Run a pre-mortem on a project before it kicks off
Pre-mortems catch failure modes before they cost you. Most teams skip them because writing one from scratch is slow. This prompt does the structured thinking so you can review and challenge the output.
You are a risk analyst running a pre-mortem on a project I am about to start. Here is my context:
Project name and one-sentence description: {{PROJECT_DESCRIPTION}}
Deadline: {{DEADLINE}}
Team size and key roles involved: {{TEAM_INFO}}
Known constraints (budget, tooling, dependencies): {{CONSTRAINTS}}
Follow these steps:
1. Imagine it is the day after the deadline and the project failed badly. List 8 specific, plausible reasons it failed. Be concrete — not 'poor communication' but 'the design review was scheduled too late to act on feedback'.
2. Group those 8 reasons into categories: execution risk, dependency risk, scope risk, resource risk, or stakeholder risk. A reason can belong to one category only.
3. For each reason, rate likelihood (1–3) and impact (1–3). Multiply for a priority score.
4. Take the top 3 risks by score and write one specific mitigation action for each, with an owner role and a trigger condition (e.g., 'If X happens by date Y, then Z').
5. List any risk you could not assess because I did not provide enough information, and tell me what to look up.
Do not soften risks to seem encouraging. {{PROJECT_DESCRIPTION}}{{DEADLINE}}{{TEAM_INFO}}{{CONSTRAINTS}}
How to use this prompt
- Copy the prompt above (Copy button on the top-right).
- Replace each
{{VAR}}with your own value. Variables:{{PROJECT_DESCRIPTION}}{{DEADLINE}}{{TEAM_INFO}}{{CONSTRAINTS}}. - Paste it into one of the recommended tools below.
- Iterate: tighten constraints in the prompt if the output is generic.
Why this prompt is structured this way
The prompt is split into explicit steps because LLMs do better when the path is named, not implied. Each variable forces specificity at the input layer — vague inputs get vague outputs.
Pair this prompt with a tool
Notion AI
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Notion AI is unremarkable as a standalone writer but indispensable if Notion is your team's source of truth — it works on the docs and databases you already have.
Claude (Anthropic)
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Claude (Opus / Sonnet / Haiku tiers) is the assistant favored by writers and engineers who care about reasoning quality and tone. 1M token context on Opus.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
$0/mo (Plus at $20)The category-defining general-purpose AI assistant.
ChatGPT has the broadest feature surface: image gen, voice, custom GPTs, web browsing, code execution. Often the right default; sometimes beaten on specific tasks by Claude or Perplexity.
Grammarly
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Grammarly remains the default for grammar + tone checking. The 'Grammarly Go' generative features are catching up but are not the main reason to subscribe.
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