The Risk Register

Overview

The risk register is an index of all possible threats and opportunities that may impact the schedule, along with their qualitative characteristics.

Risks

In NetRisk, a risk is unique in that its probability of occurrence may occur either individually on each of the activities to which it has been assigned or as a group.

Scenarios

Scenarios are for capturing mitigation states or what-if scenarios of a given risk. 

• When adding a scenario, all properties of the risk will be copied over
• The probability or impact can then be modified as desired
• During simulation, only one of a risk or its scenarios can be included in analysis

Adding Risks/Scenarios

1. Click the Risk 

   

    icon.
2. Click the View button above the top list and choose Risk Register.
   
3. Click the New Risk or New Scenario button in the Risk Properties pane or underneath the list.
4. Configure the properties as desired.
   
   

The Probability Qualitative, Schedule Impact, or Cost Impact cannot be modified until the Category has been set.

To import a risk register from Excel, see Importing a Risk Register.

Deleting Risks/Scenarios

1. Click the Risk 

   

    icon.
2. Click the View button above the top list and choose Risk Register.
   
3. Select the desired risk or scenario in the table.
4. Click the Delete button in the Risk Properties pane or underneath the list.

Available Table Columns

Each property in the pane can be displayed as a column, but not each column can be displayed as a property in the pane.

For details on customizing columns, filtering, sorting, and organizing by WBS, see Interface Tour.

Risk Register Columns...

Risk Property/Column	Description
Category	A designation of type. A Threat represents a condition or situation that is unfavorable to the project, often having a negative impact or effect on duration. An Opportunity represents a condition or situation that is favorable to the project, often having a positive impact or effect on duration.
Comments	Notes for summarizing team discussions or including additional information about a risk.
Combined Rating	The average of the schedule rating and the cost rating between 0-100, to prioritize risks in the risk register. For more info, see Probability/Impact Thresholds.
Cost Impact	The degree to which the risk could affect activity costs as defined in the Qualitative Thresholds window. This is only used for qualitative purposes and has no role in the actual simulation. This field cannot be modified until the Category has been set.
Cost Rating	The product of the probability with the cost impact, mapped from 0-100, to prioritize risks in the risk register. For more info, see Probability/Impact Thresholds.
Description	A short description of the risk. This column cannot be removed from the table.
ID	The unique reference number for the risk. New risks/scenarios will always inherit the format of the last risk/scenario added. The format can also be modified beforehand by clicking the sprocket icon next to the ID field.
Include in Simulation	A checkbox for controlling whether or not the risk and its quantitative impact assignments will be included in the simulation. This column cannot be removed from the table.
Owner	The person responsible for tracking a risk, and for ensuring an appropriate response is selected and implemented if it occurs. To add an owner, type in the box. The owner will be saved automatically when the field is deselected.
Probability (Qualitative)	The chance that a risk could occur. This field cannot be modified until the Category has been set. When setting this field, the midpoint of the range defined in the Qualitative Thresholds window will be copied over to the quantitative probability, but only if the quantitative probability is empty. Subsequent changes to this field or updating the value in the Qualitative Thresholds window will have no effect.
Response	Notes for detailing the approach for handling the risk.
Schedule Impact	The degree to which the risk could affect activity durations as defined in the Qualitative Thresholds window. This is only used for qualitative purposes and has no role in the actual simulation. This field cannot be modified until the Category has been set.
Schedule Rating	The product of the probability with the schedule impact, mapped from 0-100, to prioritize risks in the risk register. For more info, see Probability/Impact Thresholds.
Status	The current state of the risk in the project. These are only used for qualitative purposes and have no role in the simulation. New is used for a risk just entered in the register; Open for a risk chosen for simulation; Risk In Progress for a risk that has been assigned to activities; and Closed for a risk whose activities it has been assigned to have been completed.
Strategy	The type of response to a risk, depending on if it's a threat or opportunity. Accept is used for threats or opportunities when other responses are not applicable or feasible, and it involves either taking no action or developing a contingency plan if the risk occurs; Mitigate or Enhance involves attempting to decrease or increase the probability of a threat or opportunity respectively; Transfer or Share involves reassigning a threat or opportunity respectively to an owner better positioned to respond to it; and Avoid or Exploit involves taking the necessary steps to ensure a threat or opportunity respectively will not or will occur.

For quantitative columns, see Risk Activity Impacts.