AI Risk Assessment Matrix - Complete Guide

Overview

Risk assessment isn't a one-time exercise—it's an ongoing discipline that must cover your entire AI portfolio. This comprehensive framework provides everything you need: methodology for consistent assessment, scoring for objective prioritization, mitigations for efficient response, and processes for continuous monitoring.

Deploy in 2-4 weeks for initial portfolio assessment. Maintain with quarterly reviews and ad-hoc assessments for new systems or incidents.

What's Inside

Risk Assessment Methodology

• 5-Phase Process: System Identification → Risk Identification → Risk Assessment → Mitigation Planning → Continuous Monitoring
• Risk taxonomy covering all four dimensions with specific risk categories
• Risk identification questionnaires and checklists

Risk Scoring Worksheet

• 25-point scoring matrix (Likelihood 1-5 × Impact 1-5)
• Scoring criteria definitions for consistency
• Risk priority calculations and thresholds
• Aggregate portfolio risk scoring

Comprehensive Mitigation Playbook

• 50+ pre-built mitigations mapped to risk types
• Implementation guidance for each mitigation
• Cost and effort estimates
• Control effectiveness ratings

Incident Response Plan

• Severity classification framework
• Response team roles and responsibilities
• Step-by-step procedures for AI-specific incidents
• Communication templates

Risk Register & Tracking

• Risk register template with fields for identification, assessment, mitigation
• Status tracking and trending
• Remediation workflow management

Third-Party AI Risk Assessment

• Vendor risk questionnaire
• Assessment criteria and scoring
• Contract requirements checklist
• Ongoing monitoring requirements

Quarterly Risk Review Process

• Review agenda and participants
• Metrics and reporting templates
• Escalation criteria
• Continuous improvement cycle

Industry-Specific Scenarios

• Healthcare, Financial Services, Manufacturing examples
• Industry-specific risk factors and mitigations

Appendix: Tools & Templates

• Risk assessment templates (Word, Excel)
• Scoring calculators
• Reference materials

Who This Is For

• Chief AI Officers establishing enterprise risk programs
• Risk Managers implementing AI risk assessment
• Compliance Officers ensuring regulatory risk coverage
• AI Product Owners assessing individual system risks
• Audit Teams evaluating AI risk management

Why This Resource

Fragmented approaches to AI risk create gaps and inconsistencies. This framework provides a unified methodology—ensuring every AI system is assessed consistently and comprehensively. Pre-built mitigations accelerate response; you don't need to invent controls from scratch.

The quarterly review process ensures risk management is ongoing, not a one-time checkbox.

FAQ

Q: How long does initial deployment take?

A: 2-4 weeks for initial assessment across your AI portfolio, depending on portfolio size and team resources. After initial deployment, individual system assessments take 2-4 hours.

Q: How does this integrate with our existing ERM framework?

A: The 25-point scoring matrix and risk register format align with standard ERM approaches. AI risk categories can be mapped to enterprise risk taxonomies. The framework extends ERM to AI-specific factors rather than replacing existing processes.

Q: What about regulatory-specific requirements?

A: The framework covers compliance risk comprehensively. For industry-specific regulatory requirements (SR 11-7, HIPAA, EU AI Act), see our industry-specific editions and compliance checklists.