An issues log is a key communications tool. It should be a "neutral document" - a document that represents status as agreed upon by the team. Neutral documents are useful for communciation and for negotiating. As soon as an issue log becomes biased in any direction it looses its value.

At the same time, I strongly recommend that only the project manager be allowed to make updates to the issues log. Giving access to the team can lead to the temptation to delete inconvenient entries. Of course, if the log is actually tracked through an online database with proper security roles then that cautionary note is less important.

A simple issues log format is shown below.

Issue Number	Priority	Status	Description	Assignment	Activity	Date Entered