Artifact: Issues List

	The Issues List provides the Project Manager with a way to record and track problems, exceptions, anomalies, or other incomplete tasks requiring attention that relate to the management of the project. In general, these are items that are not being tracked through Change Management or as tasks in the Project or Iteration Plans, although they may derive from these.
Role:	Project Manager
Optionality/Occurrence:	Recommended. Maintained from the beginning of the project.
Templates and Reports:
Examples:
UML Representation:	Not applicable.
More Information:

Purpose Timing Responsibility Tailoring

Input to Activities:  Agree on the Mission Assess Iteration Handle Exceptions and Problems Identify Test Motivators Monitor Project Status Obtain Testability Commitment Prepare for Phase Close-Out Prepare for Project Close-Out Report Status

Output from Activities:  Handle Exceptions and Problems Monitor Project Status Prepare for Phase Close-Out Prepare for Project Close-Out

Purpose

The Issues List is the Project Manager's recording and tracking instrument for project management problems, exceptions, anomalies, and other management tasks that arise in the course of running a project, where these are not being tracked as part of Change Management, or as part of the Risk List, Project or Iteration Plans. The Issues List is also an input to the production of the regular Status Assessment.

Brief Outline

The Issues List is free-form, but may cover:

• A description of the issue and an indication of its importance
• Any relevant dates; for example, deadline for resolution
• Resource and schedule impact
• Related risks, changes, or defects
• Other related documents (or references to documents) or audit trail
• Possible solutions

Timing

The Issues List is more or less continuously maintained from the beginning of the project.

Responsibility

The Project Manager is responsible for the Issues List.

Tailoring

The Issues List may be as simple as notes in a diary or as complex as a formally managed, issues tracking system using a database of some kind-it depends on the size and complexity of the project.

Rational Unified Process