What is a RAID log?
A RAID log is the simplest way to keep track of what could go wrong on a piece of work. Here's what goes in one and how to keep it alive.
Updated
Definition
A RAID log is one running list of the Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies that could stop delivery. Each entry has an owner, an impact rating, a status and a next action, and the log is reviewed weekly.
What it is in practice
The four types cover different kinds of threat. A risk is something that might happen. An assumption is something you're treating as true without proof. An issue is a problem that is happening now. A dependency is something you need from another team or supplier before you can finish.
Each entry needs an owner, not a team, and a next action with a date. Impact tells you what to look at first. The weekly review is short: what's new, what's changed, what can be closed and what needs to be escalated.
A RAID log is useful because it is one list. When risks live in a slide, dependencies on a board and issues in chat, nobody sees the whole picture until something slips.
An example from Pulse Analytics
The Meridian Labs demo has an entry of each type for Pulse Analytics. Risk: streaming latency misses the milestone target date. Assumption: teams will build their own dashboards. Issue: duplicate events inflate session counts. Dependency: the Pulse beta waits on the Orbit unified ingestion milestone. Each has an owner and a next step, so the weekly review takes minutes instead of an hour.
Common mistakes
- Logging risks and never closing them, so the list grows until nobody reads it.
- Owners that are teams or "TBC". If nobody owns it, nobody acts.
- Forgetting assumptions, which quietly turn into issues when they prove false.
- Reviewing the log only when something has already gone wrong.
How Ondule handles this
Ondule has risks, dependencies and decisions as their own records in each product's RAID register, linked to the epics and milestones they affect.
Questions
- What does RAID stand for?
- Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies. Some teams use D for Decisions instead of, or as well as, Dependencies.
- How often should a RAID log be reviewed?
- Weekly for active work, and before any planning or release decision.
- What is the difference between a risk and an issue?
- A risk might happen. An issue is happening now.