Risk register

A written record of identified risks, typically including a description of each risk, its severity and likelihood ratings, its owner, and its current status (open, mitigated, accepted). A risk register is a useful tracking tool but is not itself a mitigation; a risk that sits in a register with no owner, no implemented change, and no review date has been documented, not managed.

The table-format artifact holding one row per identified risk, with columns for risk category, the specific risk, the specific named mitigation, and the responsible owner, structured so a reviewer can check each risk against its stated response line by line.

A three-item document naming the most likely capstone failure modes (scope creep, integration-first build order, demonstration gap) and the specific pre-emptive decision that neutralizes each one. Written during the planning session before the build begins.

A short, honest list of the few risks that could actually kill a program, each with a likelihood, an impact, an owner, and a specific mitigation. Honesty over comprehensiveness: five real risks beat forty generic ones.

A tracked list of a design's known weak points, each recorded with its consequence if it occurs, its likelihood, its current mitigation or evidence, and its status (closed with evidence, or open with an owner and a date). Bringing a self-authored risk register into a review demonstrates diligence and changes the review's dynamic from defense to demonstrated preparation.