New Product Development Issue Log
This is a practical guide to building a issue log for a new product development project — a register of problems that have occurred and need resolving, adapted to the realities of taking a new product from concept to market.
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 new product development project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a New Product Development project
New Product Development projects live or die on taking a new product from concept to market. 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 new product development projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Issue description
- Priority and severity
- Owner
- Resolution and status
New Product Development-specific considerations
Tailor the issue log to the risks that most often derail new product development projects:
- Uncertain market fit
- Feature/scope creep
- Time-to-market pressure
Example
On a real new product development project, the issue log would be shaped by taking a new product from concept to market. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — uncertain market fit, feature/scope creep, time-to-market pressure — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.