Learning about the past and inspecting the future is critical for any project. Pre and Post Mortems help us do that very effectively.
Pre-Mortem:
These conversations are used to help identify and mitigate risks for specific projects, goals, or initiatives upfront. Ask your team: How can we make sure we enable the drivers that will contribute most to our success? How can we address or mitigate risks that could cause us to fail?
Post-Mortem:
This is a chance to step back, take a more objective perspective, and challenge the team’s assumptions. First, focus on your successes. What went well, and what was the impact of these things going well? What behaviors, factors, or conditions contributed to their success? Then shift to failures or shortfalls. What didn’t go well, and what was the impact of these things not going well? What behaviors, factors, or conditions led to that outcome? How can we avoid these issues going forward?