pre-mortem
Scannednpx machina-cli add skill NickCrew/claude-cortex/pre_mortem --openclaw/collaboration:pre-mortem
Use when planning initiatives where early risk surfacing saves rework.
Inputs
- Initiative and horizon (30/90/180 days)
- Success definition
- Known risks/compliance constraints
Steps
- Define success state and horizon (default 90 days).
- List top failure modes across tech, UX, org, market, compliance.
- For each, propose mitigations/guardrails with Effort (S/M/L) and Owner.
- Pull 2–3 mitigations that double as feature ideas.
- Create Tasks for guardrails or pass to
/ctx:plan.
Output Template
### Success State (horizon)
### Failure Modes
### Mitigations & Guardrails (effort, owner)
### Feature Candidates from Mitigations
### Immediate Tasks
Pairings
- Run after
/collaboration:concept-forgeto sanity-check top concepts. - Feed guardrails into
/dev:code-reviewor security skills as needed.
Source
git clone https://github.com/NickCrew/claude-cortex/blob/main/skills/collaboration/pre_mortem/SKILL.mdView on GitHub Overview
Pre-mortem is a proactive planning technique that imagines possible failures before starting an initiative. By surfacing failure modes across tech, UX, org, market, and compliance, teams identify mitigations, guardrails, and feature ideas upfront, reducing rework and risk later. The process defines success, horizon, and concrete tasks to steer the project safely.
How This Skill Works
Start by defining a success state and a horizon (default 90 days). Brainstorm top failure modes across tech, UX, org, market, and compliance, then propose mitigations and guardrails with effort and owner. Select 2–3 mitigations that can become feature ideas and create tasks or push to a planning context (/ctx:plan).
When to Use It
- Planning a new initiative where early risk surfacing saves rework
- Projects with known regulatory or compliance constraints
- Cross-functional initiatives involving tech, UX, and product teams
- High-uncertainty MVPs or beta features
- Platform migrations or major feature rollouts
Quick Start
- Step 1: Define success state and horizon (default 90 days).
- Step 2: List top failure modes across tech, UX, org, market, compliance; propose mitigations with effort and owner.
- Step 3: Pick 2–3 mitigations as feature ideas and create tasks or pass to /ctx:plan.
Best Practices
- Involve cross-functional stakeholders from tech, design, product, and security/compliance
- Define a clear success state and horizon before brainstorming
- Document failure modes across tech, UX, org, market, and compliance
- Attach owner and an effort rating (S/M/L) to every mitigation
- Treat mitigations that double as feature ideas as concrete inputs for immediate tasks
Example Use Cases
- Planning a new customer portal with privacy and compliance considerations
- Rolling out a data-sharing feature under strict regulatory constraints
- Migrating to a new tech stack while maintaining compliance and performance
- Launching a high-risk enterprise feature with multiple stakeholders
- Reworking onboarding flow to address UX, policy, and security concerns
