Looking for a quick way to document any glitches in your project? And speaking of glitches, what’s the difference between a project issue and a project risk? And is there a comprehensive database you can use to keep everyone informed about the status of your project’s most critical elements? Keep reading to find out!
An Issue Tracker is a dynamic tool used to log problems, assign work, and monitor the resolution process of each problem you face. By keeping track of your problems and their status in real-time, an Issue Tracking Template makes sure that nothing (at least, nothing of importance) falls through the cracks! On top of that, it also improves team collaboration, reduces the risk of missed deadlines, and ensures quality assurance!
Issue tracking templates are most commonly used in software development or other IT-related projects, where they are used to input bug reports or features that aren’t working correctly, while assigning them to relevant teammates, prioritizing them in light of their strategic importance & impact. That said, they are also used in construction, product management, and manufacturing industries to keep projects on track.
Use our free, 100% editable Issue Tracker to catalog issues, plan mitigation strategies, and ultimately get your issues resolved!
What Our Template Can Offer?
In our template, we use a grid-based layout to create a live, shared database of information about all project-related issues you have to deal with. You can use our template to identify and number issues, describe, categorize, and prioritize them, as well as steer your project toward the right corrective action by making a specific team member responsible for ensuring issue resolution within a set deadline. We also use graphic visual aids to help you process more information & data in less time.
Our template is designed to help you create a well-maintained log spreadsheet that allows you to keep track of issues and their resolutions. It is:
- In-depth
- Actionable
- 100% Customizable
- Easy to understand
Quick Visual Aids
Right at the top of our mainsheet, you will find a series of quick visual aids to give you a high-level view of issues facing your project:
Issue breakdown
First up, we have a pie chart showing the most basic breakdown of our data – that is, the number of issues that have been successfully resolved vs. the number of issues raised.
Workload distribution
As a project manager, you need to keep track of how the workload is distributed across teams. This can help you streamline project activities and make your internal process more time-efficient. To give you a quick work breakdown, we use a bar chart showing the number of issues assigned
Status breakdown
We use a pie chart to show a status-wise breakdown of issues facing your project. This way, you can quickly tell what percentage of issues have been resolved, are currently in progress, or have not started at all. Each time you update the status of a task in the mainsheet, your changes will be automatically reflected here.
Now, let’s explore our Editable spreadsheet in a little more detail…
Assign Each Issue a Unique ID
Before you flesh out details about specific issues, our template lets you assign a unique ID to each project issue (i.e, 1001, 1002 etc.). Remember, this is where you list your issues, so you’ll want to number them first to keep them from getting confused.
Clearly Describe Each Issue
In this column, you will add a clear but concise description of what the issue is. This makes sure that all your team members understand the context and can contribute effectively to its resolution.
Risk vs. issue – what’s the difference?
Now, you might think that risk and issue are the same. But in project speak, there’s a subtle difference between the two terms. While a risk is something that is yet to happen or materialize, an issue is either happening in real time or is imminent.
While risk management prepares you for the unknown using mitigation plans to lower the possibility of occurrence, issue resolution is a direct response to what you know as a matter of fact to be impacting your project in real-time in a potentially negative way.
Use our Risk Register template to assess and manage project risks more effectively and systematically!
Anyway, back to the current template…
Categorize Each Issue
In column E, you will sort out issues based on their nature. From technical issues & operational challenges to resource or time shortages, categorizing issues based on their nature helps you assign the responsibility of resolving each issue to the right team (Column M).
Priority Assigner
Not all issues are equally important. Some need your immediate attention, such as taking measures to prevent data breaches. Others may be better off on the back burner, say, minor bug fixes or responding to irrelevant emails.
Use our drop-down menu to prioritize issues using three options: ‘High, ‘Medium’ and ‘Low’. As a rule of thumb, you should focus on the most critical issues first, so you can invest the maximum amount of time and resources needed to successfully resolve them.
If you want to use different categories, you can simply use the separate configuration sheet we have provided and adapt these categories to your needs.
How is priority level linked to SLA targets in our template?
An SLA target is the number of days you intend to give to respond to or resolve an issue. In our template, this value (column G) has been auto-linked to the level of priority you assign to each task (column F). As per our default settings, high-priority tasks are assigned an SLA target of 2 days, medium-priority tasks an SLA of 4 days, and low-priority ones an SLA of 7 days. You can use our configuration sheet to change these default settings in line with your project needs & work requirements.
Update Issue Status in Real Time
Project managers must stay on top of whatever your team is doing to resolve a certain issue.
Use our built-in drop-down menu to update and track the state of any issue in real-time. We use the following 7 categories, but you can always tailor these as per your project needs & demands using the configuration sheet provided:
- Not Started
- In Progress
- Complete
- Need Review
- Approved
- Overdue
- On Hold
This color-coded system provides easy visibility into the progress of issue resolution. Because this status can change rapidly and frequently, it is important to be able to adapt your project to any new changes or challenges.
Who Will Resolve the Issue?
Let’s get this straight: issues won’t get resolved by themselves. That’s why in column M, you are asked to specify who is responsible for resolving a certain issue. If you don’t, the issue is likely to be lost in the shuffle.
The information you manually enter here is automatically updated and reflected in the bar chart above the mainsheet (Workload Distribution Across Teams). You can use our configuration sheet to customize these times according to your project or organisational context.
Remember, clear responsibility ensures accountability, prevents delays and streamlines the process of issue resolution, thus fostering a greater sense of ownership among teammates.
Who Raised the Issue?
In column H, name the first individual (or team) who first spotted that something was off. As the first person to identify and report the issue, their personal insights & first-hand experience of the issue can be helpful during follow-up discussions aimed at resolving the issue in question.
Date Raised & Target Resolution Date
In these two columns (I & J), you create a chronology of each issue by:
- Recording when each issue was first identified. This helps you prevent any unnecessary delays or bottlenecks that might adversely affect your workflow.
- Establishing a deadline or target resolution date by which the issue must be resolved. If you don’t do this, you will be unable to maintain project timelines or meet key project deliverables.
Resolution Time in Our Template
In our template, resolution time is calculated on the basis of the SLA target, counting days when the issue was raised (Column I).
If an issue remains unresolved beyond its SLA target, the number in this column (say,. 30 days) will appear in red font, visually drawing your attention to the pending issue.
Add Any Extra Comments or Notes
In the last column, add any miscellaneous information that doesn’t fall under any of the already assigned columns. You can use this space to share updates, offer clarification, or provide feedback for other team members.
Who is our template for?
- Project Managers: To oversee issue resolution and ensure minimal impact on project timelines.
- Team Members: To report, update, and collaborate on issue resolution.
- Quality Assurance (QA) Teams: To track defects and testing concerns and ensure quality compliance.
- Developers & IT Teams: To log and resolve software bugs, technical glitches, or system-related issues.
- Stakeholders & Clients: To monitor project challenges and the progress of their resolution.
Why do I need one?
- To provide a structured record of all project-related issues, thus ensuring accountability.
- Assign responsibility to specific team members for issue resolution.
- Track the status of each issue, including updates on progress and resolution.
- Prioritize issues based on their impact and urgency.
- Enhance communication among team members and stakeholders by offering transparency on project challenges and their resolutions.
Wrap Up
From unresolved technical or operational challenges that can hinder execution to communication breakdowns that can impact a project’s efficiency, an issue tracker can be used to resolve any kind of problems or challenges you’ll face once your project kicks off.
In projects where multiple people or teams are collaborating, it is vital to have a clear, organized way of documenting and tracking one’s progress While some companies prefer to use automated project management software to keep track of issues – others prefer a simple, editable spreadsheet like ours to systematically record, track, and manage issues that arise throughout a project’s lifecycle. Which way you go depends mainly on the nature, size, or complexity of your project or the type of sector, field, or industry you work in.
Use our free, 100% editable Issue Tracking Template to provide alerts, set up reminders, and furnish status reports! With a real-time view of project risks or issues, you can make more informed decisions about, say, whether or not an issue has been satisfactorily resolved, or if an alternative solution or strategy is needed to resolve it.
Remember, a pre-built framework for issue identification and management saves you hours in design and formatting work so you can focus on more productive project pursuits.
Note
For your ease, all cells showing automatically calculated values are locked to protect their built-in functionalities and formulae.
If you are using an unprotected version of the Excel file, you are advised NOT to add or delete rows from the spreadsheet, as this will disturb the functionalities we have programmed into it.
Be aware that spreadsheets are somewhat prone to error. Even if the spreadsheet is completely free of errors at the time you download it, there is always a possibility that you might accidentally introduce errors as you edit it. That’s why we would recommend using this template only if you are comfortable using Excel and can identify and fix errors that may be introduced. With that said, download and enjoy!
Our editable template can be instantly accessed in .xlsx, .xltx, and .ods formats.
