Support & Documentation

Risk Matrix Pro — a Power BI custom visual by TCViz · Version 1.0.0.0 · Last updated: 16 September 2026

Risk Matrix Pro places every risk of a register on a likelihood × impact grid, coloured by score band. Pro adds where each risk is going: its residual position after controls, its target, how far it still is from that target, and your risk appetite drawn across the matrix.

Video walkthrough

Also on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ps6t6t70JY

Quick start

Drop the visual on the canvas.
Drag the risk ID or name into Risk. Each row becomes one marker.
Drag the likelihood into Likelihood and the impact into Impact. The matrix appears, sized from your data.
Optional: add a Category (type, owner, status) to colour the markers and build the legend.
Optional Pro: add Residual and Target likelihood and impact to show movement and targets.

Field wells

Well	Accepts	Limit	Purpose
Risk	Any text or ID field	1 field	One marker per value. Short IDs (R01, R02…) read best inside the marker.
Category	Any grouping field	1 field	Marker colours, legend and, in Pro, marker shapes.
Likelihood	Measure or numeric column	1 field	Horizontal position.
Impact	Measure or numeric column	1 field	Vertical position.
Residual likelihood / impact Pro	Measure or numeric column	1 field each	Position after controls. Both are needed.
Target likelihood / impact Pro	Measure or numeric column	1 field each	Position you aim to reach. Both are needed.
Tooltips	Measures	up to 5	Extra values in the tooltip, with the model's format.

Up to 1,000 risks are loaded. The limits are the same in Free and Pro.

Input values and grid size

Likelihood and impact can arrive in any of these forms — the visual detects which one with Grid → Input values → Auto, or you can set it:

Input values	Example	Placed at
Levels	3	Level 3
Fraction (0 to 1)	0.45 on a 5 × 5 grid	Level 3
Percent (0 to 100)	45 on a 5 × 5 grid	Level 3

Grid size → Auto (from data) uses the highest level in your data, from 3 × 3 to 10 × 10. With fractions or percentages there is no natural maximum, so it uses 5 × 5. Choose a fixed size to override it.

How scores and bands work

A cell's score is likelihood × impact. The cell colour comes from its band:

Band	Automatic rule	On a 5 × 5 grid
Low	up to 16% of the maximum score	1 – 4
Medium	up to 36%	5 – 9
High	up to 64%	10 – 16
Critical	above 64%	20 – 25

With Custom thresholds Pro you set the score where Medium, High and Critical start, to match your own methodology.

Inherent, residual and target Pro

Inherent — the risk before controls (Likelihood and Impact).
Residual — the risk with today's controls.
Target — where you aim to be once planned actions are done.

By default the matrix stays clean: point at a risk, focus it with the keyboard or select it, and its path appears — a solid arrow for what has been achieved, a dashed arrow for what remains, a small circle for the other positions and a diamond for the target. Set Movement arrows → All risks to show every path at once.

A risk whose current score (residual, or inherent if there is none) is still above its target score carries a dashed red ring. The tooltip and the cell detail panel say whether the target is reached.

Format pane

Card	Setting	What it does
Grid	Grid size	Auto (from data), or 3 × 3 to 10 × 10.
	Input values	Auto, levels, fraction or percent.
	Cell gap / corner radius	Spacing and rounding of the cells.
	Show cell score / risk count	Score top-left, number of risks top-right, and their colour.
	Data warnings	While editing (default), always or off. See Data warnings below.
Score bands	Low / Medium / High / Critical	Colour of each band.
Score bands	Custom thresholds Pro	Score where each band starts.
Risk appetite Pro	Appetite score, line colour and width	A stepped line separating cells with a score up to the appetite from the rest.
Markers	Marker size	Markers shrink to fit a busy cell; beyond that a +n badge shows the rest.
	Show labels / max characters / label color	Text inside the marker, fitted to its size.
	Marker color (fx: Pro)	Colour without a Category. With fx Pro, a rule or field value per risk.
	Shape by category Pro	Circle, square, diamond and triangle per category.
Category colors	One colour per category	Shown when a Category field is present.
Movement and target Pro	Movement arrows	Selected and hovered risks (default), all risks, or off.
	Place markers at	Inherent, residual or target position.
	Arrow color	Colour of arrows and position symbols.
	Flag risks above target / ring color	Dashed ring on risks that have not reached their target.
Cell detail panel Pro	Open on cell click, background, text color, font size	Side panel listing every risk in the clicked cell.
Axes	Titles, level labels, font, size, color	Level labels are comma separated: `Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, Almost certain`.
Legend	Show, position, font, size, text color	Click a legend entry to select all its risks.

Free, Pro and the Pro preview

Paid settings and field wells are marked (Pro) in Power BI. Without a licence:

While you edit a report, Pro capabilities you use are shown working under a Pro preview watermark, and Power BI shows how to get a licence.
In reading view and published reports, the free result is shown: inherent positions, automatic bands, no appetite line, no movement, no detail panel. No watermark.
Where Power BI cannot check licences (Publish to Web, embedding, PDF/PowerPoint export) the free result is shown, even for Pro customers.

Interaction

Click a marker — selects the risk and filters the rest of the page.
Ctrl / Cmd + click — adds risks to the selection.
Click a cell — selects every risk in it (and opens the detail panel in Pro).
Click a legend entry — selects every risk in that category.
Click empty space — clears the selection.
Right click — the standard Power BI menu (Include, Exclude, Drill through).
Filters from other visuals dim the risks that do not match instead of hiding them.

Accessibility

Keyboard — Tab enters the matrix; arrow keys move to the nearest risk in that direction; Home / End jump to the first and last; Page Up / Page Down move ten at a time; Enter or Space selects (Ctrl adds); Escape clears; Shift + F10 opens the context menu. The tooltip also appears on focus.
Screen readers — each risk announces its name, category, likelihood, impact, score, band and, in Pro, residual score and whether the target is reached.
High contrast — system colours only; the band is encoded as border thickness instead of fill, and the appetite line becomes dashed.

Data warnings

A yellow strip at the bottom-left tells you when:

risks have no likelihood or impact and cannot be plotted;
values fall outside the scale (a 7 on a 5 × 5 grid, 1.4 as a fraction) and were placed at the edge;
a residual or target field was added without its pair.

By default it shows only while editing, because it is meant for the report author.

Troubleshooting

All risks sit in the bottom-left corner

The grid is bigger than your data. Set Grid → Grid size → Auto (from data), or the size that matches your scale.

Every risk is in the same column or row

The input scale was detected differently from what you expect — for example probabilities stored as whole percentages. Set Grid → Input values explicitly.

The field shows "Sum of Likelihood" and values look too high

Power BI is adding the likelihood of several rows. Make sure each risk appears once in your table, or set the field's summarisation to Don't summarize, Maximum or Average.

No arrows appear

Arrows need both residual (or both target) fields, and by default they only show for the risk you point at or select. Check Movement and target → Movement arrows.

Labels inside the markers are cut short

Labels are fitted to the marker. Use short IDs in Risk, increase Markers → Marker size, or raise Label max characters.

Clicking a risk does not filter another table

Check the relationship between the tables in Model view. Filtering from a fact table to a dimension table needs the cross-filter direction set to Both.

Pro features are not active after purchasing

The visual detects the licence when the report is opened or refreshed. Microsoft notes it can take up to an hour for a new licence to be recognised: refresh the browser (F5) or close and reopen Power BI Desktop. A licence is required per user. If it persists, email us with your AppSource order reference.

Limits and known behaviour

Up to 1,000 risks and 5 tooltip measures.
Grid from 3 × 3 to 10 × 10.
When a cell holds more markers than fit at the minimum size, a +n badge counts the rest; the detail panel Pro lists them all.
Scores use levels (1 to grid size). Fractions and percentages are converted to levels first, so two risks at 0.41 and 0.59 on a 5 × 5 grid share a cell.

Getting help

No section matches your search.