Creating and Editing Project Impacts
There is a number of ways to create project impacts in Fluid:
From the Impacts section of the project workspace.
From a status report update.
From the project schedule.
This section will cover how to create impacts from the project workspace.
Creating and Editing Impacts
To create a new project impact, click on the + ADD NEW button in the Impacts section of the project workspace. To edit an existing project impact, click on its title.
Impact Details
The first field on the impact dialog - Type - allows you to specify what type of impact you want to create:
Change: Recognises changes in project scope, requirements, or resources that can alter the project's course.
Risk: Identifies potential threats that could hinder project progress.
Issue: Addresses current problems that need immediate attention to avoid escalation.
Dependency: Manages dependencies on external factors or other projects to ensure they do not cause delays or issues.
Variation: Considers potential variations in project execution and their possible impacts.
Relationship: Understands how relationships between project elements or stakeholders can influence project outcomes.
Lessons Learned: Incorporates insights gained from past projects to inform future planning and execution, helping to avoid repeat mistakes and leverage successful strategies.
You can customise the list of impact types available to use on the instance. Click here to learn more about configuring impact types.
The information that needs to be populated thereafter varies depending on the impact type selected. All fields are detailed below.
Impact Type
Description: Specifies what the impact is about (Scope, Timeline, Resourcing, Financials, etc.)
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Title
Description: A concise and descriptive title that uniquely identifies the impact.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Description
Description: A detailed description of the impact, including relevant information and context.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Status
Description: The current status of the Impact (OPEN or CLOSED).
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Impact
Description: The severity or potential effect of the Impact.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation. This is the default setting but project administrators have the flexibility to configure which impact types this field apply to, as well as customise its values.
Probability
Description: The likelihood of the Impact occurring.
Applies to: Risk. As for the impact field, project administrators can configure which impact types this field applies to, as well as customise its values.
Risk Rating
Description: A calculated value based on the Impact and Probability, indicating the overall risk level.
Applies to: Risk by default but can be changed by project administrators.
Owner
Description: The person responsible for the impact and its mitigation.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Due Date
Description: The date by which the Impact needs to be resolved.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Resolution Date
Description: An alternate resolution date if different from the due date.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Promoted
Description: Specifies how far up the hierarchy the Impact should be reported (e.g., Not Promoted, To Dashboard, To Parent Project, To Program).
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Mitigation
Description: The actions to be taken to mitigate the impact on the project.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Dependent On
Description: Links the impact to any project in the portfolio that the impact might be dependent on.
Applies to: Risk, Issue, Change, Dependency, Relationship, Lessons Learned, Variation.
Note: Impact, Probability & Risk Rating - the impact types can be set up by the administrator to decide which impact types will have impact, probability and risk rating fields associated to them in the Impact, Probability Risk Rating Setup page. To learn more about Impact, Probability & Risk Rating, click here.
Impact Dialog Options
The dialog for an impact can be expanded by selecting menu options on the left navigation.
The following are the different dialog options seen on the left-hand navigation:
Status Updates
Description: Set a RAG status for the impact. The RAG status is surfaced on the project workspace and in any reporting of the project impacts.
Checklist
Description: A checklist of activities can be defined to help in tracking what needs to be done to close out the impact.
Attachments
Description: Add documents or links to the impact to keep all relevant and supporting documentation together in one place.
Follow On
Description: When an impact is assigned to an owner, a request for acknowledgment is automatically sent to the owner to confirm accountability for the impact. Linking a project as a dependency to an impact will also send a request for acknowledgment to the PM of the project the dependency is on to record their agreement with the dependency. These acknowledgments are added to the impact as follow-on actions so that they can be tracked as part of the impact. Additional follow-on actions can also be added if there is any additional activity needed in support of closing out the impact.
Comments
Description: Add your comments directly to the impact to keep all the conversation in relation to the impact in one place.
Permalink
Description: The unique URL for the impact. Copy and share this link so people can easily navigate straight to the impact.