Risk Management vs. Issue Management: What’s the Difference?
As a new or aspiring project manager, it’s important to understand the difference between risk management and issue management. Both are essential functions of effective leadership, but they serve different purposes. Risk management is about identifying potential problems and taking steps to avoid them. Issue management is about dealing with problems that have already arisen. In this blog post, we’ll explore the differences between risk management and issue management in more detail.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Risk management is all about identifying potential problems and taking steps to avoid them. It’s a proactive approach to problem-solving that seeks to prevent issues from arising in the first place. Risk management involves setting up systems and processes to identify risks, assess their likelihood of occurring, and take action to mitigate them.
On the other hand, issue management is a reactive approach that deals with problems that have already arisen. When an issue does arise, it’s the responsibility of the issue manager, in this, the project manager, to triage the problem, determine its root cause, and develop a plan of action to resolve it. Once the issue has been resolved, the issue manager/project manager will also conduct a retrospective/post-mortem to identify any lessons that can be learned from the experience.
Both risk management and issue management are essential functions of effective leadership. However, it’s important to understand that they serve different purposes. Risk management is about preventing problems, while issue management is about dealing with problems that have already arisen. By understanding the difference between these two approaches, you can set yourself up for success as a project manager.
Visit our online shop to purchase the retrospective template. If this is your first time on our website — thank you for visiting. Consider subscribing to our newsletter to gain exclusive content and online store discounts.