How do qualitative and quantitative risk assessment approaches differ in POA?

• A. Qualitative uses descriptive scales based on judgment
• B. Qualitative uses statistical models to estimate risk
• C. Quantitative assigns numeric values to likelihood and impact to compute risk scores
• D. Quantitative uses qualitative judgments

Answer: (C)

When evaluating risk in protection of assets, the defining difference is how you measure and compare risk. The quantitative approach assigns numeric values to both how likely an event is and how severe the impact would be, then combines those numbers to calculate a risk score. This makes risk objective, allowing easy ranking and comparison across assets or scenarios and supporting data-driven prioritization.

Qualitative assessment, by contrast, uses descriptive categories like high, medium, or low based on judgment, not on numeric values. So a statement about using descriptive scales matches qualitative, not the quantitative method. The idea of relying on statistical models or mixing qualitative judgments with numeric scoring doesn’t capture the core distinction as clearly as the numeric scoring and calculation of risk.