Score the risks

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Four risks, one week

The studio has time to work on one risk this week. Kai wants to fix the scariest. Remy wants to fix the most likely.

The risk register settles it the same way every time: score = likelihood times impact, each from 1 to 5. The highest score goes first.

Try it

Pick the first risk

Each risk has a likelihood and an impact from 1 to 5. Tap the risk the studio should work on first.

Try it in the lesson

Quick check

Kai asks: the flood has the biggest impact, so why is it not first?

  1. It is very unlikely, so its score, 1 times 5, is only 5
  2. Floods never go in a risk register
  3. Impact does not count toward the score
Show the answer

It is very unlikely, so its score, 1 times 5, is only 5

Impact matters, but so does how often a thing happens. A rare disaster can score lower than a likely, painful problem.

Quick check

The typo is the most likely risk, so it has the highest score.

Show the answer

False

Likelihood 5 times impact 1 is only 5. A typo is almost certain, but it barely hurts.

A score sorts, people decide

The score puts the list in order. People still judge each row. The flood scores only 5, but it could end the studio, so the team gives it a cheap response anyway: a backup in a second region.

Score it again after acting

A load test and spare servers make a launch-day crash less likely. The team re-scores R3: likelihood 4 drops to 2, so the score falls from 16 to 8.

The register now shows the work paid off, and a different risk moves to the top.

Read the register

Risk register, after the load test
Risk                L   IServers buckle      2   4Artist ill          3   3Console rejection   2   5

Which risk is at the top now?

  1. Console rejection, with a score of 10
  2. Artist ill, with a score of 9
  3. Servers buckle, with a score of 8
Show the answer

Console rejection, with a score of 10

2 times 5 is 10, higher than 3 times 3 (9) and 2 times 4 (8). Console rejection gets next week's attention.

On the studio board

The studio adds a third decision to the board:

Risk register: reviewed every Monday. The top score gets the week's first hour.

Bolt says: Next: build, buy or borrow.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026