In Prince2 the Issue Log is a pivotal document.

What is it? The Issue Log is a document that holds details of all issues that have been raised in the course of the project.

Why? There are three main purposes for having an Issue Log.

 *Allocate a unique number to each issue.
 *Record the type of Project Issue.
 *Be a summary of all the Project Issues, their analysis and status.

Who Project Issues may be raised by any one who is associated with the project at any time.

How Prince2 is prescriptive about the information to be held on the Issue Log about Project Issues.

 *Project Issue Number
 *Project Issue type
 *Author
 *Date Identified
 *Date of last update
 *Description
 *Status

There are a number of quality matters to point out.

Care should be take to keep the Issue Log secure.

Project Issues should be clearly defined, in particular with the unique reference number and tying it up with the Product in question.

The status of the Project Issue has to be kept up to date as possible.

There has to be a balance between ensuring security and giving people access to the Log. This probably means some kind of electronic document.

The Issue Log is created during the Initiating A Project Process (IP). The sub-process is Setting Up Project Files (IP5).

Related Articles
Managing Stage Boundaries
Closing A Project
Managing Product Delivery
Controlling A Stage CS
ITIL - PRINCE2
ITIL - Change Authority