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Risk Register
Table of Contents
Top risks named before kickoff beat surprises after the crater - owner, likelihood, and mitigation on one list.
Key Concept
- Risk register is a living list of what could break the plan - with owner and mitigation, not vibes in a kickoff speech.
- Steering With a Chart holds the register; Surface Bad News Early is what you do when a risk turns real.
- Naming risk early is not pessimism - it is how rollback stays cheap.
Level 1 - Recognize
Risk register is a list of what could break the plan - named before kickoff with owner and mitigation.
Level 2 - Explain
Like a pre-flight checklist - you read it when calm so you do not invent it mid-storm.
Level 3 - Use
Write five risks, who owns watching each, and one mitigation step - review in fifteen minutes at weekly rhythm.
Level 4 - Connect
Fail on Paper First imagines failure; register names it while you can still steer - pairs with Rollback Principle.
Level 5 - Create
Keep the register on one page in the project wiki - update at Weekly Planning Rhythm, not only at launch.
Examples
- Glad vendor API risk was line three before build - when rate limits hit Tuesday we had the fallback path, not panic.
- Migration project had no register - first prod failure became a blame meeting instead of a rehearsed rollback.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| extends | PM Mindset | Planning tool inside the hub |
| extends | Steering With a Chart | Chart holds the register |
| extends | Surface Bad News Early | When risk becomes real |
| extends | Fail on Paper First | Imagine failure while cheap |
