Project Management - Impacts levels

Impacts – Levels

Module: Project Management → Impacts → Levels

Impact Levels define the severity level of an impact when evaluating risks or issues.
These levels allow project teams to classify how serious a potential impact can be, supporting prioritization, mitigation planning, and reporting.

Each record represents a single impact level, usually associated with a score or severity value.

Access Path

Control center → Project Management → Impacts → Levels

1. Purpose of Impact Levels

Impact Levels are used to:

• Assess the severity of risks or potential project impacts
• Prioritize mitigation and response actions
• Standardize impact scoring across all projects
• Support risk matrix calculations (when combined with probability)
• Provide consistency in reporting and analytics

They are a key part of risk evaluation frameworks such as risk matrices or scoring systems.

2. Impact Levels List

The list displays all severity levels available to be used when assessing project risks and impacts.

Typical columns:

• Name – Severity label (e.g., Low, Medium, High)
• Description – Additional notes (optional)
• Company – Scope of availability (Tenant-Wide or specific company)

Available actions:

• Add a new impact level
• Edit or delete existing records
• Sort or filter by name or company
• Export the list for offline review or audits

3. Adding an Impact Level

Click Add Impact Level to open the entry form.

3.1 Required Fields

3.2 Optional Fields

💡Note:
Score is often used in formulas (e.g., Impact × Probability).
Higher scores typically represent more severe impacts.

4. Example Impact Levels

The records shown in the system are demonstrative only, but present typical examples:

• Low – Minor impact; minimal effect on cost, scope, or schedule
• Medium – Noticeable impact requiring some mitigation
• High – Significant impact; may affect deadlines, budget, or deliverables
• Super High – Critical or severe impact requiring immediate intervention

Organizations may customize levels and scores depending on their internal risk methodology.

5. How Impact Levels Affect Project Management

Impact Levels play an important role in:

• Risk evaluation
• Risk matrices (when combined with probability levels)
• Overall project risk scoring
• Management of escalations
• Portfolio-level risk comparisons

They directly influence reporting dashboards and help teams identify high-severity risks early.

6. Recommendations

• Keep the number of levels between 3 and 5 for clarity (e.g., Low → Medium → High).
• Ensure score values follow a logical progression (e.g., 1 → 3 → 5).
• Use clear, intuitive names that are easy for teams to understand.
• Maintain consistency across the organization to ensure comparable reporting.
• Review levels periodically to align with internal risk governance frameworks.

7. Summary

Impact Levels define the severity of risks and issues, providing a standardized method for evaluating project impacts.
They enable:

• Consistent risk assessment
• Improved prioritization of mitigation actions
• Accurate scoring and reporting
• Better decision-making for managers and stakeholders

They are essential for any structured project risk management process.

Related Articles

Project Management – Impacts – Categories
Project Management – Impacts – Probabilities
Project Management – Status – Risks
Project Management – Work Item Types
Project Management – Project Types