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Back to Learn
KnowledgeLayer 3Scoring & Prioritization

Risk Scoring

You have 47 items in your inbox. Every one marked "urgent."

You treat them all the same. Work through them one by one.

Three hours later, you discover item #43 was a ticking time bomb that just went off.

It needed attention this morning. Not after you finished the other 42.

Not all problems have the same cost if you miss them.

9 min read
intermediate
Relevant If You're
Triaging incoming requests with limited capacity
Deciding which items need immediate attention
Preventing small issues from becoming big ones

INTERMEDIATE - Builds on classification to add consequence-based prioritization.

Where This Sits

Category 3.2: Scoring & Prioritization

3
Layer 3

Understanding & Analysis

Qualification ScoringConfidence Scoring (AI)Priority ScoringFit ScoringReadiness ScoringRisk Scoring
Explore all of Layer 3
What It Is

A system that asks "what happens if we get this wrong?"

Risk scoring assigns a number to potential negative outcomes. Not "how important is this?" but "how bad is it if we miss this?" A late reply to a frustrated VIP customer costs more than a late reply to a routine inquiry. Same action, different consequences.

The score considers multiple factors: financial exposure, relationship value, time sensitivity, and how far things have already escalated. A $50,000 contract renewal with one week left scores differently than a $500 question that can wait.

Risk scoring is not the same as priority scoring. Priority says "do this first." Risk says "this will hurt the most if you drop it." The highest priority item might not be the highest risk, and vice versa.

The Lego Block Principle

Risk scoring solves a universal problem: when everything feels urgent, you need a way to identify what actually has consequences if delayed.

The core pattern:

Assign weights to consequence factors (financial impact, time decay, escalation level, relationship value). Combine them into a single score. Use thresholds to trigger different handling paths. The score answers "what do we lose if this slips?"

Where else this applies:

Security systems - Alerts weighted by potential breach severity.
Healthcare triage - Patients scored by deterioration risk, not arrival order.
Project management - Tasks scored by downstream dependencies at risk.
Financial compliance - Transactions flagged by regulatory exposure level.
馃幃 Interactive: Find the Ticking Time Bombs

Adjust weights and watch the queue reorder by consequence

Drag the sliders to change what factors matter most. Watch high-risk items rise to the top.

Financial Exposure
40%
Time Decay
35%
Escalation Level
25%

Try setting Financial to 80% and watch big accounts jump to the top. Then try Time at 80% and watch urgent deadlines take over.

5
High Risk (70+)
1
Medium Risk (40-69)
2
Low Risk (<40)
$241K
High-Risk Exposure

Queue Sorted by Risk Score

URGENT: System down is highest risk
1
90
URGENT: System down
$8,500路Due today路Escalated
High
2
90
Third follow-up: No response
$15,000路2d left路Escalated
High
3
75
Contract renewal question
$52,000路4d left路First contact
High
4
74
Partnership proposal
$120,000路7d left路First contact
High
5
71
Billing discrepancy
$45,000路14d left路Follow-up
High
6
53
Annual review prep
$28,000路21d left路First contact
Medium
7
32
General question
$1,200路30d left路First contact
Low
8
30
Password reset help
$500路30d left路First contact
Low
Try it: Drag the "Financial Exposure" slider to 80% and watch big accounts rise. Then try "Time Decay" at 80% and watch urgent deadlines take over. The queue reorders based on consequence, not arrival order.
How It Works

Three factors that determine risk scores

Financial Exposure

What is the dollar amount at stake

A contract renewal worth $50,000 carries more weight than a $200 refund request. The system pulls deal value, account size, or transaction amount and factors it into the score.

Pro: Clear, objective measure of potential loss
Con: Misses non-financial consequences (reputation, relationships)

Time Decay

How quickly does risk increase

Some items get worse the longer you wait. A contract expiring in 3 days has higher risk than one expiring in 30 days. Deadlines, SLAs, and escalation timers all contribute to time-based risk.

Pro: Catches items that become crises if ignored
Con: Requires accurate deadline data

Escalation Level

How far has this already progressed

First contact is lower risk than third follow-up. Tone analysis can detect frustration. A calm inquiry is not the same as someone threatening to escalate. Past interactions inform current risk.

Pro: Accounts for relationship damage already occurring
Con: Requires history and context data
Connection Explorer

"Which pending items will hurt us most if we drop them?"

Your team has 200 items in queue and capacity for 50 today. This flow identifies the 15 items that will cause real damage if delayed. Not "most important" but "most costly to miss." The difference between a busy day and a crisis.

Hover over any component to see what it does and why it's neededTap any component to see what it does and why it's needed

Relational DB
Intent Classification
Entity Extraction
Sentiment Analysis
Risk Scoring
You Are Here
Priority Scoring
Routing Logic
Human Review
Protected Queue
Outcome
React Flow
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Foundation
Understanding
Delivery
Outcome

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Upstream (Requires)

Intent ClassificationEntity Extraction

Downstream (Enables)

Priority ScoringHuman-in-the-LoopRouting Logic
Common Mistakes

What breaks when risk scoring goes wrong

Scoring everything high to "be safe"

If everything is high risk, nothing is. Your team ignores the scores because they are meaningless. The person who cried wolf loses all credibility.

Instead: Force distribution. Only 10-15% should be high risk. If more than that triggers, your thresholds are wrong.

Using only financial factors

A small account can do massive reputational damage. A large account with no deadline pressure is not urgent. Money matters, but so does timing and escalation.

Instead: Weight multiple factors. Financial exposure is one input, not the whole score.

Setting thresholds without feedback loops

You set "high risk" at 80 points. Six months later, you have no idea if items above 80 actually caused more problems than items below. You are flying blind.

Instead: Track outcomes. Did high-risk items actually result in negative outcomes? Adjust thresholds based on real data.

What's Next

Now that you understand risk scoring

You know how to quantify potential negative outcomes and identify what needs protection. The natural next step is learning how risk scores combine with other factors to determine overall priority.

Recommended Next

Priority Scoring

Combining risk, urgency, and importance into a single processing order

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