What Is It

• A pre-mortem is a short, focused session where the team imagines the project has already failed in the future, then works backwards to uncover why.
• You treat the failure as if it has already happened and use the insights to improve the plan now.

Why Is It Useful

It helps you:

• Surface risks people are worried about but haven’t said aloud
• Challenge overconfidence and groupthink
• Turn vague concerns into concrete actions
• Build shared ownership for making the project work

Target Audience

• Any project team starting or early in a project
• Cross-functional teams working on complex initiatives
• Leadership teams reviewing a critical plan or change effort

Objectives

By the end of the workshop, the team will:

• Have a clear list of possible failure causes for the project
• Have prioritised the most serious risks
• Have concrete actions to reduce or monitor those risks
• Feel more able to speak openly about concerns and trade-offs

Materials Needed

For in-person:

• Flipchart paper or large sticky sheets
• Sticky notes in at least two colours
• Thick markers
• Dot stickers for voting

For online:

• Shared board tool (Miro, Mural, or FigJam)
• Video call with breakout rooms
• Virtual sticky notes and dot voting

Process

Total time: 75 minutes

Step 1. Set The Scene And Create Safety (10 minutes)

Goal

• Create a clear frame for the exercise
• Make it safe to talk about failure and worries

Activity

1. Welcome participants and set the purpose:
   • “Today we’ll run a pre-mortem on Project X. The idea is to imagine it has failed badly in the future, then figure out why, so we can improve our plan now.”
2. Set expectations:
   • This is about learning, not blame
   • Wild ideas and uncomfortable thoughts are welcome
   • Critique the plan, not the people
3. Clarify the project scope and timeline on a flipchart:
   • What are we trying to achieve?
   • By when?
   • What does success look like?

Debrief (ask)

• Does this scope feel accurate?
• Anything important missing?
• Capture clarifications on the flipchart.

Step 2. Imagine Total Failure (10 minutes)

Goal

• Get everyone into the mindset that the project has already failed
• Break polite optimism

Activity

1. Tell a short story in the present tense, e.g.:
   • “It’s March next year. Project X is over, and it’s been a disaster. Stakeholders are unhappy. Budgets are gone. The team is exhausted.”
2. Ask participants to close their eyes for a minute while you repeat:
   • “The project has failed. It’s gone badly wrong. It’s too late to fix it.”
3. Then say:
   • “Working alone, write down every reason this project might have failed. One cause per sticky note. You have five minutes.”
4. Give quiet time for individual reflection.

Debrief

• Invite a few participants to share one or two surprising causes.

Step 3. Share And Cluster Causes In Small Groups (15 minutes)

Goal

• Make sense of the raw list of failure causes
• Encourage everyone to speak

Activity

1. Split into small groups of 3–4.
2. Each person shares their sticky notes and places them on a board.
3. Cluster similar causes and label each group (e.g. “Stakeholders not aligned”, “Underestimated workload”, “Tech not ready”).
4. Each group picks their top five most worrying causes.

Debrief

Ask in groups:

• What patterns do you see?
• What surprised you?
• What feels uncomfortable but true?

Capture a short summary from each group.

Step 4. Build A Shared Risk Map (15 minutes)

Goal

• Create one shared picture of key risks
• Make risks visible to everyone

Activity

1. Create three columns on a wall or virtual board:
   • People and stakeholders
   • Process and ways of working
   • Product, tech and tools
2. Each group brings their top five causes and places them in the right column.
3. Read each one aloud as it’s placed. Merge duplicates.

Debrief

Ask the whole group:

• What stands out?
• Where are most of our risks?
• Which area worries you most?

Record short notes next to each column.

Step 5. Prioritise With Dot Voting (10 minutes)

Goal

• Focus energy on the most serious risks
• Build visible alignment

Activity

1. Give each person five dots.
2. Instructions:
   • Vote for risks that are most likely and high impact
   • You can put more than one dot on a single risk
3. Vote silently.
4. Circle the top five risks with the most dots.

Debrief (ask)

• Do these top risks feel right?
• Anything critical missing?

Step 6. Turn Risks Into Actions (15 minutes)

Goal

• Turn insights into preventive or mitigating actions
• Give each key risk an owner

Activity

For each of the top five risks, ask:

• How can we prevent this?
• If not preventable, how can we spot it early and reduce the damage?

Use a grid with these columns:

• Risk
• Action
• Owner
• By When

Aim for one to three actions per risk.

Debrief (ask)

• What gives you more confidence now?
• What still worries you?

Check that each action has a clear owner and deadline.

Step 7. Close And Commit (10 minutes)

Goal

• Confirm next steps
• Reinforce openness and responsibility

Activity

1. Review the final action grid out loud.
2. Ask each owner to confirm their action.
3. Ask everyone to answer in one sentence:
   • “What is one thing you’ll personally do differently after today to help this project succeed?”

Debrief

• Thank the group for honesty.
• Name a few strengths you noticed, such as courage or good listening.
• Agree where the risk map and action grid will live and how often to revisit them.

Secret Sauce

• Treat the failure as real: Speak in the present tense when describing the failed project.
• Protect dissenting voices: Invite quieter participants to share first.
• Normalise discomfort: When silence falls, say “This one seems uncomfortable, which means it’s probably important.”
• Keep a brisk pace: Use time boxes and short rounds to maintain energy.
• Link back to decisions: End by asking which project decisions need to change based on what you learned.