Pre-mortem
Imagine failure, then work backward to prevent it.
Explanation
Before beginning a project, imagine it has completely failed and work backwards to figure out what could have caused that failure. Unlike post-mortems that happen after problems occur, pre-mortems help prevent problems by identifying risks while you still have time to address them. Psychologist Gary Klein developed this technique to help teams think through potential failure modes.
Real-World Example
Product launch failed. Why? No one used it. Why? Didn't solve real problem. Why? Never talked to users. Prevention: Interview 50 users first. Startup failed. Why? Ran out of money. Why? Grew too fast. Why? Hired before product-market fit. Prevention: Stay lean until PMF.
How to Apply
Gather team. Say: 'It's one year later. This failed spectacularly. What happened?' Everyone writes reasons. Share without judgment. Group into themes. For each: How do we prevent this? Build prevention into plan. Revisit monthly: New failure modes? This legitimizes discussing failure before it happens.