Risk Assessment

At the time of evaluation, the risks identified should be ranked by their likelihood and impact. The likelihood refers to the probability of risks actually happening, while impact is the consequences if a potential risk happens.

The figure below illustrates the conceptual relationship between likelihood, impact and risk.

Once the risks are assessed based on their likelihood and impact score, they can be visualised on a risk matrix.

The following is an example risk matrix from the Wikimedia Commons. The image is available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 license).

The event team can then decide which part of the matrix is above or below the project risk threshold. For experienced teams, the risk threshold can be set high. The threshold may need to be lowered if the team is new or lacks experience in running a particular type of event. Mitigation plans will need to be formulated for risks above the threshold.

See the risk management template for an example that includes a risk matrix.