KPI of the Day – Project Management: # Project issues identified
Definition
Measures the number of new project issues that are identified and need to be addressed after the initiation of the project.
Purpose
To assess the volume of challenges that appear during a project, as such new issues that arise might jeopardize the success of the project.
Recommendations
An issue can be defined as a situation, problem or an activity that has happened or is happening and which impacts upon the approved project plan. Examples of project issues can be: requests for change, off-specification or general issues (such as a conflict between various project stakeholders).
As opposed to risk in projects, which can be mitigated through project planning, issues tend to be less predictable and may frequently arise without warning. Issues may arise throughout any of the project management phases. Even starting from project initiation, issues can be related to forming the project team, building customer trust, establishing the right project management procedures or devising the most efficient workflows.
With project planning, issues may refer to estimating budget and resources, defining the cost breakdown structure, establishing the baseline project plan and communication process with both client and project team members.
However, most issues may be encountered during project execution and they can relate to deviations from baseline plan and schedules, monitoring project progress and communicating project status to project team members and superiors. The final phase, namely, project close-down can sprout issues in project review, closing customer contact and final feedback.
Several other recommendations on successfully overcoming project management issues include:
- Motivating employees to be assertive and communicate their issues early on during project meetings;
- Communicating the impact of arising issues when prioritizing resolutions;
- Tracking progress of issue resolution by implementing the identify-investigate-resolved method.
When it comes to data gathering, collection is done through available reports documenting project management planning and regularly updated project logs that describe all the initiatives and corrective actions taken during the reporting period.
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Tags: KPI, Portfolio and Project Management Performance, strategic planning
