# Risk Assessment Checklist
*By Touseef Shaik — touseefshaik.com*

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## How to Use This Checklist
For each risk category, score Probability (1-5) and Impact (1-5). Multiply for a Risk Score.
- **1-6 (Green):** Accept. Monitor periodically.
- **7-14 (Amber):** Mitigate. Active management required.
- **15-25 (Red):** Escalate. May block progress.

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## 1. Technical Risks

| # | Risk | Present? | Probability (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Score | Mitigation |
|---|------|----------|-------------------|---------------|-------|------------|
| 1.1 | Integration complexity with external systems | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.2 | Data migration challenges (volume, quality, format) | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.3 | Scalability — will the architecture handle projected load? | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.4 | Technology stack maturity (new/unproven tools?) | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.5 | Third-party API/ service reliability and SLAs | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.6 | Security vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10) | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.7 | Data integrity and consistency across systems | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.8 | Performance bottlenecks under load | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.9 | Technical debt from rushed development | ☐ | | | | |
| 1.10 | Disaster recovery and backup readiness | ☐ | | | | |

**Technical Risk Summary:**
- Total risks identified: ___
- Red (15-25): ___
- Amber (7-14): ___
- Green (1-6): ___

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## 2. Business Risks

| # | Risk | Present? | Probability (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Score | Mitigation |
|---|------|----------|-------------------|---------------|-------|------------|
| 2.1 | Regulatory / compliance requirements missed | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.2 | Market timing — too early or too late? | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.3 | User adoption — will users actually use this? | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.4 | Stakeholder alignment — conflicting priorities? | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.5 | Competitive response — what will competitors do? | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.6 | Revenue / business model assumptions unvalidated | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.7 | Customer data privacy concerns | ☐ | | | | |
| 2.8 | Brand / reputation risk if feature fails publicly | ☐ | | | | |

**Business Risk Summary:**
- Total risks identified: ___
- Red (15-25): ___
- Amber (7-14): ___
- Green (1-6): ___

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## 3. Project / Delivery Risks

| # | Risk | Present? | Probability (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Score | Mitigation |
|---|------|----------|-------------------|---------------|-------|------------|
| 3.1 | Key person dependency (bus factor) | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.2 | Timeline is unrealistic | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.3 | Resource constraints (headcount, budget) | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.4 | Scope creep — requirements expanding mid-sprint | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.5 | Cross-team dependency delays | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.6 | Testing coverage insufficient | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.7 | Deployment / release process fragility | ☐ | | | | |
| 3.8 | Vendor / third-party delivery risk | ☐ | | | | |

**Project Risk Summary:**
- Total risks identified: ___
- Red (15-25): ___
- Amber (7-14): ___
- Green (1-6): ___

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## 4. Risk Matrix (Visual Summary)

```
Impact
  5 |  ░░  ░░  ██  ██  ██
  4 |  ░░  ░░  ░░  ██  ██
  3 |  ░░  ░░  ░░  ░░  ██
  2 |  ░░  ░░  ░░  ░░  ░░
  1 |  ░░  ░░  ░░  ░░  ░░
    +---------------------
      1   2   3   4   5
        Probability

██ = High Risk (15-25) — Escalate
░░ = Medium Risk (7-14) — Mitigate
  = Low Risk (1-6) — Monitor
```

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## 5. Top 5 Risks (Fill after assessment)

| Rank | Risk ID | Risk Description | Score | Owner | Action Plan |
|------|---------|-----------------|-------|-------|------------|
| 1 | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | | |

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*This template is part of the free BA/PO Toolkit from touseefshaik.com/resources. For AI-powered risk analysis, try BA Assistant at tshaik1990-ba-assistant.hf.space.*