project-risk-register

# Project Risk Register

## Table of Contents
1. [Purpose](#purpose)
2. [When to Use](#when-to-use)
3. [What Is It?](#what-is-it)
4. [Workflow](#workflow)
5. [Common Patterns](#common-patterns)
6. [Risk Scoring Framework](#risk-scoring-framework)
7. [Guardrails](#guardrails)
8. [Quick Reference](#quick-reference)

## Purpose

Proactively identify, assess, prioritize, and monitor project risks to reduce likelihood of surprises, enable informed decision-making, and ensure stakeholders understand uncertainty. Transform vague concerns ("this might not work") into actionable risk management (probability×impact scores, named owners, specific mitigations, measurable triggers).

## When to Use

**Use this skill when:**

- **Project kickoff**: Establishing risk baseline before significant work begins
- **High uncertainty**: New technology, unfamiliar domain, complex dependencies, regulatory constraints
- **Stakeholder pressure**: Execs/board want visibility into "what could go wrong"
- **Critical path concerns**: Delays, dependencies, or single points of failure threaten timeline
- **Gate reviews**: Quarterly check-ins, milestone reviews, go/no-go decisions require risk assessment
- **Incident response**: Major issue occurred, need to identify related risks to prevent recurrence
- **Portfolio management**: Comparing risk profiles across multiple projects for resource allocation
- **Change requests**: Scope/timeline/budget changes require risk re-assessment

**Common triggers:**
- "What are the biggest risks to this project?"
- "What could cause us to miss the deadline?"
- "How confident are we in this estimate/plan?"
- "What's our backup plan if X fails?"
- "What dependencies could block us?"

## What Is It?

**Project Risk Register** is a living document tracking all identified risks with:

1. **Risk identification**: What could go wrong (threat) or go better than expected (opportunity)
2. **Risk assessment**: Probability (how likely?) × Impact (how bad/good if it happens?)