
Show Notes
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we dive into the pre-mortem — a proactive exercise where teams imagine a project has already failed and then work backward to uncover why.
You’ll learn: What a pre-mortem is and how it differs from post-mortems and risk reviews How “prospective hindsight” helps teams spot blind spots before launch Practical templates and facilitation tips to surface risks around timelines, resources, and competition How pre-mortems foster open communication, trust, and alignment across the team Creative variations like “Tigers, Paper Tigers, and Elephants” to make risk identification engaging and effective
If you’ve ever wished you could spot problems before they derail a launch, this episode shows how to use pre-mortems to stress-test your plans — and dramatically improve your odds of success.
More from The Product Handbook
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we break down how product managers can approach their first 90 days at a new company with clarity, confidence, and intent.
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we break down how product managers should think about planning across different time horizons — from next sprint to next year.
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we break down calendar management as a core product leadership skill, not an admin task, not a life-hack, and definitely not about cramming in more meetings.
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we focus on what product managers can do after layoffs — how to lead their teams, stabilize the roadmap, and help the organization recover while protecting their own energy and career trajectory.
In this episode of The Product Handbook, we explore how to improve customer retention by building products people return to again and again — with the help of behavioral insights and the Hook Model.