Risk-Informed Decision

People invoke this phrase to signal thoughtfulness and balance, implying the alternative is over-indexing on security at the expense of other factors.

But the term is ambiguous. Risk to whom? The software manufacturer weighing cost against liability, the customer weighing convenience against exposure, or the public with no seat at the table?

Naming the risk-taker, and who bears the loss if the bet is wrong, clarifies the process.

Discussion prompts

• In your last risk acceptance decision, whose risk was actually being accepted?
• How would you rewrite "risk informed decision" to name the risk-taker explicitly?
• Can a manufacturer make a risk-informed decision on behalf of customers who never see the tradeoff?