Use AI to create a pre-mortem analysis that identifies what could go wrong before you launch a project.
Before starting any significant project or initiative, use AI to run a pre-mortem—imagining your project has already failed and working backwards to identify what went wrong. This helps you spot potential problems, blind spots, and risks you haven't considered yet, so you can plan around them now instead of scrambling later. It's especially valuable when you're about to kick off something new, pitch an idea to leadership, or launch a process change across your team.
Try this prompt today
“Act as an experienced project risk analyst. I'm about to start a new project and want to identify potential problems before they happen. Here's my project overview: [describe your project in 2-3 sentences—what you're doing, who's involved, timeline, and main goal]. Imagine this project has failed six months from now. Generate a detailed pre-mortem analysis that includes: (1) the top 5 most likely reasons it failed, (2) early warning signs I should watch for, (3) specific preventive actions I can take right now to avoid each failure scenario, and (4) contingency plans if those risks start to materialize. Be realistic and specific—focus on common workplace obstacles like communication breakdowns, resource constraints, timeline issues, stakeholder misalignment, and scope creep.”
March 19, 2026
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