The risk heat map

The Risk Distribution Heatmap shows how your open risks are spread by probability and impact. Probability is how likely a risk is to happen; impact is how serious it would be if it did. The heat map helps you see at a glance whether risks are bunching up in the serious, red part of the grid.

Where to find it

The heat map is on both dashboards:

Dashboard	Which risks it counts	The line under the title
Manager Dashboard, for managers and employees	Your department’s risks	“Showing risk distribution within the department.”
CEO Dashboard	Your whole organisation’s risks	“Showing risk distribution within the organization.”

Open it with Dashboard in the menu on the left.

The Risk Distribution Heatmap

Which risks are counted

The heat map counts only open risks: risks with the status New or In Progress that haven’t been marked as mitigated.

• Risks that are Unassessed, Deferred, Mitigated or Archived aren’t counted.
• A risk needs both a Likelihood and an Impact to be placed on the grid. See How risk scores work.

How the grid is laid out

The grid has five columns and five rows, one for each level from Very Low to Very High.

• The columns are impact. They run from Very Low on the left to Very High on the right. Their names are above the grid, and the word Impact is under it.
• The rows are probability. They run from Very High at the top to Very Low at the bottom. Their names are on the left of the grid, and the word Probability runs down the right-hand side.

“Probability” on the heat map means the same as Likelihood on a risk’s form and page.

Level	Probability (likelihood) means	Impact means
Very Low	The risk is highly unlikely to happen.	No real effect on operations or objectives.
Low	Unlikely, but possible.	A slight disruption, with little effect on objectives.
Medium	It may happen in certain conditions.	A noticeable effect; it may delay operations.
High	It is likely to happen.	A big effect on operations; objectives are at risk.
Very High	It is almost certain to happen.	A critical effect, with a high chance of failure.

What the colours mean

Each cell’s colour shows how serious that mix of probability and impact is. The colours go from light green (least serious), through pale yellow, orange and light red, to deep red (most serious).

Probability (row) and impact (column)	Very Low	Low	Medium	High	Very High
Very High	Orange	Light red	Light red	Deep red	Deep red
High	Pale yellow	Orange	Light red	Deep red	Deep red
Medium	Pale yellow	Orange	Orange	Light red	Deep red
Low	Light green	Pale yellow	Orange	Light red	Deep red
Very Low	Light green	Light green	Pale yellow	Orange	Deep red

The whole Very High impact column is deep red: a risk that would have a critical effect always needs attention, however unlikely it is.

What the numbers mean

A number in a circle shows how many risks are counted in that cell. A cell with no number has no risks in it. The heat map shows only counts, not the names of the risks.

The rows are upside down at the moment

At present the heat map counts each risk in the wrong row, as if the likelihood were turned upside down. A risk with a Very High likelihood is counted in the bottom row, labelled Very Low. A risk with a High likelihood is counted in the row labelled Low, and the other way round. Only the Medium row is right. The impact columns are right.

The top row has two more mistakes: its Very Low impact cell counts risks with a Very High impact, and its Very High impact cell never shows a number. Risks with a Very Low likelihood and a Very Low impact aren’t shown at all.

Until this is fixed, don’t judge how serious your risks are from a cell’s colour. Check each risk’s likelihood and impact on its own page, as described below.

Find the risks behind a number

You can’t select the cells. To see the risks themselves:

• Managers and employees: open the Risk Register from the menu. It lists your department’s risks. See The risk register.
• CEO: in Departments Overview on the CEO Dashboard, select a department to open its page and see its risks. See Departments.

Each risk’s own page has a small grid of likelihood by impact with the risk’s place marked, and a line such as “High likelihood, medium impact”. Use it to check exactly where a single risk sits. See A risk’s page.

How risks move on the map

• When someone changes a risk’s likelihood or impact, the risk moves to another cell.
• When a risk’s status changes to anything other than New or In Progress, such as Mitigated, Deferred or Archived, it leaves the map. So does a risk marked with Mark as mitigated.
• The heat map is worked out when the dashboard opens. To see the latest picture, reload the page in your browser.

Get a report

Select PDF Report at the top of the card to open the Generate Reports page, where you can create a risk report to share or print. See Make a risk report.

Related

• How risk scores work
• The Manager Dashboard
• The CEO Dashboard