It depends on what you are doing.

If its a specific "Task" then its best case then identify failure modes.

If its a "Theory" then preconceived goals is a failure before you get started.  It will always bias your thinking as much as a Global Warming progressive liberal guy's end result is government control.  There's a natural order starting with identifying the problem ending with impact over when.  It's "if we do this then" not "let's just do this". Basically you can't know what the end goal is unless you understand the scope and mitigating factors.  Once you know that, then it becomes "Task" specific.  

I use Global Warming because of all modern topics, its the most bogus in critical thinking.  It's statistical information with a political solution sold as science.  It may take science to get the statistical information but that's where it ends as the conclusions are not based on any science at all because it includes no end result.  The data is so bias that it does not include other contributing factors and the solutions not quantifiable.  Its like setting up solar stills without knowing how much they will produce and how much water you need.  It's downright childish thinking, "Anything will help, Be damned the cost or the impact."  Its like trying to dig a 100' water well when you'll be dead before you find water because your method is too slow or jumping in a river when you can't swim because its too fast.  What it is, is a result embroiled in taught critical thinking that favors one result, political control, not science.  Something as simple as identify the problem, quantify the problem, and identify and quantify possible solutions are lost.  Nobody is asking "we do this, how much will it help?"

If we ran business like academia and the government runs 'Global Warming" we'd all be bankrupt. If we did survival, might as well toss a coin on whether you survive.  Its the same with survival.  You must identify and quantify the problem, explore the solutions and quantify them, then the decision path with no expectation of worse or best because it is what it is. Though its natural to not help it, we can't let emotion invade our decision paths.  Morals are a different topic.  

Tj

BTW, It would blow your mind how much this exact topic comes up in business and how even what is the "Worst" changes depending on who you talk to.  One man's "worst" is the other mans "Best".  I almost have to hold a straight face as depending on expectations as I advise "it is what it is" and you can't solve it until its quantified.