Pre-Mortem Analysis: Anticipating Project Failures

Who created and checked this page

Correction history

Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.

1. 28 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   Corrected a date error: Gary Klein's pre-mortem technique was popularized in his 2007 Harvard Business Review article 'Performing a Project Premortem,' not developed by him in 1989 - 1989 is the year of the Mitchell, Russo, and Pennington study that established the prospective-hindsight effect Klein's technique builds on. Verified accurate and left in place: the Mitchell/Russo/Pennington 1989 study description, the Klein HBR 2007 group-norm quotation, and the Klein 2015 Naturalistic Decision Making interview quotation.

   Before

   The article stated Gary Klein developed the pre-mortem technique in 1989, the same year as the Mitchell/Russo/Pennington prospective-hindsight study his technique is based on.

   After

   Corrected Klein's pre-mortem to its 2007 Harvard Business Review origin, distinguishing it from the 1989 academic study it builds on.

   Why: The two distinct dates (1989 academic study, 2007 practitioner technique) had been conflated into one. Correction separates them using the article's own correctly-cited 2007 HBR quotation.

   View the full record →

Full contribution timeline

1. Correction 28 July 2026

   Emir Baycan: Corrected a date error: Gary Klein's pre-mortem technique was popularized in his 2007 Harvard Business Review article 'Performing a Project Premortem,' not developed by him in 1989 - 1989 is the year of the Mitchell, Russo, and Pennington study that established the prospective-hindsight effect Klein's technique builds on. Verified accurate and left in place: the Mitchell/Russo/Pennington 1989 study description, the Klein HBR 2007 group-norm quotation, and the Klein 2015 Naturalistic Decision Making interview quotation.

   Proof record →