# The Premortem — start here

One page, thirty seconds, then print and run.

**What this is:** a 25-minute, 4–12 person review that runs backwards from a future failure. The team assumes the project already failed, writes how, and turns the polite-unsaid risks into causes with early-warning signals and a preventive action with an owner. No account, no projector. 4–12 people · 25 minutes · offline + online.

## Pick a route

- **Just run it (5 min):** declare the failure, everyone writes causes silently, round-robin and post, name an early-warning signal for the top three, assign one preventive action + owner + by-when.
- **After an actual miss:** run it forward — the failure already happened; it becomes a straight retro with better honesty.
- **Standing risk review:** re-run monthly on the same plan; the signals that keep reappearing are the real ones.

## What's in the folder

| File | Use |
|---|---|
| `the-premortem-prop-cards.pdf` | Poker-spec print sheet: failure-story + root-cause + early-warning-signal + preventive-action + owner-and-by-when + blank |
| `the-premortem-run-sheet.pdf` | Print edition: guide + debrief bound as one A4 document |
| `the-premortem-activity-poster.pdf` | The whole session on one wall (A3): the backwards timeline, the flow, the two rules |
| `the-premortem-guide.md` · `the-premortem-debrief.md` · `the-premortem-start-here.md` | Facilitator guide, debrief, this page |
| `the-premortem.zip` | The whole folder in one download |

## Set the room

Three columns on the wall — Root causes · Early-warning signals · Preventive actions. Cards in hand. Stick `the-premortem-activity-poster.pdf` up so "everyone writes before anyone speaks" and "every cause needs a signal" stay visible. Nothing needs a screen, nothing needs an account.

## Print list

- Cards: poker spec, one sheet per person (cut on the guides).
- Poster: A3, one per room (optional but recommended).
- Run sheet: A4 (or Letter), one for the facilitator.