Risk management consists of two primary and one underlying activity; risk assessment and risk mitigation are the primary activities and uncertainty analysis is the underlying one. After having performed risk assessment and mitigation, an uncertainty analysis should be performed. Risk management must often rely on speculation, best guesses, incomplete data, and many unproven assumptions. A documented uncertainty analysis allows the risk management results to be used knowledgeably. A vulnerability analysis, likelihood assessment and threat identification are all parts of the collection and analysis of data part of the risk assessment, one of the primary activities of risk management.

Source: SWANSON, Marianne & GUTTMAN, Barbara, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NIST Special Publication 800-14, Generally Accepted Principles and Practices for Securing Information Technology Systems, September 1996 (pages 19-21).