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Project Pre-Mortem
Before starting, imagine the project failed in six months and write down why.
Goal
Surface risks the team is shy to mention by reframing: failure already happened, so what caused it?
Steps
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1
Gather the team. Frame: "Imagine it's December, six months from now, and the project failed catastrophically".
Expected Outcome
Immediate
Two to three "nobody dared mention" risks surface before kickoff.
Evidence base
School: Behavioral Decision Theory
Founders: Gary Klein · Daniel Kahneman (2007)
Gary Klein developed pre-mortem to overcome project optimism bias. Kahneman in "Thinking, Fast and Slow" calls it the cheapest decision improvement tool.
Keywords
Frequently asked questions
How long does "Project Pre-Mortem" take?
This exercise takes about 60 minutes, practiced in a group in a Written reflection format.
When will I notice the effect of "Project Pre-Mortem"?
Two to three "nobody dared mention" risks surface before kickoff. In the short term: Mid-project, a foreseen risk triggers and you execute the planned mitigation calmly.
Is "Project Pre-Mortem" evidence-based?
Yes — it draws on Behavioral Decision Theory (Gary Klein, Daniel Kahneman (2007)). Gary Klein developed pre-mortem to overcome project optimism bias. Kahneman in "Thinking, Fast and Slow" calls it the cheapest decision improvement tool.
Is "Project Pre-Mortem" suitable for beginners?
Its difficulty level is: Intermediate. No external tools required — it can be practiced directly inside the app.
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