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Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Intermediate

Qualitative Risk Analysis

Risk analysis that ranks risks using descriptive scales such as low, medium, and high rather than monetary values.

Definition

Qualitative methods rely on expert judgment, interviews, workshops, and techniques like the Delphi method to rate likelihood and impact on ordinal scales. Results are often plotted on a heat map to prioritize treatment. It is faster and handles intangibles well but is subjective and harder to use for cost justification.

Example

A workshop rates phishing as high likelihood and high impact, placing it in the red zone of the heat map.

Exam tip

Qualitative is the usual first pass to prioritize; quantitative is used where cost justification is needed.

Don't confuse it with

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