Pre-mortem

• Before starting a project, launch or migration.
• When the team is optimistic and risks are going unspoken.
• Planning sessions where you want owners for the biggest risks.

Purpose: Identify risks before an upcoming sprint, release, or project.

• 💥 The Failure

  It failed. What went wrong?

• 🚨 Warning Signs

  What would reveal this risk early?

• 🛡️ Prevention

  What could reduce its likelihood?

• 🧯 Contingency

  What will we do if it happens?

1. 1

   Establish the failure scenario · 3 min

   Say: 'It's three months from now and this initiative has failed badly.' Make it vivid.

2. 2

   Brainstorm potential causes · 5 min

   Silently write the reasons it failed — one per card, as if it already happened.

3. 3

   Reveal & group risks · 7 min

   Read the risks out. Merge duplicates so each risk appears once.

4. 4

   Prioritise risks · 5 min

   Everyone spends their votes on what matters most. Totals stay hidden until you move on.

5. 5

   Define prevention & contingencies · 12 min

   Work through the top risks. For each, add warning signs, preventive measures and a contingency plan.

6. 6

   Assign owners & triggers · 5 min

   Give each mitigation an owner. Use a warning sign as the trigger for the contingency.

Notes a software team might write:

Expected outcome: Prioritised risks with mitigation actions, early warning signals, and contingency plans.

• Writing in the past tense ('it failed because…') unlocks more honest risks.
• Focus mitigation on the top 3 risks.

Each imagined failure gets its own row with warning signs, prevention measures and a contingency plan linked to it, then risks are prioritised by vote.

Each stage comes with instructions for the facilitator and the participants and a suggested timer you can adjust. Teammates join with a link and their name; no account needed.