premortem
Prior to dying
A premortem is an exercise in which a team imagines a project has failed and works backward to identify what went wrong—before the work actually begins.
The term plays on postmortem, the examination conducted after death.
Where a postmortem asks "What happened?" a premortem asks "What could happen?" Let's do a premortem on this launch to catch problems early.
State of awaiting something
- scenarioPostulated event sequence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- simulationImitation of real processes
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
evaluation · projection · diagnosis · vulnerability · assumption · brainstorming · critique · red-team
Arranging things in advance
- mitigationReduction of severity
- preventionStopping something before occurring
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- roadmapDetailed plan forward
timeline · prioritization · coordination · safeguard · backup · fallback · workaround · strategy
Source of potential harm
- threatIndication of potential harm
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- impactForceful contact or consequence
severity · exposure · likelihood · consequence · warning · alarm · crisis · disaster
Relating to thinking
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- debiasingRemoving systematic distortion
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
- overconfidenceUnjustified certainty in oneself
hindsight · pessimism · anxiety · worry · apprehension · skepticism · perspective-taking · reframing
anticipation
State of awaiting something
- scenarioPostulated event sequence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- simulationImitation of real processes
assessment · evaluation · projection · diagnosis · vulnerability · assumption · brainstorming · critique · red-team · troubleshooting
preparation
Arranging things in advance
- mitigationReduction of severity
- preventionStopping something before occurring
- contingencyUncertain possible event
roadmap · timeline · prioritization · coordination · safeguard · backup · fallback · workaround · strategy · blueprint
hazard
Source of potential harm
- threatIndication of potential harm
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
impact · severity · exposure · likelihood · consequence · warning · alarm · crisis · disaster · catastrophe
cognitive
Relating to thinking
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- debiasingRemoving systematic distortion
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
overconfidence · hindsight · pessimism · anxiety · worry · apprehension · skepticism · perspective-taking · reframing · intuition
premortempostmortem
Examination after death
posthumous · post-mortem · after death · antemortem · cadaveric
premortempostmortem
Examination after death
post-mortem analysis · retrospective · after-action review · lessons learned · autopsy
pre, mortem, mortal, mortals, mortality, immortal, immortals, immortality, mortally