I want a lean plan I can build within a weekend and goal is to review monthly. What steps did you follow (identify, assess, mitigate, contingency, review) and what did your spreadsheet columns look like (risk, owner, likelihood, impact, response, next check-in)?
Template or spreadsheet is much appreciated. Something handson is what I’m looking for for this.
I built a really simple risk plan like this over a weekend, and it’s been easy to maintain with monthly reviews. My approach was to keep it lightweight but structured enough to stay useful.
First, I listed all potential risks — things like delays, tool failures, or data issues. Then I gave each one a quick rating for likelihood (low/medium/high) and impact (1–5). After that, I added short notes on how to reduce each risk and what I’d do if it actually happened.
Each risk has an “owner,” so there’s accountability, and I review them once a month to update status and next steps. It takes less than 10 minutes but helps spot patterns early — like repeated delays or small issues that could snowball.
My spreadsheet only has a few columns (risk, owner, likelihood, impact, response, next check-in), and I color-code them to see priorities at a glance. Nothing fancy, just practical.
If you want something really hands-on, start with a simple list and evolve it after your first review. The key is consistency, not complexity.