Definitionv1
Pre-mortem: a structured risk assessment technique that
Pre-mortem: a structured risk assessment technique that involves imagining a project or agent has already failed completely and then identifying specific reasons for that failure, used to surface risks and failure modes that would otherwise be suppressed by optimism bias
Why This Is a Definition
This definition precisely captures the term 'pre-mortem' by identifying its genus (risk assessment technique) and differentia (imagining failure has already occurred to identify specific reasons). It distinguishes this from standard prospective thinking and clearly explains the cognitive mechanism (prospective hindsight) and purpose (surfacing suppressed risks) that makes it different from ordinary risk assessment.