Learning Objectives
- Understand what you can do to avoid making poor decisions.
- Learn what a project premortem is.
Perform a Project “Premortem” to Fix Problems Before They Happen
Doctors routinely perform postmortems to understand what went wrong with a patient who has died. The idea is for everyone to learn from the unfortunate outcome so that future patients will not meet a similar fate. But, what if you could avoid a horrible outcome before it happened by identifying project risks proactively—before your project derails? Research suggests that the simple exercise of imagining what could go wrong with a given decision can increase your ability to identify reasons for future successes or failures by 30%. A “premortem” is a way to imagine and to avoid what might go wrong before spending a cent or having to change course along the way.
Gary Klein, an expert on decision making in fast-paced, uncertain, complex, and critical environments, recommends that decision makers follow this six-step premortem process to increase their chances of success.
- A planning team comes up with an outline of a plan, such as the launching of a new product.
- Either the existing group or a unique group is then told to imagine looking into a crystal ball and seeing that the new product failed miserably. They then write down all the reasons they can imagine that might have led to this failure.
- Each team member shares items from their list until all the potential problems have been identified.
- The list is reviewed for additional ideas.
- The issues are sorted into categories in the search for themes.
- The plan should then be revised to correct the flaws and avoid these potential problems.
The premortem technique allows groups to truly delve into “what if” scenarios. For example, in a premortem session at a Fortune 50 company, an executive imagined that a potential billion-dollar environmental sustainability project might fail because the CEO had retired.
Key Takeaway
There are a number of ways to learn about decision making that can help make you more effective. If the decision is important, conduct a premortem to anticipate what might go wrong. When a decision is going to involve others, be proactive in getting them to buy in before the decision is made. Individuals and groups can suffer from decision-making traps and process losses. Understanding that you can spot and avoid these traps is important in helping to make you a more effective manager.
Exercises
- How might you use the premortem technique to be more effective within groups at school or work?
- Imagine that your good friend is starting a new job next week as a manager. What recommendations would you give your friend to be successful with decision making at work?
