Monday, June 1, 2009

PM Thought of The Week: When Issues Become Risks!

About a year ago, my director posed this question to his team, "What's the difference between and issue and a risk?"  It did not surprise me that of the 10 or so people in the room there was no agreement on these definitions.  Some thought that issues and risks were the same; some thought that they were different and that one could morph into the other and vice-versa; and, some people thought that issues and risks were totally independent of one another.

Experience has taught me that there is a clear relationship between issues and risks.  When dealing with these two terms, there is a matter of semantics that must be understood.

My Definitions
  • Issue: A problem uncovered within the project that can adversely affect the project if no mitigation strategy is implemented.
  • Risk: An issue that has now adversely affected the project schedule, budget, resources, quality or any project constraint.
I realize that some Project Management professionals will say that my definition of an issue is really what's known as a risk trigger (see the Project Management Body of Knowledge).  I would agree with that statement. An issue is essentially a problem that could be a much bigger problem if nothing is done to shrink or alleviate it.

A Real World Example
On my current assignment, I am managing the implementation of new Call Center telecom technology from cradle to grave for 7 locations in the Midwest.  I was recently told that one of the Call Centers will need to upgrade all of their PCs within weeks of the telcom upgrade.  A mitagation strategy must be implemented such that the PC upgrade does not affect the telecom upgrade whose schedule can not change at this point.

In this example the issue (risk trigger) is the PC upgrade must occur during the final implementation stages.  The risk is the telecom implementation schedule could be delayed if the PC upgrade is not completed on time.  Clearly the risk in this example is to be avoided at all costs.

In summary, I do not think it's important what name you give to an issue since it's the risk that that you're trying to prevent.  I made this point during the meeting with my director and team last year.  From my project management perspective, I never want an issue to become a risk!
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