Risk Register and Risk Matrix

What Is a Risk Register?

A risk register, or risk log is a risk management tool that’s used to identify potential risks that could affect the execution of a project plan. While the risk register is mostly used during the execution of the project, it should be created during the project planning phase. It’s never too early to start thinking about risk analysis in your project and having a project risk register on hand and ready is essential in managing risk.

A risk register is the first step in project risk management, and it’s an important part of any risk management framework. It helps project managers list risks, their priority level, mitigation strategies and the risk owner so everybody on the project team knows how to respond to project risk.

Once you have your risk register to identify and track risk events, then you need project management software to take action. ProjectManager has risk management features to view risk in the product menu. You can assign, prioritize and view risk history directly from the risk card. This makes it easier for teams to collaborate on risks and for managers to track their progress in real time. 

to Create a Risk Assessment Matrix

Follow these four steps, and remember to constantly review and revise your risk assessment matrix throughout the project life cycle:

Identify Risks: Start by looking at the entire risk landscape. That is, view the whole project and discuss things that could potentially impact the project with your team. Don’t be afraid to seek out historical data from previous projects, as well. Break down the identified risks into four categories: strategic, operational, financial and external.

Set Risk Criteria: Once you identify risks, the next step is to determine their probability and their impact, assigning values to those variables. Risk criteria let you place the risk on the risk assessment matrix. Spend time on each decision, and get feedback from your team to make sure your placement is accurate.

Assess Risk: Next, analyze the risk according to your risk criteria. This is a three-tier assessment; high, medium or low. The more detail, the better the analysis of the risks to your project.

Prioritize Risk: Now that you have this data, prioritize the risks that are most dangerous to the success of the project. This is also the first step in developing a risk assessment plan and figuring out what to do if these risks occur.