Find the risks before you start
Imagines your project has failed, then works backwards to prevent it.
Let’s run a pre-mortem. Imagine it’s [a date after the deadline], and this project has failed badly: [the project, its goal and the plan in brief]. List the ten most likely reasons it failed, covering people, money, time, technology, suppliers and outside events. For each, rate how likely and how serious it is (low, medium or high), give the early warning sign to watch for, and one thing to do now to prevent it. Put them in a table, most serious first. Be blunt and specific to my project, not generic.
Tips and an example: Find the risks before you start
Tips for a better answer
- Do it with your team: people find it easier to raise worries about an imaginary failure.
- Pick the three biggest risks and give each one an owner today.
An example, filled in
Let’s run a pre-mortem. Imagine it’s January 2028, and this project has failed badly: launching our online shop in time for Christmas 2027; two staff will run it, using an online shop builder, with products photographed in house. List the ten most likely reasons it failed, covering people, money, time, technology, suppliers and outside events. For each, rate how likely and how serious it is (low, medium or high), give the early warning sign to watch for, and one thing to do now to prevent it. Put them in a table, most serious first. Be blunt and specific to my project, not generic.