Learn in the textbookPractical Methods for Idea Generation and Validation
DefinitionBackcasting (バックキャスティング) is a planning approach that first sets the future goal, then works back from it to the present to find what should be done now.
ExplanationYou trace backward from the goal date to work out the milestones on the way and what must be done by each point. Even for a big goal that the current trend would never reach, you can build a plan from the changes that are needed. It is used, for example, in setting long-term targets such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
AnalogyIt is like counting back from a trip's departure time to decide when to get up and when to leave home.
Memory hookThe word swaps the fore (forward) in forecast (prediction) for back, so you look backward from the future side.