View the Risk Heat Map

What the heat map shows

Each risk in your Risk Register appears as a marker on a two-dimensional grid:

• The vertical axis represents Likelihood, from low at the bottom to high at the top.
• The horizontal axis represents Impact, from low on the left to high on the right.
• Each cell is color-coded by severity, with cooler colors for lower-priority risks and warmer colors for the ones that need attention first.

The map plots each risk by its current inherent or residual score, so the picture reflects where risks actually sit today, not where they sat when they were first registered.

What it helps your team do

• Spot priorities at a glance. Concentrations of markers in the high-impact, high-likelihood quadrant show where treatment work needs to land first.
• Track the effect of treatment. As controls get mapped and treatment plans complete, residual scores drop and risks move toward the lower-priority cells.
• Compare across categories or business units. Filtering the heat map by category, owner, or risk scope reveals which parts of the business carry the heaviest risk load.
• Communicate with leadership. The grid format is a familiar shape for executive briefings and board materials, so the same view your team uses to plan can go straight into a leadership meeting.

Where it fits in the risk lifecycle

The heat map is a monitor-stage tool. After risks have been registered, scored, mapped to controls, and put under a treatment plan, the heat map gives you the rolled-up view of whether your overall risk posture is moving in the right direction. Drill into a marker to open the underlying risk record and follow up on any evaluation or treatment plan still in motion.