Overview
Kiplot uses a RAID approach to help teams manage uncertainty and change at the initiative level. RAID stands for Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies — closely related elements that together provide a clear, structured view of what could impact delivery.
Risks highlight what might happen and could affect delivery if not managed.
Issues capture problems that have already occurred and require active resolution.
Assumptions record beliefs or conditions that plans depend on, but which may need validation over time.
Dependencies record relationships between initiatives, outcomes, and key dates that must be delivered or resolved for the initiative to succeed.
By tracking risks, issues and assumptions in one place, teams can surface uncertainty early, respond quickly to emerging problems, and reduce surprises as initiatives progress. Kiplot’s RAID capabilities make it easy to capture, update and report on these elements, supporting better decision-making and more confident delivery.
Permissions
Action | Permission |
|---|---|
Configure Risks, Issues and Assumptions | Strategic Portfolio Administrators |
Create or edit a RAID item on an initiative | Strategic Portfolio Full Access (or above) or Edit access to the initiative |
View a RAID item on an initiative | Strategic Portfolio Member (or above) or View access to the initiative |
Risks and Issues
These fields are available on all risks and issues entered in Kiplot.
Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Key | Text | Automatically assigned unique identifier, uneditable. |
Status | Dropdown | Use to track if the risk/issue is open or closed. |
Summary | Text | Provide a short summary of the risk/issue. |
Description | Text | Provide a more detailed explanation of the risk/issue. |
Impact | Sliding scale | Select a score between 1 (insignificant) and 5 (severe). |
Probability | Sliding scale | Select a percentage that reflects the probability of the risk/issue occurring. A score between 1 (very unlikely) and 5 (very likely) will automatically be assigned. |
Score | Number | Automatically assigned, uneditable. See further down in this article for more information on how this score is generated. |
Owner | Dropdown | Assign an owner. They must exist as a user in Kiplot. |
Mitigating Action | Text | Provide detail on the action(s) taking place to mitigate the risk/issue. |
Comment | Text | Add additional comments to the risk/issue. |
Created | Text | Automatically assigned, uneditable. |
Configuration
You need Strategic Portfolio Administrator permissions to configure Risks and Issues.
You can access the Risk and Issue configuration in the RAID tab of the configuration page. For more information see the RAID Configuration page.
Administrators can:
Enable/disable optional fields
Configure the impact levels
Configure the probability levels
Risks and issues support Custom Fields. If you navigate to the ‘Custom Fields’ tab in the configuration, you can select ‘Risks and Issues’ for that field.
Administrators can also can change the name of the RAID tab on the initiative through our Terminology Page.
Managing Risks and Issues
You need Edit access to the initiative to create and edit Risks and Issues in the initiative.
You need View access to the initiative to see the Risks and Issues in the initiative.
In Kiplot, Risks and Issues are tracked at the initiative level. You can add these to an initiative by opening up the initiative page and navigating to the RAID tab.
Adding a risk/issue
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the RAID Tab
On the Risks/Issues section click “Add risk/issue”
Fill out required Summary, Impact and Probability (for risks only) and optional Owner
Click Add
Updating information for a risk/issue
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Risks and Issues Tab
Risk/issue section properties in the table can be edited directly
Changes are automatically saved
Calculated or fixed properties like Score and Created data are not editable. These are predefined to maintain data consistency and accuracy within Kiplot.
Escalating/ De-escalating a risk/issue
The escalated status is used to highlight specific risks/issues in reporting.
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Risks and Issues Tab
On the risk/issue section click on the 3-dot button at the start of a risk/issue row
Click “Escalate”/”De-escalate”
A red exclamation mark automatically gets added/removed based on the action
Reassigning a risk/issue to a different initiative
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Risks and Issues Tab
On the risk/issue section click on the 3-dot button at the start of a risk/issue row
Click “Change Initiative”
Type to search and select the initiative
The Risk/Issue will get reassigned when selecting the initiative
Status updates on a risk/issue
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Risks and Issues Tab
On the risk/issue section click on the 3-dot button at the start of a risk/issue row
Click “Close”/”Open”
The Risk/Issue Status will update with a completed/open icon when triggering the action
Archiving a risk/issue
On the Initiative Detail page, navigate to the Risks and Issues Tab
On the risk/issue section click on the 3-dot button at the start of a risk/issue row
Click “Archive”
Click the red bin-icon to confirm
Activity Log
You can see the activity log for all risks and issues in the RAID tab of the activity log of the initiative.
Kiplot AI: Risk Identification
You need to speak to your Account Manager to enable Kiplot AI for your portfolio.
Kiplot AI does not use your data for training or share your data with third parties.
For more information see Kiplot AI.
To proactively uncover potential risks specific to your initiative, use the AI risk identification feature in the Risks section. Kiplot's AI analyzes your initiative's financial profile, description, delivery details, and connected outcomes to generate a tailored list of potential risks.
Identify risks for initiative:
Navigate to your risk log on the initiative details page in the RAID tab.
Press the “Identify Risks with AI” button on the Risk section of the RAID log.
A loading modal will appear while the system reviews your initiative.
A list of risks are suggested based on the initiative’s details, delivery and financial data.
Select a risk from the list to modify its summary, description, impact, and probability using the provided fields and sliders or revert to the AI's original suggestion. Select multiple risks to add them to your risk log.
To formally document and track identified risks, add selected and edited risks to your initiative's risk log by pressing the “Add risks” button. These risks become visible and manageable within the risk section for ongoing management.
Assumptions
Configuration
You need Strategic Portfolio Administrator permissions to configure Assumptions.
You can access the Assumption configuration in the RAID tab of the configuration page. For more information see the RAID Configuration page.
Administrators can:
Enable/disable the assumption feature
Configure the options for the theme field.
Assumptions support Custom Fields. If you navigate to the ‘Custom Fields’ tab in the configuration, you can select ‘Assumption’ for your field.
Manage Assumptions
You need Edit access to the initiative to create and edit Assumptions in an initiative.
You need View access to the initiative to see the Assumptions in the initiative.
In Kiplot, Assumptions are tracked at the initiative level. You can add these to an initiative by opening up the initiative page and navigating to the RAID tab.
Adding an assumption
Begin adding a new assumption for an initiative by selecting the option to add a new assumption from the 'Assumptions' section within an initiative's RAID tab.
Enter Assumption Summary: Provide a concise overview of the assumption by typing a brief summary into the designated field in the 'Add assumption' form.
Assign Assumption Theme and Owner (optional): Organize the assumption and assign responsibility for its tracking by selecting a relevant theme from the dropdown and assigning an owner in the 'Add assumption' form.
Save New Assumption: Finalize and record the newly created assumption by saving it. This adds the assumption to the initiative's RAID log.
Editing an assumption
Mark Assumption as Validated: Update the assumption's status to reflect its validation outcome by marking it as 'Validated' for a selected assumption.
Update Assumption Confidence Level: Adjust how confident you are in the assumption's truth by changing the confidence level to reflect new information or analysis.
Assign Assumption Actions: Specify necessary follow-up steps or tasks related to the assumption by adding actions to ensure appropriate attention.
Activity Log
You can see the activity log for all assumptions in the RAID tab of the activity log of the initiative.
Dependencies
Kiplot supports multiple different types of dependencies and allows them to be visualised using the Dependency Overlay in the Outcome Planner.
Types of Dependencies in Kiplot:
Initiative to Initiative: these are other initiatives that are blocking or are blocked by the current initiative. Learn more about them in our Initiative help page.
Outcome to Outcome: these are the relationships between outcomes to track which outcomes are blocking or are blocked by the outcome. Learn more about them in the Outcome help page.
Key Date to Outcome: these are outcomes that complete the work needed to successfully complete the Key Date of the initiative. Read more about Adding a dependent Outcome to a Key Date.
Dependency Types:
Dependencies can be established between outcomes or initiatives, representing the relationship and direction between these entities (blocked/blocked by). The dependency type can also be defined, including “finish to start”, “start to start”, “start to finish”, or “finish to finish”.
Finish to Start: Blocking initiative has to finish before this initiative can start
Start to Start: Blocking initiative has to start before this initiative can start
Start to Finish: Blocking initiative has to start before this initiative can finish
Finish to Finish: Blocking initiative has to finish before this initiative can finish