A generally accepted definition is this: "An action item is a documented activity, event, or task. Action items are discrete entities that can be dealt with by a single person." While this is true, the Practical Project Manager knows action items are an important part of actually getting work done. Successful projects have solid practices and controls around definining, managing and actually completing work associated with action items.
- Unplanned work associated with issue and risk management
- Often discovered during a meeting or formal discussion regarding an issue or risk
- Prioritized, assigned, managed for completion
Action items can sometimes be confused with unplanned work, that is, work that should have been documented as a task in the Project Schedule. If there is significant unplanned work, the project may require a Scope Change.
It is important to monitor action items to make sure there is not "Scope Creep". Sometimes action items take on a life of their own, resulting in a significant work effort just to manage actions. This can be an indicator that scope was not sufficiently managed or that additional scope is creeping into the project under the guise of action items.
It is important to monitor action items to make sure there is not "Scope Creep". Sometimes action items take on a life of their own, resulting in a significant work effort just to manage actions. This can be an indicator that scope was not sufficiently managed or that additional scope is creeping into the project under the guise of action items.
How to Manage Action Items
The best way to manage action items is to record them in an ACTION ITEM LOG using a collaborative tool such as SharePoint or Google Apps.
Build a collaborative ACTION ITEM LOG that has the following features and includes email alerts to the responsible person, attachments, and a historical archive:
- Description - Short explanation of activity to be performed
- Work Stream - your project is probably organized into various work streams such as business requirements, technical design, user interface, etc.
- Issue or Risk - is this action item associated with a project issue or risk
- Status - Open, In Progress, Resolved, Canceled, Transfered to Training Log
- Urgency - how quickly does this action need to be performed? 1) must do now 2) can wait
- Priority - what is the impact to your project's critical path? 1) High 2) Medium 3) Low
- Comments - A description of what is now being done to solve the issue
- Responsibility - Who is responsible for actively working the issue?
- Created Date - Date issue was opened
- Next Step - What is the next activity for working the issue?
- Next Step Due Date - When is this person's next action due?
- Planned Completion Date - When will this issue be solved?
- Actual Completion Date - Date issue was closed
The Practical Project Manager maintains the ACTION ITEM LOG and builds an interactive tool so actions can be maintained by those responsible for resolution. Managing the team's work against completing the action items is the project manager's responsibility.
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We use Psoda (http://www.psoda.com) to manage our action items across multiple projects. You can view actions by risk/issue/project/assignment. When a new action is assigned to a user they get an automatic email notification. You can also customise the workflow for your actions.
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