premortem
Pre-mortem analysis that imagines a plan has failed, then works backward to identify causes and preventions. Use before launches, major decisions, or risky initiatives to surface hidden risks.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/neurofoo/agent-skills --skill premortemIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
The 'premortem' skill is a text-based analytical tool designed to help users identify potential risks in their plans by imagining failure scenarios. It contains no executable code, external network calls, or access to sensitive data.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykpass
Risk: LOW · No issues
- Runlayerpass
1 file scanned · No issues
What does this agent skill do?
Pre-Mortem Analysis
Imagine the plan has completely failed, then work backward to identify what went wrong and how to prevent it.
Instructions
Set the scene: "It's [timeframe] in the future. This initiative was a complete disaster. Looking back, what happened?"
Generate failure scenarios without filtering for likelihood—get everything on the table first, then prioritize.
Output Format
The Plan Summarize what's being attempted and the success criteria.
Time Jump "It's [X months] later. This has failed completely. The outcome: [describe the disaster vividly]."
What Went Wrong
Generate 8-12 plausible failure causes across categories:
| Category | Failure Mode | How It Played Out |
|---|---|---|
| Execution | [What failed] | [The story of how] |
| External | [What failed] | [The story of how] |
| People | [What failed] | [The story of how] |
| Technical | [What failed] | [The story of how] |
| Assumptions | [What failed] | [The story of how] |
Risk Prioritization
| Failure Mode | Likelihood | Impact | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| ... | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | 1-5 |
Top 3 Risks & Mitigations
For each top risk:
- Risk: [Description]
- Early Warning Signs: What would indicate this is happening?
- Prevention: How to reduce likelihood
- Mitigation: How to reduce impact if it occurs
- Owner: Who's responsible for watching this?
Pre-Mortem Insights What did this exercise reveal that wasn't obvious before?
Revised Confidence After this analysis, how confident are you in success? What would increase confidence?
Guidelines
- Be vivid and specific—"the database corrupted" not "something went wrong"
- Include uncomfortable possibilities (key person leaves, competitor moves, we were wrong)
- Don't filter for "that won't happen"—the point is to surface hidden concerns
- Assign real owners to mitigations
- Look for single points of failure
$ARGUMENTS
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
<a href="https://skillzs.dev/skills/neurofoo/agent-skills/premortem">View premortem on skillZs</a>