Managing Risk

Risk Appetite

Risk Appetite controls how estimates in the roadmap are adjusted to account for uncertainty.

Risk Appetite is available in three options:

1. Low Risk: Adds a buffer to produce a more conservative estimate (>70% chance of successful outcome)
2. Medium Risk: Uses the original estimate (no adjustment, 50% chance of successful outcome)
3. High Risk: Reduces the estimate, assuming more optimistic outcomes <30% chance of successful outcome)

The buffer or deduction are calculated based on the industry averages.

Adjusting Risk Appetite

The risk appetite can be changed either in the timebox or epic settings.

To change risk appetite for all epics inside the timebox, navigate to timebox actions in the Roadmap Editor and click “Manage Risk.” In the modal, select the desired risk appetite for the “Risk Appetite” setting.

To change the risk appetite individually for a single epic, click on that epic in Roadmap Editor. In the right sidebar, open the “Schedule” tab. Change the Risk Appetite field to the desired value.

Compression

Compression is used to manage risk and choose between slow and rapid styles of execution. Compression is implemented on an epic level and defines whether epic activities will be done sequentially or concurrently.

Epics compression is available in two options:

1. Sequential (Safe/Slow): Delivery date is calculated by the sum of duration of all epic activities. Best for high-risk small teams with high-quality focus
2. Concurrent (Risky/Fast): Delivery date is calculated by the duration of the longest activity. Best for low-risk cross-functional teams

Adjusting Compression

The compression can be changed either in the timebox or epic settings.

To change compression for all epics inside the timebox, navigate to timebox actions in the Roadmap Editor and click “Manage Risk.” In the modal select the desired compression for the “Internal Epics Compression” setting.

To change compression individually for a single epic, click on that epic in the Roadmap Editor. In the right sidebar, open the “Schedule” tab. Change the compression field to the desired value.