Issues and Risk Management
Agile (A–Gee–Lay)! It must be Italian!
It doesn’t take a secret decoder ring to figure out that risks and issues are a part of any project life-cycle. Traditional waterfall project management practices include the use of RAID logs to facilitate risk and issue management and they can be wonderful tools to help keep track of said risks and issues that arise over the course of the project, provided they’re effectively utilized and kept up to date.
But walk the halls of any Agile-run project and you’ll likely hear very little discussion about RAID logs. Traditionalist Project Managers will state that those Agile teams are just a bunch of cowboys and are eventually going to shoot their eye out. Agile purists will claim that they’re following the Agile Manifesto and value working software over comprehensive documentation and that the very nature of their Sprint-based planning and execution inherently reduces risks and issues.
Regardless of your preferred software development methodology or framework, risk and issue management must be thoughtfully considered and fully appreciated to keep the hounds out of the kitchen and away from the turkey dinner that is your final product. For project life is like that. At the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us in the form of unmanaged risks that have somehow become major issues. It’s in those telling moments on the project when people are most prone to mumble the F dash dash dash word while the Project Manager runs around like a deranged Easter Bunny and muttering, “Don’t bother me. I’m thinking.”
Don’t let those project risks and issues get the best of you or your project will surely come crumbling down faster than a broken leg lamp. Your parents may feel guilty, but your Project Sponsor won’t take kindly to your defense of Issue Blindness; even if it was caused by a sure-fire case of soap poisoning. Whatever your BB gun of choice for shooting down those risks and issues: RAID logs, Sprint-based ceremonies, or an official Red Ryder carbine action 200 shot range model air rifle. None matters if you fail to utilize them correctly or for their intended purpose.
I triple dog dare you as a Project Manager to use these tools in your arsenal. Fail to do so and you’ll end up with your PM tongue frozen to a flag pole with no one around to save you. Utilize these tools correctly and, while I can’t guarantee you’ll get a major award, I can assure you that all will turn out well for you and your project just like new-fallen snow on Christmas morning. If you don’t believe me, just ask Santa. He knows. He always knows.
Written by: Jim Nedved, Consultant
