Key takeaway
A risk register survives only if it sits next to the actual task list, not in a separate document.
Most risk registers follow the same arc: filled in thoughtfully during project setup, presented once in the kickoff deck, and never opened again. By the time a risk on that list actually happens, nobody remembers it was flagged, and the register gets no credit for having called it, because nobody was looking at it when it mattered.
Why registers get abandoned
A risk register dies when updating it costs more attention than the team is willing to spend regularly. If it lives in a separate document from the actual task list, reviewing it becomes an extra step people have to remember to take, on top of everything else, and extra steps are the first thing to get dropped under deadline pressure.
What keeps one alive
A risk register survives when it sits next to the work it is about, with an owner and a mitigation for every entry, not just a description. "Vendor might be late" is not actionable. "Vendor might be late, owner: procurement lead, mitigation: confirm delivery date by Friday" is something a specific person can be asked about in a specific meeting. Attach risks to the same place you track tasks and milestones, and reviewing them stops being a separate ritual, it becomes part of looking at the project at all.