A pre-mortem is a prospective risk-analysis and sensemaking technique. The group imagines that a project has already failed, then identifies what went wrong instead of speculating about what might go wrong. section 4.10 section 4.3.6
Run the session in four practical moves:
- Set the stage: ask participants to imagine they are several months ahead and the project has miserably failed, despite everyone’s best efforts. section 4.3.6
- Have everyone write individual perspectives on stickies before discussing them, creating a safer way to surface reservations and concerns. section 4.3.6
- Explore three questions: What were our initial goals? What actions did we take? What went wrong? section 4.3.6
- Review and prioritize the risks together, then decide which mitigation actions to prepare. section 4.3.6
Failure viewed from the future
Instead of asking a project team, “What might go wrong?”, invite them to describe the failed project in hindsight. This shift can make uncomfortable thoughts, conflicting perspectives, and hidden concerns easier to discuss before they hinder progress. section 4.10 section 4.3.6
