The premortem technique is a strategic brainstorming tool that imagines your project’s failure and comes up with steps to prevent it. By confronting team members' fears or pitfalls head-on, you can prepare and eliminate them before they happen. Premortems are especially useful for a fresh perspective on your project to uncover previously unknown skeletons in the closet.

Start your project premortem by opening FigJam’s free interactive template and inviting your collaborators to join. Then follow these six key steps to create a premortem analysis the whole team can count on:

Prepare – Gather together to confirm your project’s mission and goals.

Identify problems – Brainstorm all the potential issues that could occur along the way.

Narrow them down – Focus on critical problems your team can control.

Brainstorm solutions – Individually ideate possible fixes to these problems.

Analyze – Share your thoughts with the whole team and choose which ones to pursue.

Plan next steps – Revisit your project plan and add in fail-safes uncovered by your premortem exercise.

Your premortem analysis helps the whole team prevent problems down the line. This invaluable strategic technique focuses on the possible negatives and comes up with actionable positives to mitigate failure. While worry isn’t always a helpful mindset, premortems bluntly address realistic concerns and establish a game plan to prevent them from actualizing.

A premortem exercise also usually involves all team members, making room for unique perspectives and conversations around anticipated obstacles. By the end of the meeting, you’ll have a plan to address every team member’s scenario with confidence.