BATNA is a term coined by Roger Fisher and William Ury in their 1981 bestseller, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Without Giving In.[1] It stands for "Best ALTERNATIVE TO a negotiated agreement." Said another way, it is the best you can do if the other person refuses to negotiate with you--if they tell you to "go jump in a lake!" or "Get lost!" So it is not necessarily your ideal outcome--unless your ideal outcome is something you can get without the cooperation of the other person. It is the best you can do WITHOUT THEM.