Coaching practices for Failure Modes Planning
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Failure Modes Planning, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m all-in on this plan and can barely make myself imagine it going wrong
- My whole plan is a chain where every link has to hold
- I’m about to commit real time and money to this plan, and it looks solid
- I’m about to commit to this timeline and on paper it all looks fine, but I have a nagging feeling I’m glossing over the ways it could go sideways because admitting them now feels like talking myself out of it before I’ve even started.
- My plans hold up fine until something throws them off
Practices that may help
- Run a pre-mortem from the outside-view perspective
Imagine the project has failed — then ask which base-rate failure type caused it.
The Outside View - Design decisions so they work even if some things go wrong
Ask: does this plan require everything to go right? If so, redesign it.
Margin of Safety - Run a pre-mortem before committing to a plan
Imagine the plan has already failed and ask what went wrong.
Confirmation Bias: Seeing What You Expect to See - Run a premortem before committing
Imagine the project has already failed and work backwards to find why.
The Planning Fallacy — Why Your Estimates Are Always Wrong - Plan for obstacles with coping plans
Anticipate the specific obstacles most likely to block your plan and pre-decide your response to each.
Action Planning - The premortem (imagine the project already failed)
Before starting, assume the plan has already failed and ask why — then fix it now.
Premeditatio Malorum, in Depth - Run the basic pre-mortem
Assume the plan failed, then have everyone write down why.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed - Rate each failure by likelihood and impact
Turn the raw failure list into a prioritized set of risks to mitigate.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed - Run a mental simulation before committing to a course of action
Before acting on a recognized situation, mentally run through how your intended response plays out.
Recognition-Primed Decision Making - Turn top risks into tripwires
Set a specific signal that tells you a feared failure is starting to happen.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed
Related concerns
- How To Plan For Failure
Assume the plan failed, then have everyone write down why.
Run the basic pre-mortem
- Find Flaws In Your Plan
Before starting, assume the plan has already failed and ask why — then fix it now.
The premortem (imagine the project already failed)
- How To Reduce Risk Of Failure
Turn the raw failure list into a prioritized set of risks to mitigate.
Rate each failure by likelihood and impact
- Imagine Failure Before Starting
Balance failure analysis with an equally concrete picture of what success requires.
Pair the pre-mortem with a clear success vision
- Survivability In Planning
Anticipate the specific obstacles most likely to block your plan and pre-decide your response to each.
Plan for obstacles with coping plans
- When Outside View Pre Mortem Outside View
Imagine the project has failed — then ask which base-rate failure type caused it.
Run a pre-mortem from the outside-view perspective
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.