Training Module
Training Module
Privacy Risk & Impact Assessment (DPIA)
Understand privacy risk assessment, impact reasoning, and DPIA documentation within an ISO/IEC 27701:2025 PIMS
Understand
Implement
Manage
Audit
Training module overview
ISO/IEC 27701:2025 sets explicit requirements for privacy risk assessment and treatment within a PIMS and is no longer dependent on ISO/IEC 27001 certification. In practice, organisations struggle less with “doing a DPIA” than with making the assessment logic repeatable: consistent triggers, defensible impact reasoning, documented assumptions, and clear decision rights for residual risk.
This module focuses on DPIA logic as a management-system capability in a PIMS: structuring assessments, reasoning about impacts on individuals, linking outcomes to treatment decisions, and keeping assessments current as processing changes. It does not teach privacy fundamentals, scoping/role determination, operational privacy controls, or data subject rights execution; those are addressed in adjacent specialisation modules. It also does not re-teach generic risk methodology (scales, scoring models, risk appetite design), which is owned by Risk Management Foundations.
ISO/IEC 27701:2025 sets explicit requirements for privacy risk assessment and treatment within a PIMS and is no longer dependent on ISO/IEC 27001 certification. In practice, organisations struggle less with “doing a DPIA” than with making the assessment logic repeatable: consistent triggers, defensible impact reasoning, documented assumptions, and clear decision rights for residual risk.
This module focuses on DPIA logic as a management-system capability in a PIMS: structuring assessments, reasoning about impacts on individuals, linking outcomes to treatment decisions, and keeping assessments current as processing changes. It does not teach privacy fundamentals, scoping/role determination, operational privacy controls, or data subject rights execution; those are addressed in adjacent specialisation modules. It also does not re-teach generic risk methodology (scales, scoring models, risk appetite design), which is owned by Risk Management Foundations.
Target audience
PIMS managers and implementers responsible for privacy risk assessment and DPIA governance
Privacy office / compliance professionals coordinating DPIAs across functions and suppliers
Product, engineering, and operations leads who own higher-risk processing changes (as contributors/approvers)
Internal auditors needing manager-side clarity on “what good looks like” for DPIA governance
PIMS managers and implementers responsible for privacy risk assessment and DPIA governance
Privacy office / compliance professionals coordinating DPIAs across functions and suppliers
Product, engineering, and operations leads who own higher-risk processing changes (as contributors/approvers)
Internal auditors needing manager-side clarity on “what good looks like” for DPIA governance
Agenda
Where privacy risk assessment sits in a PIMS
Purpose of privacy risk assessment and treatment within Clauses 4–10 of ISO/IEC 27701:2025
Relationship to control selection and documented justification (e.g., Annex A use)
Assessment boundaries and inputs
Required inputs: processing context, roles, and scope artefacts (as preconditions)
What is not a DPIA input (opinions, generic checklists without processing specifics)
Trigger logic: when a DPIA-style assessment is needed
Practical trigger patterns (new purpose, new data categories, new recipients, new tech, new geography)
Triage and proportionality: “full DPIA” vs. lightweight assessment, and how to justify the choice
Defining the assessment unit
Activity-based assessment: what constitutes a “processing activity” for assessment purposes
Handling shared platforms, joint operations, and vendor-driven processing changes
Impact reasoning focused on individuals
Structuring impact on rights and freedoms (severity, scale, reversibility, vulnerability)
Making assumptions explicit and evidence-based (without overengineering)
Likelihood reasoning in privacy terms (without re-teaching scoring frameworks)
Causal chains: how processing design choices create exposure and harm pathways
Using credible indicators and uncertainty notes rather than false precision
Treatment logic and residual risk decisions (PIMS governance view)
Linking assessment outcomes to treatment options and documented rationale
Residual privacy risk acceptance: decision rights, escalation, and consultation triggers
DPIA documentation pack and traceability
Minimum viable DPIA record set and how to keep it maintainable
Traceability from assessment → decision → implementation evidence (without duplicating control design)
Technology as an enabler
Tooling patterns: registers, workflow, versioning, and change signals
AI-assisted summarisation of change requests and evidence (supporting judgement, not replacing it)
Workshop (case-based)
Run a DPIA-style assessment on a realistic processing change scenario
Review outcomes for clarity of logic, decision rights, and maintainability
Where privacy risk assessment sits in a PIMS
Purpose of privacy risk assessment and treatment within Clauses 4–10 of ISO/IEC 27701:2025
Relationship to control selection and documented justification (e.g., Annex A use)
Assessment boundaries and inputs
Required inputs: processing context, roles, and scope artefacts (as preconditions)
What is not a DPIA input (opinions, generic checklists without processing specifics)
Trigger logic: when a DPIA-style assessment is needed
Practical trigger patterns (new purpose, new data categories, new recipients, new tech, new geography)
Triage and proportionality: “full DPIA” vs. lightweight assessment, and how to justify the choice
Defining the assessment unit
Activity-based assessment: what constitutes a “processing activity” for assessment purposes
Handling shared platforms, joint operations, and vendor-driven processing changes
Impact reasoning focused on individuals
Structuring impact on rights and freedoms (severity, scale, reversibility, vulnerability)
Making assumptions explicit and evidence-based (without overengineering)
Likelihood reasoning in privacy terms (without re-teaching scoring frameworks)
Causal chains: how processing design choices create exposure and harm pathways
Using credible indicators and uncertainty notes rather than false precision
Treatment logic and residual risk decisions (PIMS governance view)
Linking assessment outcomes to treatment options and documented rationale
Residual privacy risk acceptance: decision rights, escalation, and consultation triggers
DPIA documentation pack and traceability
Minimum viable DPIA record set and how to keep it maintainable
Traceability from assessment → decision → implementation evidence (without duplicating control design)
Technology as an enabler
Tooling patterns: registers, workflow, versioning, and change signals
AI-assisted summarisation of change requests and evidence (supporting judgement, not replacing it)
Workshop (case-based)
Run a DPIA-style assessment on a realistic processing change scenario
Review outcomes for clarity of logic, decision rights, and maintainability
Course ID:
HAM-PRIA-1
Audience:
Manager
Auditor
Domain:
Data Protection
Available in:
English
Duration:
7 h
List price:
CHF 550
Excl. VAT. VAT may apply depending on customer location and status.
What you get
Learning outcomes
Explain how ISO/IEC 27701:2025 expects privacy risk assessment and treatment to function within a PIMS
Define DPIA trigger logic and proportionality rules that can be applied consistently across the organisation
Structure a DPIA-style assessment around real processing activities, including shared services and suppliers
Apply a disciplined approach to impact reasoning on individuals and document assumptions transparently
Translate assessment outcomes into clear treatment decisions and residual risk acceptance criteria (governance view)
Produce a maintainable DPIA documentation pack with traceability from assessment to decisions and evidence
Set up review triggers and ownership so DPIAs stay current as processing changes
Explain how ISO/IEC 27701:2025 expects privacy risk assessment and treatment to function within a PIMS
Define DPIA trigger logic and proportionality rules that can be applied consistently across the organisation
Structure a DPIA-style assessment around real processing activities, including shared services and suppliers
Apply a disciplined approach to impact reasoning on individuals and document assumptions transparently
Translate assessment outcomes into clear treatment decisions and residual risk acceptance criteria (governance view)
Produce a maintainable DPIA documentation pack with traceability from assessment to decisions and evidence
Set up review triggers and ownership so DPIAs stay current as processing changes
Learning materials
Slide deck
Participant workbook
Certificate of completion
Slide deck
Participant workbook
Certificate of completion
Templates & tools
DPIA Trigger & Triage Decision Tree
DPIA / Privacy Risk Assessment Template (activity-based)
Impact Reasoning Worksheet (severity/scale/vulnerability/assumptions)
Residual Privacy Risk Acceptance & Escalation Log
Risk-to-Treatment Traceability Matrix (including linkage to control selection rationale)
DPIA Review & Change Trigger Checklist
Optional AI prompt set for summarising change requests and drafting update notes
DPIA Trigger & Triage Decision Tree
DPIA / Privacy Risk Assessment Template (activity-based)
Impact Reasoning Worksheet (severity/scale/vulnerability/assumptions)
Residual Privacy Risk Acceptance & Escalation Log
Risk-to-Treatment Traceability Matrix (including linkage to control selection rationale)
DPIA Review & Change Trigger Checklist
Optional AI prompt set for summarising change requests and drafting update notes
Prerequisites
This module assumes participants already have:
Working understanding of core privacy concepts (PII, processing purposes, recipients, retention, lawful handling concepts)
Familiarity with how their organisation documents processing activities and changes (even if imperfect)
Basic management system literacy (roles, documented information, governance routines)
This module assumes participants already have:
Working understanding of core privacy concepts (PII, processing purposes, recipients, retention, lawful handling concepts)
Familiarity with how their organisation documents processing activities and changes (even if imperfect)
Basic management system literacy (roles, documented information, governance routines)
Strongly recommended preparatory modules
Risk Management Foundations: Consistent Risk and Opportunity Logic Across Management Systems
Learn the fundamentals of identifying, evaluating, treating, and monitoring risks and opportunities across management systems.
7 h
Risk Management Foundations: Consistent Risk and Opportunity Logic Across Management Systems
Learn the fundamentals of identifying, evaluating, treating, and monitoring risks and opportunities across management systems.
7 h
Risk Management Foundations: Consistent Risk and Opportunity Logic Across Management Systems
Learn the fundamentals of identifying, evaluating, treating, and monitoring risks and opportunities across management systems.
7 h
Documentation & Knowledge Foundations: Documented Information, Records, and Organisational Knowledge
Fundamentals of documented information control, records, and knowledge capture for management systems
7 h
Documentation & Knowledge Foundations: Documented Information, Records, and Organisational Knowledge
Fundamentals of documented information control, records, and knowledge capture for management systems
7 h
Documentation & Knowledge Foundations: Documented Information, Records, and Organisational Knowledge
Fundamentals of documented information control, records, and knowledge capture for management systems
7 h
Helpful preparatory modules
The modules below prepare for an optimal learning experience – but are not strictly necessary for participants to follow.
System Foundations: Context, Stakeholders, and System Boundaries
Understand organisational context, stakeholders, and system boundaries
7 h
System Foundations: Context, Stakeholders, and System Boundaries
Understand organisational context, stakeholders, and system boundaries
7 h
System Foundations: Context, Stakeholders, and System Boundaries
Understand organisational context, stakeholders, and system boundaries
7 h
Continuous learning
Follow-up modules
Follow-up modules
After completion of this module, the following modules are ideal to further deepen the participant's competence.
After completion of this module, the following modules are ideal to further deepen the participant's competence.
Ready to achieve mastery?
Bring ISO requirements into everyday practice to reduce avoidable issues and strengthen the trust of your customers and stakeholders.
Ready to achieve mastery?
Bring ISO requirements into everyday practice to reduce avoidable issues and strengthen the trust of your customers and stakeholders.
Ready to achieve mastery?
Bring ISO requirements into everyday practice to reduce avoidable issues and strengthen the trust of your customers and stakeholders.