pre-mortem

Run a pre-mortem by imagining a failed product launch, then working backward to categorize surfaced issues into Tigers, Paper Tigers, and Elephants. Assign specific owners and deadlines to each risk to build a structured mitigation plan.

Categorize launch risks by severity: Tigers are launch-blocking issues, Paper Tigers are perceived risks that are less severe than expected, and Elephants are unspoken team concerns. This framework clarifies mitigation priorities for product and engineering teams.

Run a pre-mortem risk assessment before any product launch or feature rollout to ensure launch readiness. It is required when you need to proactively identify potential failures, build a risk register, and establish mitigation plans with assigned owners.

Yes, pre-mortem risk categorization is designed for cross-functional product, engineering, and PM teams. It surfaces unspoken Elephants and launch-blocking Tigers across teams, producing a structured risk register suitable for collaborative go-live planning.

To create a structured launch risk register, you need clear risk criteria to categorize issues into Tigers, Paper Tigers, and Elephants, plus assigned owners and deadlines for each identified risk to ensure actionable mitigation planning.