The Bowtie diagram consists of consequences of a certain hazard and ways in which the organization can prevent those consequences from happening. The method acquired its name from the outcome of its analysis, which is a visual diagram that looks like a men’s bow tie.

From the left-most side of the Bowtie diagram are the threats, followed by the preventive barriers. The center (or the knot) displays the top event which is the moment in time when control over the hazard (above the knot) is lost, making the consequence imminent. Finally, from the center of the diagram to the right are the mitigative barriers and then the consequences. Degradation factors acting on barriers and its controls can also be incorporated.

BowTieXP Explained

BowTieXP, a software that makes it easy to create Bowtie diagrams to assess risk, is an in-demand risk assessment software that is based on the approach of Bowtie.

This visual diagramming tool: