Risk profile, risk survey, and overall risk score computation :

Last updated: 2026-05-13

Source: https://support.freshservice.com/support/solutions/articles/50000013891-risk-profile-risk-survey-and-overall-risk-score-computation

The following documentation explains the computation logic used to determine risk profiles, survey results, and the cumulative risk scores within the change risk assessment framework.

Risk Profile scoring computation

This section describes the step-by-step process used to calculate the automated risk score for change requests. The algorithm evaluates change parameters against predefined policies and rules to provide a standardized risk assessment.

Initiation and policy selection

The scoring process is triggered automatically whenever a change request is created or updated, provided it meets specific policy conditions.

Policy evaluation: The system evaluates Risk Policies in a top-down priority order.

Selection: It selects the first Risk Policy that matches the conditions of the change request.

Fallback: If no specific policy matches, the system defaults to Basic Risk Awareness.

Risk Profile mapping: Once a policy is identified, the system uses the specific Risk Profile mapped to that policy for all subsequent calculations.

Scoring logic: Rules and parameters

For every parameter defined in the selected Risk Profile (for example, Impact, Planned Start Date), the system follows a specific numeric conversion process:

Rule sorting

Scoring rules for each parameter are sorted in descending order by their score value (for example, 10 down to 0). If rules share the same score, they retain their configured order.

Evaluation process

Match search: The system compares the change request’s parameter value against the sorted rules.

Stop condition: It checks rules sequentially and stops immediately once a match is found.

Assign score: The score of the first matching rule becomes the Parameter Score.

Default: If no rules match, the Parameter Score is set to 0.

Maximum score: The highest possible score in the sorted list for that parameter is recorded as the Maximum Score.

Final Risk Profile score calculation

The final score is expressed as a percentage. The calculation method depends on whether weights are assigned to the parameters.

Method A: Without weights

The score is calculated by dividing the total earned points by the total possible points.

Method B: With weights

If weights are configured, the system first determines Weighted Parameter Scores (Score × Weight) and Weighted Maximum Scores (Max Score × Weight).

Calculation example

The following tables demonstrate how a change request is scored based on specific rules and values.

Sample change request data


Change Parameter	Value
Impact	High
Roll-out Plan Details	Includes word "servers"
Impacted Employees	450
Blackout Window Overlap	TRUE
Planned Start Date	null

Comparison of scoring results


Metric	Without weights	With weights
Sum of Parameter Scores	27	479 (Weighted)
Sum of Maximum Scores	39	648 (Weighted)
Final Risk Score	69.2	73.9

Risk Survey scoring computation

This section provides a comprehensive overview of the scoring algorithm used to calculate risk profiles for change requests. The process involves evaluating specific risk policies, identifying applicable surveys, and calculating scores based on response rules and optional weighting.

Scoring workflow

The risk calculation follows a structured sequence to ensure every change request is evaluated against the correct criteria.

Start calculation: Triggered automatically when a change request is created or updated.

Identify the risk policy: Policies are evaluated in a top-down priority order. The system selects the first policy that matches the change request conditions. If no match is found, the "Basic Risk Awareness" policy is used.

Identify the risk survey: The system retrieves the specific survey mapped to the identified policy.

Fetch parameters and rules: All questions and their associated scoring rules within the selected survey are retrieved.

Convert responses to numeric scores

Each question in a survey is processed individually to determine its contribution to the overall risk score.

Sort and evaluate

Sort scoring rules: Rules are sorted in descending order by score (for example, 10 to 0). If scores are identical, the configured order is maintained.

Determine maximum score: The highest possible score for a question is established by the first rule in the sorted list.

Evaluate rules: The system compares the user's response against the first rule. If no match is found, it continues through the sorted list until a match is found or all rules are exhausted.

Assign scores

Question score: The score from the first matching rule is assigned.

Default score: If no rules match the response, the question score defaults to 0.

Calculation methodology

The final Risk Survey score is expressed as a percentage.

Calculation without weights

When weights are not configured, the formula is:

Calculation with weights

If weights are defined for parameters, the system first calculates weighted values:

Weighted Question Score: Question Score x Weight

Weighted Maximum Score: Maximum Score x Weight

The formula for the weighted score is:

Example scenarios

The following examples demonstrate how responses are converted into a final risk percentage.

Sample question configuration


Risk question	Type	Scoring rules
Implementer availability	Multichoice	Staff available (0), Key stakeholders (2), Limited staff (4), On-call only (8)
Technical difficulty	Rating scale	Very easy (0) ... Neutral (5) ... Very difficult (10)
Validated in Pre-Prod	Yes/No	No (0), Yes (10)

Example 1: Calculation without weights

In this scenario, the user responded "All staff available," "Neutral," and "No".


Risk question	Question score	Maximum score
Implementer availability	0	8
Technical difficulty	5	10
Validated in Pre-Prod	10	10
SUM	15	28

Final score: (15 / 28) x 100 = 53.57

Example 2: Calculation with weights

Using the same responses but applying specific weights to each question.


Risk question	Weight	Weighted question score	Weighted max score
Implementer availability	35	0	280
Technical difficulty	30	150	300
Validated in Pre-Prod	35	350	350
SUM		500	730

Final score: (500 / 730) x 100 = 68.49

Overall risk score computation

The overall risk score is determined using a weighted average method that balances two primary inputs: the Risk Profile score and the Risk Survey score. This methodology ensures that different risk factors are prioritized according to organizational policy.

Step 1: Identify base scores

The calculation begins by identifying the two core metrics:

Risk Profile score: The computed score based on the entity's profile.

Risk Survey score: The score derived from completed risk assessments or surveys.

Example: \> \\ Risk profile score = 75 \\ Risk survey score = 60

Step 2: Determine weightage

Assign weightage to each score based on current organizational policy. The combined weightage of both factors must always total 100.

Risk Profile weightage: The percentage of importance assigned to the profile.

Risk Survey weightage: The percentage of importance assigned to the survey.

Example: \> \\ Risk profile weightage = 70 \\ Risk survey weightage = 30

Step 3: Calculation process

To reach the final result, the weighted scores are computed individually before being combined.

Compute weighted Risk Profile score

Multiply the risk profile score by its assigned weightage.

Formula: Risk Profile Score x Risk Profile Weightage

Example: 75 x 70 = 5250

Compute weighted Risk Survey score

Multiply the risk survey score by its assigned weightage.

Formula: Risk Survey Score x Risk Survey Weightage

Example: 60 x 30 = 1800

Compute overall risk score

Add the two weighted scores together and divide by 100.

Formula: (Weighted Risk Profile score + Weighted Risk Survey score) / 100

Example: (5250 + 1800) / 100 = 70.5

Step 4: Finalization and mapping

The final computed score is mapped to a risk level (Low, Medium, High, Very High) and over-rides the risk level in the default “Risk” field.