The Importance of Risk and Issue Management in IT Project

Be a part of IT projects means that you have to deal with project’s risks and issues.Although many people use the word risk and issue as an interchangeable words, but actually there is a difference between them. Risk is what could happen in the future. Any preparations you will do to deal with risk are done before anything happens. In other hand, issue is something that is happening right now, or has already happened. Understanding clearly the difference of risk and issue gives you more chance to treat them in the right way, through either risk management or issue management, to avoid loss.

Risk management and issue management are also different. Risk management should be conducted since the first time you plan a project. Meanwhile, issue management is a series of actions that you do when an issue is occurring. As soon as you identified an issue, you take actions needed to overcome the problem. In many case, if you do risk management in the right way, issue is something that already identified and planned in initial risk management. Therefore, handling issue should be easier if you do a good risk management.

You can do two important keys to deal with both risk and issue: effective governance and effective communication. Effective governance relates to roles and responsibilities of each personnel in the project. Ensuring that everyone sticks to his or her role and responsibility makes possible to pursue a successful project. Behind effective governance, it is undoubtedly that effective communication plays crucial role. Effective communication is an important tool in both risk and issue management. Leaving behind those two important keys will result in failing project.