> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dash360.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Set Up Risk Thresholds

> Define the cost, schedule, and probability bands that turn a risk's raw numbers into a risk level, and understand what happens to existing risks when a band changes.

Thresholds are the translation layer between the numbers a person types on a risk and the words everyone else reads. A \$400,000 cost impact means nothing on its own; thresholds are what make it "Moderate" on one project and "Low" on another.

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<Warning>
  **All three dimensions are required.** If the cost, schedule, or probability list is empty, the Add Risk form refuses to open and shows "Thresholds are not properly setup for this project." Configuring only cost bands is not enough.
</Warning>

## Add a threshold band

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the project's Risk Register tab">
    Go to **Admin > Projects**, click the pencil icon on the project, and select the **Risk Register** tab. Scroll to **Current Risk Thresholds**, which holds three independent tables: Cost, Schedule, and Probability.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click the add button under the dimension you want">
    Each table has its own button: **Add Cost Risk Threshold**, **Add Schedule Risk Threshold**, or **Add Probability Risk Threshold**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the band">
    Enter the **Minimum Threshold** (the lower bound of the band), an optional **Selected Value**, and the **Text** that names it, such as "Low" or "Critical".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    The band appears in that dimension's table, and every risk in the project is re-ranked immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The units differ by dimension:

| Dimension   | Unit                  |
| ----------- | --------------------- |
| Cost        | Dollar amount         |
| Schedule    | Days                  |
| Probability | Percentage (0 to 100) |

## What the bands actually drive

A risk's level is not stored as something a person picks. It is derived by comparing the risk's cost impact, schedule impact, and probability against these bands. That level then drives:

* The risk level shown on each row of the [Risk Register](/user-guide/risk/risk-register).
* The three heat maps at the bottom of the register, which plot probability against impact.

<Note>
  The heat maps refuse to draw without thresholds, showing "Please complete Risk Thresholds to view Risk Register Heatmap" instead. If a project's heat maps are blank, an empty threshold table is the first thing to check.
</Note>

## Set the bands before the register fills up

<Warning>
  **Saving a threshold re-ranks every risk in the project, immediately.** Not only new risks; all of them. Widening or narrowing one band can move dozens of existing risks between levels, underneath the people who entered them.
</Warning>

This is the single strongest argument for finishing threshold setup before control account managers start writing risks. Changing a band later is not wrong, but it is a change that everyone with risks in the register will notice, so it deserves a conversation rather than a quiet edit.

## Next

* [How to Set Up Uncertainty Classes](/user-guide/risk/how-to/uncertainty-classes), which handles the estimating side of the simulation.
* Full field reference: [Edit a Project](/user-guide/admin/project-settings).