Templates · Analysis

RAID Log (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies)

An inventory of what could derail a plan, sorted into risks, unverified assumptions, open issues and what the team is waiting on.

What it is

A RAID log sorts what could derail a plan into four kinds. Risks have not happened yet; issues already have. Assumptions are what the plan takes for granted; dependencies are what the team waits on from others. The value is in the sorting, because each kind calls for a different response.

Goal

A list the team can act on and come back to: each risk with a way to reduce it, each assumption with a way to check it, each issue with an owner, each dependency with someone who chases it.

When to use it

• At the start of a project or a release, once there is a plan to examine.
• At a milestone, to go through the list again: a risk may have become an issue, an assumption may have proven wrong.

When to pick another format

A RAID log looks forward and only at trouble. To review how the team worked during a sprint, take Went well, To improve, Action ideas. When the Risks column stays thin because nobody can picture what might go wrong, a Pre-mortem gets at the risks from the other end. For a view that also counts strengths and openings, use SWOT Analysis.

How to run it

Show the plan first, then:

1. Risks: what may go wrong later? Write it as an event, such as a vendor delivering late.
2. Assumptions: what does the plan take for granted that nobody has verified?
3. Issues: what is already going wrong and has no owner?
4. Dependencies: which work or decision from outside the team are we waiting on, and from whom?

When grouping, test each card against its column. Asking whether it is happening now separates an issue from a risk; a risk that rests on an unchecked belief may be an assumption. Move the cards accordingly. Vote on what would hurt most. In the discussion, give each chosen card the response of its kind (reduce, check, fix, chase) and record it as an action with an owner.

Columns

To start a retrospective from this template, see Create a retro.