Project risk assessment heatmap

The Orion launch team uses a likelihood-by-impact heatmap to agree which risks deserve attention first. Scores rise toward the likely, high-impact corner, providing a shared view for prioritising mitigations. This is a decision aid, not a forecast: the individual risk register should still identify the owner, trigger and response for each item. Agree the scoring definitions before the workshop so one person’s “possible” is not another person’s “likely,” and keep the matrix compact enough to read in a project review. Before sharing it, compare the chart with the source table and make the scope explicit. A clear date range, population and unit help another reader interpret the pattern correctly and decide whether follow-up analysis is needed.