Society for Risk Analysis releases risk analysis quality test
The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) has launched a Risk Analysis Quality Test (RAQT), a battery of many one-question tests, as an innovative approach to evaluate the quality of risk analyses supporting risk management decisions. SRA encourages risk analysists, decision makers, experts and non-experts, to apply this battery of tests to evaluate all aspects of risk analysis, risk identification, risk assessment, risk evaluation, risk communication, risk management decision making, risk governance and, where applicable, stakeholder involvement.
The Risk Analysis Quality Test has 19 authors coming from many different specialty groups within SRA. Their orientation was to think of all analysis shortfalls they’ve observed, and then for each one, develop a test that discovers that shortfall. The questions were intentionally crafted generally, for the RAQT to be used in any field where risk management is called for.
The authors created the RAQT with four goals in mind: to provide a standard analysis quality test procedure, to provide full disclosure, to consider every discovered shortfall as an opportunity to improve and to create a culture of analysis quality. Those goals combine to improve risk analysis and create clear summary analysis quality terms understandable to all decision makers.
The RAQT seeks to improve the field of risk analysis by making a standardized review process doable within a reasonable amount of time and effort. The authors of the RAQT are continually improving the battery of tests over time and will update the document with additional insights, new questions, reworded questions and additional examples.
The RAQT supports SRA’s mission to create a culture of risk analysis quality, where every risk management decision maker is aware of any analysis shortfalls and their implications, understands how those shortfalls could be remedied and where they can’t be remedied makes risk management decisions taking those shortfalls into account.
“As a Society we are working to translate our science and best practice in risk analysis into tools that can be broadly used by decision makers, this is an excellent example of our commitment to ensuring risk-informed decision making is better integrated into society at-large,” said SRA President, Robyn Wilson.
The RAQT can be accessed at https://www.sra.org/resources/risk-analysis-quality-test/.