Skip to main content

Configuring Risk Rating Scales

Configure likelihood levels, impact levels, and treatment strategies for risk scoring.

Written by James Ross

Overview

Risk Manager uses a likelihood × impact scoring model to calculate risk ratings. You can configure the likelihood levels, impact levels, and treatment strategies used across your company's risk register.

How Risk Scoring Works

Each risk is rated on two dimensions:

  • Likelihood — how likely the risk is to occur (e.g. Rare, Possible, Likely, Almost Certain)

  • Impact — how severe the consequences would be (e.g. Insignificant, Minor, Moderate, Major, Catastrophic)

The risk score is calculated as Likelihood × Impact. Higher scores indicate greater risk.

Risks have two ratings:

  • Inherent risk — the rating before any controls or treatments are applied

  • Residual risk — the rating after treatment is applied

Configuring Likelihood Levels

Quick Steps

  • Navigate to Settings > Risk Rating Likelihood

  • The likelihood settings page loads with a data table

Default levels are seeded per company:

  • Rare (1)

  • Unlikely (2)

  • Possible (3)

  • Likely (4)

  • Almost Certain (5)

You can:

  • Add — create a new level with title, description, and score value

  • Edit — change the title, description, or score of an existing level

  • Delete — soft-delete a level (removed from active list, record stays in database as Inactive)

Configuring Impact Levels

  • Navigate to Settings > Risk Rating Impact

Default levels:

  • Insignificant (1)

  • Minor (2)

  • Moderate (3)

  • Major (4)

  • Catastrophic (5)

Same CRUD operations as likelihood levels — add, edit, soft-delete.

Configuring Treatment Strategies

  • Navigate to Settings > Risk Rating Treatment

Default strategies:

  • Avoid

  • Reduce

  • Transfer

  • Accept

You can add custom strategies (e.g. "Mitigate"), edit existing ones, or soft-delete them.

Active vs Inactive Levels

Only active levels appear in the rating modals when assessing a risk. Deactivated levels are hidden from selection but remain visible on risks that already have them assigned.

Important: Changes to rating scales affect all risks in your company. Deactivating a level does not change existing risk ratings — it only prevents new selections at that level.

Using Rating Scales on Risks

When you open a risk's rating modal:

  • The inherent rating modal shows likelihood and impact selectors

  • The residual rating modal shows likelihood, impact, and treatment strategy selectors

  • The score preview updates in real time as you change selections

  • Only active levels are displayed

Further Information

For applying ratings to individual risks, see Risk Details. For the heat map visualisation, see Risk Overview & Heat Maps.

Did this answer your question?