Strategise method guide
Risk Register
Track causes, consequences, controls, mitigation owners and risk assessments before and after existing controls.
Beginner-friendly guide · 4 min read
What Risk Register does
Track causes, consequences, controls, mitigation owners and risk assessments before and after existing controls.
A risk entry connects an uncertain event to its cause, consequence and response. A list of worrying topics is harder to act on than a register with owners and review dates.
The tool distinguishes exposure before controls from the exposure remaining after existing controls. Record what supports the assessment and what still needs doing.
ISO 31000 provides general risk-management guidance. The InnovationFlow register is a practical planning tool, not a certification or a substitute for a sector-specific safety assessment.[1]
A practical review cycle, not a prediction of failure.
- 1Identify→
- 2Assess→
- 3Control→
- 4Assign→
- 5Review
Original InnovationFlow illustration. Example values and software behaviour are explained in this guide; method sources are listed below.
Understand the method
The parts in plain language
Cause and consequence
Explain the mechanism that could affect the plan.
Illustrative example
A single qualified seal supplier could delay a production ramp.
Residual risk
Assess the position after controls already in place.
Illustrative example
A tested second source differs from a supplier still being qualified.
Review trigger
Make reassessment part of the work.
Illustrative example
Review qualification progress before the pilot build.
When to use it
- When selected initiatives need explicit risk ownership.
- When controls or evidence change during delivery.
A practical workflow
- 1
Describe the cause and consequence of each risk.
- 2
Assess likelihood and impact before controls using agreed scales.
- 3
Record existing controls and assess the residual exposure; keep planned mitigation separate.
- 4
Assign an owner, status and review date, and revisit the evidence.
Fictional worked example
A production ramp
This example is illustrative rather than a reported case. Illustrative supplier risk for a physical product.
Observation:Only one source is qualified.
Implication:Name the affected milestone.
Observation:Buffer stock covers the pilot.
Implication:Assess what exposure remains for the later ramp.
Observation:Qualify another supplier.
Implication:Assign an owner and a review date.
From analysis to decision
How to interpret the result
- 1Keep risk status separate from whether the initiative is attractive.
- 2Reassess when controls, suppliers or the delivery plan change.
Practical interpretation guidance from InnovationFlow. Refer to the method sources below for the underlying approach.
What a useful output looks like
Common pitfalls
- A planned control is not an effective existing control.
- Ordinal likelihood and impact scores do not establish a financial loss or exact probability.
References and method basis
- [1]International Organization for Standardization (2018). ISO 31000:2018, Risk management: Guidelines. ISO. Source ↗International standard
This guide synthesises the named sources into practical questions for strategy and innovation work. It does not claim that using a tool by itself produces a successful decision.