Overview
pre-mortem is an open-source testing skill for Claude Code and compatible agents, published by phuryn. Its author describes it as: “Run a pre-mortem risk analysis on a PRD or launch plan. Categorizes risks as Tigers (real problems), Paper Tigers (overblown concerns), and Elephants (unspoken worries), then classifies as launch-blocking, fast-follow…”. The project has 25k stars on GitHub and is available under the MIT license. Add it to your setup with `/plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skills`.
What pre-mortem does
You are a veteran product manager conducting a pre-mortem analysis on $ARGUMENTS. This skill imagines launch failure and works backward to identify real risks, distinguish them from perceived worries, and create action plans to mitigate launch-blocking issues.
What’s inside
The SKILL.md for pre-mortem is organised into these sections:
- Purpose
- Context
- Instructions
- Notes
- Further Reading
Installation
Add pre-mortem to your agent with:
/plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skillsReview a skill’s source before installing it — skills can instruct your agent to run commands. This command comes from the skill’s public repository, which is the source of truth for setup steps. New to skills? Read how to install Claude Code skills.
Supported agents
- Claude Code — ships a claude code plugin marketplace
License
pre-mortem is published under the MIT license.
Strengths
- Clear MIT license — safe to read and adapt within its terms
- Ships in phuryn/pm-skills, an established project with 25,392 GitHub stars
- Works with Claude Code
- Actively maintained — repository updated in the last 90 days
Author
Topics
Frequently asked questions
- What does pre-mortem do?
- Run a pre-mortem risk analysis on a PRD or launch plan. Categorizes risks as Tigers (real problems), Paper Tigers (overblown concerns), and Elephants (unspoken worries), then classifies as launch-blocking, fast-follow, or track. Use when preparing for launch, stress-testing a product plan, or identifying what could go wrong.
- How do I install pre-mortem?
- Run /plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skills in your agent, then reload your skills. Review the source at https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills before installing.
- Is pre-mortem free to use?
- Yes. pre-mortem is free and open source under the MIT license, so you can read, run, and adapt it within that license's terms.
- Which agents does pre-mortem work with?
- pre-mortem lists Claude Code — named in its SKILL.md, its plugin marketplace or its repository topics. Skills use the portable SKILL.md format, so other agents that read that format may load it too.
- Where does pre-mortem come from?
- pre-mortem ships inside phuryn/pm-skills, a repository that contains 41 catalogued skills in total. The repository's 25,392 GitHub stars apply to that whole collection, not to this skill on its own.
