ABSTRACT
An exception is a serious variance between what has been planned or budgeted, what has happened or is forecast to happen, and which has gone, or will go beyond a level deemed by the Project Sponsor or Steering Group in advance as acceptable, or beyond the agreed Tolerance. The exception needs to be reported urgently to management (escalated) for decisions on its resolution. Note that such exception situations can arise from a number of different sources. These may include a Project Risk that has now become a live Project Issue – what was feared has now become reality, though, in this case, corrective actions and contingency provisions of time and money should have been made. Of course, the impact may now be seen to be much worse than feared, and further provisions may need to be made. The second source could be a Project Issue that has not been managed effectively, which is poor project management, or was simply underestimated. The third might have occurred because of an unchecked and unreported build-up of many smaller variations that has now reached critical mass. This third situation might indicate an abdication or omission that is one of the deadliest sins in project management.
