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Is this considered as project risk or project issue?

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Anonymous
Dear Everyone,

Recently there are some debating regarding the risk or issue in my work. Appreciate if you can help me to assess the scenario and provide your opinion.:)

Scenario Description: There is an engineer A assigned to a project. Let's say his assigned work will start on 1st July, and finish on 10th July. In June, the project manager notices that engineer A seems to have been overloaded by too much work recently. If this continues, engineer A may not be able to complete the work on time which will come in early July later. Then the project manager tries to discuss with A's functional manager to find a mitigation method. for example offload A during his task period, etc. At the meantime, the project manager reports this as a "project RISK".

Then another colleague disagrees to report it as project risk, but think need to report it as a project issue. The reason he gives is that he is already overloaded. This is something already happening so it's not a risk. Risk should be something which has not happened yet.

However, I have a different point of view. In this case, he is indeed already overloaded at this point in time. However, his work in the project has not started yet. He has not really delayed the schedule yet. The project schedule, for now, is still on track. It's just a risk that he will delay the schedule. If he continues to be that overloaded until July, then he will really delay the schedule and it will turn into an issue.

If scenario changes, engineer A is already overloaded, he is already doing the project task, and A's project task has already been overdue for 5 days. Then it's an issue because the negative impact has already occurred.

In summary, here is my understanding.
An issue is something which has already imposed a bad impact to the project (schedule already delayed, budget already overrun, scope already creep..etc)
A risk is something which will potentially and might impose a bad impact to the project in future regardless of whether it's happening now or not. However, at this point of time, the project performance baseline has not deviated. We can still apply risk mitigation to avoid a bad impact on the project.


If you face this scenario, will you report it as a project risk or project issue? Any opinion is welcomed.
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Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
Jun 20, 2019 6:31 PM
Replying to Eric Isom
...
Actually, you have BOTH an issue and a risk. The issue you have is closely related to the risk, but they are not quite the same.

To clarify this, you have to look at the PMBOK® Guide's definitions of issue and risk:

Issue - a current condition or situation that may have an impact on the project objectives.

Risk - an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.

Issues and Risks are similar in that they may affect project objectives. They are different in that issues are CURRENT conditions or situations, while risks are UNCERTAIN events or conditions. An issue is something that has happened, or is happening. A risk is something that might happen.

You have an overloaded engineer. That's an issue. It's current, and it may affect project objectives. It needs to be added to the issue log, and assigned to someone to deal with it.

Your overloaded engineer might not deliver on time. That's a risk. It may or may not happen, but if it does, it has an effect on project objectives. (Assuming that late delivery of this engineer's work will indeed affect project outcomes, which it might not if it's not on the critical path.) It should be added to the risk register, prioritized using qualitative risk analysis, risk responses planned, and assigned to someone.

This issue and risk are closely related, and have the same root cause, and should probably both be assigned to the same person. You will at least need to coordinate them, and you may want to manage them together using just risk management (which provides more tools & techniques for managing them), and use the issue log simply to keep a record of the occurrence.

Also note that the PMBOK® Guide (p.96) describes the issue log saying "Throughout the life cycle of a project, the project manager will normally face problems, gaps, inconsistencies, or conflicts that occur unexpectedly and that require some action so they do not impact the project performance."

Notice that these are things that occur UNEXPECTEDLY, meaning that they were not identified risks. At a minimum, this means that the issue log includes items that were not identified as risks, and so did not go through risk analysis & response planning.

Some may argue that risks that occur don't belong in the issue log because they were expected, and are being managed in the risk register. Personally, I like to have them in issue log in order to have a single place that lists all current situations, whether expected or unexpected.
I think the new definition of issue in the sixth edition of the PMBOK Guide is unfortunate. If you take it literally, you will have an awful lot of issues in your issue log. The problem with the definition is the word "may".

The butterfly beating its wings on the other side of the planet may impact your project objectives.
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1 reply by Eric Isom
Jun 21, 2019 1:01 PM
Eric Isom
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I agree that the PM needs to exercise some judgment in deciding what to put on the issue log so that it doesn't become unnecessarily bloated. It shouldn't be used as a place to put all action items. It should only be used for issues that come up that pose enough of a threat to the project objectives that it warrants being added to the issue log for active management and visibility.

Issues and risks are so closely related that it may make sense to manage them together rather than separately. The main difference is that risks were anticipated and issues weren't. You should still use some qualitative analysis to decide whether an issue is enough of a threat to be added to the issue log. You would want to apply quantitative analysis as well if it's an issue that would have gone through quantitative analysis had it been identified as a risk before it occurred. And issues should have a response plan.

I wouldn't mind seeing the PMBOK® Guide establish a more formal relationship between risks and issues, and actually make issue management a subset of risk management. Opportunities were added to risk management because their management is so similar to risks. And definition of a risk was twisted to include opportunities. Don't issues fit with risks just as well?

I think that the confusion and debate about issues and risks is a sign that they should be combined into a single set of management processes, using the same tools & techniques, and being reported in a consistent way.
avatar
Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
Jun 20, 2019 6:31 PM
Replying to Eric Isom
...
Actually, you have BOTH an issue and a risk. The issue you have is closely related to the risk, but they are not quite the same.

To clarify this, you have to look at the PMBOK® Guide's definitions of issue and risk:

Issue - a current condition or situation that may have an impact on the project objectives.

Risk - an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.

Issues and Risks are similar in that they may affect project objectives. They are different in that issues are CURRENT conditions or situations, while risks are UNCERTAIN events or conditions. An issue is something that has happened, or is happening. A risk is something that might happen.

You have an overloaded engineer. That's an issue. It's current, and it may affect project objectives. It needs to be added to the issue log, and assigned to someone to deal with it.

Your overloaded engineer might not deliver on time. That's a risk. It may or may not happen, but if it does, it has an effect on project objectives. (Assuming that late delivery of this engineer's work will indeed affect project outcomes, which it might not if it's not on the critical path.) It should be added to the risk register, prioritized using qualitative risk analysis, risk responses planned, and assigned to someone.

This issue and risk are closely related, and have the same root cause, and should probably both be assigned to the same person. You will at least need to coordinate them, and you may want to manage them together using just risk management (which provides more tools & techniques for managing them), and use the issue log simply to keep a record of the occurrence.

Also note that the PMBOK® Guide (p.96) describes the issue log saying "Throughout the life cycle of a project, the project manager will normally face problems, gaps, inconsistencies, or conflicts that occur unexpectedly and that require some action so they do not impact the project performance."

Notice that these are things that occur UNEXPECTEDLY, meaning that they were not identified risks. At a minimum, this means that the issue log includes items that were not identified as risks, and so did not go through risk analysis & response planning.

Some may argue that risks that occur don't belong in the issue log because they were expected, and are being managed in the risk register. Personally, I like to have them in issue log in order to have a single place that lists all current situations, whether expected or unexpected.
I believe that a risk with a contingency plan does not belong in the issue log when triggered. Your contingency plan will go in the schedule then you have planned activities that need to be managed.

Adding the trigerred risk to your issue log will mean that you cannot close the issue until resolved, in this case completing all contingency plan actions. My goal is to resolve issues as quickly as possible, not leave them on the issue log as a memory jogger.
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2 replies by Eric Isom and Keith Novak
Jun 20, 2019 7:47 PM
Keith Novak
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We use a system where we would still include the issue because we show the sequence of steps that will be used to reduce the consequence level. Although the approved actions themselves get entered into the schedule, it is helpful to show leadership how Step 1 reduces it from a consequence of 5 to a 4, Step 2 down to a 3, etc. It's a good communication tool to show how we are managing it rather than it just disappears from the system once it is committed to the schedule, and we may be told to stop at Step 2, and we will accept the consequences.
Jun 21, 2019 1:14 PM
Eric Isom
...
For both issues and risks, I like to include a status that includes multiple states, such as Needs Attention, Under Control, Closed. This way, you know which items need more management planning, which ones just need monitoring, and which ones are no longer a concern.
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Although we often say that an issue is a risk which has already occurred or a current situation, that is not entirely true. A more accurate definition used elsewhere is that an issue is a risk with a probability of 100%.

The example I use to illustrate this is a large ship heading towards a dock at a velocity where avoiding a collision is impossible. The fundamental physics will not allow avoidance. It is not a risk that the ship will hit the dock because it has not happened yet. It is an issue because a collision is a 100% certainty.

You could rephrase it to a current state (The ship is traveling at a velocity where a collision is unavoidable.) but that is just wordplay and does not change the situation. The ship WILL hit the dock, rather than it MAY hit the dock.
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Jun 20, 2019 7:05 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
I believe that a risk with a contingency plan does not belong in the issue log when triggered. Your contingency plan will go in the schedule then you have planned activities that need to be managed.

Adding the trigerred risk to your issue log will mean that you cannot close the issue until resolved, in this case completing all contingency plan actions. My goal is to resolve issues as quickly as possible, not leave them on the issue log as a memory jogger.
We use a system where we would still include the issue because we show the sequence of steps that will be used to reduce the consequence level. Although the approved actions themselves get entered into the schedule, it is helpful to show leadership how Step 1 reduces it from a consequence of 5 to a 4, Step 2 down to a 3, etc. It's a good communication tool to show how we are managing it rather than it just disappears from the system once it is committed to the schedule, and we may be told to stop at Step 2, and we will accept the consequences.
...
1 reply by Eric Isom
Jun 21, 2019 1:17 PM
Eric Isom
...
Nice. I especially like that it shows the reduction in risk for each step taken.
avatar
Eric Isom Owner| learn.pmguaranteed.com Ut, United States
Jun 20, 2019 6:59 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
I think the new definition of issue in the sixth edition of the PMBOK Guide is unfortunate. If you take it literally, you will have an awful lot of issues in your issue log. The problem with the definition is the word "may".

The butterfly beating its wings on the other side of the planet may impact your project objectives.
I agree that the PM needs to exercise some judgment in deciding what to put on the issue log so that it doesn't become unnecessarily bloated. It shouldn't be used as a place to put all action items. It should only be used for issues that come up that pose enough of a threat to the project objectives that it warrants being added to the issue log for active management and visibility.

Issues and risks are so closely related that it may make sense to manage them together rather than separately. The main difference is that risks were anticipated and issues weren't. You should still use some qualitative analysis to decide whether an issue is enough of a threat to be added to the issue log. You would want to apply quantitative analysis as well if it's an issue that would have gone through quantitative analysis had it been identified as a risk before it occurred. And issues should have a response plan.

I wouldn't mind seeing the PMBOK® Guide establish a more formal relationship between risks and issues, and actually make issue management a subset of risk management. Opportunities were added to risk management because their management is so similar to risks. And definition of a risk was twisted to include opportunities. Don't issues fit with risks just as well?

I think that the confusion and debate about issues and risks is a sign that they should be combined into a single set of management processes, using the same tools & techniques, and being reported in a consistent way.
avatar
Eric Isom Owner| learn.pmguaranteed.com Ut, United States
Jun 20, 2019 7:05 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
I believe that a risk with a contingency plan does not belong in the issue log when triggered. Your contingency plan will go in the schedule then you have planned activities that need to be managed.

Adding the trigerred risk to your issue log will mean that you cannot close the issue until resolved, in this case completing all contingency plan actions. My goal is to resolve issues as quickly as possible, not leave them on the issue log as a memory jogger.
For both issues and risks, I like to include a status that includes multiple states, such as Needs Attention, Under Control, Closed. This way, you know which items need more management planning, which ones just need monitoring, and which ones are no longer a concern.
...
1 reply by LIJUAN LI
Jun 23, 2019 11:26 PM
LIJUAN LI
...
Hi Eric,

Thanks a lot for the suggestion on this. It's absolutely useful in real life. Sometimes we just report out the issue or risk. With an addition of the status, every stakeholder gets on the same page on where we are regarding the issue or risk.
avatar
Eric Isom Owner| learn.pmguaranteed.com Ut, United States
Jun 20, 2019 7:47 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
...
We use a system where we would still include the issue because we show the sequence of steps that will be used to reduce the consequence level. Although the approved actions themselves get entered into the schedule, it is helpful to show leadership how Step 1 reduces it from a consequence of 5 to a 4, Step 2 down to a 3, etc. It's a good communication tool to show how we are managing it rather than it just disappears from the system once it is committed to the schedule, and we may be told to stop at Step 2, and we will accept the consequences.
Nice. I especially like that it shows the reduction in risk for each step taken.
avatar
LIJUAN LI Singapore, Singapore
Jun 20, 2019 2:51 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
Everything should be evaluated within the context of your project. As you yourself summarized, the "issue" of A being overloaded belongs to someone else. It is only a risk on your project.

This can be difficult to assess for both risks and issues. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself: "what project outcome is impacted by the issue or risk?" If you can't answer the question, it's not your risk or your issue.
Hi Stephane,

I agree with you.

There are many things or issues going on in the organization. However, if they are not now or will not intersect with the project in the future, it basically has nothing do with the project. Those are neither issue or risk to the project. If they are imposing an impact to the project now, they are project issue. If they are not imposing an impact to the project now but will impose an impact to the project in the future, then it's a project risk. We can still use mitigation strategy to avoid, reduce, or accept the risk based on the scenario.
avatar
LIJUAN LI Singapore, Singapore
Jun 21, 2019 1:14 PM
Replying to Eric Isom
...
For both issues and risks, I like to include a status that includes multiple states, such as Needs Attention, Under Control, Closed. This way, you know which items need more management planning, which ones just need monitoring, and which ones are no longer a concern.
Hi Eric,

Thanks a lot for the suggestion on this. It's absolutely useful in real life. Sometimes we just report out the issue or risk. With an addition of the status, every stakeholder gets on the same page on where we are regarding the issue or risk.
avatar
Anton Oosthuizen Senior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self Employed Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
I think it is a matter of where you want to make the measurement that will dictate whether a situation is a risk or already an issue. As you move up the chain the situation becomes an issue much earlier. Keith's example of the ship is a good one because the same situation might not be an issue if there is no dock. So if the ship is moving at a speed where it cannot stop within x distance it is a non-issue until we approach the dock. Before that moving in excess of a certain speed is only a risk. Once the dock comes into play you will execute your mitigating action i.e. veer left, veer right, full reverse or accept the fact that you will be hitting the dock. You only apply mitigation on an issue but you define mitigation on a risk. Makes no sense to do a sharp left turn to avoid the dock if there is no dock even if you are exceeding the speed at which you cannot avoid it if it was there.

Hence even if there is a 100% chance of you hitting the dock if you exceed x speed at y distance it remains a risk until the dock appears in front of you, it does not become an issue just because it will happen for sure if all the conditions are right.
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