Project Management Documentation Series: Logs
Welcome back to the project management documentation series where we will be discussing
the important documents you will need for your project.
Today we will be focusing on the most important logs you should have set up before you begin any project activities once you PID has been written.
Still don’t know what PID is? Find out more in our previous blog here.
Your three most important logs are: Risks, Issues and Lessons Log. It is important to set up all of these logs before starting on your project activities as you soon will come across some you will want to record, when that time comes you will thank yourself for being prepared.
Risk Log
As you move through your project, you will continually be realising new and different risks. A risk log is set up to record, track and monitor these risks for the duration of the project.
Having your risks logged means you can proactively combat and pre-empt any potential problems or setbacks, so it is important that once these are recognised by a project team member, they are adequately assessed.
What is a risk?
Risk is anything unexpected that could happen
that would affect your project.
So, why do I recommend you have these set up and ready to go at the start of your project?
Well, yes you may be able to keep on top of them in the beginning, but as the project grows it becomes more complex and continues for longer periods of time, you aren’t going to remember specific details or thoughts that happened a while ago.
To keep on top of these and also be able to review them regularly is vital to ensure nothing is missed or forgotten about. However large or small a risk is, it should be added, also if it seems extremely unlikely, still add it so you have it in the record.
Then monitor this log as you go along, something may become more or less of a risk.
What’s include in the Risk Log:
Table
Number
Brief Description
Categorisation
Probability
Impact
Mitigation
Risk Owner
The project Manager is the owner of the risk log, however anyone within the project team could be the risk owner, the team should be encouraged to raise the risk as it is everybody’s responsibility to identify them.
The earlier you record a risk, the earlier you know how you would handle it, which leads me onto the next log…
Issues Log
Similar to risks you want to make sure that you are keeping track of any project issues from the start. Some of these issues may start as an issue whereas some might be risks that happen, why it is important to prepare for your risks from the risk register.
An issue log is set up to record, track and monitor any issue for the duration of the project. An issue can be anything that is a problem, inconsistency or an unexpected or unintended impact that is going to effect the timelines of the project, its ability to be delivered or a has direct effect to the projects stakeholders. These need to be noted down and documented immediately so that they can be resolved before it escalates.
An important difference to understand is that of a risk and an issue, something that can take a while to get your head around. While a risk is an uncertain event, it has the potential to be an issue in the future of the project, an issue is something that has happened and already causing an impact.
What’s include in the Issues Log:
Raised by
Issue Owner
Open Date
Close date
Solution
Issue Number
Brief Description
Status
Categorisation
Priority
As with the risk log, the issue log is owned by the project manager.
Keeping your Risk and Issues Logs up to date is extremely important as they will serve as a guide as to how your project is going and what areas may need to be focused on and prioritised.
Lesson’s Log
The final log to discuss is the lessons log, and what I will say is set this up now, trust me you do not want to come to the closure stage and have to remember them all.
Not only does setting up a lessons log mean that you can have a record of them it means you can learn from them as you progress through your project.
A lesson can be anything, a mistake, a method that could have improved or a misjudgement. Essentially, anything that can help the project and future projects to avoid repeating unfavourable actions.
This can be in any format you feel easiest to uphold, as long as it includes the data recorded, lesson, subject and a summary of how it was learnt and a suggestion of how to improve.
So from these you have your logs, these could all be kept in one document to keep it easy for you. The less tabs open on your laptop the better!
Adios,
Anna