Chapter 2: IS Governance and Risk Management - Risk Analysis Approaches

Two approaches exist in analyzing risk: quantitative and qualitative. Basically quantitative deals with number calculations while qualitative is a little less logical. It is more focused on opinions and a rating system and the opinions of those conducting the analysis. Equations are associated with the quantitative side. The equations are on page 87 of the study guide. On the qualitative side, scales are often used. As with everything else, there are pros and cons to using each of these approaches. The two that stood out most to me are as follows. Qualitatively, standard do not exist. Different companies use different ways and scales to interpret results. Quantitatively, the calculations can be extremely complicated. Every person involved may not be able to understand what goes into each risk evaluation.