Considerations in developing complete and quantified methods for risk assessment

Proper risk assessment lies at the basis of proportional risk management by business organisations and government authorities. The general stages of risk assessment (i.e. risk identification, risk estimation and risk evaluation) are considered the starting point for the development of methods for risk assessment. This paper outlines the preconditions for risk assessment methods and aims to clarify the difficulties and pitfalls in the subsequent stages of risk assessment. The criteria for proper risk assessments and the challenges described here may stimulate further developments in the design of sophisticated tools for risk assessment.