The document discusses managing project risks and issues using JIRA's risk management workflow. It recommends using JIRA over other project management software for risk tracking because it has wider company adoption, visibility, and the ability to assign risks to any JIRA user to track progress. The JIRA risk management workflow standardizes the risk management process, ties risks to specific work, and creates an organizational knowledge base of risks across projects for transparency.

1. 1
Managing Project Risks
and Issues in JIRA
Michael J Geiser

2. 2
Risk / Issue Management Workflow

3. 3
Implemented Location

4. 4
Risk / Issue Management Workflow
• Standard PM definitions: Project Risks have a Likelihood they will
occur and have an project impact; Issue are Risks have occurred.
• Consider managing Risks and Issues in JIRA over other PM software
– Wider adoption across company; all JIRA users have visibility
– Can be assigned to any JIRA user and progress tracked
• Risk and Issue Management is a process that has definable steps and
there is value in ensuring that all groups approach risk management
uniformly
• Continual and organized Risk and Issue Management is a key to
successful projects
• The JIRA Risk Management workflow:
– Standardizes the Risk Management processes
– Ties risks to specific work
– Creates a persistent knowledge base of risks across the entire organization
– Enables transparency into the Risk Management process for all projects

5. 5
Risk / Issue Management Workflow
• Manage Risk in JIRA not in Daptiv:
– Everyone has access to JIRA, few have access to Daptiv for this feature
– JIRA requires no additional training
– Work on Issues and Risks is assignable and reportable in JIRA
• Manage Risk in JIRA not in Rally:
– Rally only has simple statuses limits governance
– A similar system in Rally, with minor drawbacks, is workable but Rally does
not limit transitions by Role or Status
– WIP
• Manage Risk in JIRA not in Excel:
– Visibility across enterprise
– Becomes organizational knowledge
– Persists in company after individuals leave and is discoverable

6. 6
Project Risk
• Has all key information including Risk
Index
• Sum of all Risk Indexes is Total Project
Risk
• Change in Total Project Risk can be
tracked over time
• See Dashboard

7. 7
Project Issues
• Since Issues are Risks that have hit the
project, the likelihood is 100%...
• Risk Index is not longer relevant

8. 8
Changes in Next version
• A better implementation is to use one issue type and have a custom attribute
to select if this is a Risk or an Issue
– Converting an Risk to an Issue when defined as types is awkward and some users
have trouble with this;
– Likelihood would be set to “occurred” when moved to a Issue and Risk index goes
away as not relevant

9. 9
Dashboard