Risk management
Understand risk scores
Read inherent, residual, current, and target values together with their recorded rationale.
Before you start
Who this is for: Risk owners, assessors, and reviewers.
- Open the risk record and your organization's assessment methodology.
- Use the displayed inputs and rationale rather than comparing unexplained totals.
Follow these steps
Read the inherent inputs
Open Assessment and inspect Inherent likelihood and Inherent impact. The current interface uses values from 1 to 5 and displays their product, up to 25. Read the likelihood and impact justifications to understand the scenario behind the score.
Inspect residual and target values
Open Treatment to review residual likelihood and impact, their justifications, and any target values. Residual and target fields are optional. Not recorded means the assessment has not supplied that information; it does not mean there is no risk.
Check what Current represents
The detail shows Current and Target alongside Inherent, with available score context. Inspect the saved assessment and its rationale before interpreting Current as evidence of a new measurement. The assessment form also saves a current score from its assessment inputs, so labels alone do not establish separate assessment dates or methods.
Review controls and decisions
Inspect linked controls, their effectiveness information, treatment plan, and review history. A control link or an intended target does not prove that mitigation has already reduced risk. Use the saved review and approval information to explain which judgments were made and which work remains.
What you should see
You can report the score with its inputs, rationale, and missing information rather than treating it as an unexplained rating.
If something doesn’t look right
Residual or target shows Not recorded
Have the risk owner complete a supported assessment when enough information exists. Do not substitute zero.
Two risks have the same total
Compare likelihood, impact, scope, and rationale; equal products can represent different scenarios.
The target is lower than current
A target describes intended treatment outcome. Verify completed work and reassessment before reporting achieved reduction.
Still need a little help?
Ask the assistant about these steps, or tell our team where you got stuck.
Contact support