The Issues Practice in PRINCE2 7 serves a fundamental purpose of establishing and maintaining a systematic procedure for capturing, assessing, and managing any matters that arise during the project lifecycle that require formal consideration and decision-making. This practice ensures that all conce…The Issues Practice in PRINCE2 7 serves a fundamental purpose of establishing and maintaining a systematic procedure for capturing, assessing, and managing any matters that arise during the project lifecycle that require formal consideration and decision-making. This practice ensures that all concerns, problems, requests for change, and off-specification items are handled in a controlled and consistent manner throughout the project duration.
The primary purpose is to provide a structured approach for identifying and recording issues as they emerge, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks or gets overlooked. By implementing this practice, project teams can evaluate each issue's potential impact on the project's objectives, timelines, costs, quality, and overall business case viability.
Another key purpose is to facilitate informed decision-making at appropriate management levels. Issues are escalated according to their severity and the authority required to resolve them, ensuring that the right people make decisions about matters affecting project success. This supports effective governance and maintains clear accountability.
The practice also aims to track issue resolution progress, ensuring that identified matters receive appropriate attention and are resolved within acceptable timeframes. This tracking capability provides transparency and allows stakeholders to understand the current status of outstanding concerns.
Furthermore, the Issues Practice purpose extends to maintaining a historical record of all issues and their resolutions. This documentation proves valuable for lessons learned, audit trails, and future project reference. It enables organizations to identify patterns and recurring problems that might benefit from process improvements.
The practice integrates closely with other PRINCE2 practices, particularly Change Control and Risk Management, as issues often relate to changes or may identify new risks. By fulfilling its purpose effectively, the Issues Practice contributes significantly to maintaining project control and increasing the likelihood of successful project delivery within agreed parameters.
Issues Practice Purpose - PRINCE2 Foundation V7 Complete Guide
What is the Issues Practice in PRINCE2?
The Issues practice in PRINCE2 V7 is a fundamental component that provides a structured approach for identifying, assessing, and managing any relevant events that occur during a project and require management action. Issues can include problems, concerns, changes, or any other matter that needs formal consideration.
Purpose of the Issues Practice
The primary purpose of the Issues practice is to establish and maintain a procedure for capturing, assessing, and determining actions for issues raised during the project. This ensures that all issues are handled consistently and transparently throughout the project lifecycle.
The key objectives include: • Capturing all issues in a systematic manner • Assessing the impact of issues on the project • Making informed decisions about how to respond to issues • Ensuring issues are escalated appropriately when necessary • Maintaining a complete record of all issues and their resolution
Why is Issues Practice Important?
Issues practice is crucial for several reasons:
1. Maintains Project Control - By having a formal process, the Project Manager can track and address concerns before they escalate into major problems.
2. Supports Decision Making - It provides a framework for evaluating the severity and impact of issues, enabling appropriate responses.
3. Ensures Transparency - All stakeholders can see how issues are being managed, building confidence in project governance.
4. Captures Organizational Learning - Documented issues become valuable lessons for future projects.
5. Enables Escalation - When issues exceed the Project Manager's authority, there is a clear path to escalate to the Project Board.
How Does Issues Practice Work?
The Issues practice operates through a defined procedure:
Step 1: Capture Issues are captured in an Issue Register. Anyone involved in the project can raise an issue. Each issue receives a unique identifier and is documented with relevant details.
Step 2: Examine The Project Manager examines the issue to understand its nature, cause, and potential impact on the project objectives.
Step 3: Propose Possible courses of action are identified and evaluated. Options might include resolving the issue within tolerance, requesting a change, or escalating to the Project Board.
Step 4: Decide A decision is made on which action to take. The Project Manager handles issues within their authority; others are escalated.
Step 5: Implement The chosen action is carried out and the outcome is recorded in the Issue Register.
Types of Issues
PRINCE2 recognizes three types of issues: • Request for change - A proposal to change a baseline • Off-specification - Something that should be provided but currently is not, or is forecast not to be • Problem or concern - Any other issue the Project Manager needs to address
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Issues Practice Purpose
1. Remember the Core Purpose - Focus on the establishment and maintenance of procedures for capturing, assessing, and determining actions. This is the central theme examiners test.
2. Distinguish Between Issue Types - Exam questions often test whether you can identify whether something is a request for change, off-specification, or problem/concern.
3. Know the Procedure Steps - Be familiar with capture, examine, propose, decide, and implement. Questions may ask about the correct sequence or what happens at each stage.
4. Understand Escalation - Questions frequently test when and why issues should be escalated to the Project Board versus handled by the Project Manager.
5. Link to the Issue Register - The Issue Register is the key product of this practice. Know that it records all formal issues and their status.
6. Watch for Distractors - Exam options may confuse issues with risks. Remember: risks are uncertain future events, while issues are current events requiring action now.
7. Read Questions Carefully - Look for keywords like 'purpose', 'objective', or 'aim' which indicate the question wants the fundamental reason for the practice.
8. Practice Scenario Questions - Many exam questions present scenarios where you must identify the appropriate issue type or action. Practice recognizing these patterns.