The risk wall is intended to make risks and issues visible to the project team along with driving discussion on project challenges on a regular basis to ensure that action is been taken to mitigate future problems. The risk wall is a simple concept with two axis of impact and probability ranging from low to high.
The wall has the following rules;
- Anyone on the project team can write a problem or concern on a card to add to the wall
- Risk and Issues are recorded on separate coloured cards. I favour using red for issues and orange for risks.
- Before placing the card on the wall, a small huddle (2-3 people) should take place to define where the card should be placed on the wall relative to other cards currently there
- During stand up the two highest risks will be discussed in terms of action that has taken place to mitigate the problem
- As risks are dealt with the cards are moved to the appropriate position on the wall
The wall then becomes a living artefact, highlighting areas of unpredictability that can be focused on and eradicated