# Pre-mortem board

*From the Product Cook Pantry · productcook.com/pantry*

**Imagine it's six months from now, and the launch failed. Why?**

1. **Set the scene (2 min).** Read the goal and the launch date aloud. Say: "It failed. Badly."
2. **Write in silence (7 min).** Everyone writes reasons on sticky notes, one reason per note. No discussion.
3. **Cluster (10 min).** Group the notes into themes.
4. **Vote (5 min).** Everyone gets three votes for the risks most likely and most damaging.
5. **Act (15 min).** For each top risk, agree an owner and the next step to make it cheaper or less likely.

| Risk | Likely? (1–5) | Damage? (1–5) | Owner | Next step | By when |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

Anyone can pull the andon cord: if you see one of these risks happening, say so while it's still cheap.