How Much Can You Make with Pre-Mortem Analysis?

The Cost of Ignoring Future Problems

Pre-mortem analysis is a powerful technique for indie game developers to anticipate project failures. Unlike a post-mortem, which looks back at what went wrong, a pre-mortem proactively identifies potential issues before they derail your project. Overlooking these future problems can cost you significant time, money, and morale, making your development journey far more challenging.

Why Refinement Delays are the Most Dangerous

Issues that emerge late in the refinement or polish stages are remarkably difficult and expensive to fix. Imagine a bug discovered just before launch that requires re-architecting a core system. This is far more costly than catching a similar conceptual flaw during early design, highlighting why early detection through pre-mortems is critical.

Common Indie Dev Pre-Mortem Blind Spots

Indie developers often overlook several critical areas in early project phases. Underestimating technical debt, having unclear feature definitions, or lacking robust testing plans are common pitfalls. Over-reliance on a single team member also poses a significant risk if that individual becomes unavailable.

Setting Up Your Pre-Mortem Session (Internal Email/Slack Format)

Subject: Pre-Mortem: Avoiding Project Disaster for [Your Game Title]

Hey team,

Let’s dedicate some time to a crucial pre-mortem session for [Your Game Title]. The goal here is to proactively identify and mitigate potential project pitfalls before they become actual problems.

Phase 1: Imagine the Failure

For the next 15 minutes, I want everyone to genuinely imagine that [Your Game Title] has catastrophically failed. Picture it: it was never released, or it launched to terrible reviews, or development stopped midway. What did that look like? Be specific.

Phase 2: Brainstorm Failure Causes

Now, spend the next 30 minutes brainstorming all possible reasons why that imagined failure occurred. Don’t hold back; think about everything from technical issues, scope creep, team conflicts, external factors, and personal challenges. List every single contributing factor you can think of.

Phase 3: Identify Root Causes & Solutions

Finally, for the next 45 minutes, let’s transition from symptoms to underlying problems. For each failure cause identified in Phase 2, ask “Why did this happen?” repeatedly until you get to the root cause. Once a root cause is identified, brainstorm concrete, actionable solutions to prevent it. Focus on what we can do now to avoid that future failure.

Journaling Techniques for Enhanced Pre-Mortem Problem-Solving

Effective pre-mortem analysis benefits immensely from structured journaling. It transforms abstract thoughts into actionable insights, helping you track game development progress.

Structured Brainstorming Prompts

During the “imagine failure” phase, use prompts like: “If [Your Game Title] failed, what was the most painful part of that failure?” or “What single decision, if made differently, could have saved the project?” For “brainstorm failure causes,” consider: “What technical hurdles are we downplaying?” or “What communication breakdowns are most likely?”

“What If?” Scenarios

Push deeper into potential issues by asking “what if” questions. For example: “What if our core mechanic isn’t fun after 20 hours?” or “What if a key asset creator leaves midway through?” This helps identify branching problems and cascading failures.

Solution-Oriented Reflection

Shift your journaling from just identifying problems to proposing solutions. For each identified risk, write down at least three potential mitigation strategies. This primes your mind for problem-solving rather than just listing woes. A useful prompt is: “Given this risk, what are three concrete steps we can take this week to reduce its likelihood or impact?”

Prioritization Matrix for Risks

Use your journal to create a simple risk prioritization matrix. For each identified risk, assign it a severity (low, medium, high) and a likelihood (unlikely, possible, probable). Documenting these allows you to focus your limited resources on the most critical threats first. This helps you track game development progress effectively by knowing where to allocate your attention.

Ignoring potential issues early on makes them exponentially harder to fix later. This directly impacts your project timelines and budgets. By consistently employing pre-mortem analysis, you’ll not only catch problems early but also gain invaluable insight into your development process. To further boost your project’s success and maintain a clear, organized overview of your game development log and insights, consider leveraging a dedicated tool. Start tracking your game development progress with our specialized game development journal today.