Premortem

At Hyperact, we’re big believers in anticipating challenges before they arise. That’s why we created a premortem template to help teams surface potential risks early and take proactive steps to mitigate them.

What is it?

A premortem is a structured workshop where a team imagines a future scenario where their project or release has failed. By working backward from this imagined failure, they identify potential pitfalls, uncover blind spots, and develop strategies to address them in advance.

This simple but powerful exercise can help you:

• Anticipate risks and obstacles

• Foster candid and constructive discussions

• Build a shared sense of accountability

• Prioritise preventative actions

• Increase confidence in your plan’s resilience

How to get the most out of it

Preparation is key to running an effective premortem. Before diving in, clearly define the scope and objective of the session. Are you assessing the risks of a product launch? A major feature release? Or perhaps a service rollout? Being precise about your focus will help guide the conversation and keep it productive.

Here’s how to run a premortem step-by-step:

Set the stage: Gather the right group of participants, ideally a mix of cross-functional team members with diverse perspectives. Introduce the concept of the premortem and create a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing concerns and ideas.

Imagine failure: Pose the challenge: “Imagine it’s x months from now, and this project/release/feature has completely failed. What went wrong?” Give the group 10 minutes to brainstorm as many reasons for failure as possible. Encourage both big-picture and detailed thinking.

Consolidate risks: Review the list of failure points as a team. Group similar items together and prioritize the risks based on their likelihood and potential impact. This step ensures focus on the most critical threats.

Brainstorm mitigations: Spend another 10 minutes brainstorming strategies to address the prioritized risks. Encourage creative, actionable solutions. For each risk, aim to identify at least one mitigation tactic that the team feels confident in implementing.

Create an action plan: Translate the mitigations into specific, actionable steps. Assign owners to each action item and agree on deadlines to ensure accountability. Schedule periodic check-ins to track progress and adjust the plan as needed.

Give our premortem template a try and see how it helps your team build resilience and reduce risk. Whether you’re about to embark on a high-stakes initiative or simply want to refine your planning process, premortems are a game-changer.