The pre-mortem technique was described by Gary Klein ("Performing a Project Premortem," Harvard Business Review, September 2007). Imagining a failure has already happened makes it easier for people to name risks they would otherwise keep to themselves.
Setup (5 minutes)
- Decision under review:
- Time horizon ("It is [date], 12 months from now"):
- Facilitator (not the sponsor of the proposal):
Step 1 — Imagine it failed (5 minutes, silent, individual)
"It is 12 months from now. We went ahead, and it went badly wrong." Each director writes down every reason they can think of for why it failed.
Step 2 — Round-robin (15 minutes)
Each person shares one reason at a time until all are listed. No debate yet.
| # | Reason it failed | Raised by | Likelihood (L/M/H) | Impact (L/M/H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
Step 3 — Pick the top three (5 minutes)
Which failure reasons are both likely and serious?
Step 4 — Change the plan (10 minutes)
For each of the top three: what would we do differently now, who owns it, and what early-warning sign would we watch?
| Risk | Change to the plan | Owner | Early-warning signal | Check date |
|---|
Step 5 — Decide
Does the decision still stand, change, or wait? Record the outcome and attach this worksheet to the decision record.