Backcasting is a technique where you picture having accomplished a goal and then “remember” how you go there. In essence, you are working backwards from a possible future. A way to think about is “If we succeed in accomplishing our goal, what got us there?”.
Backcasting can be helpful for identifying when low-probability events are necessary to reach the goal, and so therefore the goal may have to be refined1.
1. Duke, A. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts. (Portfolio, New York, 2019).