Most IT projects don’t fail because of bad technology.
They fail because teams don’t anticipate how things will go wrong until it’s too late.
Missed deadlines. Budget overruns. User resistance. Security gaps discovered after go-live. Downtime that could have been avoided.
A pre-mortem is one of the simplest—and most powerful—ways to prevent these failures before your IT project even starts.
In this guide, we’ll explain what an IT pre-mortem is, why it works, how to run one step-by-step, and why organizations that use pre-mortems consistently deliver faster, safer, and more predictable IT outcomes.
What Is an IT Project Pre-Mortem?
A pre-mortem is a structured planning exercise where your team assumes:
“This IT project has failed—what went wrong?”
Instead of waiting for problems to appear during implementation, a pre-mortem surfaces:
- Hidden risks
- Faulty assumptions
- Operational blind spots
- Human and organizational issues
Before they can cause damage.
Unlike post-mortems (which analyze failure after the fact), pre-mortems are proactive, preventive, and decision-shaping.
Why Traditional IT Planning Misses Critical Risks
Most IT planning focuses on:
- Scope
- Timelines
- Technical requirements
- Budget
What it often misses:
- User behavior
- Operational dependencies
- Security tradeoffs
- Vendor assumptions
- Change management risks
- “What happens if this goes wrong at the worst possible time?”
A pre-mortem forces teams to confront uncomfortable but realistic scenarios—early enough to do something about them.
Why IT Projects Fail (The Real Reasons)
Across hundreds of IT projects, failures usually come down to:
1. Hidden Assumptions
“We assumed users would adapt quickly.”
“We assumed the vendor integration would work.”
2. Poor Change Management
Users weren’t trained. Processes weren’t updated. Ownership was unclear.
3. Security & Compliance Gaps
Controls added too late—or not at all.
4. Overconfidence in Technology
Tools worked, but workflows didn’t.
5. No Plan for the Worst Day
Downtime scenarios weren’t tested until production.
A pre-mortem directly addresses every one of these issues.
When Should You Run a Pre-Mortem?
You should run a pre-mortem before any major IT initiative, including:
- Cloud migrations
- Cybersecurity upgrades
- Infrastructure refreshes
- ERP or line-of-business system rollouts
- Mergers & acquisitions IT integration
- Remote work or zero-trust initiatives
If the project impacts availability, security, users, or revenue, it deserves a pre-mortem.
How to Run an IT Pre-Mortem (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Set the Scenario
Tell participants:
“It’s six months after launch. This project failed badly.”
This removes optimism bias and encourages honesty.
Step 2: Invite the Right People
Include:
- IT leadership
- Security stakeholders
- Business owners
- End-user representatives
- External IT partners (critical for objectivity)
Different perspectives surface different risks.
Step 3: Silent Brainstorming (Critical Step)
Have everyone independently write down:
- Why the project failed
- What caused delays, outages, or cost overruns
- Where users struggled
- Where security or compliance broke down
Silence prevents groupthink and hierarchy bias.
Step 4: Group & Categorize Risks
Cluster issues into themes:
- Technical
- Operational
- Security
- Vendor
- User adoption
- Financial
Patterns emerge quickly.
Step 5: Convert Risks into Preventive Actions
For each major risk, define:
- What can we change now?
- Who owns mitigation?
- What success looks like?
This is where pre-mortems deliver ROI.
Step 6: Bake Outcomes into the Project Plan
Update:
- Scope
- Timelines
- Controls
- Training
- Budget
- Success metrics
A pre-mortem is useless unless it changes the plan.
Pre-Mortem vs. Risk Assessment: What’s the Difference?
| Pre-Mortem | Risk Assessment |
| Human-centered | Process-centered |
| Assumption-driven | Control-driven |
| Encourages dissent | Encourages documentation |
| Strategic & practical | Often compliance-focused |
The strongest IT projects use both—but pre-mortems catch risks that formal assessments often miss.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is a pre-mortem only for large IT projects?
No. Even mid-size projects benefit from a 60–90 minute pre-mortem.
2. How long should a pre-mortem take?
Typically 1–2 hours for most IT initiatives.
3. Who should facilitate the session?
A neutral party—often an external IT partner—gets better results.
4. Does this slow projects down?
No. It prevents delays later that cost far more time and money.
5. Can pre-mortems replace project management?
No. They strengthen it.
6. Are pre-mortems useful for cybersecurity projects?
Extremely. They expose threat and response gaps early.
7. What if leadership resists “negative thinking”?
Pre-mortems are about prevention, not pessimism.
8. Should findings be documented?
Yes. They should directly inform project decisions.
9. Can pre-mortems improve ROI?
Yes—by reducing rework, downtime, and scope creep.
The Business Impact of Skipping a Pre-Mortem
Without a pre-mortem, organizations often face:
- Emergency fixes
- Unplanned downtime
- Security incidents
- Budget overruns
- Loss of confidence in IT leadership
With a pre-mortem, teams gain:
- Fewer surprises
- Stronger execution
- Better stakeholder alignment
- Higher project success rates
Why Uprite Recommends (and Leads) IT Pre-Mortems
At Uprite, we’ve seen firsthand that the best IT projects are decided before they start.
pre-mortems into:
- Infrastructure projects
- Security initiatives
- Cloud and modernization efforts
- Strategic IT planning
What Makes Uprite Services Different
- We bring an outside, experienced perspective that internal teams often lack
- We combine technical depth with business context
- We identify risks across technology, people, and process
- We design IT solutions that work on your worst day, not just your best
Our goal isn’t just to deliver projects it’s to deliver predictable, resilient outcomes.
Final Thought
If your next IT project matters to your business, don’t ask “How do we make this work?”
Ask “How could this fail—and how do we stop that now?”
That’s the power of a pre-mortem.
Stephen Sweeney, CEO of of Uprite.com, with 20+ years of experience brings tech and creativity together to make cybersecurity simple and IT support seamless. He’s on a mission to help businesses stay secure and ahead of the game!