An issue is a current condition or situation that may have an impact on the project objectives. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK):

• An Issue is a point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion or over which there are opposing views or disagreements.

Often project issues are first identified as a risk and through the risk management process there may already be a planned approach to managing an issue. A project would have a form to capture an issue, issue capture form and an Issue Log. An issue log is used to record and monitor information about an issue from its entry to resolution.

Read

• PMIstandards+ by PMI | Project Management InstituteLinks to an external site.

Listen

• ProjectManagement.com - Communication Best Practices for Effective Project ManagementLinks to an external site. [60 Minutes]

Prepare an Issue Management Process for your project. An issue management process would generally include:

• Process Overview - Describes purpose of the plan and process narrative in brief.
• Roles and Responsibilities - Roles of the resources involved in the issue management process and their responsibilities specific to issue management.
• Process Steps - In general, the process steps are identification, Validation and Prioritization, Issue Analysis, Tracking and Reporting, Escalation and Resolution, and Closure. You may include a process flow diagram depicting major process steps.
• Process Tools - Include forms and tools used for issue capture and tracking purposes such as issue entry form, issue log, and others. You may develop templates or list items in a bulleted form.