pre-mortem Skill for Claude: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes Claude run a pre-mortem on a PRD or launch plan: imagine it failed, sort the risks, and write action plans for the launch-blocking ones.

Installs: 10.3K; on skills.sh
Stars: 27.6K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

This skill makes Claude act as a veteran product manager running a pre-mortem on your PRD or plan. It imagines the product launches in 14 days and fails, then asks what went wrong.

It sorts each risk into a Tiger (a real problem), a Paper Tiger (an overblown worry) or an Elephant (an unspoken concern). Tigers are then classed as launch-blocking, fast-follow (within 30 days) or track. Each launch-blocking Tiger gets a mitigation, an owner and a date, and the result is saved as PreMortem-[product-name]-[date].md.

Good for

Product managers preparing a launch
Teams stress-testing a PRD before building
Founders who want unspoken worries written down

Install pre-mortem

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the pre-mortem skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

claude plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skills
claude plugin install pm-execution@pm-skills

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route. The pm-execution plugin installs 16 skills and 11 commands (counted from its folder in the repo tree, which holds no hooks, agents or MCP config files). The Cowork route installs all 9 plugins in the repo. The skills-only routes install just this skill, without the /pre-mortem command.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

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.

Sections in SKILL.md

Purpose
Context
Instructions
Notes
Further Reading

Key facts

Author: Paweł Huryn (phuryn)
License: MIT (repo README and pm-execution plugin.json)
Installs on skills.sh: 10,319 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 27,593 for the whole phuryn/pm-skills repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 29, 2026
What it includes: 1 file: SKILL.md (no scripts or references)
Needs: A PRD, launch plan or feature description to analyse. The skill says it may use web search for competitor or market context
Part of: The pm-execution plugin (version 2.2.0) in phuryn/pm-skills. Counted from the plugin folder: 16 skills and 11 commands, including a /pre-mortem command
Works in: Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Codex, per the README

What it includes

Reads your PRD or plan; may use web search for context
Reads the file you give it, and if relevant uses web search to look at the competitive landscape or market conditions.
Try: “Run a pre-mortem on prd-billing-portal.md before we launch in two weeks.”
Network · 1. Gather the PRD
Imagine a 14-day launch that failed, then work backward
Asks what went wrong, what was missed or badly executed and what the team was overconfident about.
Read · 2. Think step by step
Tigers, Paper Tigers, Elephants
Tigers are real problems, Paper Tigers are overblown concerns worth documenting, and Elephants are worries nobody is discussing.
Read · 3. Categorize risks
Launch-blocking, fast-follow within 30 days, track
Each Tiger is put in one of three urgency classes.
Read · 4. Classify Tigers by urgency
Risk, mitigation, owner and due date per launch-blocking Tiger
Gives each launch-blocking Tiger a concrete mitigation action, the best owner and a decision or completion date.
Read · 5. Action plans
Fixed headings for Tigers, Paper Tigers, Elephants and plans
Presents the analysis under four headings.
Read · 6. Structure the output
PreMortem-[product-name]-[date].md
Saves the analysis as a markdown file.
Write · 7. Save the output

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

Claude reads your PRD, may use web search and saves one markdown file. Do not paste a confidential plan into a tool you do not trust with it.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It may search the web
Step 1 says to use web search if relevant, so parts of your product description could end up in search queries. github.com
It saves a file in your project
The analysis is written as a markdown document named PreMortem-[product-name]-[date].md. Check where it lands before you commit. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode. Use version control.
Sign-in and keys	SKILL.md mentions no account or key.
Scopes	Claude reads the PRD or plan you give it SKILL.md says it may use web search for competitor or market context Claude saves PreMortem-[product-name]-[date].md

Questions

What does the pre-mortem skill do?

It makes Claude assume your launch failed and work out why. Claude sorts the risks into Tigers, Paper Tigers and Elephants, ranks Tigers by urgency and writes action plans for the ones that block launch.

How do I install pre-mortem?

Use the install box at the top of this page. It offers the pm-execution plugin, the Claude Cowork route, a Claude app upload and a skills-only command.

Is it by Anthropic?

No. It is in phuryn/pm-skills, a community collection of product management skills. The plugin manifest names Paweł Huryn as author.

What is the difference between the skill and the /pre-mortem command?

The command is in the pm-execution plugin and applies this skill to a PRD, plan or feature description you paste or upload. The skills-only routes give you the skill without the command.

Does it work in the Claude app?

Yes through the install box. The README documents a Claude Cowork route that adds the whole marketplace, and the box also has a zip upload for just this skill. The skill bundles no scripts.

Is it safe?

It bundles no scripts. Claude reads the PRD you point it to, may use web search, and saves one markdown file. If you paste a confidential plan, that text goes to your assistant like any other message.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: phuryn/pm-skills
Folder: pm-execution/skills/pre-mortem

phuryn/pm-skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

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