PWPM Wiki

Cloud Migration Issue Log

This is a practical guide to building a issue log for a cloud migration project — a register of problems that have occurred and need resolving, adapted to the realities of moving systems and data from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud.

What a Issue Log is

A issue log is a register of problems that have occurred and need resolving. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Issue Log. On a cloud migration project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.

Why it matters for a Cloud Migration project

Cloud Migration projects live or die on moving systems and data from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. A well-built issue log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how cloud migration projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.

What to include

  • Issue description
  • Priority and severity
  • Owner
  • Resolution and status

Cloud Migration-specific considerations

Tailor the issue log to the risks that most often derail cloud migration projects:

  • Underestimated dependencies
  • Downtime and data-loss risk
  • Runaway cloud costs post-migration

Example

On a real cloud migration project, the issue log would be shaped by moving systems and data from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — underestimated dependencies, downtime and data-loss risk, runaway cloud costs post-migration — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.