Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is the overall process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risks to determine appropriate responses.
“The process to examine identified risks and determine the risk level.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Risk Assessment?
It combines risk identification and analysis to support informed decisions about mitigation and prioritization.
Comprehensive process: Includes identification and analysis.
Decision support: Helps prioritize mitigation efforts.
Continuous activity: Updated throughout the project lifecycle.
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Risk assessment appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Risk assessment as interchangeable with nearby ISTQB terms. That makes test scope blurry and can lead to weak evidence for the release decision.
The tester anchors the discussion in the official definition, asks where the concept appears in the product, and designs examples that show the difference between Risk assessment and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Risk assessment is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Risk assessment in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Risk assessment to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
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