Issues arise on a project, that's a given. The problem is when those issues turn into risks. That's the last thing you want happening on your project. So, what can you do to ensure that your issues stay as issues and are resolved BEFORE they turn into risks?  Here are some ideas to help.

A project scope that is not clearly defined is cause for trouble on any project. Without clearly defined boundaries to work in work will be done that is unnecessary causing more costs and blowing out timelines. So you can see the immediate impact of not having a solid scope.

A crazy topic I know and yet we often find that people get upset easily. Have you stopped to think why? Here are 7 different things that you might be doing that are likely to trigger someone's anger. When they are upset with you they are less likely to deliver; less likely to want to give you information and let likely to be interested in doing a great job, on your project. So notice if you're doing any of these 7 things.

What mechanisms do you have in place to manage any budget nightmares that might arise? I want to talk specifically about vendor overspend in this episode as it is often a large problem when so much of the IT world is outsourced to external vendors.

Your project can't possibly be delivered successfully when you have resourcing problems. Here are some different ways to get the resources you need in order to deliver. You might not have thought about some of them and yet if you ask, you might be surprised what you can manage to do, in terms of finding qualified or experienced resources to support you with your project delivery.

We all know how hectic life can be. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done. Here are some simple tips your can implement to at least find a little bit more time in your day, and get what needs to be done, done.

With team members from different areas in the business, or outside vendors, who all have perspectives that aren't aligning, it's not always easy to manage.  There are ways to get everyone seeing things from the same perspective, even though they all come from different starting points.

You've just been given a project only to find there is no Business Case.  Now, what do you do?  Here is a way to get agreement on what needs to be delivered, in writing, so you have something to work to. You need this clarity in order to know what it is that you are required to deliver. 

Risks can be of great benefit to us if we are willing to see them that way. Did you call out risks in your Business Case?  Maybe if you didn't you might go back and develop that list. I know it's easy to hate risk management. I want to talk to you about how to make it simpler. Let's get honest and clear about the real likelihood of that risk occurring.

Issues management is easy when you know-how. Let me explain the process that I've used to manage issues. It's easy and works well to capture, track and monitor your issues.