Risk Manager lets you use the words your team already uses for risk management. You can rename the terms in each space, or start from a recognized risk management standard.
Open Terminology & Standards
Open your space and go to Risk Manager → Configuration.
Click Terminology & standards.
The Terminology section on the Configuration page shows which standard the space is based on, or Customized if you changed the names yourself.
Start from a standard
Under Start from, choose one of these:
Default: the standard Risk Manager terms
ISO 31000 – Enterprise risk
ISO 14971 – Medical devices
ISO 27001 / NIST 800-30 – InfoSec
MIL-STD-882E – System safety
Project risk (PMBOK)
Each standard comes with its own names, recommended probability and severity values, risk levels, and risk matrix.
Standard | Risk | Probability | Severity | Risk level | Before / after mitigation | Mitigation | Matrix |
|---|
Default | Risk | Probability | Severity | Risk level | Pre-mitigation / Post-mitigation | Mitigation | 3 × 3 |
ISO 31000 | Risk | Likelihood | Consequence | Risk rating | Inherent risk / Residual risk | Treatment | 5 × 5 |
ISO 14971 | Hazard | Probability | Severity | Acceptability | Initial risk / Residual risk | Risk control | 5 × 5 |
ISO 27001 / NIST 800-30 | Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Risk level | Inherent risk / Residual risk | Control | 5 × 5 |
MIL-STD-882E | Hazard | Probability | Severity | Risk level | Initial risk / Residual risk | Mitigation | 5 × 4 |
Project risk (PMBOK) | Threat | Probability | Impact | Priority | Pre-response / Post-response | Response | 5 × 5 |
Recommended values:
Default: probability and severity Low, Medium, High. Risk levels Low, Medium, High.
ISO 31000: likelihood Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, Almost certain. Consequence Insignificant, Minor, Moderate, Major, Catastrophic. Risk ratings Low, Medium, High, Extreme.
ISO 14971: probability Improbable, Remote, Occasional, Probable, Frequent. Severity Negligible, Minor, Serious, Critical, Catastrophic. Acceptability Acceptable, ALARP, Unacceptable.
ISO 27001 / NIST 800-30: likelihood, impact and risk level each Very low, Low, Moderate, High, Very high.
MIL-STD-882E: probability Improbable (E), Remote (D), Occasional (C), Probable (B), Frequent (A). Severity Negligible (4), Marginal (3), Critical (2), Catastrophic (1). Risk levels Low, Medium, Serious, High.
Project risk (PMBOK): probability and impact Very low, Low, Medium, High, Very high. Priorities Low, Medium, High.
You can change any of these values on the Configuration page after applying a standard.
Rename terms
Under Names, change any term, for example Hazard instead of Risk or Likelihood instead of Probability. Enter both the singular and the plural form. Risk Manager uses your names on all its pages.
Names that differ from the saved ones are highlighted. To undo a change, click the reset icon (↶) at the end of the row. This restores the name used by the selected standard.
Click Save to save the names only.
Use the recommended values in a new space
If the space isn't configured yet:
Choose a standard and review the recommended values and the matrix.
Select Use these values and the matrix on the Configuration page, then click Save names and use these values.
On the Configuration page, review the values and click Save configuration.
Nothing is created in Jira until you click Save configuration.
If your space already has risks, Risk Manager can switch it to a standard's values:
Choose a standard and select Replace the current values and matrix with these.
Under Move existing values, a summary shows how many values are renamed, new and merged (for example 6 renamed · 4 new · 0 merged). Check how each current value maps to a new one:
To choose a different target for a value, click Edit mapping.
Click Review changes, check the summary, and click Apply.
The risk levels and the risk matrix are replaced with those of the standard. Any unsaved changes on the Configuration page are discarded.
If your values already match the standard and only the matrix is different, the option reads Replace the current matrix with this one. Only the matrix changes.
Merged values are moved in the background
When values are merged, Risk Manager moves the work items to their new value in the background. The Configuration page shows Updating existing work items while this runs.
If some values can't be moved, the Configuration page shows a message. See Merge Messages and Disabled Values.
Good to know
After values are renamed or merged, Jira can show the old names on work items and in search results for a few minutes.
Saved filters, formatting rules, board quick filters and automation rules that use the old value names aren't updated automatically. Update them yourself.
Moving work items to merged values requires the Make bulk changes Jira global permission for Risk Manager. See RM-MERGE-003 on Merge Messages and Disabled Values.