What Is an Issue Log?

An Issue Log is a project document that records and tracks all issues identified during project execution — situations that have already occurred and require a decision or action to resolve. In PMBOK 8, issues are distinct from risks: a risk is a future uncertainty; an issue is a present reality. The Issue Log captures each issue's description, impact, owner, priority, resolution plan, and status. It is reviewed at every status meeting and is one of the primary inputs to the project's communications and stakeholder management processes.

A well-maintained Issue Log prevents issues from falling through the cracks and signals to stakeholders that problems are being managed actively, not ignored. It also provides an invaluable input to lessons learned at project close.

What's Inside This Issue Log Example

This Issue Log example documents all seven issues raised during Project Phoenix — a $72,250 website launch for MCG running March 17 to June 13, 2025. For each issue, the log captures:

• Issue ID — ISS-001 through ISS-007
• Date Identified — when the issue was first raised
• Identified By — which team member surfaced it
• Description — clear statement of the problem
• Impact — effect on scope, schedule, cost, or quality
• Priority — Critical / High / Medium / Low
• Owner — assigned resolver
• Resolution Plan — specific actions to close the issue
• Status — Open / In Progress / Resolved / Escalated
• Date Resolved — when the issue was closed

How Alex Morgan Used This Issue Log

Project Phoenix experienced seven issues across its 13-week run. Alex Morgan opened the Issue Log as a standing agenda item in every Monday morning team meeting — any issue not yet resolved was reviewed, and ownership was confirmed or reassigned. The seven issues were:

• ISS-001 (Week 2, High): BrightFrame missed the initial design brief review meeting. Alex escalated to the BrightFrame account manager; resolved in 48 hours with a rescheduled session. No schedule impact.
• ISS-002 (Week 4, Medium): Brand color discrepancy between the style guide PDF and the Figma design file. The UX designer resolved by requesting a corrected style guide from the MCG brand team. 3-day delay absorbed in buffer.
• ISS-003 (Week 5, Critical): Server configuration failure in the staging environment blocked development for four days. The lead developer and data migration specialist pair-debugged the issue; $1,800 in contingency reserve used for emergency vendor support.
• ISS-004 (Week 7, Medium): Content specialist out sick for one week. The PM temporarily reassigned two content-light tasks to other team members. No critical path impact.
• ISS-005 (Week 8, High): Third-party payment gateway API deprecated mid-project. The lead developer identified an alternative API compatible with the existing codebase. Required a CR-003 for mandatory compliance update.
• ISS-006 (Week 10, Low): Mobile navigation menu displayed incorrectly on Android 12 devices. Resolved in one day of QA-guided debugging.
• ISS-007 (Week 12, Medium): UAT sign-off delayed two days because Riley Park was traveling. Alex adapted with an async screen-recording review process; sign-off obtained without delaying the launch date.

Download and Customize

This Issue Log example is available as a free download. Use it as a reference to build your own issue log, or start with the blank template and adapt it to your project environment.

• Download the Issue Log Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to use)
• Read the article: Issue Log in PMBOK 8 — Guide and Best Practices

Issue Log Example: Key Takeaways

Seven issues in 13 weeks is a healthy signal — it means the team was surfacing problems rather than hiding them. The most critical insight from Project Phoenix's Issue Log is ISS-003 (server configuration failure): it was classified Critical, owned by the lead developer, and resolved in four days with contingency reserve. Without a formal Issue Log, a Critical issue like ISS-003 might have been managed informally, with no documented owner, no escalation path, and no record of the $1,800 spend. The log made the problem visible to Riley Park in the weekly status report — which is exactly where a Critical issue should be visible. Transparency, not silence, is what preserves stakeholder trust when things go wrong.

Want to go deeper? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference for modern project management. Get your copy and use it alongside these examples to build a solid, practical understanding of every performance domain.