issue Management Process.
Role
Responsibility
Project Manager
Qualify issues
Ensure proper logging of issues
Drive tracking and resolution
Manage issue escalation
Team Members
Identify and log issues
Project Executive
Review Critical/High issues
Assist in issue escalation where applicable

12. For additional information on this process, please contact…
Contact Information
For additional information on this process, please contact…
Contact Name
Phone
Primary
Secondary