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DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — PRE-MORTEM / RISK STORMING
Risk register | 60–90 min | 5–14 people | Difficulty: Low
discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/pre-mortem-risk-storming
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BEFORE YOU START
  Initiative / launch: ___________________________________
  Date: _______________  Facilitator: _____________________
  Milestone this pre-mortem covers: ______________________
  Decision this session must produce: ____________________

  Psychological safety note: This session is for surfacing risk,
  not assigning blame. Candor is more useful than comfort.

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STEP 1 — SCENARIO SETUP  [0–10 min]
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  Facilitator reads aloud:

  "It is [date 6–12 months from now]. The [initiative] has
  failed. Things went badly. It did not achieve [goal].
  Take 5 minutes and write down — silently — everything
  that could have caused this failure."

  Failure horizon date: __________________________________
  Goal that was not achieved: ____________________________

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STEP 2 — RISK GENERATION  [10–35 min]
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  Everyone writes silently. One risk per sticky.
  Post all stickies. Read silently. Do not discuss yet.

  Risk categories to seed thinking:
  - Delivery / execution risks
  - People and dependency risks
  - External / market risks
  - Technical / operational risks
  - Communication and alignment risks
  - Assumptions that turn out to be wrong

  Top risks after silent review (cluster + label):

  Cluster A: __________________________ (___stickies)
    Risks: _______________________________________________

  Cluster B: __________________________ (___stickies)
    Risks: _______________________________________________

  Cluster C: __________________________ (___stickies)
    Risks: _______________________________________________

  Cluster D: __________________________ (___stickies)
    Risks: _______________________________________________

  Cluster E: __________________________ (___stickies)
    Risks: _______________________________________________

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STEP 3 — RISK PRIORITIZATION  [35–60 min]
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Score each cluster. 2 votes each — place on highest priority risks.

  Risk                    | Likelihood | Impact | Priority | Votes
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___
  _______________________ | H / M / L  | H/M/L  | H / M / L| ___

⚠ Don't ignore low-probability, high-impact risks.
  Black swans are more likely than we admit.

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STEP 4 — MITIGATION COMMITMENTS  [60–90 min]
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For each HIGH priority risk:

  Risk: __________________________________________________
  Prevention action: _____________________________________
  Owner: _________________  Due: ________________________
  Contingency (if it happens anyway): ____________________
  Trigger signal (when to activate contingency): _________

  Risk: __________________________________________________
  Prevention action: _____________________________________
  Owner: _________________  Due: ________________________
  Contingency (if it happens anyway): ____________________
  Trigger signal (when to activate contingency): _________

  Risk: __________________________________________________
  Prevention action: _____________________________________
  Owner: _________________  Due: ________________________
  Contingency (if it happens anyway): ____________________
  Trigger signal (when to activate contingency): _________

  Risk register owner (who maintains this after session): _______________

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QUALITY CHECK
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  ☐ Risk generation was done silently (no groupthink)
  ☐ Low-probability high-impact risks were discussed
  ☐ Every HIGH priority risk has a prevention and contingency
  ☐ Contingency has a trigger signal, not just a plan
  ☐ Named owner maintains the risk register post-session

Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/pre-mortem-risk-storming
Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com