Pre-Mortem

Imagine your project has failed spectacularly—then work backward to identify why. Apply Gary Klein's "prospective hindsight" technique to catch failures before they happen.

When to Use This Skill

• Before launching a product, campaign, or major initiative
• Before making an important decision (hiring, investment, partnership)
• Starting a project to identify risks the team hasn't considered
• When overconfident and everyone agrees the plan is great
• Before committing resources to a significant undertaking
• In team planning to surface concerns people might hesitate to share

Methodology Foundation