RAID log template
A RAID log is one register for a project's Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies: what might go wrong, what you're taking for granted, what has already gone wrong and what you're waiting on from others. This free Excel template keeps all four in a single table, with a type drop-down, a likelihood and impact score, an owner, a due date, a status and a flag for overdue items.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
It's the project manager's working list, brought to every project meeting. Filter the Type column to see one letter at a time, or the Owner column before you chase someone.
What's in the template
The download has three sheets: the blank RAID log with 50 rows, an example and a read-me. Each row also records the date raised, likelihood and impact (1 to 5), the next action, a due date, an overdue flag and notes.
From the Example sheet, a fictional 85-person training company opening a second training centre:
| ID | Type | Description | Score | Rating | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Risk | Fit-out contractor finishes late, so the March courses can't run in the new centre | 12 | Medium | Operations manager | Open |
| 02 | Assumption | Two experienced trainers will transfer from the existing centre | 8 | Medium | Managing director | Open |
| 03 | Dependency | Booking system supplier adds the new venue to the online booking pages | 9 | Medium | Sales manager | Open |
| 04 | Risk | Broadband line not installed in time for opening | 12 | Medium | IT lead | Closed |
| 05 | Issue | Broadband installation put back three weeks, to 22 February | 20 | High | IT lead | Escalated |
| 06 | Risk | Bookings for the first three months fall short of plan | 15 | High | Sales director | Open |
| 07 | Assumption | The landlord will approve a sign on the front of the building | 4 | Low | Office manager | Closed |
| 08 | Dependency | Furniture delivered before the trainers' set-up week | 6 | Low | Office manager | Open |
Score is likelihood times impact. High (red) is 15 or more, Medium (amber) 8 to 14 and Low (green) 7 or less. The overdue flag turns red when a row that isn't closed passes its due date.
What goes under each letter
| Type | What it is | From the example |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | Something that might happen and would affect the project | Bookings for the first three months fall short |
| Assumption | Something the plan treats as true without proof yet | Two trainers will transfer from the existing centre |
| Issue | Something that has happened and needs action now | Broadband installation put back three weeks |
| Dependency | Something the project needs from outside its control: another team, a supplier or another project | Booking system supplier adds the new venue |
How to fill it in
- Seed it at the kick-off meeting. Walk through the plan milestone by milestone and ask: what could stop this, what are we assuming, and who are we waiting on?
- Write one item per row, clearly enough for a stranger: cause and effect for a risk; who delivers what, by when, for a dependency.
- Score it from 1 to 5 for likelihood and impact. For an assumption, likelihood is the chance it proves wrong; for a dependency, the chance it's late; for an issue, 5, because it has happened.
- Give every row one owner and a due date for the next action.
- Review it weekly. Sort by score, go through the overdue rows, and close what's done.
- When a risk happens, don't edit it into an issue. Close the risk, add a new issue row and note the link in both, so the log keeps its history.
- Escalate what the project can't fix: anything High that needs more money, time or authority goes to the sponsor.
RAID log vs risk register
Both list risks, which is why they're confused. The difference is scope and lifespan.
| RAID log | Risk register | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | One project | The whole company, or a programme of projects |
| Holds | Risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies | Risks only, scored before and after controls |
| Lifespan | Closed with the project | Kept for as long as the company runs |
| Reviewed | Weekly, by the project team | Monthly or quarterly, by managers and the board |
| Owned by | The project manager | A director, with an owner for each risk |
If a project risk could hurt the business beyond the project, such as a launch failure customers would notice, copy it to the company risk register too. And if problems arrive faster than this log can hold them, track them in a separate issue log and keep only the serious ones here.
Example: the weekly review
The example sheet follows a fictional 85-person training company opening a second centre, with its first courses booked for March. At the weekly review the project manager sorts by score. Issue 05 (20, High), the broadband slip, is already escalated with a 4G stop-gap in hand, so the meeting only checks the new date. Risk 06 (15, High), weak early bookings, gets a report on the early-booking offer. Risk 01 (12, Medium), a late fit-out, is checked against the date the first courses need rooms.
Risk 04 shows the history rule at work: it was the risk that broadband wouldn't arrive in time, closed when it happened and replaced by issue 05.
Common mistakes
- Logging things that have already happened as risks. They're issues, and need an action now rather than a score.
- Assumptions nobody tests. Give each a date to be confirmed by, then close it or turn it into a risk.
- Dependencies with no name on the other side. "IT to provide laptops" can't be chased; "IT service desk to deliver 12 laptops by 3 March" can.
- Scores that never move, a sign that nobody is really reviewing the log.
- Deleting closed rows, which throws away the record of what happened. Mark them Closed and filter them out instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does RAID stand for?
Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies. Some organisations use Actions and Decisions in place of Assumptions and Dependencies; the log works the same way.
How often should a RAID log be reviewed?
Weekly on an active project, usually in the project meeting, and before every report to the sponsor. Owners should update their own rows in between.
Who owns the RAID log?
The project manager keeps it current and runs the reviews. Each row has its own owner, who is answerable for the action on it.