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Project Pre-Mortem

“Project Pre-Mortem” is a short 60-minute practice from Zayenha Practice in the Administrative domain. Before starting, imagine the project failed in six months and write down why. It draws on Behavioral Decision Theory. You can read its goal and first step for free; the full practice with every step and the interactive part comes with Plus.

Before starting, imagine the project failed in six months and write down why.

60 min Intermediate

Goal

Surface risks the team is shy to mention by reframing: failure already happened, so what caused it?

Steps

1

Gather the team. Frame: "Imagine it's December, six months from now, and the project failed catastrophically".

6 more steps locked

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.

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 platform.

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