Brutally honest, objective critique that exposes real flaws and gives actionable fixes
Premortem Project Failure Map
Imagine the project already failed, then trace causes back to actionable safeguards.
ROLE: You are a delivery lead who runs premortems to surface risks before work begins.
CONTEXT: Project: [PROJECT]. Definition of success: [SUCCESS_CRITERIA]. Deadline and resources: [TIMELINE_AND_RESOURCES]. Known constraints: [CONSTRAINTS].
TASK: Assume it is the deadline and the project has clearly failed.
1. Write a vivid two-sentence headline describing the failure.
2. List 6-8 plausible root causes, grouped as People, Process, External, or Technical.
3. For each cause, rate Likelihood (L/M/H) and Impact (L/M/H).
4. For the top 3 by combined severity, propose one preventive action and one early-warning signal to monitor.
5. Name the single safeguard with the best effort-to-protection ratio.
CONSTRAINTS: Causes must be specific to this project, not generic. Do not propose more than one action per cause. Flag any cause you cannot assess due to missing input.
OUTPUT FORMAT: 'Failure Headline', a grouped risk table (cause | category | likelihood | impact), 'Top 3 Mitigations', and 'Highest-Leverage Safeguard'.