Acceptance is the noun form of the previously defined verb “accept“. It represents the state of being in which one has agreed to accept something, in which someone has received or taken possession of a particular item. The act of being received into a specific group, role, company, or institution can also be defined as acceptance. For example, when one applies for membership in a college fraternity, the end result of the application process is either an “acceptance”, in which the fraternity agrees to receive the candidate for membership, or a denial, in which the candidate’s application for membership is rejected or refused. In project management settings, acceptance can represent the state of being in which one has received or taken possession of a resource or item, or has agreed to take on a project or an assignment. It can also represent the act by the assigning party of agreeing to receive the finished product and the choice to agree that the project or assignment has been completed.
This term is defined in the 3rd edition of the PMBOK but not in the 4th.