Paper Tiger Pre-Mortem Workshop
A pre-mortem is a technique where, before starting a project or decision, a team imagines it has failed and discusses reasons for that failure. This helps identify potential problems early on, allowing the team to address and prevent them proactively.
Objectives
- Identify potential problems early on in the process
- Create an opportunity for the team to discuss fears and concerns productively
- Create an action plan of next steps that will help prevent issues moving forward.
Instructions
Before the start of a new project, there’s a crucial act that can make all the difference, a Pre-Mortem session. It’s a proactive measure to identify and thwart potential risks before they can sabotage your project.
Instead of waiting for the project’s conclusion for a Post-Mortem, a team can gather beforehand to craft the obituary of why the project might meet its demise.
You’re likely familiar with Post-Mortems, those retrospective sessions held after the project wraps up, aimed at collecting lessons learned. But why wait until after the project? 😏
During a Pre-Mortem, delve into potential risks and challenges that could prove fatal to the project. They are then categorised into three key areas:
🐅 Tigers – These are the issues perceived as potentially deadly to the project.
🐯 Paper Tigers – These are concerns that others might see as deadly, but some people disagree.
🐘 Elephants – addressing the metaphorical elephants in the room, those unspoken issues that need discussion.
Investing just a couple of hours before the project starts will save you an incredible amount of time, money and headaches.
Team leaders, project managers and anyone involved with projects and organisational development.
No specific training is required, but someone who can navigate the intricacies of project dynamics and has a high-level understanding of that particular project would be suitable.