What are issues?
Issues are problems encountered within a project that require attention or corrective action by project team members. Issues can be project-wide to identify items such as lack of skilled resources, an equipment breakdown, or labor strikes. Issues can also be activity-specific to address items such as late/overdue delivery dates or unacceptable total float values. Another way to use Issues is to identify project action items, punch lists, logs etc. You can track the resolution of the issue by assigning status conditions of open, closed or on-hold. You have the ability to control the information captured with issues by creating issue forms. Additionally, email notifications can be sent to alert you that new issues with a specific priority are added, existing issues are modified, or when issues are assigned specific issue codes.
Issue codes can assist you with organizing and classifying issues in ways that are meaningful to your organization. Codes such as Issue Severity or Responsibility etc. allow you to search for issues based upon specific criteria.
Issues can be created and viewed from the following areas within the Primavera P6 8.2 Web tool:
- Issues page from the Projects navigation bar
- Project Issues portlet on the Project Workspace
- Issues Detail window of the Activities page
- Issues Detail window for the project on the EPS page
- My Issues portlet from the Dashboards page
This Primavera tutorial demonstrates the functionality of Issues in Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management.
Step 1. Open a project and select Ïssues from the Projects navigation bar. The image below depicts the issues in collapsed format. Notice that you can add issues, expand, collapse, view and/or add issue forms, and customize the appearance the of Issues page.
Step 2. The image below illustrates the Issues displayed in expanded list view.
Step 3. Issues can also be viewed in chart format. Chart options are Histogram, Stacked Histogram, and Pie Chart.
Step 4. You can customize the Issues page in the following ways: customize the columns displayed, apply filters, group the issues, and select the type of chart displayed. The screenshot below illustrates the Columns dialog box.
Step 5. You can customize the filters using the dialog box below.
Step 6. Select the fields for grouping the issues.
Step 7. Select your desired chart format.
Step 8. Select Add an Issue and complete the issue form. The image below depicts that the Default Form has been selected. However, you can develop numerous custom issue forms to capture information (such as user-defined fields) needed by your organization.
Step 9. Issue Forms allow you to select the fields to display on the form, specify default values, and mandatory fields.
Step 10. When customizing Issue Forms, you can also identify which projects can utilize the issue form by selecting the Access tab and clicking Assign Projects.
Step 11. Each issue must be assigned a unique Issue Name, Identified By, Priority, Responsible Manager, Status, and any other mandatory fields specified in the Issue Form. You can also select an activity or WBS element that the issue Applies To as well as the Owner, which is a resource associated with the issue. The Resolution Date can be utilized in conjunction with the Status field to close the issue when it is resolved. Additionally, you can include a lengthier description, issue codes, user defined fields, and related items.
Step 12. Issues can also be viewed and managed by using the Project Issues portlet in the Project Workspace.
Step 13. You can add the Issue portlet to the Project Workspace by selecting customize from the Workspace & mark the checkbox to include Project Issues.
Step 14. The My Issues portlet can be added to your Dashboards allowing you to view and manage issues while reviewing your Dashboards.
Step 15. The My Issues portlet can be added to the Dashboard by selecting Customize on the Dashboard and marking the checkbox to display the My Issues portlet.
Step 16. Issues can also be viewed & added from the Activities page by selecting an activity and accessing the Issues tab in Activity Details.
Step 17. Project-wide issues can be added from the EPS page by selecting the project and accessing the Issues tab in Project Details.
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