A New Perspective on Using an Issues Log

What is an Issues Log?

When managing a project, it is inevitable that unexpected (or perhaps expected) challenges will arise. It is the responsibility of the Project Manager to document these items and bring them to the attention of the appropriate stakeholders. But therein lies an additional challenge: how does a project manager honestly present major ‘issues’ in a positive light, especially if the stakeholders being addressed are sponsors, and pertinent to the ultimate success of the project?
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has recommended that a project lead should manage an issues log as part of their larger project planning documents. But in the experience of this project manager, presenting identified challenges as issues brings with it a negative connotation, which could directly impact the responsiveness of the stakeholders. Instead, introducing an ‘open items log’ early on in the project, during project planning, can assist with managing the ongoing success of the project.

Why an Open Items Log?

Even the most straightforward projects have unexpected ‘hiccups’, whether they be project constraints (time, cost, resource, etc), unplanned additional requirements or even unresponsive stakeholders. These can put strain on the project, and should be documented and revisited regularly. The open items log allows the project manager to share these in a constructive way, and can also be used to bring the successes of the project to light (nothing goes further with a stakeholder then to show a log full of successful risk mitigations and captured opportunities).
The format of the log does not need to be complex. Depending on the size of the project, it can be managed as a simple spreadsheet, capturing: (1) the task or event, (2) open dates, (3) completion dates (hopefully there are many of these), (4) this issue owner and (5) an impact assessment or response tracking. This document can be reviewed regularly (during scheduled review meetings), where the pertinent risks can be addressed by the team immediately. If the impact is well documented, then the team will be encouraged to respond appropriately. The log can be used as a motivational tool, and also (hopefully not too often) as something to point back to if milestones are not met, justifying why a project may have fallen behind schedule.

Where do we go from here?

Before now, many projects have been managed with an issues log, drawing a negative connotation to the project and often inciting negative feedback. With an open items log risks and opportunities can be presented in a much softer light, and the project manager is likely to find stakeholder buy in to be more forthcoming. The open items log can become an integral part of any project, and although it is best to obtain approvals on all project plan documents early in the project, the log can be introduced and become affective at any time during the project life cycle.


Please feel free to contact Paul Galardi (pgalardi@hotmail.com) with any questions, or to request a sample of an Open Items Log template.