When planning an event or project, there will always be uncertainties. Out of these uncertainties you get threats, which can lead to risks and issues. The distinction between a risk and an issue needs to be understood if both are to be managed effectively.
Both risks and issues relate to unplanned events that can have an impact on your project. A risk is something that might happen that would have an impact on your project. An issue is something that is currently happening and is having an impact on your project.
For a simple example let's look at a project of running from one side of a field to the other:
- A risk is that the poor surface in the field could cause you to trip, potentially delaying or preventing you from completing the run.
- An issue when you trip due to that poor surface in the field and cannot complete the run.
- When managing the risk of the poor field condition, you take mitigating actions to eliminate or reduce the risk, such as filling holes before you start to run, or wearing padding so that you are less likely to be injured if you fall. You may also build a contingency plan with all the steps you'll take in the case that you do fall, enabling you to still make it to the other side of the field.
- When managing the issue of the poor conditions causing you to fall, you would enact the contingency plan to ensure that the actual impact to your project of running across the field is as small as possible.
In risk and issue management it's important to ensure items are classified correctly. Most importantly, if a risk comes to pass, it's important to change that risk into an issue so it can be managed appropriately.
Opportunities
Uncertainties can also lead to positive opportunities; these are often forgotten about in risk and issue management, but they also need to be tracked correctly, or you could miss a chance to benefit from uncertainty. In WeTrack, you can create a strategy to "exploit" an opportunity and create actions that work towards that goal.