Notes on engineering risk reviews, validation planning, design assurance, and the judgment that connects them.
Most risk registers are not managing risk. They are documenting that risk was once discussed. The difference between the two is structural, not procedural.
These two activities are routinely confused in engineering practice. The confusion is not semantic. It produces real consequences.
Most engineering reviews end with a list of comments. A useful review ends with a set of decisions, a traceable risk register, and a clear record of what was assumed and why.
Every assumption in a design is an implicit test waiting to be written. Making that explicit is what validation planning is.