Over the course of a given project, there will be a number of times over the course of the project’s respective life cycle that the
project management team and or the project management team leader will find themselves in a position in which they realize that a particular component as to the project and or a particular facet of that project does in fact come with a set or series of inherent risk. When this determination of risk is made, the project management team and or project management team leader must make an assessment as to what the next course of action is going to be in attempting to deal with and or minimize these risks. In many cases, the project management team and or project management team leader may in fact make the determination that the risks are worth it due to the need and or importance of the component in question, and or due to a lack of a realistic alternative, and in this case, it is known as risk acceptance. However in some cases, the project management team and or project management team may make the determination that the best course of action is to deviate from the previously determine project management plan in a way that best ameliorates and or minimizes the risk. This is known as risk avoidance.
This term is defined in the 3rd and the 4th edition of the PMBOK.