Configure risk tier calculation

Set up scoring levels, risk factors, components, scoring rules, thresholds, tier assignment rules, and override rules inside a draft template.

This page covers all calculation configuration inside a risk tier template: scoring levels, risk factors, components, scoring rules, thresholds, tier assignment rules, and override rules. All configuration requires the template to be in Draft status — configuration is locked once a template is published.

For creating a template, defining risk tier levels, and managing its lifecycle, see Manage risk tier templates.

Prerequisites

• Active ​ValidMind login
• Governance Admin or Validator role with manage_risk_tier_template permission
• A risk tier template in Draft status with the tier calculation method selected and at least one risk tier level defined

Set up a Scorecard template

1. Configure scoring levels

Scoring levels define the numeric scale used to score each risk factor.

1. Open the draft template and go to the Scoring Levels section.
2. Click Add Scoring Level.
3. Enter a Name, a numeric Value, and choose a Color.
4. Repeat for each level in the scale.

Every scoring rule in every component must map to a valid scoring level.

2. Add risk factors

Risk factors are the dimensions scored during a risk assessment — for example: Materiality, Complexity, Data Sensitivity.

1. Go to the Risk Factors section.
2. Click Add Risk Factor.
3. Enter a Name and an optional Description.
4. Select the Factor Aggregation Method:
   • Sum — adds all component scores in this factor.
   • Max — uses only the highest component score in this factor.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat for each risk dimension your methodology requires.

To assign individual weights to factors, enable the Weight factors individually toggle. Each factor then carries a weight, and the weighted sum of scores determines the tier. Click Edit Weights to open the Edit Risk Factor Weights modal — use the sliders or enter values directly. The total must remain 1.00; locked factors stay fixed while other weights rebalance automatically.

Different factors in the same template can use different aggregation methods — for example, a Materiality factor using Sum while a Data Sensitivity factor uses Max.

3. Add components and scoring rules

Components link inventory fields to a risk factor and define how their values are scored.

1. Expand a risk factor and click Add Component.
2. Select the Inventory Field to evaluate.
3. Select the Scoring Type:
   • Numeric range — maps numeric field values within min/max bands to a scoring level.
   • Boolean — maps a true/false field value to a scoring level.
   • Text match — maps an exact text or option value to a scoring level.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Add Rule to write scoring rules for the component.

A factor cannot have two components referencing the same inventory field.

Numeric range rules — use for fields with numeric values (for example: number of input features, model age in months).

1. Enter the Min value and Max value that define the band.
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign when the field value falls within this band.
3. Repeat to cover the full expected range. Ranges can be adjacent — for example: 0–10 → Low, 11–50 → Medium, 51+ → High.

Boolean rules — use for checkbox fields (for example: “Is the model customer-facing?”).

1. Set Value to True or False.
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign.
3. Add a second rule for the opposite value. A Boolean component typically has two rules.

Text match rules — use for single-select or multi-select fields (for example: “Data Classification,” “Deployment Region”).

1. Enter the Text value to match (the exact option string).
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign.
3. Add one rule per option value you want to score. Values not covered by any rule are unscored.

Rules within a component are evaluated in order — the first matching rule wins.

4. Set risk tier thresholds

Set the score range that corresponds to each risk tier. The lowest-risk tier starts at the minimum score and the highest-risk tier ends at the maximum score.

1. Go to the Risk Tier Thresholds section.
2. Click Edit Thresholds to open the Edit Risk Tier Thresholds modal.
3. Define the score range for each risk tier. Shared boundaries update automatically to keep ranges aligned.

5. Configure override rules

See Override rules below.

Set up a Risk Matrix template

1. Configure scoring levels

Scoring levels define the numeric scale used to score each risk factor.

1. Open the draft template and go to the Scoring Levels section.
2. Click Add Scoring Level.
3. Enter a Name, a numeric Value, and choose a Color.
4. Repeat for each level in the scale.

Every scoring rule in every component must map to a valid scoring level.

2. Define factor levels

Factor levels classify each factor’s computed score into a discrete risk band — for example: High, Medium, Low.

1. Go to the Factor Levels section.
2. Click Add Factor Level.
3. Enter a Name, choose a Color, and add an optional Description.
4. Drag and drop to reorder — highest risk at the top, lowest at the bottom.
5. Repeat for each level in the classification scale.

3. Add risk factors

Risk factors are the dimensions scored during a risk assessment — for example: Materiality, Complexity, Data Sensitivity.

1. Go to the Risk Factors section.
2. Click Add Risk Factor.
3. Enter a Name and an optional Description.
4. Select the Factor Aggregation Method:
   • Sum — adds all component scores in this factor.
   • Max — uses only the highest component score in this factor.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat for each risk dimension your methodology requires.

4. Add components and scoring rules

Components link inventory fields to a risk factor and define how their values are scored.

1. Expand a risk factor and click Add Component.
2. Select the Inventory Field to evaluate.
3. Select the Scoring Type:
   • Numeric range — maps numeric field values within min/max bands to a scoring level.
   • Boolean — maps a true/false field value to a scoring level.
   • Text match — maps an exact text or option value to a scoring level.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Add Rule to write scoring rules for the component.

A factor cannot have two components referencing the same inventory field.

Numeric range rules — use for fields with numeric values.

1. Enter the Min value and Max value for the band.
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign.
3. Repeat to cover the full expected range.

Boolean rules — use for checkbox fields.

1. Set Value to True or False.
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign.
3. Add a second rule for the opposite value.

Text match rules — use for single-select or multi-select fields.

1. Enter the Text value to match.
2. Select the Scoring Level to assign.
3. Add one rule per option value you want to score.

Rules within a component are evaluated in order — the first matching rule wins.

5. Set factor level thresholds

Each risk factor requires a score threshold for each factor level, defining the score range that maps to that level.

1. Expand a risk factor and go to the Factor Level Thresholds section.
2. Click Edit Factor Level Thresholds.
3. Define the score range for each factor level. Shared boundaries update automatically to keep ranges aligned.
4. Repeat for each risk factor.

6. Assign tiers to factor level combinations

Tier assignment maps every combination of factor levels to a risk tier.

1. Go to the Tier Assignment section.
2. Click Edit Tiers.
3. Choose a view:
   • Matrix — displays a visual grid with factors on each axis. Use the Factor, At Level, Row Axis, and Column Axis dropdowns to navigate combinations. Click a cell to assign a risk tier.
   • Table — lists every factor level combination as a row with an Assigned Tier column. Use this view when you have more than two factors.
4. Assign a risk tier to every combination. All cells must be assigned before the template can be published.

7. Configure override rules

See Override rules below.

Set up a Rules template

A Rules template assigns the tier from an ordered list of rules instead of a score. Each rule has one or more conditions and a target tier. Rules are evaluated in order, the first rule that matches sets the tier, and a default tier applies when no rule matches.

Use Rules when your methodology escalates on specific answers rather than on a total — for example: “Critical if more than four answers are critical, or if there is a critical answer in Consumer Impact and another in Fairness.”

1. Configure scoring levels and risk factors (if needed)

Scoring levels and risk factors are only required if a rule uses a Count of condition, which counts how many components scored at chosen levels. Rules that only compare inventory field values need neither.

To use Count of, set up scoring levels, risk factors, and components with scoring rules as described in Set up a Scorecard template, steps 1–3. The factor aggregation method and weights are not used under Rules.

2. Add tier assignment rules

1. Go to the Tier Assignment section and click Add Rule.
2. Optionally enter a Name. A named rule keeps its name in the list wherever it sits; unnamed rules are labelled by position — Rule 1, Rule 2.
3. In Assign tier to, select the tier this rule assigns.
4. Under When these conditions are met, click Add Rule to add a condition, and choose how conditions combine with AND or OR.
5. Click Add Group to combine some conditions with a different operator — for example: “A OR (B AND C).” Groups can be one level deep.
6. Click Add Assignment Rule.
7. Repeat for each rule.

Rules are evaluated from top to bottom and the first rule that matches wins, so order them from the most severe tier to the least severe. New rules are added at the bottom. To move a rule, hover over it and drag it by the handle on its left.

3. Choose condition types

Each condition is one of two types:

• Field value — compares one inventory field, picked from the record fields in the field list, using the same field types and operators as override rules.
• Count of — counts the components that scored at one or more chosen scoring levels and compares the count to a number, for example: “count of Critical is more than 4.” Select Count of under Scoring in the field list, choose the scoring levels to count, the operator and the number, then optionally limit the count with in to specific risk factors or individual components. Without a limit, the count covers every component in the template.

Count of is unavailable until the template has scoring levels and at least one risk factor with a component.

Every inventory field that a tier assignment rule reads must be filled in on the record before a tier is calculated, including fields read by rules the record does not end up matching. A multi-select field with nothing selected counts as empty. If “none of these” is a valid answer for a field, add an option for it.

4. Select the default tier

In the Default row of the Tier Assignment section, select the tier assigned to records that no rule matches. A default tier is required before the template can be published.

5. Configure override rules

See Override rules below. Override rules are evaluated before the tier assignment rules.

TipExpress a decision tree as rules

Any decision tree can be written as Rules: each path from the top of the tree to a tier becomes one rule whose conditions are the branch tests along that path, combined with AND. Order the rules so the most specific paths come first, and use the default tier for the final branch. Rules do not offer a visual tree editor, and conditions cannot branch on a computed factor score or total.

Override rules

Override rules allow you to hard-code a specific tier outcome for records that match certain field conditions, bypassing the computed score, matrix lookup, or tier assignment rules entirely. If a rule matches, the tier it specifies is used and no further rules or scores are evaluated.

Use override rules when certain field values are disqualifying regardless of the overall score — for example: “if a model processes health data AND is customer-facing, always assign Critical.”

Add an override rule

1. Open the Override Rules section of the template.
2. Click Add Rule.
3. Select the Target Tier — the tier to assign when this rule matches.
4. Select the Condition Logic:
   • AND — all conditions must be true for the rule to match.
   • OR — any single condition being true causes the rule to match.
5. Add one or more Conditions (see below).
6. Click Save.

Rules are evaluated in order; the first matching rule wins. New rules are appended at the end. To move a rule, hover over it and drag it by the handle on its left.

You can give a rule an optional Name when you add or edit it. A named rule keeps its name in the list wherever it sits; unnamed rules are labelled by position.

Add conditions to a rule

1. Within an override rule, click Add Condition.
2. Select the Inventory Field to evaluate. Only supported field types are available (see table below).
3. Select the Operator.
4. Enter the Value to compare against.
5. Click Save.

Supported field types and operators

Field type	Available operators
Number	equals, not equals, greater than, less than, greater than or equal, less than or equal
Checkbox	equals
Single-select	equals, not equals
Multi-select	contains, not contains

For a multi-select field, contains matches when that option is one of the options selected on the record. A record with nothing selected matches neither contains nor not contains.

Override rules and tier assignment rules are copied forward when a new template version is created.

What a rule protects from deletion

While a rule depends on something, it cannot be removed or changed underneath the rule. The message names the rule or template to update first.

• A tier that a rule assigns, or the default tier of a Rules template, cannot be deleted.
• A risk factor or component that a Count of condition is limited to cannot be deleted.
• An inventory field used by a template, in a component or in a rule condition, cannot be deleted and its key cannot be renamed. This applies while any version of the template uses the field, including published and archived versions.

Publish readiness checklist

Before publishing, verify:

All methods:

• At least one risk tier is defined
• At least one risk factor is configured (Rules: only if a rule uses Count of)
• Every factor has at least one component
• Every component has at least one scoring rule
• All scoring rules map to valid scoring levels
• Override rules and tier assignment rules: every rule has a target tier and at least one condition, and all conditions reference valid fields

Scorecard only:

• Tier thresholds cover the full score range without gaps
• All factor weights sum to 1.00 if Weight factors individually is enabled

Risk Matrix only:

• All factor level thresholds are set for every factor
• Every factor level combination in the matrix has an assigned tier

Rules only:

• At least one tier assignment rule is defined
• A default tier is selected
• Scoring levels are defined if any rule uses Count of

What’s next

• Manage risk tier templates — publish, version, and manage the template lifecycle.
• Manage risk tier assessments — create assessments and apply the published template to your records.