Risk Register Template

A risk is something that, if it occurs, can present a threat or an opportunity to a project. That’s right; risks can have either positive or negative effects.

Regardless of whether the effect is negative or positive, they potentially impact activities, schedule, cost and project resources. For this reason, risks are identified throughout the project and a plan is implemented to manage them. As you would guess, the risk register is a part of the risk management plan.

A risk register captures each identified risk associated with a project. Often it contains the risk description, the risk number, the risk owner, a mitigation strategy, a proposed response, summary information regarding risk analysis and the current status of the risk.

Risks can be identified before the project is authorized and at anytime during the project life cycle. All those documents and process aimed at risk identification become inputs to the risk register. Among other things, inputs include expert knowledge, interviews, questionnaires, lessons learned, laws and regulations, enterprise environmental factors, organizational process assets, project planning documents and assumptions.

The Risk Register is used to capture all projects risks and monitor the status of each one from a high-level perspective. The Risk Register is a valuable input to performing qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and for developing risk response plans. The risk register should be reviewed and continuously updated throughout the project life cycle.