Incident
Pre-mortem retrospective template
Run a pre-mortem online for free: imagine the project failed, find what could go wrong, plan prevention. No sign-up.
Opens a new board with these columns, right in your browser.
What is the Pre-mortem retrospective?
A pre-mortem imagines the project has already failed and asks why. The team lists What could go wrong, How we prevent it, and the Early signals that would warn them. Gary Klein's technique gives people permission to voice doubts that optimism usually silences.
The columns
- What could go wrong
- How we prevent it
- Early signals
When to use it
Use it before a big launch, migration or deadline, at project kick-off, or before committing to a risky plan.
How to run it in Peel in 5 steps
- Create a Pre-mortem board and set the scene: "It is three months from now and the project failed."
- Write What could go wrong silently; anonymity helps people say the uncomfortable thing.
- Reveal, group and vote on the most likely or damaging risks.
- For the top risks, write How we prevent it and Early signals.
- Assign owners for each prevention and add the signals to your monitoring or check-ins.
Frequently asked questions
Is a pre-mortem pessimistic?
It is realistic. Imagining failure makes it safe to name risks that otherwise go unsaid.
Who invented the pre-mortem?
Psychologist Gary Klein described it in Harvard Business Review in 2007.